Reviews by The Church of Apple

Tag: MacBook

  • Vangoddy Pindar MacBook/Laptop Carrying Bag

    The Vangoddy Pindar MacBook/Laptop Carrying Bag is a multifunction, multi-device carrying bag for all of your personal electronic devices. This bag carries a MacBook/MacBook Air/MacBook Pro, an iOS device or an Android device (God forbid) and an iPad or an Android tablet (again, God forbid). It is stylish, flexible and functional for a fair price of $41.99. Let’s see if it is the laptop bag for you.

    Form

    The bag is big enough for a 14 inch laptop such as a iBook G4 14″ but of course the most common size laptop to use in this bag is a 13 inch laptop. I have used both my 13 inch Air and 13 inch Regular MacBooks in the case. They fit just fine and are easy to take out. The bag is black with colored trim. You, of course, can choose which color. It comes in blue and black, all black, red and black, green and black, orange and black, purple and black. It also comes in all pink. The color is on the trim on the front of the bag, it has some green stitching, the logo is stitched in color, the green piece for earbuds to go through and the bottom rubber piece that protects the fabric from the hard floor. The fabric on the outside is soft but firm. The feel on the handle is very comfortable in your hand. The strap is also quite comfortable, it has a soft, padded feel to it. The inside is also padded which protects the devices inside. The inside and outside are made well and look great. Overall, it has great aesthetics.

    Function

    Laptop bags really only have one purpose, that is to protect your devices while making it easy to carry them. This bag does both. The bag is well padded so your devices will not be damaged should you drop it. The bag also makes them easy to carry. It carries three devices, or at least I was able to fit three devices: my MacBook, iPad and iPhone and all chargers for them. The case also, of course, doesn’t stop there. The straps and handle make it easy to carry. The strap comes off when you don’t need it that way when you carry it by it’s handles, the strap doesn’t get in the way. The bag also has an interesting feature. The pocket that you put your iPhone opens and you can access your phone from the pocket without having to take it out of the bag. Above that is a hole for your headphones to go through. There is a pocket next to it that is zippered. It is big enough to hold an iPad mini in. However, I use it for perhaps an additional iPod or device. The inside has a mesh area for chargers, an area for an iPad next to that and of course the pocket for the laptop is next to that. In addition to these cool pockets, there is also a flap on the side of the bag that allow you to put your charger cord through so you can charge your computer while it is still in the bag. The bag is a great bag, it has some unique features and it is one I can highly recommend.

    Conclusion

    Pros

    -Great aesthetics
    -Protects devices
    -Comfortable to use, convenient to use
    -Unique iPhone pocket
    -Unique slot for a charger

    Cons

    -None

    This is a great bag. There really aren’t ways for Vangoddy to improve this bag. It gives great features for a great price. This bag gets 5 stars from me.

    Thanks for reading,

    Joe

  • Acme Made Clutch MacBook Bag

    The Clutch is a laptop bag designed to fit a MBA or MBP 13 inch made by Acme Made. It is only available to those who have a 13 inch MBA/MBP. However, I do believe that anyone who has not seen the light of Apple and owns a Windows 13 inch laptop will still be able to fit their laptop just fine in the bag. The bag is available for $99.99 direct from Acme Made (interesting name for a company, they must have been the ones behind the falling pianos and 20 ton weights). All kidding aside, this bag is no joke. It is probably the best laptop bag I have ever used, and that is saying something. Allow me to explain why this is a great laptop bag for anyone who needs a laptop bag.

    Form

    Aesthetically, the AcmeMade Clutch is very well thought out and very good looking. It definitely has it’s curb appeal. On the outside, the case is a beautiful brown leather canvas exterior. It has a nice black strap that any shoulder would be proud of having on it. The bag has a darker brown trimming that has a good “alliance” with the rest of the bag. The whole bag is designer designed so you know it has been approved by someone who you know can actually design. Because of it being a designer bag, it does have it’s own “designer name”. On the front of the bag, there is a button on it that says “Acme Made San Francisco”, which having the city in front of the name of the company is very common with designers. My point is, the case is very well designed on the exterior. The interior is just the same. The inside is a black twill nylon quitted material, which looks very nice and sophisticated. The bottom quarter part of the case has a brown part that comes up from the outside of the case and looks really nice. It doesn’t necessarily contrast the black, it just fits with the black. There are 2 main pockets, presumably to carry 2 laptops if needed. There are also 5 other smaller pockets in addition to two pen holders, which depending on the size of the pen, hold up to 6 pens (three on each pen holder). The pocket to hold the MacBook(s) in are very protective and thick. Should you drop the bag off your shoulder by accident, the MacBook will not break, especially if it already has a case on it. The other pockets are multi-purposeful and they too are very protective of the items they hold. The case, if you haven’t guessed already, is very detailed. Here are a few more examples on how exact they are: the stitching on the case is beautifully done, there is not string hanging loose from it. Also, on one of the pockets there is a zipper, and the even the “grip” of the zipper, the part you hold on to when your pull the zipper, looks really nice. It too is made out of leather and has a black button on it. It is to be noted that this case can be used by both men and women and looks good with either one. As you can tell, the aesthetics of the case are beyond superb and there is absolutely nothing I can point out that is bad about this case.

