I-VOLUTION HP iPAQ 2200 Series Case from Vaja [Archive]

Jason Dunn

10-07-2003, 09:00 PM

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.vajacases.com/affiliate&ID=100' target='_blank'>http://www.vajacases.com/affiliate&ID=100</a> </div>Vaja has done it again - the new I-VOLUTION case for the iPAQ 2215 looks amazing! Exquisite craftsmanship, beautiful leathers, and the sturdiness of the I-VOLUTION hard shell. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/pic04827.jpg" /> • AntiSlide Shark Closure • SD Slot • Easy access to all functions • Stainless Steel Mesh speaker protection • Optional Ultra Clip • Size: 5" x 3-3/8" x 1 1/8" inch • Fits: HP iPAQ h2200 series <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/Cuatro.jpg" /> Remember that if you're a <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/subscribe.php">subscriber</a> you'll get a $20 discount coupon that you can use towards the purchase of this case. [Affiliate]

Paul P

10-07-2003, 09:23 PM

Wow, looks awesome. "Push push" system for the SD holder. :) Now that's cool.

Everything about the case looks even more refined than the previous I-volutions. They must be doing something different.

ikesler

10-07-2003, 09:25 PM

yeah....... that looks great.

PoweriPaq

10-07-2003, 09:55 PM

I don't think the SD Holder will fit the SDIO WIFI will it? If so, I'll be all over that.

Boxster S

10-07-2003, 10:00 PM

$109 with 20 days delivery???

BUAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Excuse me while I go and proceed to laugh with my head fully submerged into a bathtub filled with scalding hot water.

jnunn

10-07-2003, 10:04 PM

Over and inch thick: take a svelte device and wrap a brick around it, just beautiful.

posprg

10-07-2003, 10:12 PM

By what method is the 2215 secured to the case when the lid is open?

This looks like a very high quality product but I cannot justify nearly 1/3 of the price of the pocket pc for a case.. Unless they had a trade in policy :wink:

Wes Salmon

10-07-2003, 10:16 PM

Looks good but at over $100, I can't see myself buying one.

bjornkeizers

10-07-2003, 10:23 PM

Vaja or not, $100+ is just excessive by any stretch of the imagination 8O

And the colors... Yuck! Nah, I'll just stick with my aluminium proporta, thank you 8)

10-07-2003, 10:23 PM

$129 customized plus $20 shipping? IMHO, so few people will buy this case, that the price will stay high. Those guys might try to reach a $50 price point - and thanks to economies of scale, since so more much people would buy, then they would make - more - money anyway. But at this price... i´m sure they make money, but they can´t expect to be too popular. :roll:

10-07-2003, 10:26 PM

I was thinking that the $108.00 must be for the custom built version. OOps, that's the standard one. The custom version starts at $129.00!

I'm very happy with my Sena case for my Axim, I think I'm going to stick with them for my next PPC as well.

christak

10-07-2003, 10:51 PM

These prices are insane!! $129?????? ...for a case?????

My 2210 was only about twice that...

Nice case or not, these folks have lost touch with reality!!

bkerrins

10-07-2003, 11:05 PM

A case that's an inch think and it only holds ONE SD card? Right in the middle? They could fit 4 in there, or a credit card and SD.
I'm hoping that's not really the color, just the way the it shows up on my screen...give me a real color.

element

10-07-2003, 11:06 PM

Until Vaja 'Cow' Cases realizes that their marketing department is completely missing the boat by alienating 90% of their available market share, and either 1) drop their prices dramatically or 2) open up a product line that might not be as 'evolution'ary and costly to those of us that would rather buy CF cards and GPS devices instead of a leather case (whew) they will never reach the target market of the normal PDA enthusiast.

Ed Hansberry

10-07-2003, 11:12 PM

Looks a bit pricy, and doesn't seem to sync when in the cradle with this case on. 8O However, it is a hard case, so if you need protection, I guess it would be worth it to you.

Anyone have the Flip Top Case - 971xx model for the 2215? How does that work for you? Does it fit in the 2215 cradle?

