TamsPalm - the Palm OS Blog

The accessory market for Palm OS handhelds has traditionally been dominated by a triumvirate made up of Proporta, Brando and - to a lesser extent - Boxwave. Sir Rohr’s Fortte is a new player and plans to topple the market over by offering exclusive color options and various new form factors. Can their offering for the Centro stack up?

Fortte’s products ship via FedEx from the United States. Unfortunately, the Austrian Customs catch the parcels from time to time…

A small blister protects the case during transportation:

Our case was ordered with belt clip (as it is intended to be given away). The belt clip thus ships in a small satchel along the case. People who dislike belt clips can order their cases without one - the screw in the back is then omitted:

Getting the Centro into the case is easy. The device is slid in, and a clip in the back is then closed. Fortte’s method is more secure than the friction locking systems found in other manufacturer’s offerings:

The device remains perfectly usable while in the case:

Fortte did a great job at keeping the keyboard usable:

The controls at the top and the bottom remain fully functional:

A cutout on the left side keeps the volume buttons accessible:

The Centro’s memory card door is badly designed and requires you to remove the battery door when swapping memory cards. Thus, Fortte chose to cover up the “slot” - no functionality lost.

Finally, here are a few shots showing the Centro next to a QTek 8500 in a pink case. Of course, the case color can be chosen from dozens - the list is available at Fortte’s web site.

In the end, Fortte’s case for the Palm Centro is excellent. People who wish to be able to design their case from the ground up can now do so - but have to accept a higher price. The case we reviewed here costs about 80$…but is worth every penny…

Proporta’s Aluminum-Leather cases have become a classic add-on for mobile devices. The latest incarnation aims to protect Palm’s Centro…but can it stack up?

As usual, Proporta’s products ship in cushioned envelopes via regular mail. The envelopes originate in England and can be delivered to post boxes when you’re not at home:

The case itself drops in a special blister for extra protection.

Getting the Centro into the case is easy: just shove it into the clamps from above. Even though they may not look particularly trustworthy, they provide excellent security and manage to hold the device well even when toppled around/shaken:

Proporta did a great job at keeping the device usable even when in the case - the keyboard is not obstructed at all.

A cutout at the back allows you to access all important functions - camera and speaker are not obstructed:

The volume keys and the infrared port at the sides of the machine can be accessed. One of the clamps blocks the memory card slot: while this prevents loss, it also makes the already obscenely difficult memory card swap procedure even more annoying:

Finally, here’s a picture of the Centro in its case. The Proporta logo is cut out of thin steel and glued on btw:

In the end, Proporta’s Centro case is like almost all other Proporta products: excellent. There’s little not to like here - the price of 35$ is low compared to other manufacturers offerings…

GSPDA’s M70 is a pretty cool phone - but, unfortunately, none of the major accessory retailers stock any products for it. While a screen protector can easily be made by cutting a T3,.. one to size; finding a hard case is more difficult. However, leaving an unnamed abc texte employee alone with my case collection ended with her finding a suitable case for her master(I had it for about a year, but forgot about it):

The manufacturer of the case is a small German company known as FreaQs, the case shown in the example above is a SteQzwo for a Treo 680. The case’s color can be customized in wide ranges - the images below show one of the stock colors:

Last but not least, here are two pictures of the M70 in the case:

Even though the company currently does not have an English web site(order per email), the price of less than 40€ definitely is a worthwhile investment in keeping your M70 safe!

Foreward — This is just a guide containing a few hardware mods I’ve seen done over time. I’ve talked with the folks who’ve originally done these mods for more info than their original posts, so hopefully I don’t cause too much chaos

This one focuses on the modifications that can be done to the official Palm hardcase available for the T|X, T|E, T|E2 and the T|T5.

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– The Magnet Mod –

My quest for the perfect hard case started in May. I was dissatisfied with the state of my T|X’s hard case, and was looking for an alternative. My main problem was that the chintzy little clasp that held the case shut had snapped loose and would not keep my T|X safe. After a bit of discussion, we decided that replacing the clasp with magnets was a viable alternative.

The first step is to drill out the holes. Since I never really figured I’d be doing this sort of post 7 months later, I have no “in progress” shots, sorry :-).