    Function

    The abilities of this case is absolutely extraordinary. In this bag I was able to fit 8 different devices, including their chargers. This included my MBA in the main MacBook pocket, an iPad in the secondary pocket, an iPod touch in one pocket, an Apple TV, iPod nano and my cell phone in another, 2 iPod nanos and the Apple TV remote in three more pockets. In addition to all of that, I was able to add two styluses and ALL of the cords necessary to charge ALL of those products. Even with all of that, I was still able to close it and carry it on my shoulder. Now, I understand, A. carrying that around is an invitation to be robbed and B. no one, besides a small group of extreme geeks, would carry that amount of stuff in their bag on a day to day basis but it does give you an idea as to what you can store in what looks like a small bag. This small bag is no small bag. If it fits all of that, it is not a small bag, but take all of those things out and you’ll wonder to yourself how you were able to fit everything in there. As I said in the Form paragraph, this bag is very protective and I would trust that it would protect my stuff in the event of a fall. Of course, the bag slings around your neck so in less the strap fails, it’s not going anywhere, but it is good to know that it is well protected. In speaking of the strap, there are a few things that I like about the strap. One, if you want to just carry the bag and don’t want the strap on it, you can take it off. Another thing is that it is completely adjustable so if you want it close to your chest, you can do that, or if you feel more comfortable with he bag at your waist, you can do that as well, or anywhere in between. The hardware on the strap is custom made by Acme Made and they did an excellent job on it. On a side note, the metal hardware on the strap, unlike the cheap plastic hardware I have seen elsewhere is durable and looks stylish. Back to the inside of the case, the cover that folds over everything is held down by two black strips of velcro that while stay almost hidden on the black part of the case, is probably the best thing to use for a “locking” mechanism for the bag for two reasons. One, velcro is very durable and can stand a lot. It is also very sticky. The velcro is designed to easily open when you open it, but it would be difficult for anything that would bump into it to open it. Two, velcro is loud when you open it. Therefore, if someone is sneaking up behind you or to the side of you without you knowing and the person is trying to steal out of your bag, you will be greeted with the sound of opening velcro and a running away would-be-robber. Talking about robbers, be careful as to how much you put in the bag, you don’t want to make it a goldmine for any robber who would steal it. As a side note, with any purse or bag, exercise caution and diligence. All in all, this bag is the most functional I’ve ever used.

    Conclusion

    Pros

    -Stylish design
    -Designer made means everything is spot on
    -May be available in only in one color but once you see it, you’ll realize why you wouldn’t want to ruin it with other colors
    -Very durable
    -Very protective of all the things stored in it
    -Many pockets, so you can store many things
    -Velcro gives it a “theft alarm” and keeps the bag closed

    Cons

    -For the first time ever, there is nothing that fits in this category

    The last sentence says it all. There are no cons to this bag, therefore there is no reason to give it anything lower than five stars. In my opinion, the bag is perfect. There is absolutely nothing they can do to make it better. They only need to keep doing what they are doing. $100 may be a lot for a laptop bag, but after you buy it and get in the mail, you’ll see it was worth every penny. Absolute fantastic job Acme Made, I am very impressed.

    Thanks for reading,

    Joe

  • Macally EcoFan XL Review

    The Macally EcoFan XL Bamboo Cooling Stand  is a stand for your laptop that you can put on your desk or lap that will prop your computer up in an ergonomically correct and comfortable position and cool your computer. It is a unique stand indeed, it is made up of bamboo, a very strong replenishing grass that is the fastest growing plant in the world and the most efficient plant on Earth. It is the most economical laptop stand I’ve ever seen but does it do it’s job of keeping an ergonomically comfortable position and keeping the laptop cool (because after all it is a fan)? Let’s find out.

    Form

    The stand in terms of aesthetics is mostly outstanding (pun intended). The stand looks incredible. The bamboo gives it a good woody color and texture. The bamboo is very well cut and smoothed out, I have come across a few splintered pieces of bamboo but that is understandable so I isn’t a big deal. The fan is clear and the even aesthetics of the fan looks nice. The fan isn’t all too large and it isn’t clunky looking, it seems as though they paid attention to detail here. Even the rubber pieces that makes sure the computer doesn’t slide off are decent. Another thing is that the stand is practically weightless. This stand is made out of very strong and durable bamboo, but it is very light, not necessarily thin, but it’s very light. It is very airy and it’s just a wonder how they pulled off such a strong stand without being heavy, but they did it.  Everything aesthetically about this case is near perfect, it looks nice, feels nice and polished, the rubber grips are solid pieces (although there is something I don’t like about them that I will mention in a bit), the bamboo protects itself.