PetiteFlower

10-07-2003, 11:22 PM

You'd be surprised; Vaja has been charging exorbitant prices for years and people still buy them. Not me! But people do.....some people spend money like water, go figger.

jgahr

10-07-2003, 11:32 PM

Ed - I have the 971, bought it with the coupon, total was like $44 delivered from the preorder. Can't sync it, but I never use the cradle anyway. I have it, with the 2215, in a GPS stand with a power cable. It is an excellent case. I tried Nutshell, casesonline, and a few others, but have always come back to the vaja. Very well made, and at $44 dollars, not that much more expensive than the innopocket, etc. Been thinking aluminum lately too, but really like the vaja.
:mrgreen:

JustinGTP

10-07-2003, 11:52 PM

Wow! I absolutely love this case, I love the Yellow and the Black one, with the Push Push system and my name on the inside with the Ultra clip, exact same as my phone BTW.

But, this is more than a brand new HP Foldable keyboard!! This case will cost me, fully loaded, $210.00 Candian. A new foldable keyboard is $140.00. Sure, its not wrapped in leather, but this case is extremely overpriced. It was only $1000.00 more to have our entire van equipped with leather, and that is a whole lot more than that case.

Why are they so damn expensive? Even with a 20 dollar coupon from Jason when you subscribe, this just doesnt seem worth it, especially when you upgrade your PDA in the future.

-Justin.

JustinGTP

10-07-2003, 11:59 PM

Oh, and definately do not get me wrong, these cases do look absolutely amazing and the colours are simply eye popping. They look exquisitely manufactured and the quality has to be impeccable. I think they may have had errors in the pricing department, thats all. . :shock:

Thinkingmandavid

10-08-2003, 12:01 AM

Ok, it is way too expensive. These people are crazy. Some people can get a pda for less than that(Zire 21) even go up to the Tungsten e. I am not suggesting what pda to buy my fellow ppc users:) I am merely making a contrast, so no brick throwing please ;) hehe
I agree with what was mentioned earlier, when the case is opened how does the pda stay in? I was also thinking about there needing to be about three credit card slots. Of course with the prices they are suggesting, it probably would be closer to 200, or excuse me did I go to high on that price and it is actually 199 :D
To whoever is doing the pricing, get a life;)

ricksfiona

10-08-2003, 12:01 AM

griph

10-08-2003, 12:32 AM

It's expensive and quality cost... Have no problem for that... But I think $80 would be much more reasonable even for a top of the line luxury case. $100 for the customized option. A custom case with personalization will cost me $143 which is more than a brand new, leather laptop bag. Now that I think about it......

Having had two iVolution cases in the past (ipaq 3870 and XDA) I can confirm the quality, fit and design are superb - I had to pay over $500 for my 2210 (yeah - what we poor mugs on this side of the pond have to fork out - you lot over there just dont know how good you have got it!) :-). I figure that $109 to give it the ultimate style and PROTECTION is worth it! I mean - if you've got a porshe - would you put steel rims on the tyres instead of alloys ... I dont think so! ;-)

It would be nice as a subscriber to get my 20% discout voucher - how do I do that? That 20% saving would be really worth having as I intend to get a 2210 iVolution. Jason - I am assuming that the vouchers are valid worldwide (he said hopefully)?

rmasinag

10-08-2003, 12:33 AM

The only saving grace of this overpriced brickmaker is that it is a fliptop design. Now only if Proporta/Innopocket can make an AL version of this. I'm sure there would be no design infringement since it is aluminum unstead of Vaja material. :|

snazzy

10-08-2003, 12:37 AM

how many of us have an extra sd to put in the slot anyhow?

griph

10-08-2003, 12:50 AM

how many of us have an extra sd to put in the slot anyhow?

Bet there are a few here ... I have a 256mB SD, a 128mB Sd and a 64mB MMC. I liked the double spare SD slots on the XDA iVolution case.

Janak Parekh

10-08-2003, 01:20 AM

You guys who are saying Vaja is crazy for the price... are wrong. They've been doing iVOLUTION cases for about a year now. Obviously, they're happy with the ROI in developing and manufacturing these cases; otherwise they'd have dropped the price or discontinued the line if it costs too much to manufacture.

PetiteFlower is right on the money: it's supply and demand. There's nothing wrong with charging this, and there's nothing wrong with you not buying one if you don't want to. ;) After all, there are people who buy $30,000 watches -- now that seems exorbitant to me, especially when those watches have less features than my watch which costs less than 1% of that price.

