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Video: GE bringing 3D HD baggage screening to airports

by Darren Murph posted Mar 27th 2009 at 12:19AM

Certain airports have already taken the whole "walk through the metal detector" thing to the next level, but things are about to get stepped up once more thanks to TSA certification on a new product from GE Security. The CTX 9800 DSi, which happily sits in the company's explosives detection systems (EDS) line, is now free to waltz into airports in order to "protect travelers with advanced high-definition 3D imaging baggage screening technology." We're talking 360 degree, finely-detailed views of baggage contents, which will undoubtedly cause immense embarrassment when a given TSA agent sees your prime selection of underwear, nose hair trimmer and pink nail polish. Here's hoping this won't slow security lines down even further, and if you're interested in seeing what all this thing can do, just mash play on the video above.

Gallery: Video: GE bringing 3D HD baggage screening to airports

TSA-approved Solo CheckFast messenger bag caters to netbooks

by Darren Murph posted Dec 22nd 2008 at 5:40PM

So, you're tired of removing and replacing your netbook each and every time you waltz through an airport (or a different terminal at Sky Harbor International -- great planning there, Phoenix), but the current crop of TSA-friendly bags are simply too large for your tastes. Clearly, Solo has felt your pain, as the CheckFast Netbook messenger bag is only big enough to handle netbooks 11-inchers or smaller. Our good pals over at Gadling were able to take it for a spin, and even being avid travelers, they were mighty impressed. The build quality was top-shelf, there was plenty of extra storage room and the $35 price tag was found to be downright delectable. Still in need of a last-minute gift? You may have just found it.

Cellphone boarding pass gets tested, experience gets journaled

by Darren Murph posted Nov 27th 2008 at 7:04PM

The biggest problem with a new scheme -- particularly one involving you, technology and the TSA -- is the very real fear that introducing something fresh into a traditional system will create more havoc than good. As Grant Martin of sister blog Gadling discovered, there's a reason that belief exists. Upon realizing that he could utilize a mobile boarding pass on his flight from Detroit to New York, he excitedly pulled up a one-time use QR code on his iPhone and shuffled through to security. Upon reaching the checkpoint, he was greeted by a less-than-enthusiastic boarding pass checker who seemed to take entirely too long to send him onward; at the next step, the agent seemed miffed and discomposed by the fact that the passenger couldn't simultaneously rid himself of all electronics and keep his boarding pass on his person while passing through the metal detector. In the end, Mr. Martin concluded that the system holds a lot of promise, but it's still going to take some time before everyone else working at the airport adjusts to the year 2008.

Mobile Edge 'fashion-inspired' TSA-friendly laptop bags for her are not very inspiring

by Laura June posted Nov 18th 2008 at 11:30AM

We've seen Mobile Edge's ScanFast line of TSA-approved laptop bags before, so it was only a matter of time, we suppose, until there was a spate of the cases specifically for women. What does it mean, then, to be a laptop bag that is "designed for women by women?" Well, it helps to be pink or have faux alligator skin (or is that croc?) detailing, we can tell you that much. Regardless, the company is announcing three "fabulous" products: the Onyx Briefcase, the Onyx Backpack and the Element Briefcase, each coming in the three different color / style schemes. They're going to be available later this month, and sell for $99.99 each -- Chihuahua named Princess Sparklepants wearing a ballerina costume not included.

Time-saving Belkin FlyThru laptop case now available

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 6th 2008 at 1:54PM

We've already seen a few laptop cases that are compliant with the TSA's new time and stress-saving rules but, if you still haven't found one to your liking, you may want to consider Belkin's new FlyThru case, which is now available to make your travels a tiny bit more bearable. As with other TSA-friendly bags, this one packs separate, easily-accessible compartments for your laptop and accessories, and it'll accommodate laptops up to 15.4-inch in size. At just $60 it's also a good deal cheaper than something like the $220 Tom Bihn laptop bag or Skooba's long-promised Checkthrough bag which, coincidentally, is now finally shipping as well and will set you back $140.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Read - Belkin FlyThru laptop case
Read - Skooba Checkthrough

