I recently posted for suggestions on a suitable small laptop bag for my new 11″ MacBook Air. This was after spending some time browsing Amazon, Googling for reviews on Mac related sites and trawling through many suppliers web sites and coming up with few possible options. I even visited PC World ! I know, but desperate times and all that…
Anyway, I eventually settled on a small messenger bag from Targus called, not entirely originally, the Targus A7 12″ Netbook Messenger which seemed to fit the bill and at a hair over £20 on Amazon wouldn’t break the bank if it turned out to be less than ideal.
The bag is not the most stylish in the world but then it isn’t terribly nasty either. It is typical black nylon laptop style but nicely made and looks reasonably sturdy. When empty the case is very light which inevitably means there isn’t a huge amount of padding but this is a trade off you have to make with an ultra light laptop, “should I go for a lightweight case which offers minimal protection or a heavier bag which negates the benefits of a lightweight laptop”. Clearly I will not be bouncing my precious MacBook around in this case ( though I wouldn’t if it was much sturdier either ! ) but it seems as though it provides a good balance between weight against protection.
There are two main compartments, a slimmer padded one for your MacBook ( or netbook ) and a slightly wider one which is ideal for carrying accessories, cables or even a notebook/folder etc. On the outside of the case there are a further three smaller pockets, a larger zipped pocket and two open pockets which are covered by the flap when the bag is closed. The closure is velcro with external plastic clips. The whole thing is rounded off with an adjustable, though unpadded, shoulder strap.
The 11″ MacBook only just fits into the padded compartment so I am not entirely sure that the case is suitable for a 12″ netbook as its name suggests ( though I don’t have one to hand to prove this theory ), but for my purposes the fit is very good. Overall I am happy with the bag and from what I can see it is pretty much the only laptop bag of this size/shape that is readily available in the UK, so if you have an 11″ Air and want a decent bag to carry it around in I would recommend it.
![Targus A7 Messenger and MacBook Air 11"](http://ukmac.net/wp-content/gallery/macbook-air-bag/thumbs/thumbs_img_0354.jpg "Targus A7 Messenger and MacBook Air 11"")
![Targus A7 - With MacBook Air 11"](http://ukmac.net/wp-content/gallery/macbook-air-bag/thumbs/thumbs_img_0360.jpg "Targus A7 - With MacBook Air 11"")
The bag is not the most stylish in the world but then it isn’t terribly nasty either. It is typical black nylon laptop style but nicely made and looks reasonably sturdy.
I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)