EEE & more: a generalized mini-notebook sleeve :)

[timothy]

I see lots of people (I'm one) want a brain-cell style case sized well to hold an EEE.

One idea: please don't make such a bag match the EEE to the exclusion of others which vary slightly in dimensions. I'm interested in an HP mini notebook, for instance, which is *similar* to the dimensions of the EEE but slightly larger.

In some circumstances, in fact, I'd probably want to have both my MacBook Pro *and* a mini laptop -- as a hot spare, if nothing else. That might end up being an EEE (their larger screens certainly bring up their value to me), or something else.

timothy

[timothy]

To hijack my own thread ...

In the few months since I wrote the above lonely post, the world of "teeny, and nearly teeny" notebook computers has heated up quite a bit. Now there are ... several models of the EEE, the MSI Wind, the HP Netbook, the Acer Aspire One, and various rebrandings, knock-offs, and also-mights; right now my favorites are the Aspire One (even got to play with one briefly a few weeks ago) and the yet-unreleased IdeaPad from Lenovo. And some tens of thousands of people, besides me, are now owners of OLPC XO laptops, in their green-and-white squarish glory.

Today, considering my Brain Cell (not the one in my head) and pulling from it a 15" MBP, I had the sudden thought "Hey, this huge thing could hold a subnotebook computer *and* its power supply, a spare battery, a mini mouse, a few balloons, two pens and a pencil, one slim teabag, and a couple of candy bars, too! Even if it were somewhat smaller ..." What it lacks for this job is mostly a bit of divider so keep such things from bouncing around inside there.

I'm not sure how all the notebook computer sales break down, but I do know that there are suddenly many people (sales are brisk ) with tiny laptops that are not built to the scale of most laptop luggage / gear. a brain-cell (probably a vertical one makes most sense) with a bit of internal division (and it could be more brickish, with a divider running the length of the thing, like a cheese sandwich viewed from the side, or side-by-side), would be well mated with an Ego / Super Ego (could be sized to fit in the *outside* pocket, too) or with nearly any of the others -- the buzz, the zephyr, etc. Maybe the perfect thing would be a brain cell sized to fit the 14x9 outside end pocket of an Aeronaut: that would seem a good place to target.

The MSI Wind (one of the larger of these wee beasties) is -- very close to -- 10.25 x 7.0 x 1.25. Could a sandwich be made that would a) be well and sufficiently protective b) fit into that end pocket and c) hold a computer of that size in slice-of-bread #1 AND a small bundle of neccessaries, incl. power supply, 1 small pack of gum, 3 index cards, and a USB key in slice-of-bread #2? If these slices were unequal (one padded for computer, one less so, for power supply etc), the total volume would be greater; if they were equally padded, I could see slipping a small camera in there, too.

Or maybe this is all just the insomnia talking ...

timothy

[LMennuti]

Yup, the "netbooks" are taking the world by storm.

Ever since Asus introduced the EEE, which basically invented the Netbook category...All the big players are taking notice and are all now jumping into the game.

IBM, Dell, MSI, Acer, HP, etc...They all have (or will have) an 8.9" Netbook offering, I myself just got the Asus EEE 901. As a matter of fact there's 7 different versions of the Asus 900/901 line that are in the top 20 best selling Laptops on Amazon (as of this post, it's updated hourly)!

http://forums.tombihn.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=8128

[ozone]

Actually, you can also consider something like this - a Domke "wrap"... basically a foam sheet with velcro to fasten it around anything that fits in it. I use another brand's version to wrap up some of my photo gear (an extra lens, or flash bracket, etc.) I'm sure the large version would wrap easily around a netbook sized laptop.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/16163-REG/Domke_722_19R_19_Protective_Wrap_Red_.html

[Foggy Morn]

Until Tom offers one, my Eee fits perfectly in an old Zip drive case, complete with the AC adapter.

(Though, to be honest, since I got my MBA I don't use the Eee very often. That keyboard is just too small for me.)

That HP netbook looks nice as does the MSI. It's great that we're getting so many more options nowadays.

[ozone]

Ahhh... you got the MBA? I just got an Acer Aspire One. I am, well, underwhelmed.

[thax]

I have a few

There have been more than a few of these threads in here (too lazy to search and link) but I personally feel that Tom & Co. have their hands full with the Checkpoint Flyer and Synapse at the moment.
I would love to see a TB Netbook specific bag in the future, so toss my vote in with the rest.

<ramble on>
I have a Fujitsu U810 (which I am on now), Asus EEE 701, and the XP Acer Aspire One (battery died 10 min ago). Not to mention MacBook and work Thinkpad T61 notebooks.
So far I have been making my own cases since the ones they come with are bad (Acer), or not at all (Fujitsu).
One of the folks around here had a small padded Cafe Bag to test but that was back in June thereabouts.
The Ristretto is nice but may be a little big for some of the smaller Netbooks as it is Macbook Air sized.

I tend to carry both the U810 and the Aspire One with all my other gear in my Super Ego, but that includes lunch and gym clothes :-) .

</ramble off>

thax

[ozone]

Which netbook or UMPC do you prefer?

So thax... I gotta ask... which of your devices do you prefer the most? Is there one that out does the others under certain situations? Thanks.

[thax]

Well...
Sorry for the belated response.
I really like the speed and performance of the Aspire One. But the battery on it is a problem. When that 6 cell battery comes out it will fix the one thing wrong with it, >2 hour battery life.
I find myself on the Fujitsu U810 a lot when I am on the patio or out and about as it is tiny (1.5 lbs). Plus it has ~5 hour battery life, so that doesn't hurt.
But the U810 was 900 dollars and the Aspire One was 350.
Compound that with the Aspire One's Atom CPU which is much better than the Intel A110 in the U810 performance wise. The Aspire One has a great keyboard, not the Barbie sized keys on the U810 (which also has a touch screen for inking which is fun).
The EEE 701 I don't really use after getting the Acer except to test some stuff in linux, that 800x480 screen is just too small.

So alll in all the netbook Acer is the best bang for your buck, the U810 is a great uber compact UMPC and the OG netbook EEE is outclassed by the Atom.
I guess I could have just said that without the rambling :-)

thax

[mrae]

I haven't bought mine yet so I don't need a sleeve. But I thought I'd seen one here.
It's the size 7 braincell. It fits the aspire one and the asus eee 700 among others.
I have an 6 cell aspire on order but am going to cancel it. Too many seem to have battery problems or stop functioning. A friend is selling me his used eee linux 700 which will do what I need.