I received both the Cool Banana and LArobe netbook cases for review from Gear Zap.

Front View

Back View

Let me start off with the first review which is the Cool Bananas Netbook Envelope.

Fitting It In

Fit Perfectly

I am using the Asus EEE 1000HE. The Cool Bananas Netbook Envelope will fit any netbook whose screen size is between 8.9″ – 10.2″.

The size of the envelope is 27cm by 20cm and it weights 178 grams.

Lifting The Flap

Most cases use zip or velcro, but for this, there is a magnetic button which is used to hold the flap together. This made taking out the netbook easier. Zip will scratch your netbook if you are not careful and velcro will be subjected to wear and tear if you open and close it too often.

Leather On The Outside

Velour On The Inside

Velour On The Inside (Close Up)

It is made of leather (I am assuming syntactic leather) on the outside and on the inside, it is made of some silky smooth soft velour lining which will not scratch your netbook. In fact, I think to a certain extend it will help to clean the glossy surface of your netbook (like mine) from fingerprints.

The padding between the leather and velour is pretty thin and it does not use shock absorbing materials. I don’t think it will protect your netbook from hard knocks or even a slight drop.

Default Thickness

Thickness After My Asus EEE 1000HE Is In

Thinner netbooks will fit better into the Cool Bananas Netbook Envelope Case rather than my Asus EEE 1000HE as you can see from the picture above.

But nevertheless, if you want a sleeve that is unique to your netbook, you can consider the Cool Bananas Netbook Envelope Case. If you want to protect your netbook from shocks, I would recommend you the LArobe netbook case instead (review coming soon).

You can get the Cool Bananas Netbook Envelope Case from Gear Zap for £17.95 (including taxes but excluding shipping).