Make sure you choose magnets before you drill the holes so that you don’t end up with a big gaping hole in your case. The best thing I have learned is that if you make the hole a tad bit smaller than your magnets, then slowly file it out with anything fairly sharp (Hell, a small flat-head screwdriver works) you will have a nice snug fit that will never require reglueing.

After you drill the holes (I did four, two on each half of the case) you can drop the magnets in. The best ting to do is use a pair of tweasers and coat the magnet with gorilla glue then you simply wedge the magnets in the holes and you are done!

– Anti Rattle Mod–

“So, uh, Ryan, why do you have pieces of dish towels glued to your case?”

Good question! (I’m sorry, I know that’s bad ) The case is designed just kludgingly enough so that there is a very smaller, probably less than 1mm gap between the T|X and the case lid, just enough to have it rattle around and scuff up the front of the the T|X. Jays333 originally gave me the idea to do this in the above 1src thread, however I didn’t have any of that foam lying around, so I simply cut up a dish towel.

Jays333 did a nice job on his however:

This effectively cancels out any rattling that may occur, keeping your T|X unscathed for years to come.

– Headphone Mod –

So, what else can be done to our T|X cases? Well, I have done a few other things to the case in the time I’ve owned it. When I performed the Magnet Mod I also decided to cut away a hole for the headphones so that the case would latch shut when I was listening to music, rather than mashing up my headphone jack.

The first step is to mark where you want to get the cuts. You can plug in the headphones and put the device in the case so that the headphones are where the cuts will be (at which point, you know where the cuts need to be, or you can wing it with a sharpie cap, like Chris Tengi did.

—

That’s all of the mods I could come up with in regards to the Palm Hardcase. Next time we will take a look at alternatives to the Palm Cradle: the design, construction and customisation of our own Cradle kit!

Also, if you try any of these mods please note that I cannot be held responsible if your case is permanently damaged! Perform these mods at your own risk! 

When cases for mobile devices are concerned, the name Proporta immediately crosses most people’s name. And indeed, the company once founded by a journalist to create a case for a Psion organizer has managed what few have before…to get into London’s Duty Free shop. Their Alu-Leather case, which already exists in a second version, should thus be an almost perfect case…but can it really stack up?

Proporta still sticks to mailing out cases in traditional envelopes. While envelopes do offer less protection than their boxy counterparts, almost all post services drop them off in your mail slot. Please rest assured - I have tested products for ages and never had any problems with envelope deliveries…

The case itself ships in Proporta’s typical blister with the obligatory belt clip. For me, belt clips are completely useless(I distrust them to some extent)…however, the company still gives one away complimentary with each case.

Getting the Treo into the case is easy - slide it into the clamps from the top. These clamps hold the Treo surprisingly well…but getting the machine out for a reset/battery change is still very easy.

The lid of Proporta’s eeker is held in place by a magnetic clip system. It traditionally was a bit problematic..and the strap is still a bit too short for my liking. However, the situation has drastically improved from the past…:

As usual, the lid contains spaces for two SD cards and a bit of paper:

Originally, Proporta’s cases for Treo 680 had to be folded back in order to use the Treo’s camera. Version 2 of the case now has a cutout in the back - the folding orgies shown on the left are no longer necessary:

The case does not obstruct access to any buttons, the keyboard or the Treo’s sync port - flip top leather cases classically are unobtrusive…

The only real weakness I found while using this case is that the SD slot is covered up by one of the clamps. However, removing the Treo from the case is very easy, making this a forgivable ‘offense’.

Overall, leather cases cannot verse aluminum cases in terms of protectiveness - but they also don’t get into your way as much as aluminum cases would. If you can live with the minor weaknesses outlined above, get the case for 35$ at Proporta’s!

Protective cases for mobile devices usually are made out of leather, metal or silicone - with an oddball sleeve(darn cool) or two thrown in for kicks. Boxwave’s latest creation is completely different. It essentially consists of a slim PVC shell that goes right around the Treo…and changes its color in the process.

This time, Boxwave shipped the case in a cardboard box - in the past, products arrived in envelopes(unharmed). Anyways, no transport damages…no issues here(except that some postal services do not deliver parcels to a mail box and send a postman instead, which usually comes when you aren’t at home…).

