Why Is It So Hard To Find a Laptop With Rounded Edges?
If you are on the computer all day it is important to be somewhat comfortable. We all hear about ergonomics of chairs, desks etc. Why then do laptop manufacturers refuse to take the most basic steps for comfort?
I have literally kept using the same laptop for years after it started dying because it is more comfortable than any other I can find! I have an old Toshiba Satellite laptop that I got at Costco. It has nice, rounded edges. No square corners anywhere. Most importantly, it has a rounded front edge where I rest my palm when I am scrolling on the touchpad. When I am typing it is not such a big deal but if I am scollign and clicking on the mousepad my palm is resting on the edge several inches to the right of the touchpad. My palm still hurts and gets sore after too long even with the rounded edge but with 99% of laptops I couldn't even use them for very long.
Am I the only person on the planet with this issue? I have searched online and don't find anything about the edges, just some talk about square vs. round corners. I guess some MacBooks had very sharp edges and people tried to file them down! After 2012 they made them with less sharp edges but still way to sharp for my sensitive skin I guess! My poor husband tried to get me a new laptop for years as this one became so bad that it slowed everything down. I would go through the store and look at the front edge putting my hand against east one. I could quickly determine that none of them would work. It did not matter how large, fast, affordable or fancy they were. I could care less about speakers or cameras or software if it would hurt my hand so badly I couldn't use it anyway!
Does anyone else have this issue? Have you found any good models that have a rounded front edge?
I have a work laptop now and of course it has a sharp edge. I will have to get a wrist rest to use it but then I can't use it easily on my lap or other places and it messes up the angle since I have long fingers. Maybe that is the problem. If I had short fingers I would fit better and my palm might not rest on the edge. That makes me wonder if men (who naturally have larger hands) notice this problem? Or do they have tougher skin and just don't care?
Maybe it costs more to make rounded edges but if Toshiba could figure it out why didn't they continue to make this style and why don't others copy it? I see there is another Toshiba Satellite that is newer but it gets bad ratings and is considered a bottom of the barrel machine. It is the only one I see that has rounded edges. My husband didn't want me to get this one and said it wasn't a good machine but like I said, if it isn't comfortable it isn't worth anything to me!
Jessica
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I also have a Toshiba Satellite, one that runs Windows 8.1, and there are many things I love about it. But the rounded edges don't matter so much to me because I also have a soft squooshy pad that is a bit wider than the laptop, and about 3 inches across. It sticks up a bit more than the laptop, and I rest my arms just behind my wrists on it all the time.
Thanks Rosana. I will have to get a wrist rest I guess. That doesn’t work on my lap well though.
I hate laptops but I have been using one for a long time now as opposed to my Windows desktop which has never been online.
Looking top down on my laptop, it looks like this
╭────╮
│▒▒▒▒│
╰────╯
so the corners are rounded that way, rather than
┌────┐
│▒▒▒▒│
└────┘
squared edges like this.
Sorry about the drawings. I used box and block elements from the utf-8 character set and they are misbehaving in WA's writing editor and not mating up the way they are supposed to. Hopefully they illustrate the point though.
Looking at the the front of mine when clam shelled, one corner of it looks something like this when closed ...
⋹ rather than this ... ⋿.
You need a low profile laptop. That is, one that is very thin, and of course rounded corners when looking top down.
Have you looked at Dell laptops? I realize these are a little more expensive than many but they tend to be low profile AND with rounded corners. Mine is a Dell Inspiron-7548 and is comfortable.
The palms of my hands rest just below the keyboard on flat surfaces whilst almost to the mid of my upper arms rest on the corners. It is so low I don't feel anything, even when typing for hours.
I have had laptops with sharp corners. That gets to your nerves after awhile.
Another suggestion, and I don't know your habits when you are at the laptop, but set the laptop a bit further from you so that you elbows and forearms rest on the tabletop instead of over the edge. This might help take the weight of your arms off the corners of the laptop. I also have disabled the mousepad because that gets in the way and causes havoc and have lost massive parts of documents due to unintentionally touching the thing, causing it to highlight and delete blocks of text without even knowing it! I never use the touch-glass option either and never have. Instead I have a regular cordless mouse on mine. This might help you there as well with the squared edges and maybe a bit less encounters with them.
Let's see what submitting this does to my drawings above...
Thanks Daniel. My work laptop is a Dell. It has the standard angled edge. My left eye is weak so it’s hard to read anything with it now so I don’t tend to push it further away but I might have to try it or get a wrist rest. That doesn’t work on my lap though.
Do you have arm rests on your office chair? Having this would allow you to support your arms so not so much pressure on the wrists against the sharp edges and would give your arms needed support, less strain on you all around.
I do this with my Windows computer with a chair having arm rests that are the same height as the dining table where the computer is. I do realize my problem is different than yours. I'm heavy and need the arm rests else I get bursitis in my shoulders trying to hold my arms up for extended periods.
I am assuming the picture you used in the header is similar to your situation with the computer right at the edge of the table and no support for your arms. An office chair with arm rests might be enough to alleviate your issue.
Sorry I couldn't help above, but I see you have gotten some good ideas from others.
Hi, no the picture above is not how I normally work. I don’t even have an office chair at home. My husband does but it is really uncomfortable for me since it doesn’t have lumbar support.
I have to rest my arms as well since I have a weak back and abs. Most importantly I can’t sit up in a normal position sometimes since I need to get my feet elevated due to erythromelalgia which is the bane of my existence now. My feet are extremely sensitive to heat so I have to put them up with a fan blowing to cool them down unless it is very cold in the house. So I do a lot of work in a semi reclined position sometimes. I am not set up as well as I would like at home since I have worked in an office for years and now with Covid we are finally working from home. I just got this work laptop last week finally. I was working part time from home for months now but it will be more now.
At work I have a good office chair which I can adjust throughout the day as I need. I don’t even have a desk here at home. I just work on my laptop on my lap mostly.
I just wish I could find a replacement for the Toshiba that had the nice, smooth edge. I guess a low profile one is the best bet.
I actually researched older models of the Satellite and can see exactly what you mean by rounded edges. Some of those actually had a "pillowed" shape and some were simply beveled on top where you rest your wrists.
The only thing I can think of is choose your new laptop and have a simple tray made that replicates the rounded form of your old laptop that you can set the laptop into, or follow the advice you've already gotten.
I mainly use a desk top, Jessica, so I hope you finally find something that works for you!
Jeff
Thanks Jeff. I don’t have a desktop. My husband does but his setup is very uncomfortable for me so I don’t use it (and he is often on it anyway). We don’t really have room for another desktop. My desktop at work is fine but we are finally working primarily from home now (hence the uncomfortable work laptop I finally have). Thanks.
I cannot imagine why there aren't any comfortable laptops, Jessica! I hope you find one!
Jeff
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I often use my iPad pro for internet stuff and writing. I have a not apple brand keyboard case that I type on. Very thin and no sharp edges.
I have fairly fragile skin due to a genetic disorder. So I am often trying to make things safer for me. I found some plastic stuff by sugru, I think, anyway u put it in hot water for a bit and then it can be molded to just about any surface. It isn't sticky. Just a lump of plastic. I use it to round edges of stuff. Kind of like the bumpers they put on table edges for toddlers. Maybe something like that could help. Good luck!
That sounds perfect! Thank you! Where do you get it?
OK. Got the name wrong. Sugru is the moldable adhesive that I use for all kinds of stuff and may actually work for this. Instamorph is the plastic. I checked Amazon quick and they have both. I found IM even in pellets now so you can easily get the exact amount u want.
Thank you so much Nicole. I will check those out!