Need a Chromebook Pixel case or sleeve? Try the Apple Store

One of the more common complaints I hear from Chromebook owners is that Google doesn’t offer any accessories such as cases or sleeves. Honestly, when I spent $ 449 last year on the Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook, which is solid but mostly plastic, I didn’t give that much thought to protecting the device. I feel a bit differently with the Chromebook Pixel with LTE, however, since it cost me $ 1,449. So what’s a Chromebook Pixel owner to do?

Turns out that the Apple Store is a great source for cases and sleeves to fit a Pixel. That’s ironic as my purchase decision came down to a Mac Book Pro with Retina Display or a Chromebook Pixel. I bought Google’s laptop, but I shopped in Apple’s store for a sleeve. Check before you buy, but most sleeves and cases made for the 13-inch MacBook Pro should work nicely with the Pixel, even though the latter machine has a 3:2 aspect ratio screen.

This works out well because the two devices are similar enough in size. Apple’s device is 12.35 inches x 8.62 inches x 0.75 inches, for example, while Google’s Chromebook Pixel measures in at 11.72 inches x 8.84 inches x 0.64 inches. I suppose you could order a custom case for the Pixel, but that’s likely going to be costly.

I ended up settling on the neoprense and faux fur Incase Sleeve for $ 39.99. My Chromebook Pixel fits it well and I like how the sleeve has three zippers: Two work together to close the sleeve up while a third opens up one corner of the sleeve to expose the laptop’s power port. This way, I can slip the Pixel in the case for protection and charge the device’s battery at the same time. I opted for a sleeve because I recently bought a new messenger bag that doesn’t have padding.

Got any more Chromebook case suggestions? Drop a comment, and we might just share them on our weekly GigaOM Chrome Show podcast.