Hope for Air Travelers with Laptops
May 24th, 2008 (8:00am) Mike Gunderloy 9 Comments
As any web worker who has to visit far-flung clients knows, dealing with airport security in the USA can be a time-consuming nuisance. According to USA Today, though, there may be a tiny bit of relief in sight. The TSA is collaborating with manufacturers including Targus and Skooba Design to create “checkpoint-friendly” laptop cases. If you buy one of these cases – likely in a few months – you won’t have to take your laptop out at the checkpoint.
The basic idea is to create cases that are x-ray transparent, and that don’t layer other things on top of the laptop. One open question is whether travelers with no real clue will put their old-style cases through the scanner, slowing everyone down when they need to be unpacked and rescanned. But my guess is that, at least in major airports, a checkpoint-friendly case will get you recognized as someone who wants to work within the system – and that could be a benefit all by itself.
9 Comments Post your own comment
Laura Spencer says: May 24th, 2008 8:51am
Interesting.
Do you have any word on how much these cost?
Mike Gunderloy says: May 24th, 2008 3:37pm
No announced prices yet, as far as I know. We should see some by late summer, I think.
Mark Roddis says: May 25th, 2008 2:27am
This this really needed?
Most cases are already fine for the Xray machines. The reason given in the past was that the laptop itself blocked what was below it in the xray machine and that was the reason for removing it.
Indeed in Heathrow they have now installed xray machines that scan from the tops and the sides so this is no longer a problem. So if you now fly out of Heathrow (not just T5) you don’t have to take your laptop out of your suitcase (which is good news as you still have to bag up your liquids and take off your shoes and belt.
This sounds like a marketing solution for a problem that doesn’t really exist.
Roland Dobbins says: May 25th, 2008 7:15am
Since these new designs preclude carrying chargers, cables, extra batteries, and the other necessities of traveling with a laptopo, they’re useless, IMHO.
Mike Gunderloy says: May 25th, 2008 8:30am
@Roland – I’ve seen that critique, but I don’t think it’s valid. If you look at the original coverage, it says that many of the proposed designs have two sides, one that holds the laptop and one that holds the detritus. Then you’d open – but not unpack – your bag to send it through the scanner.
Gary says: May 26th, 2008 5:31am
Dear,
I recently travelled via Heathrow Terminal one and I can confirm that we can now pass through the security without taking the laptop out of the bag.
Gary
Scott says: May 26th, 2008 5:41am
Its not only the security checkpoints that are so bad in the US. Its passing through immigration. Super slow inefficient and a downright pain. Not to mention the visa officers like to chat up passengers. What a joke. Going through the Heathrow was 1000x better.
Jez says: May 28th, 2008 1:27pm
So as long as you only have a laptop in this new TSA approved bag, then you wont have to take out your laptop..
Its called a plastic bag.
Like @Roland said.. what about my charger? My external HDD? my USB leads?
If I have to open the bag an lay it out, why not just pull the laptop out? Sorry I don’t see the point.
geniusthemaster says: May 31st, 2008 3:46pm
this a big PHREAKING reason there not made to be xray proof, uv and xray wipes out the bios chip on at least 65 % of all labtops; they have a little bios flash area underneath the label of the bios chips on those 65% so to make it easy for manufactures to fix the computer. in other words, you go through the airport and wonder why you dont even get the blackscreen later. i DO hope they consider this when they sell them or theres going to be a recall worse then the firestone tires incident. (3 million dollars i believe?)