To me it looks standard I know it 'might' not be standard but you need to really really convince me why it's not. I know you're probably working on marketing so something to think about.

What pricepoint are you sitting at now you've gone the asian route?

If you are wanting to hit $200-300 you really need to spend the money here.. and/or redesign to make it special in some way.

This bag is like less then $10 FOB right? So like a $50 bag tops.

I could get a replica of this in probably less then a couple weeks - it's easy to change a few pockets.

I think you need to work on who you are selling this to and why.

Presumably the low end bags are a dog fight - especially a standard black bag.

I'd differentiate... quick 60 second brain-storm

*Extra tough - SUPER tough like drop a brick on it, jump on it tough
*Super stand out from the crowd bags - bright or bold colours etc
*Bag for woman - like not just red.. but with pockets for lipstick, see through pocket to slide a photo of the kids in or whatever for woman business travellers - top quality leather etc
*If you're going the simple bag functional route GO SUPER functional - a perfect streamline design you have to smash this one because you're on such a fine line to other bags.. ask frequent travellers what's so painful about there current bag and deliver.

Obviously lots more niche's..

Then brand this ASAP!?

PS: What are the pockets on the outside of the bag for?

PPS: Nice start though, I know receiving samples is satisfying but you can really turn this into much better now

+1 Have you explored the Codi website? Basically Tumi knockoff with much better design features at a reasonable price point.

Thanks for all of the feedback everyone. This is helpful and I really appreciate it.

I'm definitely going to create a brand, and am also going to make design changes. It will take awhile, but I'll post again when I have the next iteration.

I think Kickstarter is definitely the right way to go with this. I am one of those people that travel with my laptop, ipad, kindle, etc. and would probably be interested in purchasing a bag like this if the final product looks nice.

As for Kickstarter, do a lot of research on what kind of campaigns are successful. I listened to an interesting Mixergy podcast with the guys the made the Coffee Joulies (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...fee-just-right). They talked about what kind of research they did to create a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Another thing that's been really popular on Kickstarter lately is made in America items. If you can figure out a way to get your product manufactured in America for a decent price then it will definitely help your campaign.

Good luck and keep us updated.

What are the points of all those tiny zipper pockets that seem to small to actually put anything useful in?

I think the external pockets are bad not only for the reason stated already in the thread (expensive equipment feels too exposed), also aesthetically does not look good, imo - you are probably going for a modern, streamlined aesthetic... the outside pockets just make it look more "bulky". Your target consumer probably overlaps heavily with someone who loves the minimal, clean aesthetic of Apple products.

As an aside, I have a Tumi bag that pretty much fits my needs for traveling with iPad, MBP, kindle, and assorted cords/charger. Nothing fits perfectly in the bag, but it gets the job done. I am a pretty particular person when it comes to bags and accessories (always takes me forever to find the 'right bag' with proper mix of aesthetics, price point, and utility), and IIRC it wasn't too hard to find a good array of $200+ bags that could carry all my devices in a convenient fashion.

I fear you may be trying to solve a problem that is basically already solved in the marketplace - if so, you're then basically trying to create/define a new category on some level, so aesthetics and branding/marketing will be pretty critical, imo.

To OP - before you spend any further money on this product PLEASE do some marketing research. There are many companies already in this field producing a wide variety of bags and styles. They are easy to knocked-off and have limited pricing power - they are basically a commodity because functionality and style (black ballistic nylon) rarely change from year to year. Even Tumi has realized that fashion not functionality is the way to grow in this market. I bought a CODi bag 10+ years ago and it STILL fits my 17 inch laptop, my ipad, phone and work papers.

Non-branded, consumer products is an extremely difficult market to crack and be financially successful. Even good products require heavy investment in marketing, manufacturing and distribution and rarely succeed unless there is some sort of patent protection. If you aren't patented you will get knocked off right away by your competition who is already in the sales channels and better funded. In addition, without patents and a unique product there is no VC funding available to help you launch and grow.

op:

make a leather version and ill buy one today.

and pockets on the inside.

thumb drives and iphone chargers and **** I think

That was idea but they are way too small, I'm redesigning them.

pockets on the inside and price range of 60-80 please

The prototype is a thief magnet.

A redesign unless it's radically different to what your current sample is likely to similar to the mass market bags out there now.

Making a few pockets smaller or larger, adding a zip here and there is something you can do with any factory within a week or two.

I'd line up a niche and make a bag just for them.