Speck PixelSleeve for MacBook Air

By Ahmer Kazi It's difficult to deny the appeal of the MacBook Air. Naturally, a large part of this appeal lies in its incredibly thin chassis. After dropping over a thousand bucks on an Air, though, you can't help but become acutely aware that that very same featherweight frame is also practically begging to be broken, especially if you toss it in a bag full of books. The Speck PixelSleeve for MacBook Air ($34.95 list) offers a great solution to this issue, serving up a handsomely designed sleeve that gives a much-needed layer of protection to this svelte investment and some peace of mind to its owner.

The PixelSleeve is available for both the 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air models and comes in black, blue, teal, and purple colors. Our review unit was the 13-inch black model. Its neoprene exterior layer sported a textured pixel-pattern design, making for a sleeve that looks great while providing a nice grip when carried. In contrast, the soft micro-fleece material lining the PixelSleeve's interior is abundantly cushy, which helps keep your MacBook Air scratch-free.

Rather than using a zipper, the PixelSleeve opens and closes with a flap in a fashion similar to that of an envelope. According to Speck, the decision to forego a zipper is premised on the notion that it makes going through airport security easier. Apparently, laptops stashed in zipperless sleeves need not be removed from their cases. While anything that lessens the pain of dealing with TSA is unquestionably attractive, personal experience makes me doubtful of this claim. The last time that I passed through JFK's security, the humorless TSA officer instructing me to remove my laptop from its sleeve seemed much more concerned with the laptop itself than the sleeve.

I put the PixelSleeve on a 13-inch MacBook Air and, as advertised, it fit like a glove. The MacBook Air sat inside snugly, and the PixelSleeve wrapped around the system securely. Thanks to its stretchy neoprene exterior, the PixelSleeve can also accommodate the SeeThru and SeeThru Satin clamshell cases that Speck makes for the MacBook Air. My only gripe with the PixelSleeve is that its added bulk can potentially prevent the MacBook Air from fitting into smaller laptop bags. That said, though, the PixelSleeve hews to the MacBook Air's dimensions closely enough to the point that this remains a remote possibility.

The Speck PixelSleeve for MacBook Air is a handsomely designed and versatile sleeve that gives your MacBook Air a useful layer of protection without overtly compromising its style. It's a relatively small investment given the fact that it protects something as important as the MacBook Air. For the extra protection and peace of mind it affords, it's well worth checking out.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/pguwePl6cAw/0,2817,2416728,00.asp

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