Although we both claimed these bigger laptops were for use as desktop replacements, the reality was that, for the first time, a decent gaming machine was available relatively inexpensively in laptop form. Although she'll never admit to it publicly, she bought it so she could play her weakling level 41 mage. I, on the other hand, am proud to own a laptop that can play my level 77 druid of the Horde.

Unfortunately, none of our existing laptop bags fit these monstrous 17-inch laptops, and that's why we're doing this he said, she said review. Of course, when we agreed to do the review, we also agreed I was going to write my article and she was going to write hers. She's since woosied out on writing her own, free-standing article and so her comments are included in this article, which I had to write.

We explained the project to Targus and asked them to send us each a bag, one for a girl and one for a boy. First up is the Targus Zip-Thru 17" Air Traveler, shown in Figure A, which Liz considers "kind of sleek".

FIGURE A


Liz reviewed the Zip-Thru 17" Air Traveler. Roll over picture for a larger image.

She said, by Liz
This bag is sturdy and functional, but ugly. It's only kind of sleek in the sense that the other bag is uglier.

Now that you can get a large laptop that doesn't weight a billion pounds, you might forget that most bags don't fit that computer. It was kind of sucky to discover my lovely new laptop is just a little too big for all those really nice bags I already own.

Then it was sucky to find out you can't find the attractive bag that you'd like to be seen in with a dress or a suited skirt, that has nice lines and isn't big and square.

This bag looks like one a guy in the 90s would carry, wearing dockers or a button-up shirt. It's not something a sleek or stylish woman or a "metrosexual" man would want to carry. This bag enables you not to have style. Style is coming to be expected again and this bag gives you a fast-track back to those business casual days when nobody had style.

What Liz likes
When I first got the bag, I wasn't sure exactly what makes it Zip-Thru, or what the concept was. Turns out, the case splits down the middle, as shown in Figure B, isolating the laptop on one side to allow for clear x-ray scanning. It's called an Air Traveler case because it's designed to help you clear airport security without removing your laptop from your case. Nice.