The purple striped messenger style bag is split into two compartments: one side for carrying your laptop, and one side for your miscellaneous objects. The interior of the bag is padded with a soft felt material so you know your computer isn’t going to get damaged or scratched. Even the divider between compartments is made of this soft padded fabric to protect your laptop from whatever you may have shoved in the neighboring compartment. Once I eased my 15″ full sized Sony laptop into the computer carrying compartment, I secured it in place with the stretchy velcro strap that goes over the opening of the compartment. The strong velcro strap made me feel like the laptop wasn’t going to fall out if the bag turned upside down while under my seat on the bus. The other compartment of the bag is also lightly padded and features a zippered pocket for carrying smaller doo dads. So now comes the truth test: is the extra compartment going to fit the magazine, power cords, and various stuff that I like to shove in my laptop bag? The answer is: sort of. One of the benefits of the case is that it’s pretty slim so you’re not going to feel like you’re carrying around some huge bulky bag. The downside to this is that I might have to pack lighter! That being said, the second compartment fit various loose papers, a magazine, my power cord, and a wireless mouse. It was a tight squeeze but definitely doable.

So the bag is completely packed to the gills, and I’m ready to close it up and get going. Both internal compartments load from the top and the bag has a quilted fold over flap that closes the bag shut. The flap connects to the bag with Velcro and has the added security of a small buckle to make sure that nothing falls out if the bag is shifted. The Velcro is a great feature for when you’re in a rush and forget to completely buckle your laptop in — you know that your papers and doo dads aren’t going to be all over the floor because the flap will stay in place. On the front of the bag but hidden under the flap when the bag is closed, are three compartments for storing your cell phone, extra papers, or whatever else you may need to carry. The bag also features a mesh side pocket, which held my water bottle securely in place.

 

There’s two ways you can carry this bag: one is across your body messenger style. The other is just to carry it on your shoulder like a shoulder bag. Unlike a normal horizontal messenger bag, this bag has a vertical orientation, so if it’s packed really tightly or if the strap is set to the wrong length, you may feel a little awkward carrying it. This can be easily fixed by adjusting the lengths of the straps. If you decide to carry it across your body or on your shoulder, the weight was pretty well distributed and I was thankful for the super padded shoulder strap. The padded strap relieved that “I just traveled on a bus for five hours” ache that is usually incurred with a standard bag. During the trip when I was reaching for my bag, I was happy to find that there is a tuck away carrying handle, perfect when reaching for the bag underneath your seat or just for added briefcase style portability.

When carrying my laptop is normally a huge burden, I felt much relieved when carrying it in this Speck PortPack Shoulder Bag. Almost an afterthought, the laptop’s weight was well distributed across my body and I had no problem carrying the bag around along with my luggage and purse. Well made and durable, I can see the case being my go-to laptop carrying case in many future trips.

The Good:
-Extremely well made and durable
-Combination of Velcro and buckles made me feel confident that my laptop wouldn’t fall out
-Added carrying handle made the trip feel that much easier when reaching for the bag under my seat
-Super thick padded shoulder strap for comfortable carrying

The Bad:
-Vertical orientation makes the bag a little more awkward than a normal horizontal orientation messenger bag
-With a 15″ laptop, it’s a very tight squeeze to use the bag’s additional compartment

iLuv Pink iPad Sleeve

If you are into pink, then this iPad sleeve is just what your fashion advisor ordered. A bold paisley and flower pattern decorate this cute pink iPad sleeve made by iLuv. Not a lot of details or specifications are available for it on the website, but it appears to be neoprene and have two external pockets for keeping all your accessories close by your side. iLuv lists it for $19.99.

M Edge iPad Hip Bag

What better way to compliment your new iPad sleeve than with a trendy iPad hip bag from M Edge. It is simple and trendy, made from ScotchGuard treated canvas and a micro fiber interior with double stitched seams to keep what’s inside in, and what’s outside out. This messenger styled bag is available in five beautiful colors from black, apple green, orange, magenta, to navy blue. It comes with a sturdy shoulder strap and has two easy to reach pockets on the outside. Yet to be released, there is no pricing info available on this bag.

Belkin Vue, Max and Grip Sleeves

Belkin is already offering up a selection of sleek and modern iPad sleeves that sport a minimalistic aesthetic. These cases are perfect for slipping into your bag. The Vue, Max and Grip sleeves each will retail for $39.99 and are available in several PlumViolet or Black/White.

Griffin FlexiGrip

Although not the most fabulous of cases, the FlexGrip is practical in the way that it wraps your iPad in a durable silicon material to protect it from scratches, and dents. The case manages to leave access to all of the iPad’s ports and it’s available in 4 colors including blue, white, black and purple.

