Cool Bananas Netbook Envelope Case Review

Gearzap.com were kind enough to send us one of their awesome Envelope Netbook cases to review and play with.

NOTE - our camera failed dismally with transfering the pics onto our netbook to use in the review, so we’ll try and get them up this week.

It looks awesome, and the quality of material used is extremely high - as one would expect from Cool Bananas. We got the white one and it really stands out. Initially we were a little nervous that it would pick up lots of dirt/stains easily, however this was not the case, and even when it does get a little dirty, a quick wipe with a damp cloth cleans it up nicely.
The leather material used feels tough and won’t rip/tear (within reason). The stitching/ribbing along the edges is very strong and robust and will certainly last as well. To close the case you use a magnetic button which works well and clips closed and opened easily.
Look inside the case and Cool Bananas have used a lovely soft velour that is gentle on your netbook and poses zero scratch problems.

Our netbook fits super snug in the Envelope Case and doesnt slip out easily. Although not water tight, the material will protect a netbook from small spills and a little rain.
Talking about protection, this is not a hardcover netbook case, so don’t expect it to protect your netbook against falls and bad bumps. There is little to no padding and the base is also not padded. That being said, it was never meant to be used as a protective bag, but rather as a stylish, novel carry case.

One thing we were thinking was whether it would look better, and be more useful, with a shoulder strap. However after asking a few friends opinions we all decided it works best the way it is.
It really is a beauty of a netbook case and very novel indeed. If you are not looking for a protective netbook case, but want something that looks smart and stylish, then the Netbook Envelope Case is for you.
Get it from Gearzap.com for £17.95

MacBook Pro 13inch Summary

Specifications: Avg. price is £1000, 13 inch screen, Mac OS, 4GB RAM , 250GB storage, 2kg weight, 6 hour battery

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MacBook Pro 13inch Review

The MacBook Pro 13inch is one of the newest macbooks from Apple, and it is a stunner in almost every sense of the word. As you can guess from the name, the screen is 13 inches, which is a great compact size for portability, while still being large enough to comfortably watch videos.
The screen has amazing clarity and is veiwable in all but the most direct of sunlight. The keyboard itself is backlit, which only adds to the beauty. Beneath the keyboard is a glass, buttonless trackpad.
Another great aspect of the MacBook Pro 13 inch is the battery, which will easily last over 6 hours. This really is a brilliant feat by Apple.

The quality of build is excellent, and the machine is robust and reliable. If you have the cash, and love Mac, then the MacBook Pro 13 inch is a brilliant purchase.
CultofMac have a great review

Buy MacBook Pro 13inch

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At the moment, the cheapest MacBook Pro 13 inch is from Amazon.co.uk for £1038

Cool Bananas make a range of netbook cases, which have become very very popular.
The cool bananas cases include from hard cover, folio-type, neoprene and sleeves. They are all of exceptional high quality and durability. Plus they look great. Below just have a look at the small sample of netbook cases from Cool Bananas. To see the full range click on the ‘See full Range‘ link at the bottom.

See Full Range

Sony Vaio W Summary

Specifications: Avg. price is £450, 10.1 inch screen, Intel Atom, 1GB RAM , 160GB storage, 1.19kg weight

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Sony Vaio W Review

The Sony Vaio W represents Sony’s first foray into the Netbook Market. Sony have chosen to start off with a 10.1 inch screen, with 1GB RAM, 160GB Storage and powered by Intel Atom, all pretty standard for netbooks.
It weighs 1.19kg, which really is super light.

The Sony Vaio W will have great video viewing capabilities, bluetooth and built-in wifi.
In true Sony fashion, the Vaio W does look fantastic, with a great shiny smooth body and a chiclet keyboard, built to the highest quality. You will be able to pick the W Vaio up in Cocoa Brown, Sugar White or Bery Pink.

Also in Sony fashion, the Vaio W is very very pricey and will most likely retail for £450. This really is expensive for what is, apart from great looks and a excellent video watching capability, a rather standard netbook. It would have been smart of Sony to include at least 3G.

Buy Sony Vaio W

Not yet available, but should be in August.

Acer Aspire One ZG5 Summary

Specifications: Avg. price is £170, 8.9 inch screen, Intel Atom, 512MB RAM , 120GB storage, 0.99kg weight

Editor Rating
Best Price £167

Acer Aspire One ZG5 Review

The Acer Aspire One ZG5 is one of the cheaper, smaller and less powerful netbooks from Acer. It will however perform all the neccesary tasks you might need and, being an Acer, does look good.

Basic specs are as follows:
A small 8.9 inch screen and weighing less that 1 kg maes the Aspire One ZG5 highly portable. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor and runs Linux (which in turn makes it cheaper than if it was running Windows XP). RAM is only 512MB, but there is 120GB storage, which should be plenty.

