I recently reviewed Shinnoire’s custome iPhone Leather Flip Case.  I had a lot of fun selecting my personal color choices for the case.  It’s not often you get to pick and choose the exact colors which will go into your case and then have it personally hand crafted.

Shinnorie offers the same level of customization for their bags as well and I was also allowed to custom build a laptop bag for review.

The bag I had built is their Skinny Slim Bag.  It’s a slim bag good for short trips, daily commutes to and from work or meetings.  The bag is built from a stain resistant nylon covered EVA hard shell and is generously padded with foam lining.

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How many times have you said to yourself, “if I could make my own phone case or lap top bag, here’s how I’d do it…..”

Well alkr, a new company is doing just that.  They bill themselves as not only marketing and design folks but first and foremost “gadget freaks”.

After traveling the globe and seeing countless plain jane, boring bags they decided lap top cases could use a little more excitement.

The company is getting set to release its very first offering in the form of a colorful new line of lap top cases designed to fit 13″ or 15″ lap tops.  The case comes comes made from 3mm of neoprene cushioned with a soft fleece lining and uses a heavy duty zipper with closed seem construction.

The sleeves will available on November 21st with iPhone cases coming later in the year.

You can check out the entire line here.

I’ve never heard of Bolt Bags before, but they have brought out a new line of bags specifically for the netbook crowd.  They have enough room for your power cord, a mouse and a few other things that you might need when on the go with your netbook along.  One of the Bolt Bag styles that reminds me of a bowling ball bag, hence the name Bowler Bag; it’s available in Black or Olive.  The Chic Bag is available in Dark Teal.  All three are available on Amazon for $24.00

I’m a huge fan of Speck’s various cases. On any given day there is likely to be a Speck case on my iPhone or my iPod touch and there is always a Speck shell on my MacBook Pro. I like the companies approach to design which, for the most part, is rather minimalist while offering superb protection and full accessibility to the device in question. Turns out, the company also makes some pretty slick bags for carrying your gear. They were kind enough to send me a review unit of their PortPack. I’ve been using it for a few days now and am rather impressed. Let’s take a look.

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I recently jumped back into the world of netbooks. Mostly I wanted something on which to use Windows 7. So I tried a number of them running the new OS and settle on the Toshiba NB205. A bit of surgery and the diminutive machine now has 2GB of RAM and an SSD drive. It runs rather well and gets 8-9 hours on a single charge. Now if only I had a way to easily carry it since my other bags are designed for much larger notebooks…

Thankfully Skooba has me covered with a new line of bags especially designed for netbooks. The Netbook Messenger Bag has 20 pockets, holds netbooks with up to 10 inch screens and weighs just 24 ounces. At 14×12 x 3 inches in size it is large enough to carry what you need but small enough to travel lightly.

The MSRP of the bag is just $49.95. Details and more images can be found on the Skooba website. The full Press Release follows.

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It is not a so-well-kept secret that I travel quite a bit for my day job. While 2009 has seen a slow down in travel for me, I still will easily make my American Airlines Platinum status for the 4th year in a row. As a reminder to everyone: Airline status is not something to be proud of. It means that you spend too much time on airplanes and that you know exactly which seats and rows have power outlets… but I digress. Since September 11, 2001 the single biggest challenge with air travel has not necessarily been the airlines but the security process you have to go through in order to get to your gate. I’m not complaining – security has kept us from having any significant airline issues since 9/11 – but it can be challenging, especially for seasoned travelers.

Normally when you go through the security checkpoint at the airport you are required to remove your laptop from your bag and put it in a seperate tray in order to be x-rayed amongst the other things you have to removed from your person – shoes, belts, etc. For most this is not that big of a deal but for people who have a lot of stuff in their bag along with their computer, it can take a minute or so to get the computer out of the bag and onto the belt. Meanwhile, the seasoned travelers are tapping their toe behind you waiting impatiently.

To help solve this challenge of travel, Skooba Designs has released a wide range of bags they refer to as their Checkthrough series. This series of bags are approved by the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) for allowing your computer to remain in the bag and be x-rayed. It is a tremendous time saver, especially on those days when the airport security is exceptionally busy. Skooba Designs was kind enough to send me the Checkthrough Roller bag for this review and after several trips with it I have to say it is a winner. Not only does it help you get through security checkpoints but it is a roomy and functional roller bag.

