I have looked all over, but haven't found a cover, sleeve, shell or what ever for my laptop. I see so many cool protective shells for the macbooks and macbook pro's. They have some amazing snap on plastic sleeves, and leather mold shells for all the newer laptops, but nothing for my 15" powerbook G4.
Does anyone know where I can get a good protective cover for my laptop? This aluminum computer is very slippery. I don't want to drop it or ding it.
I finally sat down and looked through the list that came up when googling "powerbook skins". Maybe I'm just not looking in the right area. I found one web company that offered custom skins (designerskins) but that was for a plastic / vinyl skin that you could put a picture on it, or what ever, but it was just for the back of the screen.
I was wondering if anyone has or knows of a molded plastic cover or skin that fits around the edges of the screen and bottom part of the laptop. There are many to choose from but I haven't found anything for the G4 15" powerbook.
My favorite is the Booq Vyper series. I just got my 15-inch PowerBook recently, and ordering it from Booq bags only cost me a few dollars since it is a discontinued product. But I believe they ran out and still fulfilled my order, only with a MacBook Pro sleeve. I know because there is a few centimeters of play on the length side. It doesn't present an issue, but when I put the sleeve against my boss's MacBook Pro, it matched snugly.
I have one of these sleeves for my 12-inch PowerBook and it is snug tight. So that's where I came up with my hypothesis. Especially because they advertise the 15-inch PowerBook sleeve as not being compatible with the MacBook Pro. But the sleeve for the 15-inch MacBook Pro is usable with the 15-inch PowerBook.
Here it is on their site:
[http://www.booqbags.com/s.nl/it.A/id.80/.f?leadsource=BAGFINDERCAMP]
**I'll note here that I got mine in the closeout section... seems they've come back into stock @ $49.95... I paid $19.95 or even less I think. (It shows up in the closeout section too, for $49.95 as I just checked... maybe I was just lucky?).
I don't recommend the plastic snap-on cases because those can scratch your aluminum casing.
I checked the bestskinsever. com, but they didn't have anything for the 15" G4 power book. The booqbags.com ones sure look like quality stuff, but that is a case instead of a sleeve or cover. I guess that might be me my best bet. I was really hoping there was someone making snap on or molded covers for the powerbooks.
$19.95 was a great price for that case. I'll try holding out a little longer and if nothing shows up i'll probably buy one my self.
Oh, they are quality items, with ballistic nylon and all. Plus, the zipper doesn't scratch the PowerBook because there is an inner lip that lines the zipper area. And they are rigid as well. They could be considered sleeve/cases. Which they are. eBay sometimes has them for cheaper, but I didn't find any right now in my search.
If you want a case, I saw some a couple of weeks ago, but can't remember the brand right now. When I remember, I will post back here.
Sleeves, you might try Tucano. I have one of those too for my 12-inch PowerBook, but never got around to getting one for this 15-incher. They both have their pros and cons and I switch between the two sometimes (why, I don't know) on my 12-inch model.
[http://www.erwincomputers.com/bfnl15g4.html]
(Gosh, now I want to buy one myself, that Tucano one I just linked for you).
Gosh. I finally found it! The company is TechShell.
However, they only make it for the 12-inch PowerBook G4 right now. (An attestment to the popularity and continued use of these models, I guess, since they have no replacements right now, unlike the 15-inch which has an equal replacement, the MacBook Pro... they said they would be making some for the 15-inch PowerBooks soon).
[http://www.techshell.biz/clpi12po.html]
Message was edited by: Pismo 900
What about these, though they're not shells:
[http://www.radtech.us/Products/LaptopSleeves.aspx]
I think we are getting skins and sleeves confused here. You can buy a padded protective sleeve an any electronic outlet like BestBuy or Circuit City. I have a nicle one that is a BodyGlove. Do a Google Search and type in "15" PowerBook sleeve" and see what you come up with.
Skins, on the other hand, as I understand it, attach directly to the computer case to give it a different look.
Wow! That shell from "techshell.biz" is sweet! That is ultimately what I was hoping I could find for my 15" G4 powerbook. You said they would be making them for the 15" G4's? Maybe I should wait?