Getting the Treo into the case is easy - put the front shell onto it and press the back shell on, causing the latches to lock. Getting the Treo out goes the other way round…and is less easy:

The case has generously-sized cutouts for screen and keyboard - it doesn’t get in the way while using the machine:

The back of the case contains cutouts for the camera, speaker, auxiliary belt clip and stylus silo. Neither audio nor camera operations are affected if the Treo is in the case.

Cutouts at the sides allow you to access all relevant Treo functions:

The cutout at the bottom is well thought-out; as it is perfectly aligned with the Treo’s sync port. This allows you to connect the Treo to almost all peripherals while remaining in the case:

Boxwave used a special type of rubber that stays ‘grippy’ even if your hands are wet - preventing accidental drops…

In the end, the Slim Rubberized Shell Case is a lovely way to change the color of your Treo and make it easier to grasp without getting in your way otherwise. It’s protective effect is negligible, people who reset their Treo often will dislike the complicated removal process. If you can live with the weaknesses above, get this case for a reasonable 28$ from boxwave.com(available in black, green and silver).

OtterBox is known for a variety of so-called OtterBoxes…plastic boxes designed to protect gadgets from water, dust and crushing. Since quite a few of their products scored rave reviews at TamsPalm’s, I was naturally excited to find out that a case crafted specially for the 680/750/755p was available. But can it stack up?

OtterBox ships the 1921 in a well-padded box along with a detailed manual and a few spare parts. Most of the OtterBox can be replaced easily according to the manual - a truly excellent idea.

The 1921 itself is made of plastic and a rubbery substance that ’stops drops’ - Its overall look reminds me of the Aceeca Meazura: A variety of colors is available, too (yellow Meazura, anyone):

Inserting the Treo into the case is simple. First, the clamp on the back is opened in order to ‘eject’ the bottom. Then, the Treo is inserted. Afterwards, the bottom is installed again and the clamp is closed.

The case adds quite a bit of bulk to the Treo - here’s a picture of a Treo 650, a 680 and the case.

OtterBox did a great job at keeping the Treo usable in the case. Opening the glass door allows you to access the touch screen via a thin, clear membrane, the keyboard and side keys remain functional. A bottom door allows you to access the hotsync port.

The speakers and the headphone port have ‘cutouts’ covered with a special fiber that blocks dirt and water, but allows sound to pass through relatively unhindered. I would not insert headphones, though (see below).

A stylus can be docked into the side.

The camera gets a see-through window, however, the window significantly affects image quality. Also, the keyboard layout is fixed to QWERTY, and some of the alternative characters aren’t correct for a Treo 680.

The IR cutout is in the wrong place, too. The manufacturer claims that the case is not waterproof. However, it survived 15 secs under a strong beam of water without a single drop getting in…of course, the headphone membrane was intact and the sync door was closed firmly. OtterBox claims that the case survives drops from up to 1 metres. However, neither of these was tested with an actual Treo as OtterBox takes no warranty whatsoever for the devices inside.

Overall, the OtterBox 1921 transforms your Treo 680/750755p into a device that gets close to the Meazura (aka big blue tank) in terms of ruggedness…if the manufacturer would manage to certify the waterproofness. As it is now, the 1921 still is a good buy for everyone who’s Treo needs the extra protection.

Classic(aluminium or leather) cases make the protected handheld significantly thicker while offering excellent protection. Silicone cases came up a few years ago and followed a different metaphor: be unobtrusive first, and then offer as much protection as you can. Proporta sent us a sample of their silicone case for the Treo 680(or 750) - but can it stack up?

Proporta’s products ship in big envelopes using standard mail - the envelopes can get pretty fat at times, but the gadgets always made it through undamaged so far:

The silicone case itself shipped in a small box:

That box contained even more protective material. The case was stuffed with a belt clip and a wrist strap - Proporta has a good tradition of enclosing loads of accessories:

Fitting the Treo 680 into the case is a bit difficult as it’s really ‘tight’. I found it easiest to slide the 680 in from the bottom:

The case itself fits the Treo very well and looks cool. Accessing the keyboard and hardware buttons via the cutouts works well. The silicone has a pretty ‘rough’ surface that improves grip - this is very helpful.

