Crumpler Skivvy (S)

I have had a ton of luck with Crumpler bags over the years and this year was no exception. I spent a good bit of time with their small Skivvy messenger bag and thoroughly enjoyed it. Like other Crumpler pieces I’ve reviewed before, their bags consistently provide a lightweight offering while still providing enough structure and padding to protect your valuable gear.




The Skivvy (S) included an easy to access front zipper compartment with a built-in organizer for your immediately accessible small items. As you continue inside the bag, you find a large velcro area as well as two smaller areas to hold your items securely. On top of all that, you get a padded 13-inch laptop sleeve area that also includes a velcro faster. Everything sounding protected and well organized? It sure is! The bright, clean interiors make it quite easy to locate what you are looking for.

The wide 50mm shoulder strap includes an air mesh shoulder pad to distribute the weight more evenly proved to be comfortable with my gear fully loaded into the bag. A clever handle is integrated into the back of the bag, which is well cushioned for one-handed carrying, but this handle is also a good size to slide onto your wheelie luggage.


The Skivvy is water resistant and includes oversized flaps with corner rain guards to protect your interior. Exterior dimensions are 14.1in x 11.4in x 3.9in. The Skivvy is also available in a Medium format for 15” laptops as well as a Large to accommodate those huge 17” notebook computers.

A Crumpler bag simply feels solid and well constructed. The small Skivvy is priced at $110.

STM Linear Small Laptop Bag

Love this bag! If I am out and about and need to travel super light but with my notebook, this is it! Laptop, iPad and accessories are not a problem as each has their own dedicated storage locations. One caveat is that the STM Linear Small Laptop Bag did not handle my entire gear set mentioned above and as such I needed to downshift my camera to my smaller Sony RX100 as the Sony RX1 was a bit too beefy and proved to be problematic...but everything else was great. 

The outer zipper pocket with nice soft fabric interior for some easy access items. Another immediately accessible zipper pocket inside which included storage compartments for pens, cards and other small items. In this inner pocket you also find a convenient key leash. And lastly, three dedicated pockets (laptop, tablet and accessories) make up the main interior space.

What makes this bag so great? A thought-out package for the person on the go featuring water resistant nylon, swivel mounted strap, wheeled bag strap on back, well constructed zippers and pockets throughout. A sleek and easy handling overall bag. 

The STM Linear's exterior dimensions: 13.9in x 10in x 3.1in and attractively priced at $65.

Note: There is a medium -sized option that will accommodate a 15" laptop available as well but this bag also wasn't really going to accommodate my mirrorless camera.

Tumi Alpha Bravo - Benning Deluxe Messenger
Another great messenger I had the pleasure to test out was made by Tumi. The Tumi Alpha Bravo - Benning Deluxe messenger is available in two shades of Tumi's well-regarded ballistic nylon and in an attractive Anthracite color I test drove which was made with a pretty durable polyester fabric.

You'll find several well thought out compartments throughout the bag. Including an exterior pocket on the outside face of the messenger flap. This outer section has a small holder for business cards and the like. My iPhone would fit but I found my larger Samsung S4 wouldn't go in the slot and allow the zipper to close. The phones did fit in the overall pocket...just not in the secure slot within.

Also on the outside is two side pockets. One is labeled as a water bottle pocket and the other similar pocket is called simply "the side pocket". 

When you open the flap, there is an exterior exposed pocket for some loose papers and the like and behind that is another zipper pocket with more organizers as well as your key leash. I do wish the key leash was in the outer zipper pocket to afford easier access though. I kept most of my accessories within this inner zippered compartment.

Then the main section is subdivided with an area for your laptop and the rest of your gear. I do wish the laptop section was "slightly padded" and there is not separate compartment for a tablet like I have found in many other bags (I stored both my iPad and Macbook in the laptop compartment with ease) but beyond that this bag hauled all my necessary gear and then some. The strap is thick and adjustable but does not have any of any padding. With my bag fully loaded, I still found it comfortable to carry all day.

Along the back is a zippered sleeve that allows you to open them and mount the bag on the handle of your wheeled luggage. Exterior dimensions are 15in x 12in x 4in. All this luxury comes with a steeper $275 Tumi price tag.

CONCLUSION

If I want to go really light with a small point and shoot camera, tablet and laptop, I would definitely rely on the STM Linear Small laptop bag! If needing to haul more gear like I mentioned above including a mirrorless-sized camera everyday, I would go with the Crumpler Skivvy product. The Crumpler is the right kind of durable for hauling everything you need, everyday. And when it comes to style with a bit of a professional appearance, I really enjoyed the Tumi Alpha Bravo - Benning Deluxe messenger. And lastly, I have found a new favorite for when I am hauling my full-sized Digital SLR camera and laptop...the Pacsafe Camsafe Venture V16.