There are plenty of netbooks that have screens measuring 10 plus inches now-a-days, however the Acer One ZG5 goes back to the beginning when the main use of a netbook was that it needed to be cheap and portable, and on these two requirements, the Acer Aspire ZG5 scores A+

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At the moment the only retailer selling the ZG5 is Amazon.co.uk for £167

Acer Aspire D150 Quick Guide

Specifications: Avg. price is £250, 10 inch screen, Intel Atom, 1GB RAM , 160GB storage, 2.7kg weight, 3.5 hour battery

Editor Rating
Best Price £250

Acer Aspire D150 Review

The Acer D150 was the first 10 inch netbook to come from Acer. Since then they have made quite a few 10inch + netbooks, like the Acer D250 and the Acer One 531.
Spec’s are pretty standard with 1GB RAM, 160GB storage, all powered by an Intel Atom processor and running Windows XP.

Even though the screen is larger than most previous Acer netbooks, Acer have kept the keyboard the same size as what was on the 8.9 version, which is strange and probably done as a cost cutter. It weighs a fair wack as well, at nearly 2.7 kg, which is a good 1kg above many others in the same range.
The battery also protrudes quite substantially behind and below the Aspire D150, which adds to its size and prevents it sitting flat on any surface.

Overall, the Acer Aspire D150 was a good move for Acer, only as far as them moving into the 10 inch netbook range. Other than that, there are much better 10 inch netbooks on the market.

Buy Acer Aspire D150

See above button for the best price on the Acer D150

Advent 4211 Quick Guide

Specifications: Avg. price is £250, 10.1 inch screen, Intel Atom, 1GB RAM , 80GB storage, 1.15kg weight, 3.5 hour battery

Editor Rating
Best Price £250

Advent 4211 Review

The Advent 4211 was one of the first netbooks to be made by and for PCWorld (read our Advent 4213 review and our Advent 4214 review). The 4211 netbook is basically a re-badged MSI Wind. It runs Windows XP, has 1GB RAM and 80GB storage, which is smaller than the 160GB we have become used to seeing, but is sufficient for most people. It really is light though at just over 1 kg, making it highly portable.
The keyboard is a decent size, with keys that are robust with only a slight flex. The cover is black, and is a combination matte and glossy, which to be honest looks very professional.

So, the Advent 4211 looks like the MSI Wind and acts like the MSI Wind, why wouldnt you just get the MSI Wind? The reason is the MSI Wind is close to £50 more expensive, and with these netbooks price is always a consideration.
The Advent 4211 really is a great value for money netbook.

See various prices of the Advent 4211 below.

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Acer Aspire One 751 Quick Guide

Specifications: Avg. price is £380, 11.6 inch screen, Intel Atom, 2GB RAM , 160GB storage, 1.30kg weight, 7 hour battery

Editor Rating
Best Price £326.97

Acer One 751 Review

The Acer 751 is the largest netbook currently offered by Acer, with an 11.6 inch screen. The outside of the Aspire 751 is pearl white with a shiny sheen appearance. Open the netbook, and the screen surround and keyboard are black, which gives an awesome contrast to the exterior. The keyboard is full size, making typing fast very easy, but we have heard that there is quite a lot of flex in it, especially when one pushes down a little too hard. The touchpad itself is quite small (strange considering the size of the Acer 751) and scrolling around a page take several strokes. However the touchpad does incorporate multi-touch, which means you can zoom in and out by pinching and tapping the touchpad.

The Acer Aspire 751 is preinstalled with Windows XP Home, so at least we will all be pretty comfortable using it. The graphics are very clear and the netbook is quite fast.
There is also a SIM card slot,so you can set up 3G.
It is available with either a 3-cell or 6-cell battery, with the 6-cell lasting around 8 hours.

Overall, the Acer Aspire 752 isnt a bad netbook, it just isnt a very good one. For the price there are much better netbooks, in terms of build quality, out there.

The full model name is ACER AO751-10Z

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Asus Eee PC 1101HA Quick Guide

Specifications: Avg. price is £340, 11.6 inch screen, Intel Atom 1GB RAM , 160GB storage, 1.4kg weight, 11 hour battery

Editor Rating
Best Price £???	COMING SOON

Asus Eee PC 1101HA Review

The Asus 1101HA netbook really is a beauty. It is part of the Asus Seashell range, which includes the Asus 1008HA. To be completely honest not too much is known about the Asus 1101HA at the moment and we can only go on various reports, themselves based on a very scattered and incomplete Asus press release (netbookchoice). However as this is all we have to go on, a little info is better than none at all me thinks.

Basic specs include an 11.6 inch screen, 1GB RAM, 160GB storage, all powered by an Intel Atom processor.
It is wireless, offers bluetooth, a multi-touch touchpad and a 1.3 mega pixel webcam.
Pricing will be around £340, which aint cheap, but the Asus 1101HA does have three things going for it that might justify the price.
1 - Being part of the Seashell range, it looks stunning
2 - The 11.6 inch screen
3 - It apparently has an 11 hour battery, which would be the best battery we have come across.

The Cool Bananas Eva Hardcover Case is a stylish netbook case from the great people over at Cool Bananas.
It is made of strong and robust nylon, and the handles are a softer neoprene (which is like wetsuit material) for carrying ease. The Cool Bananas Eva Netbook case also has a removable shoulder strap.

Inside you will find a fixing strp to keep your netbook in position (all safe and snug) as well as a mesh pocket to store some peripherals (mouse,USB etc.).
You can pick the Cool Bananas Eva Case up in black, green, blue, pink, red or brown.

See the full range at Amazon