A New Spin on Laptop Bags

Are four-wheeled bags easier to manage?

At the beginning of its maiden around-the-world voyage, the Queen Mary 2 left Fort Lauderdale en route to San Francisco. The largest cruise ship in the world, the QM2 had to sail all the way around South America because it was too big to squeeze through the Panama Canal.

I know just how she felt.

Laden with gadgets, food, reading material, ear plugs, eye shades, DVDs, a bottle of water, germ-killing hand gel, chewing gum, and, for all I know, a boulder from Stonehenge, I frequently struggle to maneuver my wheeled bag through the narrow aisle of an airplane coach cabin. Finally, after rolling over countless toes, I pick up the bag and lug it.

There are worse fates to befall a traveler. Nonetheless, I've often wondered why some company hadn't invented a wheeled laptop bag designed to easily glide down those clogged coach cabin arteries. Turns out, such a bag exists. Recently, I tested one of the first, Samsonsite's iMobile 360. Here's what I found.

Samsonite's latest notebook bag, the Spinner iMobile 360 (also called the Spinner Mobile Office) is part of a new generation of wheeled bags with four wheels instead of the customary two. With wheels that can spin 360 degrees, spinners are designed to be pushed or pulled in any direction with little effort--even sideways down a skinny airplane aisle. I've found the Samsonite bag online starting at $90.

As of this writing, only one other manufacturer, Tutto, was offering spinner notebook bags on eBags.com, one of the largest luggage retailers on the Internet. Tutto offered two versions: the Deluxe Small Office on Wheels ($130) and the Deluxe Regular Office on Wheels ($150). I haven't had the opportunity to test these bags.

So, does the Samsonite bag live up to its marketing hype?

On a recent cross-country trip, I rolled the bag sideways down coach cabin airplane aisles--behind me and in front of me. Overall, I found rolling the bag sideways down the aisle wasn't particularly easy. While the bag easily fit through the narrow aisle when dragged sideways, it was still easier to simply pick it up and carry it.

The four wheels did make it noticeably easier to change direction when pulling the bag along airport corridors, however. With traditional two-wheeled bags, I often find myself picking it up in order to aim it a different direction. With the Samsonite bag, though, just twist your wrist and the wheels pivot.

But there are some disadvantages to consider:

In general, I liked the easy maneuverability of the Samsonite bag, and the price is reasonable. If you're in the market for a new wheeled laptop bag at a good price, consider adding it to your list. Otherwise, I don't think the Samsonite bag's benefits are compelling enough to warrant giving up your two-wheeled bag, particularly if you're happy with it.

Mobile Computing News, Reviews, & Tips

Acer, a Taiwanese PC maker that primarily sells notebooks in the U.S., recently began offering its portables for sale at Best Buy. The most expensive of the five notebooks Acer is selling at Best Buy is the Acer Aspire AS5610-4537. The notebook runs on an Intel Core Duo processor and costs $850.

After discovering a new problem with some of its notebook batteries, Lenovo--which was part of last summer's big notebook battery recall--is now recalling an additional 208,000 notebook batteries worldwide, the company said. Lenovo recalled the batteries after five customers reported that their batteries overheated after they had dropped or bumped the notebooks. The battery defect caused minor eye irritation for one user and damaged the property and computers of the others, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The next time you're about to spend $1.50 calling your cell phone provider's 411 service, don't. If you've got a keyboard-enabled cell phone that can send and receive text messages, you've got a much cheaper alternative. Send a text message to GOOGL (46645) with the business or resident's name, city, and state. Within a minute (or less, in my experience), you'll receive the requested address and phone number in a reply. Given that many wireless providers charge just 10 cents per text message, or less if you have a package, it's a much cheaper way of getting the 411 on the go.

Cyrus Farivar, from whom I gleamed this choice tip, offers others in hisPC Worldarticle, " Six Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do."

Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it. However, I regret that I'm unable to respond to tech-support questions, due to the volume of e-mail I receive.