Sporting distinct, classy names, Women in Business’ spring line of laptop bags are professional and pragmatic. Express yourself with the Vanity, the Liberator, the Thoroughbred, or the HerBackpack, all of which are available through Women in Business’ website.

The Vanity Bag

With sensitivity to both laptop protection and appearance, the Vanity Bag stands out as the best of the lot. The Expresso model features a quilted matte leather brown exterior lined with green nylon. Also available in shiny patent leather red or black, each tote is divided into four compartments.

We were especially impressed by the superior amount of padding given to the center laptop compartment, which is secured by an elastic velcro strap. We were able to fit laptops up to 16 inches in size, although the resulting stiffness may be uncomfortable for the user.

On either side of the laptop compartment you can store your files, books, and pens with the aid of pockets and pen holders. We appreciated the double zipper that seals off this compartment, but rain might still leak into the unsecured sides.

The fourth compartment features similar pockets and pen holders and closes with the aid of a snap button. If you’ve got $99.99 to spend, this is the women’s business bag to get.

The Thoroughbred Bag

The Thoroughbred steps up the stylish quotient, featuring genuine leather trim, gold decorative hardware, and sturdy, if short, handles. The matte black nylon exterior opens up into three, orange-lined compartments, making odds and ends easy to find.

The middle chamber is minimally padded to secure a laptop up to 15.6 inches in size, but unlike the Liberator, it can zip shut with double zippers. Still, like the Vanity, rain can seep in.

The other two compartments feature pen holders, side pockets, and a useful file divider. If the handles are too short to suit you, the bag comes with an attachable shoulder strap. Simple but elegant, the Thoroughbred may be worth $71.99.

The Liberator Bag

The very affordable Liberator tote ($44.99) gives you six exterior color choices: Red, White, Pink, Very Pink, Black, and Leopard. All have black handles and interiors, except the all-pink Very Pink. The leather handles, which can be adjusted with belt-like buckles, are long enough to comfortably balance the bag on your shoulder.

A thick pad divides the nylon interior two compartments, one for a laptop and the other for necessities. This side of the partition contains zippered pockets and a key chain for better organization. One of the two side pockets closes neatly with a magnetic clasp; the other is a simple zippered pocket. The bag also comes with a small clutch and a leather id tag.

But for all these accessories, needed or not, the Liberator provides little laptop security. The elastic velcro strap and a wider leather strap left much of the laptop exposed to the elements. Just keep on the sunny side with this $45 trendy laptop bag.

The Her-Backpack

At $49.99, this sturdy backpack is quite a bargain. The stocky, no-frills HerBackpack features two compartments and comes in three colors: Burgundy, Black, and Beige. The beige nylon exterior of the last model clashes with the hot pink nylon interior, but then, it is the “HerBackpack,” so it has to be pink somewhere, right?

The main compartment is divided by a thinly padded partition in which to store your laptop, but despite the more thickly padded back surface and stiff upper lining, the HerBackpack seems less protective than other laptop backpacks. It does, however, at least keep your laptop dry.

A 15.6 inch laptop, slightly larger than the specified 15.4 inches, fit snugly within. We also read that the backpack contains a “removable laptop sleeve,” but there is nothing removable about the laptop partition.

The main compartment also includes two small, removable accessory pouches which can attach to the bag interior via velcro. Pen holders and a stiff file divider with elastic pockets round up the main compartment’s features.

The spacious front pocket contains another stiff file divider, quite useful for preserving papers in their pristine condition, and a large zippered pocket.В You could use the padded mesh pocket on the back of the backpack for storing vital items such as travel documents or transit tickets. Quickly stash a waterbottle into either of the stiff side pockets and you’re ready to go!

Sporting distinct, classy names, Women in Business’ spring line of laptop bags are professional and pragmatic. You can express yourself with the Vanity, the Liberator, the Thoroughbred, or the HerBackpack, all of which are available through wibbags.com.

Other reviews of the Entourage Edge went live today and it looks like a consensus is forming.

Wired: You’d think this mash-up would be fabulous. It’s not. Despite our initial enthusiasm, after testing the eDGe we found it to be a Frankenstein-ish monster that’s hobbled by a slow processor, some puzzling design choices and touchscreen technology that seems like it was cooked up during the Clinton administration.

Engadget: Yes, the Edge is a combination e-reader and a Android tablet — it just doesn’t quite work well as either. … While promised software updates may yet fix enough issues and enable enough features to perhaps make it a decent textbook replacement for some students, we just can’t say that its worth the cash right now. And so our wait continues.

CNet: In spite of all the positive aspects of the Entourage Edge, it is simply too heavy and too awkwardly designed to take on the Kindles, Nooks, and iPads of the world. Most people we presented the Edge to simply found the device too bulky for its purpose.

We’re still interested in re-evaluating the Edge once the promised updates have come through, so keep an eye out on the blog.

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, eReaders may be paying homage to the animal kingdom soon. Qualcomm grabbed inspiration from the colors found in wildlife and from the study of biomimetics (technology imitating nature) to create the first full-color, video-capable display for an eReader. The goal of the eReader mirasol prototype is to rethink the way a device creates and displays color while maximizing battery life.

As opposed to LCDs, which transmit light and color and depend on battery-draining backlighting, mirasol displays take advantage of ambient light to create vibrant colors and enhanced visibility. The colors are a culmination of interferometric modulator (IMOD) elements, which work with tiny MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) devices made up of flexible membranes spread over a mirrored surface. When various voltage levels are applied, light is reflected through these membranes and becomes refracted. The interfering wavelengths create colors and enable beautifully thin displays that can be seen easily, even in direct sunlight with little to no illumination or backlighting.

“Our number one power-hungry component is the display. We can save about 40 percent more [battery life] than a competitor,” said Cheryl Goodman, director of marketing at Qualcomm MEMS Technologies. “And that’s a very conservative analysis. If you can reduce that, you don’t need a huge battery. And that’s driving thinness.”

During our hands-on time with the active eReader mirasol prototype at the 2010 International CES in Las Vegas, we were impressed with the quality and overall depth of color on the mirasol display. Factoring in the benefits of lower power consumption, we can imagine some truly compelling eReaders, smart phones, and laptops in the near future. Expect the first crop of mirasol devices to hit store shelves this fall.