Unfortunately not tailored specifically to the iPad, but each with padded compartments capable of holding Apple’s tablet or significantly thicker netbooks, Speck’s new CorePack-10 ($50) and PortPack-10 ($50) are smaller and improved versions of earlier laptop bags we’ve seen from the case and bag maker. CorePack-10 thankfully slims down what was one of the bigger horizontal laptop shoulder bags we’ve seen, retaining the same nylon-bodied, dual-compartment design that seals with a flap on the front and a zipper on the back where the iPad is held.
Pulling the two sides apart turns the still large bag into two halves that lie flat; opening the front side’s flap yields a plaid interior with small zippered compartments and a large open area large enough for a textbook, notepad, or other items. A new shoulder strap design incorporates a flip-up, flat handle that we like more than the puffy one in the original CorePack.
PortPack-10 is significantly more traditional, a flap- and single zipper-shut vertically-oriented compartment with padded iPad and “other stuff” areas — capable of expanding using a zipper release if you need more space — plus two smaller zippered pockets and an open rear pocket. The shoulder strap here is handle-less, but still adjustable.