TamsPalm – the Palm OS / web OS Blog

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.

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.

Leather cases were considered the ‘suit version’ of aluminium hard cases for a long time – Proporta’s aluminium lined leather technique has changed that. But let’s see how the case fares in a review:

Proporta’s case ships in a classic blister for leather cases. A belt clip is contained too – but it will be ignored as usual:

The case itself looks cool, altough the leather looks a bit beaten up after unpacking.

Inserting the Treo 600 into the case isn’t easy – you need to press the machine in firmly. Over time, this will scratch the side of your smartphone…

The magnetic closure mechanism works very well…if you remove the foil first:

The front of the case has a cutout for the LED:

It also contains a slot for a single memory card:

The camera becomes available when you pull the lid down a bit. Impresssively, sound isn’t muffled – however, the reset button isn’t accessible from the outside(thank Palm for the ‘self-reset on fatal alert skills’ of the Treo series).

The lid can be flipped all the way to the back for a truly excellent typing experience – no other case works that well.

This case fits a Treo 650 too – so if you want to upgrade, the case follows along.

Overall, if you like leather cases and don’t need the reset hole, this case is what you need. People who type very much will probably like it too… . The price of 34.95$ is justified if you can live with the problems mentioned above.

Having more and more memory-hungry devices (PDA, mp3-Player, digital camera, cellphone) leads to more an more memory cards to carry around. At least for me (and several people I know), one card just isn’t enough for my camera and my everyday-PDA…

So where to keep ‘em? In a pocket without any protection is not an option – and these days a lot of cards don’t come in these little plastic cases any more (I don’t like them anyway).

What we need is a small and sturdy “thing” to keep these cards protected and organized without adding too much size and weight.

Proporta obviously had the same thoughts and added two protective “cases” I had the pleasure to test:

 

 

First, there is the “Aluminium Memory/SIM Card Holder”:

It’s made out of (you guessed it) aluminium on the outside and a plastic frame on the inside, has the dimensions of a credit card and is only slightly thicker than a SD card.

 

 There’s room for three SD cards (MMCs and RS-MMCs are not thick and wide enough to stay in place) or up to six SIM cards (you can stack two cards in one slot – they are wide enough to have a tight fit).

I did some rough tests with this holder: a drop test from 8 feet to a tiled floor, a throw test from about 20 feet to a tiled floor, I even stepped on it (I won’t tell you my weight but I’m definately not a ballet dancer…), nothing I did was enough to damage the holder or the cards. Even the small SIM cards stayed in place.

Ok, that’s nothing you should try at home, but you never know… And besides having a sleek holder for your cards that fits in every pocket or in your wallet, knowing that they are protected even in the worst case is a good feeling

 

Let’s have a look at the second storage solution, the “Leather Memory Wallet with SD/MMC and SIM Card Storage”:

 

Hand made from fine black leather with white overstitching, the wallet offers storage space for your everyday stuff (such as coins, bills and credit cards), additionally it features slots for three SD or MMC cards (Memory Sticks will work, too – RS-MMCs and Transflashs have to be put in the SD-Slots, they don’t fit in the SIM compartments) and two SIM cards:

  

 There are two hidden spaces for additional cards, a zippered compartment in the back (for your big bucks) and two more slots for small notes and whatnot.

 

As you can see, credit cards don’t fit in these two slots (Sorry, you can’t have my credit card number )

 

As before, I did some tests:

Throwing the wallet obviously can’t do any harm, sitting on it (even filled only with three Memory Sticks) did not do any damage (I didn’t dare to put my Wi-Fi-Card in it for the tests but since the Memory Sticks didn’t break, it should be as safe as all the other cards I used for testing). Unlike the other cases from Proporta, the wallet does not have or need any additional reinforcements.

If you need room for some SD cards and don’t want to carry an additional case (like the excellent holder mentioned above) around, this is definately your best choice – most of the time you have your wallet with you anyway.

There’s only one drawback if you live in Germany (don’t know about other countries): german ID-cards and vehicle registrations are too large to fit in the wallet

 

The Aluminium Memory/SIM Card Holder is $9.95, the Leather Memory Wallet with SD/MMC and SIM Card Storage can be yours for $34.95

(Both come with Proporta’s Lifetime Warranty….)

Thank’s to Proporta for the samples.

