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Belkin PocketTop notebook carrying case review: Belkin PocketTop notebook carrying case

Belkin PocketTop notebook carrying case

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
Dan Ackerman
2 min read

Most laptop desks are simple plastic planks with (or without) little feet or risers, meant for keeping your system cool and at a workable angle. Belkin takes a refreshingly different approach with its PocketTop laptop carrying case, pitched as a "mobile workstation," and meant as both a carrying case and a lapdesk.

7.0

Belkin PocketTop notebook carrying case

The Good

Attractive, colorful design; multiple uses; handy power supply pocket.

The Bad

Lacks carrying strap or traditional handle for road use; only works with 15-inch or smaller laptops.

The Bottom Line

Belkin's PocketTop, a colorful split between carrying case and lapdesk, isn't for everyone, but it works great for moving a laptop setup from room to room.

Like the Belkin Cushtop laptop stand, the $49 PocketTop eschews the dull plastic look for a colorful fabric feel. Our PocketTop was a bright green, but orange and silver versions are available as well. The PocketTop is flat on one side, and curved on the other, with a large cutout handle on the curved side. The stiff, reinforced material offers some protection to your equipment, but that means it's also bulky, and not as easy to carry as a traditional laptop case.

You can use the PocketTop in a couple of ways. Open the zipper and a laptop (15-inch or smaller) can sit inside on the built-in rubberized feet, while the curved lid of the PocketTop sits behind it at a 90-degree angle. A small pass-through hole lets you route a power cable to a compartment built into the case's lid, which can keep the power supply brick out of sight. We could also zip up the case, flip it over, and place the rounded lid against our lap, leaving the flat back of the case free to use as a lapdesk.

The PocketTop's design and construction are top-notch, but note that this is meant primarily for home or office use, not travel--the case lacks a real handle or carrying strap. But it may be the perfect solution for a select group of users who want to take their laptop and accessories easily from one room to another and also have a work surface that travels with them.

7.0

Belkin PocketTop notebook carrying case

Score Breakdown

Design 8Features 6Performance 0