|
|
| Product: Innopocket Deluxe Hard Case |
Company: Innopocket |
| Web: www.innopocket.com |
Phone: n/a |
| Platform: Palm V |
SRP: US$40
Street Price: same |
Cred Rating: | Special Award: |
Let's face it: most people buy the Palm V for its good looks. It doesn't really offer anything more than models costing half the price except for its sleek case and handsome metallic finish. Then you decide to buy a case to protect your expensive PDA and you end up covering over what you paid the big bucks for in the first place. Luckily the Innopocket Deluxe offers protection without sacrificing style, and without further emptying your wallet.
The Innopcket Deluxe is an all-metal case made of 100% ductile light trivalent element with good electrical and thermal conductivity, high reflectivity and resistance to oxidization. What!? That's what it says on the package, anyway. What this means to muggles like us is that it's aluminum. Palm makes a similar case, but it's not all metal, and in my opinion, looks and feels cheaper because of plastic parts. Other manufacturers offer metal cases, including the Rhinoskin line of titanium and aluminum cases, but they're more expensive and aren't as good.
The Innopocket Deluxe is very well constructed and perfectly form-fitted to the Palm. The hinge is a rail that inserts into the stylus holder. It will fit into either side, which essentially makes it useful for both right handed and left handed users, though lefties will find the closure mechanism a little more awkward to use. The closure is a dimple that slides into place. It holds well and doesn't open unless you want it to, but in case of a big fall, it would probably pop open fairly easily. It could also open if left to rattle around inside a bag or briefcase.
This case is not designed for dramatic falls. Like most metal cases, it lacks the internal padding to protect against a drop of more than a few feet. It's solid enough to withstand impact and not flex -- there's even a picture of a guy standing on the case on the website -- but if you remember from grade school egg dropping experiments, it's not how hard the outside is as much as how soft the inside is that protects the precious contents. There is only a micro-thin layer of velvet inside, so don't go dropping your Palm from any ladders.
What the Innopocket Deluxe sacrifices in padding, it makes up for in form. It's extremely light, adding just an extra ounce and a half to the total weight of your PDA. It's also very thin, and while it does make the overall package nearly twice as thick as the Palm V alone, it's still thinner and lighter than a Palm III without a case.
The exterior is smooth, but resists scratches fairly well. It has cut-outs for both the infrared port and the stylus, so you can remove the stylus even with the case closed. The great thing is that the Innopocket Deluxe comes in five different colors: Titanium, Silver Matte, Black, Red and Blue. While the "titanium" color most closely matches the original finish of the Palm V, the other colors will turn heads too. I'm particularly fond of the blue.
There are only a few problems with the case. First, you have to remove the Palm from the case to sync it. This is not a huge deal, but if you sync often, it could be a bit of hassle. A little more padding would've been nice too, though that would likely make it thicker or cause the hardware buttons to be pressed while in the case (a problem with the Palm Hard Case). Sometimes there is a little squeaking in the hinge, but a little WD-40 or vegetable oil will take care of that. Finally, some 3rd party stylii may not fit because of the close confines of the case.
The Innopocket Deluxe is the same price as the Palm Hard Case, while being better quality and offering all of the protection of higher-priced cases. For those who need protection for their Palm, but still crave the ooohs, aaahs and techno-envy of their co-workers, the Innpocket Deluxe is the perfect solution.
- Nate Heasley [3/28/01]
UPDATE: The process of reviewing a PDA case taunts fate, and one can predict with near certainty that, in the process of reviewing such a case, the PDA will end up taking a dive. A couple of days after submitting this review, I was standing at a shop counter when my Palm slipped from my hand and fell roughly five feet to the linoleum. As predicted, the case popped open, but my Palm was undamaged. The Innopocket suffered a small (nearly unnoticeable) ding on the corner that doesn't interfere with its mechanism. Since then, I've taken the extra precaution of lining the front of the case with a layer of ordinary felt (available at a craft store). One layer of felt fits perfectly and makes me feel just a little more secure. Overall, the case proved remarkably tough and saved me from paying Palm Computing US$100 for a repair job.
Check out our other offerings:
Today's Term
Today's Software
Today's TV
Today's Digital Living
|