Proporta included cutouts for sync/charge connector, memory card slot, status LED and volume switch. The side buttons get ‘cutout molds’, too:

The only nuisance I found in everyday use was that resetting the Treo in the case is next to impossible. However, Proporta is not to blame here - someone at Palm’s decided to leave the reset hole out…

Overall, Proporta’s engineers did a great job with their silicone case. There’s absolutely nothing negative to say about it except the reset problem- if you want a silicone case, this is the way to go! The price of about 20$ is more than justified IMHO.

I have tested the Brando deluxe leather case in book-style for Palm TX and T5 for one week now. The case looks significant which is caused by the used materials: mainly leather. The case consists of three parts which are separated by the PDA: in front of the PDA you have two slots for e.g. credit cards and two slots for SD or MMC cards. Behind these slots you find another pocket for e.g. credit cards again. In addition you have the choice to use an additional flip inlay for credit cards.

The second part consists of the PDA itself.
The third part consists again of two slots for credit cards.

The case is shipped in a red box with the “BRANDO” tag. The first surprise is the size of the case. It is really handy: The PDA is only slightly smaller than the case.

The placing of the PDA into the case is easy: First you have to remove the flip cover because the track is used to hold the PDA in place.

The case can be closed by a magnet clip which holds the two sides of the case relatively strong together so that it can be filled with credit cards, SD cards etc without always opening.
The fabrication of the case seems to be of a high quality: i couldn’t find any leaks.
The only disadvantage is that one has to remove the PDA from its case when it should be placed e.g. in an external keyboard or in a docking station. But on the other hand it becomes much safer when holding the PDA in your hand: the case increases the size slightly so that it can’t be dropped that easy than without.

For customers from e.g. Germany it might be helpful to know that German identity cards won’t fit in it in a normal way - they are too big. So I used a simple paperclip to fix it in the case so that the identity card can be in the case, too.

The case costs 32 USD and can be purchased here.

A long time ago, TamsPalm reviewed the OtterBox 3250. It scored really well and has served me well ever since - but Kristin Golliher, the OtterBox PR gal, simply didn’t give up offering me stuff. And when she sent me an email about the teeny tiny OtterBox 1000, I was immediately sold, if just for the cuteness factor. Can the smallest OtterBox live up to its bigger brother? Read on to find out!

My OtterBox was originally a tradeshow press sample that never got picked up - so the packaging probably isn’t the retail one. Nevertheless, it is well done and protected the 1000 on its way to the holy halls of TamsPalm :-).

Here are a few pictures of the new Otterbox next to a Palm Tungsten T3 and a Palm Treo 600:

To show you how small the 1000 really is, these pictures show it next to the 3250:

OtterBox products have ‘clamps’ that secure the lid when the box is closed. Clamp action on the 1000 is very smooth, opening the clamp does not take too much force:

The smallest OtterBox has an internal capacity of 4.003″x 2.488″x 1.293″ cm, which is barely not enough for a Palm Treo 600(darn antenna, but it just looks so cool):

Fitting in money and a credit card is no problem, the same thing is valid for memory cards and spare batteries for the wireless keyboard of choice:

Mobile phones are a hit-and-miss story. Some fit in(T68i), others don’t(Siemens SX1):

Last but not least, here is a video that shows a credit card, a SD card and some money taking a bath and not getting wet:
http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=-1147355710488871596

Overall, the 1000 is a great OtterBox and definitely lives up to the high expectations set up by the 3250. The small size makes the 1000 unsuitable for protecting larger phones or Palm Handhelds - but that’s what the 3250 is for. If you, on the other hand, want to protect a small flip phone, cash or a credit card, the 1000 will serve you great! The price of just 11.49$ makes it a very affordable choice…

The Palm Tungsten T and the Palm Tungsten T2 are classic PDAs, and aluminium hard cases are classics too. I feel actually very slow, bought my Tungsten T in 2002 and now 4 years later I had my first opportunity to test a hard case for my device. A surely very needed thingy (as I often take my handheld with me, when leaving home): I broke my old Palm iiix by dropping it… and a hard case could have saved it. So, lets try Proporta�s aluminium hard case for Tungsten T/T2:

The case itself is a classic aluminium hard case with two very clever card slots, for storing your SD/MCC cards.