Thanks Cornelius, You're right. I guess I'm learning as I go here. My first message wasn't that clear. I was running out of hope for a shell and thought I would settle for a sleeve.
I knew what you were talking about from the start, but was giving you options since as you found, there aren't any SHELLS currently available for the 15-inch PowerBook. And as I said in my first post, I remember seeing those shells before, but couldn't remember the name or company.
I was at Macworld this year and I asked them if they had one for the 15-inch PowerBook, since they have some cool ones in matte black and clear plastic. They said they plan to release them later this year. It seems logical since they have one for the 12-inch PowerBook (though in pink!).
CASES can be intertwined, like SLEEVES and BAGS. You can even call those shells, "cases."
The SLEEVES recommended are those from Booq Bags, like I also previously mentioned to you. I believe those are nice. =) Other sleeves I like are the Tucano brand. Nothing else I've found seems to be stylish. But, that's my opinion.
If you need some BAGS advice, let me know.
Have we confused you even more? Hee hee hee. Actually, hope that clears up things. (But like I said, those shells can scratch up your case, in this case, the casing. Sorry, I had to do it! The puns). There are other companies that make shells for the MacBook and MacBook Pros, like Rhino and Speck and one other that eludes at the moment, but they don't seem to be making them for our PowerBooks.
If you want, go to TechShell's website and click on their "Contact Us" page. You can ask them if they will be making the 15-inch PowerBook shell soon. I may ask as well! =)
Message was edited by: Pismo 900:
Oh yes, and as Cornelius points out, there are also SKINS, which is different as well. These are like stickers that you can put on your PowerBook lid to protect the casing. Some are designer methods like create your own, or buy them pre-made (Super Mario, NFL, etc.). The next link is a story from Gizmodo that shows the one I really like... the Super Mario one. The link to the product website is on that page under "Product Page" which takes you to Gelaskins's site:
Then there are these skins which almost serve as "shells":
[http://www.applepeelz.com/products/PowerBook]
I just looked at Gelaskins, and unfortunately, and weirdly/coincidentally enough? Only for 12-inch PowerBooks. Though, they do custom-made ones, so you can ask as well.
That's a ton of info! Thank you for your detailed informatioin. Isn't it wonderful to have choices.
I was wondering..., should I be concerned about which shell to get (when they become available) and if it might worsen the already bad wifi reception we get with these G4 powerbooks?
I like the ApplePeelz, don't you? Very minimalist. However, I am one (no offense, and not directed toward you) who takes care of my things and you won't find a scratch or blemish on most of my equipment.
My 12-inch PowerBook is flawless, save for the few marks (very few!) that were there when I bought it open box at CompUSA.
The old CompUSA...
Then when I had to get the LCD replaced at the Genius Bar (now, no offense here to Apple), I was afraid I would get it back with scratches after it was opened up. This came from one day, I saw a customer being helped by an employee at the Bar, and they... showed the customer something on their PowerBook (the customer's own machine) and... slid it... lid case down on the counter... across to them. I almost died!
Anyway, why did I start talking about this. Oh yes. Scratching the case.
When I saw the ones at Macworld, they had plastic-only ones (like that one on the website for the 12-inch PowerBook) and they had some other kinds. I could've sworn the one I liked was metal on the inside and a matte black rubber on the outside. But it could have been plastic as well.
Note that I've never used these myself, but from what I see on how to put them on, they may scratch up your machine more than protect it in the long run.
And with your question about reception, if indeed that black one I saw (people were clamoring for one, and the irony was the people asking at the time, including myself, wondered if it fit the 15-inch PowerBook... that's when we were told they were coming with it soon) had a metal inside part, then that would affect reception.
What do you think about the processor heating cooling issue? In terms of a protective sleeve, the idea is to protect your computer while it is not in use. In other words, when you are using your computer, it will be out of the sleeve. If your leave your computer to sleep, it will not normally heat up in the sleeve since the processor is asleep.
From what I have read, there has been some question about heating/cooling issues with the use of stick-on skins. As you know, the computer can run hot if not properly ventilated. The bottom aluminum casing, although it is not the heat-sink itself, does serve to dissipate heat. Although the heat is vented out, anything that serves to retard heat exchange will not help.