I did look at some other bags but for various reasons they didn't strike as much of a cord with me as several mentioned above. The other bags including the Crumpler House of Horror did not enough storage compartment separation for my taste but love their naming convention and quality construction, STM Impulse backpack was a bit too big for what I was looking for but a wonderful, though well organized bag 15in laptop backpack, Booq Mamba Courier 11in laptop was too small but they make a more conventional slightly larger version I didn't receive which might have worked and I went through the very cool online custom ordering process from Timbuk2 but haven't received that item year. When I do, I will update the report to include my experience with it.

What am I taking to work tomorrow? The Tumi Alpha Bravo - Benning Deluxe messenger.

Which bag am I taking on my two-week trip to Europe? The Pacsafe Camsafe Venture V16.

Larry Pacey, award-winning designer tracks the latest news on consumer products, electronics, appliances, smart devices, networking and the gadget lifestyle.

For the latest news follow me on: ------------------------------ OR ------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter @WouldntMindThis Please comment below and share your thoughts. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at wouldntmind@gmail.com. Just my 2-cents, Larry

Larry Pacey, award-winning designer tracks the latest news on consumer products, electronics, appliances, smart devices, networking and the gadget lifestyle.

For the latest news follow me on: ------------------------------ OR ------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter @WouldntMindThis Please comment below and share your thoughts. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at wouldntmind@gmail.com. Just my 2-cents, Larry

Let's start with something to prime your youngest kids for a high-tech, interactive future! What about the gift of reading? Here is a great book for your geek-baby...Goodnight iPad storybook (less than $12). "Goodnight iPad, goodnight DOOM, goodnight Facebook friend, goodnight Nooks and digital books..." You get the picture :-)

What about a "pre-holiday" gift to really get the holiday spirit going? What about this great countdown LEGO STAR WARS Advent Calendar ($45)! And if the child you are buying this for is not a Star Wars fan...but I would question "why not?" Haven't you been watching the new Star Wars Clone Wars animated series? It is a great series that both adult and kids can get into...as long as you don't mind a few clones dying here and their. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. If, they are not Star Wars fans (still hard to write that), you can also consider this other very cool LEGO City Advent Calendar ($35). I know the kids that I've gotten these LEGO calendars for over the years really enjoy the countdown and simple daily LEGO building projects.

And if you have a true LEGO fan in the household, the LEGO Ideas book ($15) would make a great gift. Now be forewarned, this is a beautiful picture book to give your kids some inspiration but for the most part there is NO directions on how to build these amazing constructions. The book does feature all-new LEGO building projects, tips to supplement and enhance your LEGO creations, inspirational buildings, and expert advice from LEGO Master Builders...it is a truly inspiring book for any LEGO architect in your family.

What would a kids gift list be in 2011 without some Angry Birds items? And at the top of my list is the Angry Birds: Knock on Wood game (less than $30)! This is NOT a game app for your smart device like an Android phone or iPhone but instead brings the destructive powers of those Angry Birds to the real world. This is a great little tabletop game of flinging birds at a wide assortment of pig constructions. Hours of fun...just look at the picture to the left!

And if all that violence and destruction is unsettling for you...perhaps a nice soft 8" Plush Angry Bird (less than $15)?

If you have a Xbox 360 and haven't gotten a Kinect controller ($150) for it...get it. This is a peripheral that allows you and your kids to use your entire body to control the game. There is a slew of new titles coming out this holiday and definitely worth adding to the list. If you haven't got a 360 for your kids...why not? This is a great system and there is some amazing titles already available with new ones still in the pipeline. You can purchase the Xbox 360 console system w/Kinect ($400) as a bundle but I might have a hard time recommending getting the full system as we will probably see a new platform within 12-18 months. But there is a very solid line-up of titles that take advantage of the Kinect and make for some great family-time, multiplayer gaming...Just Dance 3, Kinect Sports: Season Two, Sesame Street: Once upon a Monster, Eden and Fruit Ninja.