 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention a secret ingredient that came with the card holder and the wallet:

…but since my water ist boiling in the kitchen, I’ll tell you about it some other time

The Palm Tungsten T3 is one of the worst machines to build accecoires for because it can change its shape. Proporta is an old hand when Palm cases are concerned; so lets see how their Aluminium case fares!

Proporta’s products ship in rather big, white envelopes with standard mail:

The hardcase itself is packed in a blister. Proporta recently started to include advertising matereals and tea into each order – think of it as you want to:

A belt clip ships along; however, I never really liked belt clips and thus won’t comment about it any further:

The case looks very nice as it is a bit darker than the T3 itself. On the front of the case, you can see the cutouts for the speaker. On the back, there is the ‘dock’ for the belt clip, and a cutout for the sync port. Interestingly, Proporta omitted a cutout for the reset button:

When you open the case, you see the two SD card holders and the ‘retention springs’ that keep the PDA in the case:

Inserting the Palm Tungsten T3 is easy, you simply slide the unit in from the top. The case holds pretty firm, turning it around is no problem.

The top of the handheld remains fully accessible when in the case:

At the side, you find a cutout for the Palm Tungsten T3′s “audio area”. This is very useful, as you can connect headphones and close the case to avoid ‘accidental taps’:

The cutout at the bottom is perfectly useless. Neither a Proporta sync cable nor my cradle could connect to the handheld. If you want to sync, you definitely need to take the PDA out of its case:

You can open the Slider while the T3 is in the case; however, you need to compact the handheld to close the case:

Overall, this is a great case if you sync/charge/reset rarely. It looks nice, opens easily and protects the handheld well. Proporta created a great case for a difficult handheld, and then handicapped it by forgetting the obvious. Power users, however, will be annoyed by the permanent ‘removal orgies’ needed for syncing and resetting. If you can live with its quirks, Proporta’s case is a good choice – if not, look elsewhere asap!

Chosing the right case for your PDA isn’t always easy, there are already too many different models (ranging from ugly to beautyful, from “zero-protection” to “built like a tank” – and almost everything inbetween) available.
If you’re looking for an exclusive and protective case for your expensive toy, you should have a look at the FreaQs-Collection:

  

Handmade from a constantly changing range of leather and fabric, mostly no two cases are alike. You can alway rest assured that no-one else owns a case just like yours.

There are three different styles available:

 - a snug-fit case called “Saugschmatz”
- a holster-like case for smartphones calles “Oki”
- a flipcase called “Bookstyle”

 

The design, additional features and customizations are at your choice, Smutje – the guy who makes these cases – is a real artist (You can see a lot of pictures of his work here [Thread at Nexave.de]). Even entirely custom made cases for devices not listed on his homepage are possible. Just ask him and he’ll see what he can do for you. (Prices are reasonable: 45 USD for a standard case - a bit more if you want a custom design)

 As you can see from the following pictures, he puts a lot of love and dedication in making these cases. Even the wrapping is simple but elegant

     

The quality of the cases is outstanding. The inside of the cases is lined with super soft microfibre, all seams are done several times with heavy-duty yarn and the front is reinforced to protect your screen. I use my case every day and (after a few months) it still looks like I’ve never used it

 

I never liked leather cases for my palms since they weren’t useful for me, or to bulky, or just too ugly. Now, finally, I found a case that fits my needs and my Palm like a glove.

If you want to have a unique and stylish case made exactly the way you like it, theres only one choice: FreaQs…. and don’t wait too long, or the leather you just fell in love with is gone forever!

 

 

Update: There’s a new line available for the LifeDrive, called BlunQ (shown here in a special custom made design):

 

There are many ways how to protect your mobile devices. If you`re looking for an alternative for all the leather and aluminium cases, take a look at the Mobile Device Socks from proporta.
The package contains 3 socks in blue, green and pink colour.

Proporta says: “Expands to fit all iPods/MP3 Players/Mobile Phones/Smartphones/PDAs”. I tried to verify this with different devices:
T-Mobile SDA:

O2 Xda Neo:

iPod Video:

Tungsten C:

As you can see, the socks really fit (nearly) every device. Only the Tungsten C is a bit too big.
Of course the socks are not able to protect your PDA/Phone against heavy impact, but prevent from scratches on the display. And this may be enough if you carry your mobile phone or PDA in the pocket of your trousers.

The mobile device socks are a not a “must have”, but an extraordinary, individual and slim-fit cover for nearly every mobile device. The price of $17,95 is okay for 3 socks which you can use with nearly every mobile device you have.