The Skooba Checkthrough Roller Bag

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Booq is introducing a new computer case- The Viper rush. The Viper rush is a semi-rigid work-in laptop case. It is made from high density foam and offers a high degree of protection.

As a “work-in bag” it opens about 120 degrees to provide in-bag access to the machine. That means you can open the bag, get some work done and then pack up again in seconds. It isn’t JUST a work-in bag, though. Lightweight, protective, roomy enough for basic accessories, the bag is a great daily bag whether you use the work-in feature or not.

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Shinnorie makes high end, fully customizable cases for the iPhone as well as laptop bags.  They are currently running two promotions which I thought you might want to check out.

First, if you purchase any bag from the Shinnorie web site you get yourself any item from their Element Line of cell phone cases for free.  This includes cases for the iPhone, LG, HTC, Samsung, Blackberry, and Nokia, all of which can be custom designed down to the last stitch.

Second, if you purchase a case from the Element Line you can buy a second Element case for half price.

Oh and did I mention Shinnorie offers free world wide shipping?

These are amazing deals and ones worth a look.

Check them out on the Shinnorie web site here.

I. Am. A. Mobile. Computing. User… Period.

I live for converged devices, laptops, netbooks, and data on the go. I’ve got unlimited data on my Smartphone account; and have tethered my laptop to my phone when I need to be online in a pinch. When I travel, I need to take it with me; and when it comes to airport security, I dread the TSA required aerobics and mandatory disrobing… Thankfully, to help make things easier, Skooba Design has created the CheckThrough Backpack.  Let’s take a quick look to see how (and if) this thing makes traveling easier…

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I’ve never been a huge backpack fan. Instead, I have always been partial to messenger-type bags such as the Acme Courier Judie and I both reviewed a few months ago.

The H.A.L. Backpack from Timbuk2 may just change that. It is versatile, well-designed and pretty impressive! Let’s take a look.

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Sydney Australia based STM Bags introduces the Scout laptop bag. Key features are simplicity and rugged exterior with a felt lined and padded interior. The Medium Scout features a simple one buck fastener and plenty of pockets internally for the stray chargers and connectors that mobile users accumulate. More photos after the jump. Continue Reading

Need a bag to help you zip through airline security? Well if you believe in miracles you might check out this Targus 16″ Zip-Thru – on sale for $32 (normally $80). Features leather-wrapped handles, an ergonomic, non-slip shoulder strap, and a trolley strap for attaching to rolling luggage. Great for the HP HDX16t Premium Laptop also on sale for $749 at over 50% off.

Targus 16″ Zip-Thru via GearSponsor Logicbuy (Daily Deal Site)

It’s Back To School Time! That means one thing – Back To School Shopping. But not everyone is made of money or has older kids that need all the top of the line stuff that Time Magazine seems to think is needed in their Back to School Tech List for Wealthy Spoiled Students. Those of us with younger kids know that the one annual essential item is a backpack. Honestly I don’t know how my kids aren’t both walking like hunchbacks with all the papers, books and bottles of water they pack into theirs. The ugly secret of backpacks is they’re usually only good for one season (I’ve found this true even with the expensive LL Bean models). So instead of buying the high end overpriced backpacks – I tend to keep my eyes open for deals like this Wilson Youth Backpack. Made of tough 600 Denier and with two front pockets, 2 side sleeves for water bottles and adjustable padded straps. You can grab one today for $7.99 shipped – which is about 1/2 the price of any decent backpack I’ve spotted elsewhere.

Wilson Youth Backpack $7.99 shipped via FatWallet

As a huge fan of Tom Bihn, I read and follow the company blog.  Doing that, I pick up interesting tidbits…tidbits like the picture above.  This is of the Synapse backpack that Tom is currently working on.  It’s specifically for netbooks, as it is a very small bag measuring in at 15 inches tall, 11 inches wide, and only 7.9 inches thick.

The current estimate on when it will be shipping is around the late September to October time frame.  No word on price.  Head on over to Tom Bihn’s forums to chat about the Synapse!

I’ve just received the welcome news that Skooba Design is introducing two new Checkpoint friendly bags to their Checkthrough collection: the Checkthrough Roller and the Checkthrough Backpack. Both are designed so that you can leave your laptop in the bag when passing through Airport security, and both look pretty darn good!

Let’s peek…

Checkthrough Backpack

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