I recently mentioned that I thought cases made for carrying portable DVD players would work fine for carrying UMPCs around and today I dropped by Target to check them out. I had the idea that it would be nice to have a small case to carry the Fujitsu P1610 along with a few accessories and avoid carrying my backpack everywhere. Sometimes you just want to go small so off to Target I went to look at the cases for DVD players. I found one that fit the P1610 perfectly so here’s a look at the Philips DVD player case I picked up for $25. Read on after the jump for my impressions of this cheap case.
The Philips case looks like a little laptop case so it’s perfect for carrying a little laptop like the Fujitsu P1610. It’s constructed of black and gray ballistic nylon and the main compartment is nice and padded and provides sufficient protection for the Fuji. The first thing I noticed on the case was all the plastic rings for clipping the various straps that are included with the Philips. Remember, it’s really a DVD player case and these straps can be fitted so the bag can be hung from the back of a car seat. I don’t need that for the P1610 so I pitched all of the straps save the main shoulder strap.
There are only two compartments in this little case, the main one for housing the Fuji and a zippered compartment on the front of the bag. This front compartment has a big mesh pocket and two clear pockets that look like they’re designed for carrying cell phones but they are perfect for small accessories. The clear plastic allows me to see what’s in the pocket which is handy. The main compartment has a big Velcro strap at the back of the "laptop" area which is designed to hold a DVD player in while the screen is open but this is not much use to me. Fortunately it is totally flat so it doesn’t get in the way. The P1610 fits perfectly in this compartment and can be stored here with either the standard or the extended battery which is nice. I carry the extra battery in the very bottom of the front compartment so I have the extra one with me at all times. The main compartment also has a good number of little flat pockets, no doubt to hold DVDs but perfect for other items that are fairly flat. I keep the Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard here along with my business card holder and a flat laser pointer I use a lot.
As small as the Philips case is I’m amazed at all of the stuff I can easily fit in here without making it too bulky. I have the Fujitsu P1610, Stowaway BT Mouse, Stowaway BT keyboard, well, it’s easier just showing you the bag loaded and also a pic of all the gear I carry in there:
All of this stuff really did come out of this little bag! I’m pretty happy with this little case which is the perfect size to carry the little Tablet PC with me. To look professional during my work day I slide the Philips bag into the Vaja messenger bag and I’m stylin’. This provides me with room for work files that I encounter during the day yet lets me just slide the Philips bag out of the Vaja to carry by itself. Pretty nice setup, if you ask me.





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