I certainly don't know what the other reviewers expected...it's a T.V. Tray for Chrissake ! That said, I love this thing. First the basics: Pros: Lightweight, Very easy to adjust, Folds flat for easy storage. Cons: Ugly. Wish it came in "designer colors." A bit expensive given the materials and design...
Actually I just bought my second Tablemate II (at Bed, Bath & Beyond) after having my first one about a year. This way I can put a large art book on one and my laptop on the other and angle them accordingly for easy reference. The TMII places my laptop at the perfect angle for writing long essays and now, my dissertation. Some people here complain that it bends after heavy use, but I haven't encountered this despite setting various very heavy things on it over the course of a year. I really like it more than I thought I would (It looked pretty cheesy on T.V. and even in person at BB&B). I gave it a try and am more than satisfied. It slides up very close to me even if I am sitting in a deep chair. I tried a similar tray from Walgreens but it was super heavy and had a profile that did not allow it to be pulled in as close. Plus, the Walgreens' one was made of out pressboard coated with contact paper that looked very cheap and like it would disintegrate with the first good cleaning. Also, it would only support 15 pounds. The Tablemate II is very easy to clean, and thus, I bet it would be great for kids too. In short it works for all of my needs and I can only imagine that the other people here thought they were buying something more high-fallutin than a T.V. Tray. It is what it is. And it is a huge improvement design-wise over those trays of yore with their bad, pseudo-Fantin-Latour flower stencils and spindley, X-crossed, faux-gold-toned aluminum legs my parents had! I am in my comfy chair and using it as a support for my laptop right now as I type this !