Inserting the PDA into the case is easy - however, the removal isn’t, and since I don’t own a HotSync and Charger cable, I do have to remove it quite often to use the cradle and also for resetting my device (I’m a developer). But, in spite of these difficulties I really like the Proporta aluminium hard case and I wonder why it took me 4 years until I got one…. So I guess I’ll keep inserting my PDA back into to the aluminium hard case for protection.

The Voice Record button and the earphone hole are accessible while the Tungsten T/T2 is in the hard case though I mostly use the hole for my thumb while opening the case…

Overall, the Proporta Aluminium hard case for Tungsten T/T2 offers exactly what one expects from an aluminium hard case: good protection for a reasonable price of �24,95.

SD cards have become cheaper and cheaper on a per-MB basis over the last few years. This has led to multiple SD cards per user and PDA - protective cases are usually not capable to accomodate for more than one or two cards though. Proporta’s keyring is intended to simplify transportation - lets see how it fares!

Proporta’s products ship in envelopes via regular mail. I never received a damaged gadget yet - the loads of advertising paper make for good padding:

The keyring is very small. Here is a comparison shot next to a Treo 600:

Cards get inserted into the ‘pouch’ at the back of the keyring. When the card holder ships, fitting a card in is impossible. You need to use the stylus to ‘pry’ the slot open:

Inserting an SD card works well after a few attempts - removing the card works well too due to the stylus.

The manufacturing quality of the keyring is excellent - I have not noted any kind of problem with it.

Overall, if you want to store your memory cards on your keyring, this thingy is the way to go. Product quality is good, and so is design and functionality. The overall price of the unit is a very reasonable 3.95$.

There are a lot of leather cases from several distributors on the market. Today, I look at Proporta’s Alu-Leather Case on my Palm TX. It is said to work with the Tungsten T5, too!

The Case is padded all around, and the flipping part is strengthened with an aluminium piece, and it has a beltclip on the back

If the case is open, you see the rail, the dual SD card holder and the headphone cutout. In the flipping part, there are two pockets for credit cards, money etc.

Inserting the TX into the case is a bit hard, but it makes no big problems. When you look at the top, you see a cutout for the headphone jack.

On the bottom, the multiconnector is covered by the case lock.

This case looks quite noble. No matter what you want to do with your Palm, you have to open the case, also when you charge or sync it. To open it is easy and handy with the magnetic lock. It has no cutout for the speaker, and this affects the sound quality a lot! The part which protects the display, is strengthened with aluminium, so that it bears the daily pressure easy. Overall I like this case, and 26.95 pounds are okay.

The Treo 600 is a classic smartphone, and aluminium hardcases are classics to. This combination would immediately score big in the Retro carnival - but let’s see how Proporta’s aluminium hard case for Palm Treo 600 fares in a TamsPalm review:

The aluminium case ships in a blister labelled in french - this was funny, but doesn’t affect performance in any way:

When the blister was open, I found yet another belt clip. Since I really loath belt clips, it was quickly stowed away…

The case itself is a classic aluminium hardcase with a single card slot:

Inserting the Treo into the case is easy - however, the metal retention module will eventually scratch your PDA(happened to Alex, look at the back of his machine). So, if you want to remove the Treo often or want it to stay in mint condition(hell, my TT had dents), stay away from this case.

The top and bottom of the Treo aren’t covered in any obtrusive way. This is good, as it reduces the ‘insertion cycles’ and makes your life easier.

The cutouts in the front do a good job - one can see the LED really well:

The volume buttons are accessible while the Treo is in the case:

Cutouts for camera, speaker and reset button can be found in the back of the case. The sound quality wasn’t degenerated at all….

When typing, the case is a bit in the way - however, typing still is bearable:

Overall, the Proporta Aluminium hard case for Treo 600 offers exactly what one expects from an aluminium hardcase: good protection for a low price of 34,95$. The cases only mayor weakpoint is the dangerous insertion procedure…which could be a dealbreaker for some…