Greenroom136 - Awesome Bags, Even More Awesome Customer Service

So a month or so back, after taking a trip to PenangPac to peddle my filmmaking wares I arrived back in KL and found myself at One Utama with an odd craving for a Crumpler messenger bag to carry my laptop and other such items around with me. So I made my way up to the Mac store upstairs and started looking through the bags.

Next to the Crumplers, though, were a bunch of messenger bags that looked similar yet different, design and material wise, so I started checking them out. A beat later, a guy next to me asked me whether I liked them.

Those bags were by Greenroom136, and the person asking me about the bags was the creator, Mr Gordon Greenroom himself.

Turns out it was the first day his products were being stocked at the store. We had a little chat about his bags and exchanged business cards. A few moments later I left with a Bootstrap Original:

I have to admit, part of the reason I chose the bag was because it was locally made and I’d met the creator who seemed to be a really nice guy. The price difference wasn’t that big, only slightly cheaper than a Crumpler equivalent, but Gordon wasn’t kidding when he said this thing was sturdy: I took out all the contents of my backpack from my trip to Penang - a laptop, charger, video camera and a change of clothes - including the backpack itself.

The past few months since I bought it the Bootstrap has been my main laptop bag for meetings where I’ll usually pack a camera in there too and it’s very comfortable. The bags are handmade, built in Gordon’s house and they stress-test the hell out of them. All in all, a happy purchase indeedy.

But that’s not why I’m writing this post.

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Yup, I Bought It - The Samsung Galaxy Note

Yes, that’s right - I bought it. That huge slab that sits somewhere between a phone and tablet with the 5.3” screen and a stylus (which I used to draw the little strip above), the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Like it says in the comic strip, it’s been a habit of mine to change phones this year - ever since I switched to an Android phone as a matter of fact. After it became apparent that there would never be any new apps or updates for my Nokia N900 (a fate I foresee happening to the recent meego-running N9) I made the switch to a HTC Desire and fell in love with the Android OS.

But something didn’t sit right - I yearned for more power and I missed a physical QWERTY keyboard, so I switched to a Desire Z and if the keyboard didn’t end up becoming really buggy after a few months I would’ve stuck with it, but instead upgraded to the bigger and more powerful Sensation with a 4” screen which made thumb-typing on screen a bit easier.

So why the switch to a Samsung when I’d been so happy with a HTC? And why buy a device that’s literally just come out when in the past I bought my phones just as their prices were going down and their replacements were about to hit the market?

Most importantly, why did I choose such a huge phone that makes my bandmates giggle when I hold it up to my ear to make a call because it looks like I’m putting a small book to my ear?

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