I recently bought the 11.6″ Gateway netbook to use for on-the-go computing and needed a sleeve to carry it with. I tried shopping for one in several brick and mortar stores but did not find any that will fit the odd-sized netbook. Most of the sleeves were for 7″ to 10″ netbooks or 15 to 17″ laptops. I was also surprised that they are quite pricey going for at least $30 before taxes and in some cases as high as $50. I have bought a pricey accessory for my portables before like the Keen laptop bag that I got for about $100 at REI but in this economy and the fact that I am going to use it for a $400 computer, I don’t want to buy a sleeve that’s almost 10% its price. So I went to my favorite online store, Amazon, and started searching for a a cheap and not too fancy sleeve.
There were several with really nice designs ranging in price from $15 to $20, but they were being sold by 3rd party vendors. I tend to avoid buying from 3rd party vendors on Amazon as shipping cost and sales tax ruins the deal. Fortunately, I found one sold directly by Amazon, the Belkin NE Protex. It is priced at a very reasonable $9.95 with free shipping for purchases of over $25 and no sales tax. It was originally priced at $34.99 and when I checked again today, it is now priced at $20.37. I was really lucky getting it at such a cheap price and with free shipping since I also bought textbooks for fall 2009.
The Belkin NE Protext or model number F8N037 is a memory foam sleeve that can fit a 12.1″ portable. The internal dimensions are 3 cm x 32.4 cm x 24.5 cm. The material is made from neoprene with nylon straps for handles. The handles have Velcro patches on its undersides that clings to the sleeve if you don’t want to use the handles. The color is battleship gray, not my first choice, as I’d rather have it in black, but hey, for about $10.00 I am not complaining. The package arrived this afternoon and I tried it with the netbook. The fit was comfortable. The sleeve feels very light, with a pair of zippers that look durable and does not have any extra pockets to put anything else. That is not a concern for me since I plan to use this in tandem with my laptop bag. Others who needs something that can also fit a mouse, power brick, and other peripherals should look elsewhere. Overall, I am satisfied with this sleeve and I was even surprised that it does not look cheap in terms of materials and design. And for $9.95, it can’t be beat.
Belkin NE Protex
Velcro patches to keep handles in place when not in use
Bekin sleeve with the Gateway 11.6 netbook
Belkin sleeve with Gateway 11.6 netbook ready to go