I am reviewing the booq Taipan Lift ($89.95 – $99.95) by using it during my quick trip to San Francisco for TeleNav’s Waypoint. It is a briefcase style laptop bag which, to be quite honest, isn’t my preference. (I tend to like messenger bags and backpacks.) Having just gone through airport security, however, I am totally sold on this bag for travel. There are, in fact, three specific design aspects of it that have already come in rather handy.

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I tend to be a huge fan of notebook bags and cases. I carry my MacBook Pro with me most days and, as result, having a good, usable bag is important to me. Having a usable, well organized, high-quality bag that is also good looking is a bonus. And, thanks to my work here on Gear Diary, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know a number of superb companies and their products. One of my favorites is booq. Their cases are stylish, superbly designed and great to use. I have been using one of their newest — the booq Taipan Shadow. It looks like a relatively simple messenger bag but it is incredibly well designed and built. I’m really enjoying it. Let’s take a look.

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Everki recently supplied me with the Beacon Laptop Backpack w/Gaming Console Sleeve to review. Since school started back up, I have spent the past few weeks using it as my main gear bag.  I am pleased with the style and ruggedness of the backpack with daily use; I am able to comfortably carry all of my gear and it is comfortable and looks great.

Find out the particulars after the break…

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The first TSA-Friendly check-through bags were effective at getting you through security with your notebook quickly, but some were sorely lacking in the style department. Booq’s new Taipan lift covers the function AND style departments while also providing an effective way to stay organized on the go.

The Taipan lift can open 180 degrees. This means you may be able to move through airport security without having to remove your laptop. At the same time, Booq’s unique two-button feature creates a 30 degree opening that makes it easy to grab interior items while on the go without having to stop to open the whole bag. This allows you to access the contents quickly and easily. Booq includes a zippered trolley handle pass-through that allows the Taipanto slide over the handle of your rolling luggag. This leaves you a free hand to carry additional items. Moreover, the Taipan lift slides easily under the airline seat keeping you out of the battle for overhead compartment space.

In other words, the Taipan lift is a bag that is built for travel.

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Speck can always be counted on to provide stylish cases for all your electronics. With the boatload of new releases at CES, plus all the products released this past fall, Speck is ready to help you carry and protect your gear! Check out their press release with it’s exhaustive list of accessory releases, and start budgeting for cases as well as awesome new toys!
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All sorts of great gadgets are being announced this week! But when you inevitably load up with chargers, a laptop, your new ereader, two smartphones and a hard drive, how are you going to carry it? (Hint: Cargo Pants are not the answer)

Targus has you covered with two new laptop cases. Whew! now you don’t need to practice awkward juggling! Full press release and details after the break. Continue Reading

Of all the laptop bags that I have reviewed over the years, and I can’t even tell you how many dozens there have been (possibly hundreds?), I can only remember having a perfect stranger approach me to compliment my bag twice: once for the ACME Made Courier, and the other time for this bag – the Waterfield Muzetto.

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We recently released the introduction of the Camber Netbook Case-Sling from Everki (you can read the release here).  Everki was kind enough to supply a Camber for me to review.  This new case is super compact fitting netbooks up to 13″.  The product is slightly too small to hold a 13″ MacBook Pro (they actually are 13.3″), but a version to accommodate the macbook is in the works for 2010.  As the computing devices we use get smaller, so do the ways we carry them.  See how the Camber stacks up after the break.

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Tom Bihn is a company I have been following for a while now, ever since Judie reviewed the Aeronaut when she was still at The Gadgeteer.  Tom Bihn is not only based right here in the United States, they make their bags in the US, which is a rarity among bag manufacturers.  When Tom Bihn let me know about their new Synapse backpack, I jumped at a chance to review it.

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Almost all of us are super mobile with our gadgets, especially computers.  If you are like me, you travel everywhere with a laptop or netbook.  Protecting the device is huge issue.  EVERKI’s netbook case/sling provides hard shell protection plus much more.  Fit a netbook or laptop up to 13″ into this multi-use case.  Check out the product release and video of it in action after the break.

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As a female technologist, trying to walk the fine line between technical utility and female fashionability has always been difficult.  How are you supposed to look fashionable when you are up to your neck in network cabling and server parts?  It just doesn’t work.  The way I am able to do it?  I accessorize. While I cant do it with jewelry (it gets caught or magnetized), I can do it with the kind of bags I carry to work.  I tend to carry a flamboyant patterned tote bag and a sleek backpack for all my needs.  So, when these new bags from BUILT with designs from the famed Alexander Girard showed up in the Gear Diary mailbox, I just had to mention them.

For those who are unaware, Alexander Girard was a famous designer who contributed to the American design landscape by creating colorful textiles to drape over the sleek lines of modern day furniture.   And now, that famous aesthetic has made its way to a line of bags, sleeves and cases.

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be.ez: LA robe Netbook has announced a new collection of protective New sleeves. Made from shock absorbing memory foam the sleeves both protect and add “flair” to netbooks. The sleeves come in three different sizes and an assortment of colors.

Priced at $19.99 they are available at online retailers such as Amazom.com. For more information visit the be-ez website.

To quote Groucho Marx, “Say the secret word and win $100.”  But in the case of our friends over at Skooba Design, the secret code on their new blog is the real surprise.

The idea is to read over their blog, and find a secret code they have embedded somewhere on the site.  If you find it and use it, you will get 50% off one of their five best sellers (listed below).

This is a good time to get that laptop or netbook bag you have always wanted.  Or how about that Christmas gift for the “geek” in your life?

We hear at Gear Diary are big fans of Skooba Design, having reviewed their bags in the past, owned several, and hey, we even have them as a sponsor.

So put on your detective hats and break out the magnifiers, find the code and get a great Christmas surprise.

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Known for their great designs and significant device protection, Booq has announced their latest messenger bag. The Taipan shadow is a compact and Lightweight messenger bag that is intended for everyday use.

Featuring a sleek exterior, the bag conceals a spacious well-padded interior that will help gear both organized and protected.

The bag comes in S (13” Mac/PC), M (15” Mac/PC) and XL (17” Mac/PC) and prices start at $79.95.

More information at www.booqbags.com. The full release follows
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This is the first time I have been on an airplane in almost a year, but is the first of a series of trips I will be taking in the next two months. Therefore it was a good opportunity for me to get a better sense of what gear is currently best for me when going from place to place with airline travel in between. My writing on Gear Diary affords me a rather wide selection from which to choose, which is both a blessing and a curse. The upside – I have a wide selection of devices from which to choose, so I can pick the ones that work best for me while traveling. The downside – I have a wide selection of devices from which to choose, and ultimately I have to make choices.

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