Tom Bihn's Checkpoint Flyer laptop bag in the wild, reviewed

by Darren Murph posted Oct 7th 2008 at 10:04PM

We could tell from the press shot that this here laptop bag was far and away the most beautiful of the TSA-approved bunch, and a recent review over at Gadling confirms it. Put simply, the Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer is "fantastic," and even the reviewer found himself startled at just how much he dug it. The build quality was remarkable, the ease of use was commendable and the design itself was obviously worthy of praise. The only real rub is the bloated sticker; the price of admission is a stiff $220, and that's before you add in any useful straps or extra packing cubes. 'Course, you're probably wondering how this thing fared in real-world use, and we're happy to report that no cavity searches were required when passing through security on a flight from Chicago to Amsterdam. Check the full writeup and a hands-on gallery in the read link.

Tom Bihn's Checkpoint Flyer: a TSA-approved bag worth owning

by Darren Murph posted Aug 19th 2008 at 2:54AM

Now that the TSA has doled out the official verbiage about what it considers a checkpoint-friendly laptop bag, expect to see the usual players toss in an option or two for frequent fliers. Thus far, all we've seen are cases that get the job done while throwing style ~~to the wind~~ in the nearest dumpster; now, however, we've a better option to choose from. Tom Bihn's stylish Checkpoint Flyer meets all of the TSA's requirements while still looking like a briefcase we wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with. The 2.6-pound bag is crafted from US 1050 denier ballistic nylon and 500 denier Cordura and includes a trio of pouches on the outside, splash-proof zippers and ten smaller pockets for stashing those increasingly rare bags of peanuts / pretzels. It's available now in three colors for $220 (yeah, we know, but it's made in the US of A).

[Via Electronista]

Flying today? Say hello to the TSA for us

by Paul Miller posted Aug 16th 2008 at 12:46PM

If you hadn't heard, TSA's new laptop bag rule went into effect today, so we're wondering: what sort of experience are you getting at the checkpoint? Like many TSA policies, they can take a few days to trickle down to the rank and file, plus your line compatriots could muck everything up by misunderstanding the fairly strict new guidelines for scanner-compatible bags, but hopefully somebody, somewhere is having a better flying experience this weekend.

Update: TSA's official guidelines are here, the cheat sheet is above.

TSA to introduce less annoying laptop bag rules this Saturday

by Joshua Topolsky posted Aug 15th 2008 at 10:40AM

According to a report in USA Today, starting on Saturday the TSA will be relaxing its policies on laptop removal from bags, and will be letting specific bags types ride through the X-ray machines with their cargo intact. The agency will allow travelers using bags which provide an unobstructed view of the computer inside to keep their laptops tucked away during the screening process, though they'll still require "accordion" or "backpack" style bag-users to grab a bin. The TSA isn't naming names or attaching labels to specific bags, but has provided guidelines to fliers suggesting what style would be most conducive to not getting shaken down every time you go to the airport. Of course, the TSA could have been doing this since the start of their time-wasting (and false-security-inducing) process, thus saving us innumerable headaches... but that would have made too much sense.

Targus introduces checkpoint-friendly Zip-Thru laptop case

by Darren Murph posted Jul 30th 2008 at 8:53AM

As we surmised earlier this month with the formal introduction of Mobile Edge's trio of TSA-approved laptop bags, the flood of competitors are now rushing out. One of the first out of the gate is Targus, delivering its Zip-Thru 15.4-inch Corporate Traveler Laptop Case. Just the first in the outfit's sure-to-be-long line of checkpoint-friendly bags, this one measures in at 16.93- x 6.5- x 13.98-inches, weighs 3.74-pounds, is constructed from durable black ballistic 1680 denier nylon and can -- of course -- slip under those airport scanning machines with your precious machine still tucked inside. Unfortunately, it won't be available for summertime travel (look for it to land in October), but you can go ahead and budget in $99.99 well before Q3 gets sticky.