A gaming console I can recommend is the Nintendo 3DS ($170). This new system was introduced this past spring and is continuing to build up a very viable line-up of portable gaming fun. The 3DS was the first portable gaming system to feature a 3D display with a slider that allows you to adjust the focus/depth for your eyes. You can even turn off the 3D effect...something I recommend as the displays are stunning without the 3D and the game will actually run at a faster frame-rate and smoother animations. I personally play with little or no 3D. Some games add a nice level of depth to the image with the 3D on. Some games worth checking out include The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D ($40), Super Mario 3D Land ($40), Mario Kart 7 ($40), Pokemon Rumble Blast 3DS ($35), Star Fox 64 3D ($40)...are you catching a pattern here? All the hot titles are Nintendo developed. But there are some very nice 3rd party titles as well including; LEGO Star Wars III The Clone Wars 3D ($20), Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition ($20) and coming out in December is The Adventures Of Tintin: The Game ($40). You also have access to all the new DS games (without 3D) such as the latest Professor Layton and the Last Specter ($30), Kirby Mass Attack, Let's Draw ($20) and the incredibly amazing Super Scribblenauts ($30).

If you are looking for additional recommendations for the best videogames to gift your kids/friends/family, be sure to check out my Fall 2011 Top 10 Holiday game preview.

Stepping back into the real world again, some other cool toys include the new Hot Wheels Video Racer Micro Camera Car (a little over $50) series. These high-tech little new cars capture footage from the car's perspective as it races down the track and let the kids play back the video on a small LCD on the bottom of the car or download the footage to their Windows PC to edit the action with the included application you can download. For those of you with a Macintosh computer (isn't that everyone now?), the car when hooked up via USB appears like a regular camera on the computer and the video is transferable but you will need to use your own editing software. The cars store up to 12 minutes of footage before needing to be transferred.

Of course if you have a cool, new Hot Wheels car...you'll need some cool new stunt tracks to go with it and make some neat videos. Mattel has a new series of Hot Wheels Wall Tracks ($55) that are ingeniously adhere to the wall using 3M's Command Strips that hold the tracks in place while also not damaging the surface.

If a toy car is too mundane for you, how about the coolest, easiest to fly indoor helicopter I've ever used? Check out this Syma S109G Apache AH-64 (less than $30) indoor helicopter. It is amazing to see this little guy that will fit into the palm of your hand hover, turn and fly around with easy.

Now Activision is really playing up their Skylanders Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack ($70) but I am having a hard time recommending this as it feels like such a gimmick. I just feel the product lacks some depth but on the opposite side I am sure kids will love it. This is a crossover product that combines little toy figures and a videogame. The starter pack gives you a copy of the game for your favorite gaming console (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo 3DS, PC or Mac...make sure you get the right version for your gaming console), a "Portal of Power" adaptor to hook to your gaming device and three Skylanders figures. The figure connects to the console through the included Portal of Power adapter and your character shows up in the game. Take the figure with you to your friends because all the game data is saved inside the character. If you have played a Spyro game before, they are usually pretty decent action/adventure games and this one focus on the multi-player aspects of all the collectible action figure characters.

I previously wrote-up about the introduction of a new Toys R Us Nabi ($200) tablet computer that is coming out in December. There is also a new LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Game ($100) system that is a starter tablet for ages 4-9 available in both green or pink. It includes a built-in camera and video recorder, 5" touchscreen that works with fingers ro included stylus, four apps (Pet Pad, Story Studio, Art Studio and one app of your choosing). Compatible with a library of 100+ LeapPad Explorer games and applications.

But if you want to be the "ultimate holiday giver", you can not go wrong with an iDevice. On the top of the Nielsen's kids most wanted tech for the holiday poll (ages 6-12) is the Apple iPad ($500+), iPod Touch and iPhone taking the top three positions.

Apple iPad...clearly the best holiday gift for any good girl or boy!

I am still looking for more great gift ideas for kids. Please feel free to share in the comments below if your kids have their eyes on something I haven't considered.

And while it is true that young children are playing on all manner of smart devices like iPhones and tablets nowadays, it only makes sense that they would have their own tailored device as the price of technology continues to become cheaper. 

Personally, I know I would like my 9 year old son to have his own device. He is in the middle of playing through almost every game I have downloaded onto my iPad and leaves me with little to play with until he is done...which in this world of app updates every week is almost never! I really would have loved to play through Cut the Rope or Angry Birds from the very beginning, working my way up the accomplishments of unlocking new sets of levels but by the time I get to those games, he is pretty far along in the storyline :-(

Cons: Unattractive packaging vs competitive set. Not the brightest set in the bunch and as such probably is not the best set for a brightly lit room. Like all "built-in" speakers...definitely need to hook up to a stereo system. No costly active 3D glasses included.

Conclusion: For the price you have an excellent 50" 2D television if you are not a tech fashion snob.