As to how it holds when the case is open: friction. I've heard it holds very well.

--janak

10-08-2003, 01:37 AM

You guys who are saying Vaja is crazy for the price... are wrong. They've been doing iVOLUTION cases for about a year now. Obviously, they're happy with the ROI in developing and manufacturing these cases; otherwise they'd have dropped the price or discontinued the line if it costs too much to manufacture.

PetiteFlower is right on the money: it's supply and demand. There's nothing wrong with charging this, and there's nothing wrong with you not buying one if you don't want to. ;) After all, there are people who buy $30,000 watches -- now that seems exorbitant to me, especially when those watches have less features than my watch which costs less than 1% of that price.

--janak

You´re right. But it´s still a pity that we can´t afford it!! :D :D

Mike Temporale

10-08-2003, 02:00 AM

I LOVE my Vaja. It's the single best investment I made for my iPaq. No software, or hardware has come close to what Vaja has done for my iPaq. The only thing that will ever go on my PDA is a Vaja. :ppclove:

I'm interested in what these guys can do with the upcoming iPaq 4000 series with thumbboard. 8)

Icebaron

10-08-2003, 03:36 AM

Why does it seem so few manufacturers make cases which can sync in the cradle? You'd think if nothing else someone would make some sort of connector extension or replacement cradle to allow thicker cases to work with the cradle. The only two cases I know of which can sync the 2210 in the cradle are the Bellagio and the Sena. For a "hard" style case I would even think it would make more sense to have a hinged bottom which can flip open to gain access to sync. For me, being able to cradle while in the case is a make-or-break decision for any case. I just can't bring myself to deal with the extra desk clutter of a sync cable.

I ended up with the Sena case, and am incredibly happy with it. If vaja made a case where you could sync while in the cradle, I might be tempted to switch.

iPaqDude

10-08-2003, 03:41 AM

<OFF TOPIC>
I have been searching for a good case for my 2215 - one that would not cost me the same as this iVOLUTION (although I had a Vaja for my 3600 that I loved) and finally settled on a fairly cheap Body Glove case from Circuit City.

This thing holds my 2215 very securely and works great for taking notes during meetings, etc. No, it does not have a belt clip and ain't the sexiest thing around, but it does the job - and then some. Even get to carry a couple of CF cards, WiFi card, business cards, ....

</OFF TOPIC>

Thinkingmandavid

10-08-2003, 03:49 AM

Because we disagree with the price doesnt mean we are wrong, it means in our mind it isnt a good roi for us, or it doesnt justify the asking price. Maybe for a year have been selling them, how be it to a slimmer nich of a market. For the bigger niche of the market they aren't. That is the reality of it there. Of course maybe you are referring to a certain post, I personally dont feel it is worth it. Maybe if I saw one in person I could justify it, I dont know. A 30,000 watch for a millinaire? maybe he/she feels the needs to spend.

PetiteFlower

10-08-2003, 04:30 AM

I think if you're spending $700 on the PDA, then $120 for the case doesn't seem that bad. But if you spent $300 on the PDA, then the same amount for a case seems absurd. When Vaja was first around, PDAs were a lot more expensive and people were more willing to spend the extra money for a good case to protect them. Now that PDAs have reached budget prices, consumers want budget priced cases. If Vaja wants the Axim market and the 2215 market and the 1930 market, they will have to lower their prices. Otherwise, they will keep the 5555 market and the business market and the too-much-disposable-income market, and those of us with budgets will go to the cheaper manufacturers.

I agree though that proporta needs to make a flip-top aluminum case, the side hinge is the only thing that's kept me from buying that case.....

Janak Parekh

10-08-2003, 04:34 AM

Because we disagree with the price doesnt mean we are wrong, it means in our mind it isnt a good roi for us, or it doesnt justify the asking price.
Of course not! You're always welcome to disagree, and I'd never criticize anyone who says "sorry, this isn't worth it for me". But let's not call Vaja stupid for their pricing decisions. I'm sure they analyze their sales closely.

