A couple of years ago I got my girlfriend a laptop computer. Shortly after we decided to pick up one of those laptop trays with short little legs so that she could have a place to use a regular mouse with the laptop and still sit out on the couch and watch television. It was alright, but neither of us really liked it - it was still really annoying when you moved around at all and not very stable sitting in your lap. The next time we went to the store we looked around for a more useful alternative, and ended up getting this fold-up 26" x 18" Personal Table by Lifetime Products Inc.
 
This personal table is 18" deep by 26" long and has slightly rounded corners. The top is about an inch thick and made of high-density polyethylene, and it's held up really well so far. The bottom of the table consists of powder coated steel tubes that act like a giant scissor to keep the table sturdy and stable, and as an added bonus the thing is weather resistant so we could use it outside if we had a need to (though we haven't yet). The whole thing folds down to about 2" flat for easy storage under a bed or couch, or in the back of a closet.
 
The scissor-like base is attached to the bottom on one side, and the other side has a cross bar on the end. There's a black plastic thing in the middle of the cross bar that you can pull to shrink/retract the bar so that you can slide it into one of the 3 grooves on the bottom of the table. This allows you to adjust height of the table to either 21, 24 or 26 inches tall. My brother is around 6' tall, I'm 5'6" and my girlfriend is around 5' tall - we can all use the table nicely while sitting on the couch, we just have to use different height adjustments. Some furniture is naturally taller or shorter anyway, making this even more useful.
 
It turns out that this table is pretty versatile and nice to have on hand. In addition to using it for holding the laptop and a mouse pad in front of the couch (which it worked terrifically for), we've also used it as a table to hold a plate and glass, our nieces have used it to color in coloring books, and it even saw some use as a nightstand holding an alarm clock and things for a while. The textured white surface washes up really easily and hasn't stained from ravioli, juice or crayons.
 
The table is surprisingly strong too. I weigh about 160 pounds and it had no trouble supporting my weight when I decided to use it as a seat one day. It felt sturdy and stable holding my weight, so I would feel comfortable putting heavy objects on it. The cross bars at the bottom of the table have thick black plastic caps securely attached to each end as well. We had hardwood flooring in the place we were living when we bought the table, and those plastic caps prevented the table from damaging the floor.
 
Overall I'm very happy with this inexpensive folding table. While we mostly use it as a stand to hold the laptop and a mouse, it's been useful for a number of other things since we've had it. We've been rough on it and it's held up admirably, and I would definitely purchase another one if I had a use for it.

Recommended: Yes