Taking it on the road - a quick look at
a couple cases made by Sumdex for your iBook.
By Ted Bade
Part I of 3, Part 2 will appear Next
Wednesday. 8/16 and Part 3 on 8/23
Part I - the iBrief
You probably bought your iBook for its
portability as well as for other things, like - "Its a
Mac, it works and its fun". Even though it's portable and
sports a handy handle, taking it on longer trips without
a case can be awkward. Sumdex
offers the iBrief a "Laptop" case designed with the
iBooks color schemes in mind. The iBrief appears to be
well constructed and look really cool!
The iBrief is designed like a typical
laptop case. Shoulder strap, handle grips, and lots of
pockets and zippers to organize things. What makes it
special are the color schemes, they come in all the iBook
colors: Tangerine, Blueberry, and Graphite!
We actually got to try a Blueberry one
which includes Blueberry base color and a silver/platinum
upper color with Blueberry highlights on things like
zipper pulls, the shoulder pad, and translucent handle
grip.
Exterior features include a nicely padded
shoulder pad which sports a long adjustable strap. All of
the case hardware is metal, coated with a color that
matches the silver/platinum of the case top. The strap is
secured to the bag with metal swivel clips. The clips
look very sturdy and secure. If you want to carry it like
a briefcase, two nylon handles are pulled together and
surrounded by a soft flexible plastic grip which is
comfortable to hold.
The Nylon is Water-resistant and appears to
be of a good quality.
Inside there are some nice features to
protect and organize your iBook and accessories. First of
all there is a pocket to place your iBook in. It is
padded on the sides and bottom and a top piece that
covers the iBook and adds extra protection. The pocket is
not removable. (For PowerBook
users, this pouch is large enough to fit a G3
PowerBook).
The bag includes a zippered outer side
pouch, a zippered section filled with pockets to hold and
organize CD's, extra hardware, pens, pencils, or anything
else. The flap adjacent to this area zips down halfway
making the items inside more accessible. There is more
storage next to the machine's pouch, inside the main
case, and a velcro side pouch on the other side for
slipping things in and out. Since a picture is worth a
thousand words, take a look at the diagram below and
Sumdex's web site
for more information.
Blueberry,
Graphite
| Detailed
View of iBrief
This case feels rugged and looks really
cool. I like the color schemes. However, I am concerned
that in the long term, the lighter blue color and the
sharp silver/platinum colors may stain or show dirt. If
you can live with that, you'll look sharp carrying this
case with you.
Although the side zips down to give access
to the things inside, it goes only half way. This could
be a problem since this flap is also a pouch, which may
contain something that doesn't easily bend (or worse,
something you don't want bent). My current case unzips
all the way to the bottom allowing the flap to fold
completely away without bending, which I like better.
Does anyone beside me think it would be
nice to have elastic or velcro straps inside to organize
power cords, phone cords, and network cords?
Although this bag has nice pouches to a
variety of uses, there are no real places for cords.
However, there are many pockets and pouches in this bag,
and with a little ingenuity, you'll find places to put
just about anything.
Overall, I feel this bag is quite elegant,
seems rugged enough, and comes in very cool color
schemes! A definite must have for today's iBookgeek!
The iBrief retails for $79.95. Many
Internet sites had it for less, and I saw one price of
$32! Their entire line can be
purchsed directly at Outpost.com.
The iPack can be had for only $42.95 !, the iBrief for
$32.95 and the iShuttle for $49.95 for some cool savings
! Your mileage may vary.
Conclusion:
We give the iBrief 4.5 iBooks out of 5. We
reccommend the iBrief.
|
Ease
of Use :
|
4.5
|
|
|
Quality
:
|
4.5
|
|
|
Over
All Score :
|
4.5
|
|
About
the Reviewer:
Ted
Bade has
been using Apple computers since 1982 and Macs since
1985. Dedicated to the Macintosh, he has been a member
and leader of a Computer user group since 1983. He has a
degree in electrical engineering and loves to write. To
date he has published a number of articles in
MacHome
Journal magazine,
writes for iBook-User
and
writes regularly for H.U.G.E.
a computer user group newsletter, and freelances whenever
he can find the time and need. While he's not playing
with his Macintosh G4 or PowerBook
G3.
Related Stories:
Sumdex
Releases The iBook Collection of bags
The First web
site Dedicated to Apple's iBook !
iBook-User © is a
Publication of P1 Publishing LLC 2001
all rights reserved. est.
7/18/99
Established
SUNDAY JULY 18, 1999 6:00AM
