Good news!
I called a friend of mine yesterday, and I asked her if she knew anything about the Aerolatte hand-held frother. Because she buys all sorts of gadgets (from catalogs, Internet, etc.), I actually wasn't surprised when she told me that she has one.
She described it as "a handy little thing that really works". She uses it to froth up milk for all sorts of things.
One thing that she said was that the milk has to be cold in order for it to really froth up. It more than doubles in volume in the container that you're frothing in, so you should use a tall cup or bowl. Skim milk or low fat milk foams up best. If you froth it long enough, it looks like whipped topping. She makes it like that when she puts it on her daughter's hot chocolate instead of whipped cream.
You can froth the milk after it has been warned in the microwave, but it doesn't hold the foam very long. You can also froth up whole milk or half and half as long as it's really cold, but it takes longer and it also doesn't hold the foam as long as the skim or 1% milk does.
You can make the cold milk froth first and then warm it quickly in the microwave before putting it on your coffee. If you warm it too much, it will go flat real fast.
It supposedly doesn't take long to get the hang of using the Aerolatte.
Just be sure you use a tall enough container, or you will splash the milk as you froth it.
Also be sure to put the end of the frothing wand into the milk before turning it on (or you will definitely splash the milk as you froth it).
My friend also uses the Aerolatte to get the lumps out of home made gravy, to blend instant hot chocolate mix with the water, and to scramble eggs before making an omlet....so if you don't end up using the Aerolatte to foam milk, you can always use it for other things.
I hope this helps.
Rose