The race is on for the smallest and most chic laptop and every major vendor seems to be in on it. Apple threw down the gauntlet with the expensive but svelte MacBook Air and since then a number of manufacturers and OEMs including Acer (Timeline series), HP (Envy 13 and Envy 15), Dell (Adamo), Lenovo/IBM, ASUS (UX series and Seashell Netbooks) and MSI (X-Slim) have all hit store shelves and sold like hot cakes despite the poor economy and the high premium one has to pay for small laptops.

Small laptops need to be protected just like larger laptops, perhaps even more so. Scratches and scrapes can mar the surface of any laptop including the latest and greatest petite sized laptops. Unfortunately the thin size of most small laptops actually makes them theoretically more susceptible to damage from being bumped and banged than their heftier counterparts with thicker hides and more internal structure.

Because small laptops seem to shrink with each passing computer trade show there are a number of small laptop cases. Buying a small laptop case today might give one enough room for two small laptops next year or two small laptops and a pad of paper in two years. Chances are good, however, that an investment in a small laptop case will at least last as long as the small laptop itself.

There are at least two reasons to look into small laptop cases: aesthetics and protection of one’s small laptop. When it comes to aesthetics, the simple rule is that small is chic and having a small laptop come out of an ugly case or backpack not intended for small laptop usage is anything but chic or cool. Leather and neoprene are the current top choices for shoppers looking at small laptop bags but those choices change with fashion trends.

Protecting investments of any kind, including small laptops, never goes out of fashion. Adding an additional layer of insulation between one’s precious computer and the outside world helps keep data safe and the small laptop looking good. After all, how cool is a small laptop with scratches and scuff marks all over its shell? Worse yet, how cool would a sleek and sexy laptop be when it cannot boot due to damage it received because it was not protected properly in a small laptop case? The message is quite clear: using small laptop cases is important to protecting one’s investment in a small laptop.

Small laptop cases can be a little on the expensive side despite their modest use of materials. Inexpensive small laptop cases tend to start at around $15 but these can only be described as durable. More fashionable small laptop cases start at over $40 but small laptop cases that combine form and function tend to be the most expensive options in this segment, occasionally costing over $100.