Handmade iPad Accessories for Girls on Etsy

A great place to look for handmade and custom iPad cases, covers, and sleeves is in the famous online craft marketplace Etsy.com. This site allows artistically inclined individuals from around the world share and sell their unique hand crafted creations online. While big companies like Griffin, Scosche, and Belkin are already announcing their iPad accessories, the crafty people at Etsy are busy designing their own as well. What would you rather have? The iPad case that 10,000 other people are buying, or a one off unique handmade piece of art? Of course, you can search on Etsy for your own, but here’s a few of our favorites:

Bergenbag’s Pretty Traveler iPad Bag

This is a very cute iPad purse that will work great for a netbook or iPad. A beautiful floral print with a root-beer velvet ribbon trim, this bag has tons of attention to detail. It’s got plenty of storage space with two outside pockets and two inside pockets as well. The soft black quilted interior will keep your iPad tablet snug as a bug in a rug… whatever that means. Sized out at 10″ x 12″ it won’t be too bulky either. It’s got a magnetic snap to close it, which is great because velcro closures often wear out with time. Priced at $30.00.

iSockit Wigman Vintage iPad Case

We love the vintage look of this bag, and we love the vintage trend that many accessories are taking. As technology moves forwards, fashion is looking to the past more and more for inspiration. And for good reason! This bag is classically beautiful. Using real vintage wool plaid fabric and vintage buttons, this iPad case is the real deal. In fact, the only new materials used were on the padding to protect your tablet. Each one of these is a one off masterpiece, hand sewn from vintage hand picked fabrics. Between the bold colors, the adorable offset button closure, and the cute external pocket, we are big fans of this iPad case! Priced at $65.00 A bit pricey, but fashion nobody said fashion was cheap!

iMaxi with Wings iPad Case

Ok, well everybody knows the the iPad sounds like certain feminine products of which we are all familiar. Online jokes and comics abound about it, and apparently some accessory makers have a good sense of humor as well. Introducing the iMaxi with wings iPad Case. I’m pretty sure I would never EVER buy this, but it is pretty hilarious! We’re just going to quote the seller description here because it says it all:

With its durable vinyl outer layer and plush, quilted-cotton sleeve, the iMaxi helps keep your iPad clean and dry. Plus, the iMaxi’s Velcro-latched, advanced wing design wraps snugly around your device, so your iPad always stays where it should. Best of all, it shields it from all those unsightly and embarrassing data leaks that would make any motherboard worry!

It’s the perfect one-of-a-kind embarrassing gift for the Apple geek in your life! Don’t be caught letting your iPad show!

They are selling these for $30.00, and they come in a variety of colors from funny to scandalous…

Of  course, there will be many many more trendy and stylish iPad cases, sleeves, bags, and more coming out soon. Stay tuned for more updates and full reviews!

February has been an exciting month in the world of technology as we’ve experienced the joys of Mobile World Congress and viewed an obscene number of handsets, some of which will make it to our shores in the next year. Add to that the furor of the first ever London Fashion weeks show being filmed in 3D and we’re feeling extremely stylish as well as techie- a trend we’re noticing that designers are involving themselves in.

Augmented Reality Magic Tee for the Under Fives
Augmented reality seems to be the word on everyone’s lips at the moment, whether they’re talking about the latest AR greetings card , or just how this technology is going to change the world. Well the Brights & Stripes clothing company has taken this onboard and created something that appeals to the youth market. I’m talking about the rather sweetly named Magic Tee, which is suitable for kids ages 0-5 years old. The Magic Tee comes in four colors, emblazoned with little rainbows all over it. This T-shirt allows the user to directly interact with their computer and play with something they’ve called ‘The Rainbow Story’.  When the child stands in front of the webcam wearing the Magic Tee a 3D animated weather story starts to unfold, with the movements of the arms creating wind and rain.
Whilst the technology used may not be that new, I’m very impressed that Brights & Stripes are catering to such a young market, as the implications for how tech-savvy the children of the future will be has just taken one huge step forward.
To see the Magic Tee in action they’ve helpfully created a video for us (see below)

Samsung i8520 Beam
Just when you think they can’t make phone any more interesting, along comes one which blows our preconceptions out of the water. Now that we’re used to mobiles with incredibly high megapixels, Xenon flashes and Zeiss lenses, how do you manage to impress a rather jaded tech journalist? Slap on a Pico projector, that’s how. Samsung have integrated a Pico projector into their latest handset to allow you to project images and movies onto any flat service. This will revitalize how we view photos on our phones as who would want to stare at images on a (admittedly not so piddling) 3.7 inch AMOLED screen when they can view them at in a lovely 40 inch capacity? We saw Nikon introduce this feature onto their S1000pj  camera, and the fact that this has now entered the mobile market, shows just how much the mobile and camera field are merging together.
There’s more to the phone than just this gimmick though as it also features an 8 megapixel camera, 3.5mm jack and the Android 2.1 operating system. It comes with 16GB of internal storage, expandable via MicroSD and full Bluetooth and 3G functionality. It has a potential on counter date of Q3 this year for Europe, and looks like this device may be key in making owning a separate camera redundant.

