Put It In A Case Will Ya?

april 15, 2003

So, a good handheld needs good protection. Without it, you could end up with a damaged, scratched, and worn out handheld. The silly see-through cover that Palm includes with their Tungsten T is as useful as velcro'ing a piece of cardboard to the front of the TT. So what's a good case? [url=http://www.innopocket.com]Innopocket[/url] makes a great case for the TT. It is all aluminium and hardly adds anything to the TT (size and weight). It is sturdy and feels it, tough as a nail. There is a useful cutout at the bottom to access the universal connector (though you can't put the thing in the cradle), there's a cutout on the side to use the headphone jack and voice-recorder, and there's a cutout at the top for easy access to slide the TT open. But, I found some drawbacks to the case, not that it's makes the case bad, but some annoyances. The neoprene that is used on the inside is used to pressure fit the TT with the case. Well, given that the TT is hard and the neoprene is soft, it's only obvious that over time taking the TT in and out of the case will scrape the neoprene off. It's already happening with mine. The two small nubs at the bottom of the TT has raked away two lines of neoprene. Also the cold aluminium doesn't feel too well in my hands after holding it for a while. It starts to attract grease and makes my teeth feel like I just bit into aluminium. The flip-cover is nice, but there is no spring lock on it. So the door swings wildly in any condition where I try to read an ebook in bed. The Scuba Sleeve from [url=http://www.palm.com]Palm[/url] is a nice case, though not very useful. It sure does feel good though. The case is made of steel internals that are covered with a soft body glove like material. The material feels awesome in my hand and gives the TT a good grip. The sleeve sure does feel sturdy and feels as if it will protect my TT from a good bump or drop. But there are annoyances. The first is that the TT opens down with this case and there is no cut out to get a grip on the bottom of the TT. I basically have to put my nails on the ridge of the TT and pull that way. Not a good feeling there. Then there's the way that the TT is held in place. It is held in place with the two holes that hold the see through clip-on cover. On paper that sounds ingenious. In the real world though that doesn't translate into a good way to hold the TT in place, especially since it takes so much force and work to get the thing to slide open in this case. Then there's the problem with the flip cover, it doesn't flip open too well. Actually it doesn't flip open wide enough for anyone to use. I really can't recommend the Scuba Sleeve to anyone. Palm's other case, the Aluminium Hardcase, is a winner. It makes the TT a bit wider, thicker, and deeper. It doesn't make it any heavier though. But the extra size is worth it. Inside there are two little storage bays for SD cards. There's a cut-out on the side for access to the voice recorder and headphone jack -- and unlike the other two cases, you can have headphones plugged and slide the TT open. The universal connector is covered though. The hardcase holds the TT in by a little lip on the bottom, a spring at the bottom that pushes the two universal connecters on the back into two holding clips -- you have to see the design to understand, but it is a very good design that holds the TT securely in place while still letting the TT come out of the case with ease. The spring loaded door opens and locks in two different positions. Although Palm calls this an Aluminium hardcase, it's really plastic with some aluminium colored plating on the front and back. The case reminds me a lot of the hardcase that I have from Palm for my Palm V. Overall, this is the case that I like most. What case are you using?


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