Samsung PN51D8000 is very skinny

One to rule them all...for right now
My home is dominated by Panasonic plasmas and that is usually a very safe bet. I typically tell people to buy the best Panasonic plasma they can afford! But this year, I would have to say that the best set on the market is the Samsung PN51D8000 51" Plasma TV. This is a stunning next-generation looking package. Sleek, slim and vibrant. But we are moving up the price scale and this set typically goes for $1,700-2,000.


Samsung provides you with a 1080p plasma with an amazing screen refresh. This TV is wonderfully flawless at watching sports, fast-paced movies and videogames.

Panasonic does offer the similarly priced Panasonic VIERA TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma which is a clear competitor. Both are very comparable but I would give the Samsung a slight edge due to its overall design and category leading feature set.


Here is another 3D TV without any 3D glasses in the box and they are also the more expensive active type. The 3D glasses introduced by Samsung this year are substantially different from last year and rely on a much better/reliable solution built on Bluetooth technology. Samsung did run a promotion during the summer that included the glasses...so perhaps they will do it again for the holidays?

The wi-fi internet suite of applications and great remote with QWERTY keyboard work wonderfully. The interface is not as streamlined as the Panasonic Viera Connect but it is much more ambitious. Very nice set of apps with the one notable omission of Amazon Instant Video but it does include a more than capable built-in web-browser. Another cool feature is the ability to interface a web-camera to the TV to enable Skype video-conferencing.

Pros: Stunning plasma with amazing refresh rate. Deep blacks and very bright for a plasma. Industry leading suite of internet functionality and definitely more snappier interface than last year's models.

Cons: Expensive. Smart Hud internet application interface is busy and somewhat difficult to navigate. No included 3D glasses and they are the expensive, active type. No Amazon Instant Video.

Conclusion: You want the best, go get a Samsung 8000 series plasma. It is available in 51", 59" and 64" versions.

The Elite Comes Back
There was an era in the mid-2000's where Pioneer manufactured the finest flat-panel displays in the world. These featured industry leading plasmas with outstanding color, brightness and uncontested black-levels. But these sets were expensive. Double...triple the price of nearly comparable plasmas from the likes of Panasonic. But they were great products in their own right. A great benchmark that others pursued.

We'll the Elite is coming back. This time as a premium LCD line from Sharp. While the jury is out on the overall quality vs price debate, this is a great move that will give Sharp access to the high-end AV industry alongside Pioneer's Elite audio products.

The 60 and 70 inch displays will be launched later this year and it will be exciting to see how they match up to the top of the line Samsung and Panasonic offerings like those I mentioned above.

Another entrant...a game changer?
Rumors abound that Apple will get into the TV manufacturing business. Not the AppleTV accessory they sell today to provide iTunes content to a TV in the house. They may bring a "real TV" to market.

Initially it seems a bit out of place for them. TVs are not updated at the pace that Apple likes to reinvent their products. But Steve Jobs did mention at the All Things Digital conference last year, the obsolete industry practices that TV manufactures and cable/satellite operators function under today.

Apple is probably asking themselves questions like: Why do I have to get the "O Network" when I never watch it? Nothing against Oprah mind you...it is just an example. Why do I have to watch the shows when the network wants to air them? Obviously TIVO and DVRs in general somewhat address this but there should be more "on demand" solutions.

Why do my internet applications run so slowly on smart TVs like those I mention above and not as smooth as my computer or game console? Why can't I have access to millions of apps like those at the Apple store? Or access to my music and video library directly on all the TVs in the house?

I'd like my content and applications to flow from computer, tablet/smart-device and TV as I move from room to room.

Look at what Apple has done. Truth be told, Apple invented the iPad first but they decided the best, most cost-effective and broadest offering would be to miniaturize it and make a phone...thus the iPhone was launched. Once the iPhone was well underway, they moved back up the scale to the iPad. So if you wanted to move up the scale again, why not a big iPad you mount on the wall? It would share all the content, applications and services of its smaller siblings.

It makes some sense.

Now a nice practical offering would be to have a "computing module" that could be swapped out in the monitor as people are not going to unseat their mounted TV on the wall and display technology doesn't necessarily move at the pace that it needs replacing every year or so. But Apple is not about practical offerings so I am not holding my breath on that feature like I am not holding my breath for a SD memory slot on an iPhone 5 or iPad 3!

A new TV standard could really shake up the old-school industry which is in a slump. 3D did not make everyone run out and trash their flat-panel TV they bought 2-years ago. The apps are nice but kinda uninspired...no innovation. Content is so scattered across the web...a new standard is needed and Apple may have the horsepower and consumer awareness to make it happen.

Just my 2-cents,
Larry