PF: it's certainly your prerogative to say that, but you can use the same argument for handbags. The items in a handbag may arguably be cheap (makeup, cell phone, etc.), but how many women carry $300 (or a $1000) handbags around?

--janak

juni

10-08-2003, 06:45 AM

Looks wonderful but like my dad used to say (when we were wanting things we couldn't have) "You can have the first one that comes floating on a rock". ;)

LightMan

10-08-2003, 10:09 AM

Vaja or not, $100+ is just excessive by any stretch of the imagination 8O

And the colors... Yuck! Nah, I'll just stick with my aluminium proporta, thank you 8)

I fully agree, over $100 + shipping for a case is insane :? ... I will also stick with my $33 aluminum case from Innopocket 8)

apeguero

10-08-2003, 12:34 PM

I had a Vaja case for my previous PPC, Genio 550g. I even did a small review of it in the Toshiba Forum a while back. They're definately nice cases but for $110? That's a bit much for me. I'm plenty happy with my Sena Case I bought for $34.00 on pre-order. Plus that case synchs on the cradle and fits nice and tight, not bulky, has full access to all buttons and slots, plus allows you to carry two SD cards, maybe a couple of credit cards and you can even use the optional mirror. Plus the build quaility is nice. Oh, I alos like how the screen cover stays closed using magnets instead of a strap and clip.

I don't want to rag on Vaja. Again, they're nice cases and this one does look nice, but, come on, $110.00? Or even $120.00? Man, for that price you can get an h1900 series on eBay as a backup in case your 2210 :lol:

PetiteFlower

10-08-2003, 01:30 PM

PF: it's certainly your prerogative to say that, but you can use the same argument for handbags. The items in a handbag may arguably be cheap (makeup, cell phone, etc.), but how many women carry $300 (or a $1000) handbags around?

I carry my PDA and cell phone in my bag, and I got it for $10 at Target. If I could find a case I liked for my Axim for $10 at Target, I'd have one already. Instead, I don't, because even $30 is more then I could justify to my checkbook for it. Women who buy purses for that much money are, for one thing, nuts(IMO) or suffering from the too-much-disposable-income disease, for another thing, they are buying a fashion accessory with some famous name on it, not simply a bag that they need to carry their crap. It's not the same as a PDA case at all--any of you with Vaja cases do it for the fashion? No, I suspect they did it for the high quality, which seen as a percentage of your total PDA expenditure, may not be an outrageous investment to the buyer. I still think that the lower in price the PDAs get, the less we are going to see people willing to shell out over $100 for a case.

Christian

10-08-2003, 03:18 PM

I have the Vaja 972 case for my iPaq and have been extremely happy with it. :D Yes, you can criticize it for being a "brick" yet I can assure you that the combined volume of a slim iPaq case plus even a small wallet is greater. Anyway, I spent $263 on my iPaq and a little over $100 on the customized case 8O - and it has been my best investment by far. For me, having a quality case is the difference between carrying my PocketPC with me wherever I go and leaving it behind...

Scott R

10-08-2003, 04:03 PM

I have no problem with whatever price they want to charge for them. I can't justify spending that much on a case, but if they can sell them for that, good for them. I can tell you that I'd rather run a small business that has 100 clients selling my software for $10,000 a piece than to have 10000 clients and sell it for $100 a piece. The more customers you have, the more support issues you have to deal with. Of course, the flip side is that if I lose ten of my 100 customers, I've lost 10% of them, vs 0.1% if I've got 10,000 clients. Sorry, I'm rambling.

My real reason for responding to this post is because I'm somewhat interested in the h2215 but would want to keep the device as small as possible. When the h2215 first came out, reviews mentioned the fact that it had two holes on the back to facilitate a simple flip-cover, yet here we are months later and no one has made such a thing. Why?

Scott

Janak Parekh

10-08-2003, 08:36 PM

I carry my PDA and cell phone in my bag, and I got it for $10 at Target.
Well, maybe it's the New York effect then, but an astonishing number of people here have expensive handbags. 8O

they are buying a fashion accessory with some famous name on it, not simply a bag that they need to carry their crap. It's not the same as a PDA case at all--any of you with Vaja cases do it for the fashion?
Well, a noninsignificant number get it because it's the "nicest-looking" case.

