The Chill Mat's 17-inch diagonal surface accommodates MacBooks of any size.
Chill Mat operation is simple: Place MacBook on Chill Mat, connect Chill Mat to MacBook via a bundled USB cable, turn on both devices, and proceed about your business. Two 3-inch fans blow a cool breeze directly at your MacBook’s searing battery pack, neutralizing its BNBS potential. And thanks to a breathable construction—soft, stretchy mesh on the bottom, grippy Swiss cheese–style plastic on the top—the Chill Mat has no trouble dissipating heat. The Chill Mat just plain works, and we also appreciate the tilt it provides via its angled surface.
While the fans are remarkably quiet, they aren’t truly silent, so they could maybe, possibly, spark an OCD response in the most sensitive users. And, of course, the Chill Mat does draw power from your MacBook—we found it reduced battery run time by 18 minutes in our DVD video rundown test (2 hours, 39 minutes with the Chill Mat; 2 hours, 57 minutes without). But, seriously, what would you rather have, silent operation and extra battery life or a bad case of heat rash? We’ll take the Chill Mat, and kiss BNBS goodbye.
Effective. Quiet. Ergonomic.
Not completely silent. Reduces battery life.
MacMike1000
August 04, 2009 at 8:26am
I bought this for $24.99, works good, fan pretty quiet, looks good with my 15" MacBook Pro Unibody. It would be nice if they can make it look little bit thinner and more sleek.
