Proporta DVD/Netbook Case Reviewed
I’ve thus far resisted the temptation to pick up a portable DVD player favoring, instead, a humble, hand-holdable PMP to pacify a bored, car-bound baby. I picked up the Proporta DVD/Netbook case after seeing it in the results for Samsung NC10 cases, alas it doesn’t actually fit the Samsung NC10 nor any other 10″ Netbook (see below for 10″ options). It will, however, fit their smaller, and rapidly diminishing cousins of the 7″ variety.
The Proporta DVD/Netbook case shares a common ancestry with the Proporta Gadget bag which I reviewed some time ago. It incorporates external pockets which can be unzipped and removed entirely depending on how much you want to carry. But, unlike the Gadget Bag, it features a bold, orange coloured interior which ditches the velcro-attached additional pocket of the Gadget Bag in favour of storage for a handful of DVDs.
The Proporta DVD/Netbook case fits devices up to 22cm x 17.5 cm x 4.5cm in size and is significantly more padded than the main compartment of the Gadget Bag, ensuring your little DVD-playing device stays safe as houses within its confines.
It should comfortably accommodate any 7″ portable DVD player (or netbook) and you might even be able to squeeze an 8″ player in there- a typical example from Sony is about 22.5cm x 16.5cm x 3.3cm, thin enough so that the remaining 1.2cm of case “thickness” will compensate for the extra half centimeter of width.
The external pockets of the Proporta DVD/Netbook case will allow you to stow the charger away quite comfortable separated into its component parts (if it does) or stow the charger alongside another portable device, or other bits and bobs.
Personally I use the case to store a firewire Audio Interface alongside a couple of MIDI cables, its power supply, a Firewire cable, a USB cable and a couple of quarter inch patch cables. This keeps all my associated gear together in one tidy place where I can grab it in a hurry if I need to take it out.
I’m currently using the Proporta Gadget bag to a similar end, stuffing a small Behringer mixing desk, a guitar tuner, patch cables, a power supply and various other miscellaneous cables, connectors and converters that come in useful from time to time.
Overall, the Proporta DVD/Netbook case is really just another Gadget Bag, tweaked slightly toward comfortably accommodating its namesake. Like the Gadget Bag it will come in useful in a variety of situations and will prove indispensable for keeping associated gadgets and accessories together so they’re ready when you need them. Using it for DVD Player or Netbook storage is an obvious suggestion but in reality, if you’re even half the geek I am, you will never run out of gadgetry combinations that you find it handy for carrying around. And with 7″ Netbooks dwindling in favour of their more usable 10″ cousins, and portable DVD players being obsolete since their creation these other uses might be all this humble case ever sees.
Other 10″ Netbook Cases
If you’re looking for another netbook case then here’s a brief summary of those I’ve covered (or am in the progress of covering) here at Gadgetoid:
Soft, stylish, protective and made from cow-friendly faux leather. The Maya range from Proporta will let you pick up a matching case for your phone and netbook.
The Perfora netbook case from Proporta is very attractive, but isn’t yet part of complimentary range, which is bad news if you like to co-ordinate your device cases.
The Perfora includes a perforated faux leather styling and comes in either a very striking red or green, or a plain old black.
Cool Bananas Hard Cover Netbook Case
If you want a snug, form fitting and protective zip-up case then the Cool Bananas Hard Cover Netbook Case is a brilliant choice. It even goes as far as to have a groove into which the bulky batteryof some netbooks will fit.
As if that’s not enough, it also comes with a shoulder strap and has a little room spare inside to cram a 3g dongle and other small gubbins.
Belkin 8.9″ Protective Netbook Case and 10″ Protective Netbook Case
I found these little gems on Play.com. You really can’t go wrong with these incredibly cheap and durable carry cases. Again, like the Cool Bananas Netbook Case they emphasize carrying the netbook around on its lonesome and, of course, boast a shoulder strap to facilitate this.
If you’ve got a particularly dinky netbook, and are looking for a netbook case that will hold it, and all its accessories then the Proporta Gadget Bag is the way to go. It includes two pockets which you can zip completely off if you don’t need them, an internal pouch for storing loose bits and bobs and a main compartment which will birth a 7″ netbook.
Despite its somewhat ugly appearance, it’s one of my favorite cases and gets a lot of use carrying various professional audio gubbins to rehearsals.