Hasta La Gadget!

A fake leather-bound book-shaped case for a laptop computer is pretty dumb, but then the MacBook Air isn’t really like any other laptop computer. Instead of winding up with a huge behemoth of a case desperately trying to squeeze a computer inside, like a portly gentleman trying to hide his belly with a tent-like shirt, you can slide the tiny MacBook Air anywhere you like. And one place we like is inside the new Pad & Quill Cartella case.

The Cartella is an italian leather-bound, baltic birch-framed book-a-like for the 11 and 13-inch Airs. We used to call this category “faux-Moleskine”, but now its probably big enough to have its own name. I’ll leave that to somebody else though, as the best I can manage this Monday morning is Notebook Notebook, or iBook (which I think somebody took already).

Like the iPad and iPhone cases before it, the Cartella holds its contents in place with the pressure from squishy corner pads. And if it’s anything like the iPad version, it’ll grip your Air like Spiderman grips, well, anything.

The case also comes with a document pocket inside the front cover, for carrying those pesky pieces of paper people persistently press on us, and thanks to cut-out in the wooden frame, you can get to all ports while the case is attached. And like the iPad case, you can flip the front cover around the back and make a wedge-shaped lap-table to work on.

The cases weight 13.3 and 14-ounces, and cost $90 or $100, with $10 off right now as a launch offer.

Cartella product page [Pad & Quill. Thanks, Brian!]
Photos: Pad & Quill

See Also:

• iPad Case Smackdown: Dodocase Vs. Pad & Quill
• The Case: Another Beautiful Moleskine-Like iPad Case
• Little Black Book: An Open and Shut Case for iPhone 4