[Via CrunchGear]

Mobile Edge intros TSA-approved ScanFast laptop bags

by Darren Murph posted Jul 18th 2008 at 8:02AM

We can definitely see where this is headed, but shortly after Skooba came clean with actual images of its TSA-approved laptop case, along comes Mobile Edge with a trio of alternatives. The new ScanFast lineup features that oh-so-coveted TSA stamp of approval, meaning that you won't have to remove your precious lappie from any of these cases when passing through airport security here in the US. The entire collection is set to land later this summer for undisclosed amounts, though we'd plan on paying a steep premium for the integrated convenience.

[Via Gadling]

Skooba's TSA-approved bag -- for real this time

by Nilay Patel posted Jul 8th 2008 at 5:04PM

Okay, third time's the charm -- here it is, a pre-production picture of the Skooba Checkthrough TSA-approved bag, direct from Skooba's CEO, Michael Hess. Michael got in touch after our last post to say that the Checkthrough will indeed be a multi-pocketed bag and have several unique and patented features, including a special 3-1-1 liquids compartment and a see-through window for rapid ID of contents. There's also a number of minor changes coming to the design, but no matter what, you should be able to get through security without having to take your laptop out of your bag. That's much more like it -- although now we actually kind of miss that gigantic nasty "Checkthrough" logo after all.

Skooba makes with the pictures of TSA-friendly bags (update: not really)

by Nilay Patel posted Jul 8th 2008 at 9:01AM

The TSA got a lot of frequent travelers fairly excited a couple months ago when it announced that it was soliciting bag manufacturers for "checkpoint-friendly" designs that would allow laptop owners to leave their machines safely tucked away as they passed through security, but we didn't know what any of these bags would look like until now. As you'd expect, Skooba's first design, the Checkthrough, is pretty minimalist, in keeping with the requirements that approved bags not have any straps or zippers and not feature any space for items that could interfere with the X-ray image. That also means it's pretty useless if you only want to schlep one bag around, so it looks like we're stuck with the Bucket Dance for now -- hey TSA, would pockets on the sides be such a threat to our nation's security? Just a thought.

PS.- We're hoping against hope that nasty "Checkthrough" logo isn't actually printed on the bag, but given some of the TSA experiences we've had, we'd half expect it to be there as a cue for screeners let the bag pass through.

Update: Skooba's CEO let us know that this still isn't the checkthrough bag, just another illustration (sigh) and that the "the actual bag will be a full-featured, top-of the-line ballistic nylon business case, packed with cool and unique bells and whistles." Alright, so let's see it then.

TSA's Millimeter scanners see through clothes, installed at 10 airports

by Joshua Fruhlinger posted Jun 6th 2008 at 4:55PM

Leave it to the TSA to come up with new ways to check out what you're packing. In this case, those body-scanning machines we've known about for some time are being installed in 10 airports. They are already being used in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Denver, Albuquerque, and New York's JFK. Later this month, the TSA will add the bum-looking devices to major airports in Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, and Miami. By bouncing millimeter waves off passengers, the scanners produce a black-and-white image that's detailed enough to see the sweat on someone's back (among other things). The program is aimed at detecting objects such as plastic and ceramic weapons that aren't normally picked up by traditional methods. The technology does have a couple drawbacks, however: it can't see through plastic or rubber materials that resemble skin. Keep that in mind the next time you wear vinyl pants on your next trip to Mars, kids.

[Via Crunchgear]

Skooba and Targus bags to get your laptop through security, leave room for nothing else

by Joshua Fruhlinger posted May 23rd 2008 at 5:32PM

Responding to travelers' woes about the laptop-out-of-the-bag shuffle at airport security stations, the TSA solicited bag manufacturers for "checkpoint-friendly" designs. Skooba and Targus are responding with their own line of bags to meet those requirements. What requirements, you ask? In order for a bag to be TSA-friendly, it must be small, have no straps or zippers, and leave no room for chargers, pens, or other detritus that could interfere with the X-ray image. Is it just us, or does that mean we'll be carrying another bag with us anyway? Nonetheless, the Skooba Skreener pictured here -- which doesn't seem to meet those requirements -- is available now for $119.95.

Update: Good looking out, readers -- the pictured bag isn't the forthcoming TSA-friendly bag from Skooba!

[Via Gearlog]