Are you Steve?

Laptops and air travel seemingly go together like booze and car keys. Both get you stopped by authorities, but only one gets the nod once opened (that is, once the laptop is exposed for TSA’s trained eyes, you’re [usually] free to proceed]).

Laptop carry case companies have struggled to create TSA-approved cases that will speed the security process without forcing the laptop-carrying public from pulling out the hardware.

Belkin and Skooba seemingly have succeeded. The humorous graphic above was created to support the Skooba Checkthrough checkpoint friendly laptop bag ($139). The bag looks and functions like a high-end business case, but is designed and rigorously tested to be “checkpoint-friendly,” so you can run it through airport x-ray screening without removing your computer.

Here’s how the concept works: The bag unzips or opens and hinges in the middle to separate and isolate the laptop compartment from the rest of the bag. Then just lap it flat on the conveyor.

For initial, immediate visual reference, the laptop can be seen by the inspector through a clear, quick-recognition window that is exposed when the bag is unfolded. With the window facing up, the bag is sent through x-ray screening. The design of the laptop compartment is so the laptop can be viewed as if it were removed and placed in a bin. Once through, the traveler can simply pick up the bag and go, zipping it back up on the move or at the gate.

PeterGreenberg.com called Skooba, “One of the most intelligently designed computer cases I’ve seen.”

(The folks at Skooba offer a caveat: “…In all instances, screening personnel always have the right to require laptop removal, secondary screening, or any other measures deemed necessary to ensure travel security.” Darn.

The new Belkin FlyThru laptop case ($59.99) does much the same job, isolating the laptop on one side, allowing TSA agents to easily identify it through a clear window. Accessories are kept organized and secure on the other side of the bag. Both bags meet TSA guidelines. Both keep your stuff from falling about when unzipped in the line. And both hold up to 15.4-inch laptops.

For their part, the folks at Belkin promised the FlyThru would make the screening process “a painless, stress-free experience.” THAT I would like to see…