The Puma Phone
Puma has a long history of being heavily involved in the sporting world, and now they’re turning their expertise into the phone market., Don’t worry, they’re not totally out of their depth as they’ve teamed up with Sagem Wireless for the technical know how. What they’re offering is a 2.8 inch touchscreen that features a 3.2 megapixel camera and the usual Bluetooth and 3G connectivity. What we’re more excited about though is the sporting angle of the phone as it comes with a built in pedometer, bike and running tracking, and rather unusually, a yachting compass. Just don’t drop it overboard, as they don’t say anything about waterproofing features.
They’re suggesting that the user experience will revolve around the live feeds of sporting news that will be integrated into the phone, but we’re rather more enchanted by the hefty solar panel that’s stuck to the back of the device. Could the days of multiple chargers and tangled wires be numbered? Just how much sun is needed to charge the phone is sadly undocumented, but we have hope that this rather large panel could come in very useful, Then again, sun in London? Who are we kidding?
Out soon, with the price currently TBD.

Lingerie Designer Chantal Thomass Creates iPhone Cases and USB stick
The amount of designer/tech collaborations has never been higher with everyone from Porsche to Vivienne Tam getting on the tech bandwagon and producing limited edition pieces that are very covetable. The latest designer to join this party is Chantal Thomass, a French lingerie designer. She has brought her knowledge of silk panties sand corsetry to play here with these rather delicious looking mobile phone accessories.
Keeping to her favourite colour palette of black and pink, we are offered a rubber iPhone case with her traditional lace embroidery and a key shaped USB stick that doubles as a necklace. Her collection is ultra feminine without falling into the sickly twee girly category, and the embellishments such as suede bows and velveteen ribbons really give it that je na sais quoi (well she is French after all).

Trekkies Set New World Record for Largest Gathering in Costume
Valentine’s Day is traditionally either spent with a loved one or staving off suicide with vodka shots in seedy bars. Getting dressed in full Star Trek regalia for a 10am meetup tends to be rather low on the list of priorities, but for hardcore Trekkies, it was an opportunity to show the world that Star Trek is their amour of choice. London’s Millennium bridge was the arranged meeting point, and Guinness World Record judges counted 99 fans in full regalia.
The event was organized by Namco Bandai in order to promote the launch of the MMO Star Trek online,  but it was still impressive to see the amount of effort people put into their costumes, and the fact that cosplay is making it into mainstream awareness. Now that cosplay gatherings are officially worthy of a world record, it will be interesting to see what other displays get arranged, and just how wacky the participants get with their outfits.
[via Inc Gamers ]

Burberry Showcases Their Catwalk in 3D
February has been a big month for 3D broadcasts in the UK as we’ve seen SKY broadcast a  football match in 3D and now the fashion world is lining up for their turn. London Fashion week has been making headlines once more, and this time it’s not just for the desirable clothes on the runway. They’re entering the techsphere head on, by allowing all the shows to stream online, so they’re available to those who don’t possess Vogue credentials. The digital schedule is showing all the shows as and when they go live, meaning that many an office worker can kill time by checking out the latest House of Holland collection.
It opens up Fashion Week to a global audience, and also allows the consumer to feel more involved. Burberry is taking this digital inspiration to a whole new level with the launch of the first ever catwalk show in 3D. Their show (broadcast on the 23rd Feb) streams in 2D as usual, but will also be available in select venues in 3D. Special venues around the world will host 3D showings of the runway, and fashionistas worldwide will have to somehow adjust to wearing those not so flattering 3D glasses.
Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s chief creative officer, said: “We are very excited we are hosting the first ever truly global fashion show. 3D technology will bring our global audience into the London show space allowing them to see the colours and fabrics, to hear the music and to be a part of that moment when it all finally comes together.”

Canon IXUS 130

Face and smile detection have been around for a while but the news of wink detection software brought a smile to my face. Canon have been researching new ways to make cameras more user friendly, and have come up with the ‘wink’ idea in order to play into the market of people who enjoy messing around with their photos. Previous face detection software used to focus on distance between facial features, but the developers of newest wink feature actually look at how the face crinkles up when it smiles or winks- a rather revolutionary way of creating technology.
The camera itself is a pretty impressive piece of kit, with more modes than you’ll know what to do with, including fisheye, miniature mode for tilt-shift photography and pets/food etc.
It also has 14.1 megapixels, a 2.7 inch LCD screen and a 5x optical zoom that can record video in 720p. Phew, if that wasn’t enough the face detection software can also be programmed to recognize 335 faces   at once which you can store on the internal memory. They’ve also added a nice feature- the Face Self Timer which is triggered 2 seconds after you add yourself to the frame, so you better be quick at running around.
£280 from Play.