    Now notice I said “almost perfect”, there is one thing aesthetically I’m not a fan of, the USB cable. It isn’t the concept behind the cable (it even has a USB port in it so technically it doesn’t take up a USB port) but it’s the aesthetics of the cable. However as insignificant as it may sound, the way the cable looks is a bit of a drawback. It looks overly tacky and makes the nice MacBook Air tacky. Typically, cables are never a deal for me aesthetically, but I had to point this cable out. It is a bit big and bulky and a weird tint of black, not matching the stand or the MacBook. It is not a cheap cable but it looks it since it doesn’t have an simplistic feel, and that is what the computer and the stand have, so to me it is kind of awkward. Of course, it is a minor thing that I wouldn’t normally mention but the awkwardness of the cable told me to. This won’t count against the final score of the stand since it’s so minimal.

    All in all, the aesthetics, the “form” of the stand is outstanding and it screams simplicity (minus the cable). This stand is a piece of art. I think I’ll head my way to the modern art museum now..

    Function

    Well, I’m back from the museum, they already had one on display! Can you believe that? Someone beat me to it! Anyways, now to the function of the stand. When on a desk or the lap, the stand does well to provide an ergonomically comfortable environment so now you won’t catch that new string of carpal tunnel thats going around. The stand doesn’t put it at a degree to high nor too low, it’s just the perfect angle. I appreciate the fact that the stand is collapsable and can be stored away easier because of that. Also, because the stand is collapsible, you can choose to have it more elevated or less elevated, giving you control in the degree of the stand, both degrees are very ergonomically comfortable. I prefer to have the stand collapsed when I am sitting n the couch or a chair and have the stand up when it is on a desk, but ultimately the choice is yours.  The fan is also huge plus as not every stand as that. Not only does have a fan, it has a good one so now my Air uses it’s fan less and less and is cooler more and more. Running the same programs, I noticed a huge difference in the heat on top of the MacBook between when it’s on and off the stand. It is a very effective fan. The fan is also virtually silent, which I appreciate because I didn’t trade off hearing my MacBook’s fan to hear this fan so for me, it’s a plus. I did complain about the cable in the last paragraph, but one thing I’m not complaining about is that it doesn’t take up a slot. The cable has a USB slot built in. I believe the USB port is USB 2.0 and my computer is 3.0 but I’m not complaining, I just appreciate the fact that they did that, for me it’s a big plus.

    There are also a few things that didn’t work for me. The rubber pieces (in the back) slip off easily and, if left on the stand during transport, can easily fall off. The back of the stand does not cover the fan very well and if something presses hard enough against it, that something will stop the fan. Fortunately that something is not your legs when the stand is collapsed, the plastic covering  that surrounds the fan is protected by a piece of bamboo when the back legs are collapsed in. Another thing, I am not sure if this stand would be ideal for owners of 17 inch laptops, I question whether it is big enough to hold them. To me, it seems like it does, but I have doubts. Overall, the positives way out weigh the negatives and Macally did a great job with it.

    Conclusion

    Pros:

    -Stand is very ergonomic

    -Fan works as it should and cools down the computer a good amount

    -Aesthetics of the stand look great and would work on any desk, wood or glass (doesn’t scratch glass)

    -Rubber stoppers stop the computer from falling off

    -Highly portable, maybe even fit in some large laptop bags, with the laptop as well!

    -Helps the environment by using as many economical materials as possible

     

    Cons:

    -Rubber stoppers in the back can fall off easily, especially during transport

    -Fan can be stopped by something putting just a bit of pressure in it, almost always when the back legs are open

    -Aesthetics of the wire could be better (this really shouldn’t be here, but for some reason, it just bugs me)

     

    As you can see, not only are there more pros, they are more important than the cons. The cons of the stand are nitpick stuff. It took me a lot longer to find the cons than the pros, even though there are more pros. It is always important to find something a company can improve on since this is what reviews are about, informing the public but also informing the company of how their product performs and Macally’s Bamboo Stand performs very well and I’m sure you and the company would like to know that this stand has rightfully earned 5/5 stars. If a product makes me have to look for problems hard enough, it’s an automatic 5/5 because nothing is perfect but something has to get a 5/5 anyways and since this product was so close to perfect that is possible, it was easily earned a 5/5. I can’t imagine using my MacBook without it and I use it and will continue to use it for a long time. That, is the highest commendation I can give. When I can say that I genuinely use it everyday and will continue to use it everyday, that says something. Great job Macally for a great stand.

     

    Thanks for reading,

    Joe