Tech in Style

I’ve been known to succumb to my girly side before – see ultra pink Flip Ultra case – and lately I’ve noticed more and more opportunities to girl up my gadgets. At CES, the the most stylish booth by far was the one for Golla Bags. Housed deep in the South Hall, the Golla stand certainly stood out from its geekier surroundings. Across the walls of the spacious booth were rows upon rows of cases from the 2009 collection for laptops, netbooks, and mobile devices. They weren’t all of the pink and purple variety, but given the preponderance of black bags on the market, the pink and purple (and green and white…) made the biggest impression.

Because of my rarefied blogger status, I walked away from CES with a free, lemony green netbook bag (technically a netbook sleeve) called the GAIA mini. It’s well-padded and perfectly snug around my Asus Eee. It includes a pull-out handle and outside pocket,and it’s way more attractive than my beat-up black leather bag. I highly recommend it for the tech girl on your list, especially if she’s got a new netbook. There aren’t many right-sized cases available.

On the down side, I will admit that I’m a little concerned with how well the Golla case is going to wear. The light colors seem to soil fairly easily, and I’ve already clipped one string from the outside of my bag. But practicality is only one part of buying a new gadget bag. And at $34.95 for a Golla laptop sleeve, these cases aren’t going to break the bank.

The photo (above, left) features my Golla bag topped with a purple ClickFree Transformer (more on that backup device later). It seems the tech accessory market has upped its marketing game with les femmes. I’m in favor.