At CES 2010, Logitech unveiled its latest laptop accessory, the Lapdesk N700. With built-in speakers and laptop fan, this piece of hardware does it all for laptop gamers.

Your legs are on fire. Your ears strain to hear the orders of your commander. Just when you’re about to enter the melee against your hated enemy, everything goes dark.

Does this sound familiar?

No, we’re not talking about some sort of foreign battlefield. This is what many gamers experience when they’re playing MMOs on their laptop. Blazing hot batteries, insufficient speaker systems, and overheating graphics cards often lead to lackluster performance.

So we then have to trudge our way back to the anchor known as our desktop, plop ourselves back in the semi-comfortable desk chair, and try to resurrect our moods for the evening.

Enter Logitech’s latest PC accessory, the Speaker Lapdesk N700, which sports integrated stereo speakers, a built-in fan and a wide padded base. I can hear all of your groans now; there’ve been a number of laptop pads on the market for years… what’s so different about this one?

To start, the only plug required to operate the N700 is a simple USB drive, which powers the fan and speakers. The fan, unlike many lap accessories, has ports in the rear and bottom, allowing for airflow to remain unobstructed in most positions… unless you like to play hide and seek with your laptop, of course. The fan is quiet, but with the built-in high-definition speakers with 2-inch high-performance neodymium drivers, you can be assured that your guild leader’s voice will be blaring loud and clear. On the rear of the lapdesk are two bass enhancement cones, which up the pounding of that beat if you’re an audiophile like me.

Soft, textile pads are tightly connected to the bottom of the N700, and the wide stance (20.7 inches) of the accessory makes it easy to keep on your legs. Finally, the inclination of the lapdesk keeps screen viewing easy, even if you’re lounging on the couch. On top of all that, the entire product is incredibly lightweight (4.2 pounds), making it easy to pack with you when you’re moving from room to room. The PR representative who introduced the lapdesk to us at CES noted that she never separates her laptop from the product, simply because there’s no reason to do so.

Although most of us are accustomed to purchasing Logitech products that directly influence our gaming inputs – mice, keyboards, etc. – the Logitech Lapdesk N700 could potentially give you more comfort than any combination of accessories ever could. The N700 isn’t cheap – at printing it’s priced at $79.99 – but it may well be worth it for gamers who want to take their raids to the sofa.