And so this odd gagdet from ThermalTake made its way to our lab. It is what you see, an 80mm fan placed on a stand and powered by connecting to USB port.
Here’s the package content.
This is the fan itself, it comes with either black or white.
The unit allows you to adjust the fan RPM to the speed and noise level of your liking.
Here’s the other side of the base where the USB cable is connected to. It’s a pity that it doesn’t use Micro USB.
The base also has a hinge, allowing you to angle the fan. Perhaps you prefer the fan to be angled at your face instead of your palm.
Here’s the USB cable.
User Experience
Interestingly, the main feature that’s highlighted in the official product page is “– A powerful portable desktop fan cools off sweaty hands.”
😀
Alternatively you could use it as an auxiliary cooling unit for your computer, you could also use it to help cool your notebook PC, assuming the ventilation area does actually work with the movement of air.
At full arm length I could feel a slight breeze caressing my face but that’s when the fan is at full RPM, needless to say it’s not at a noise level that I’m willing to tolerate. Setting it to lowest of course makes it tolerable but not as silent as I hoped for, the air flow is much reduced and you could feel it up to about 20cm distance or so.
The Mobile Fan III’s base comes with 2 reasonably sized rubber padding for sturdy placement. Overall the build quality is good and the fan comes with grill for protection. If it tickles your fancy, you may even change the 80mm fan to something you think serves you better, like say an 80mm fan with better air flow vs RPM, or perhaps one with lights.
It’s a very niche product, I feel that it’s actually most useful during times of blackout. The Mobile Fan III runs on PowerBank too! So if you’re facing a blackout, just hope that you have a powerbank that’s fully charged and that should last you quite a few hours. 😀
The Verdict
The ThermalTake Mobile Fan III retails at around RM 70, not exactly cheap when you consider the price of an 80mm fan and a USB cable doesn’t cost much. It’s not a product that’s great to show off and seeing the niche nature the Mobile Fan III – it’s difficult to picture it being part of anyone’s shopping-list.
Good try though, ThermalTake!