I still think that the lower in price the PDAs get, the less we are going to see people willing to shell out over $100 for a case.
Maybe. On the other hand, I've seen designer luxury cases for Palm m505s and such that make the Vaja look cheap.

--janak

Pat Logsdon

10-08-2003, 08:55 PM

Looks wonderful but like my dad used to say (when we were wanting things we couldn't have) "You can have the first one that comes floating on a rock". ;)
I'd just make sure that all of my rocks were pumice (http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumice). :mrgreen:

Seriously, Vaja makes nice cases. I'd get one of these if I had a 2215, and I'd get one for my Axim if they made one (hint hint). If you can afford it, they're great. If not, there are lots of other options that work just as well.

griph

10-08-2003, 10:45 PM

I carry my PDA and cell phone in my bag, and I got it for $10 at Target.
Well, maybe it's the New York effect then, but an astonishing number of people here have expensive handbags. 8O

I can confirm that the majority of women have handbags significantly more expensive than $10. That's only £6.50 - only buys two big mac's here - hand bag? - no chance! I am sure that some people would be happy to buy a bag from a garage sale/jumble sale - but it wouldn't be me!

If someone is happy to buy/not buy - that is their perogative - but in a market - it is what people are prepared to pay for perceived value - Vaja provide a service for an exclusive product - the rest is up to to the beholder!

Pixelnose

10-09-2003, 12:27 AM

Ok, I don't post here often, but as a female who likes her bags, and who also thinks that Vaja did _not_ correctly think this out - I'll state my contrary opinion.

First off, I have no problem with Vaja positioning itself as the top of the market. But one flaw in this plan is that it's less through quality and more through pricing alone. I've owned Vaja cases for many of my Palm, Sony and PPC pdas through the years, and they all have as many flaws as any of the other brands.

Having said that, I could stomach 100 USD more-so than the 130 + shipping + customs (I'm in the EU, and apparently you pay customs even if you order from their not-yet-exisistent EU store, Innovacases.com - making an EU store pointless).

To be fair to the ivolution line, prices have crept up through the years at Vaja. Their outlet section now more truly reflects what the cases are really worth, but they don't sell the cases at the outlet until your pda is obsolete.

So we can compare Vaja to some of the top tier brands like Louis Vuitton, but IMO that's a joke. How long did it take these brands to establish that much clout? 30, 50, 100 or more years... and the quality of these bags is usually high. They don't position on price and price alone. The leathers used are of a higher quality, and I state that wearing my equestrian hat - you learn a thing or two about good leather! These top bag brands are also using more of it. Much more than what is used in a Vaja case.

So in short, Vaja lacks the clout as a brand, and lacks the quality - but at least it's gunning to be priced like a Rolls Royce, when in fact it's closer to a BMW. Vaja is aiming too high, too fast. They must be making some money, or else they wouldn't be doing this. But they could be making more if they allowed maybe a few more customers to get to know their brand.

Paragon

10-10-2003, 01:52 PM

Vaja make great cases, and so do some other manufacturers as well for far less money, and comaparable quality. I think what may bother some is that they seem to be trying to capitalize on their past success on the backs of those who granted them that success. Personally I've never seen much of an advantage gained by alienating my customers over price issues. Just looking through this thread it is very obvious that is the case. By far the majority of posts state that the price is outrageous.

Dave

Janak Parekh

10-10-2003, 03:33 PM

I've owned Vaja cases for many of my Palm, Sony and PPC pdas through the years, and they all have as many flaws as any of the other brands.
Well, remember they have different types of cases. Agreed on their "regular" cases, but I've owned an iVolution and it is perhaps the best case I ever had the opportunity to work with -- and I've had too many cases for my own good, from Compaq, E&B, Vaja, etc. :oops:

They must be making some money, or else they wouldn't be doing this. But they could be making more if they allowed maybe a few more customers to get to know their brand.
How do we know this? They've presumably got detailed market numbers on the sales of their "cheaper" cases vs. the "more expensive" cases. I'd like to think their sales department is competent, and maybe they are since they've survived the prolonged Argentine economic slump... so far.

Personally I've never seen much of an advantage gained by alienating my customers over price issues. Just looking through this thread it is very obvious that is the case. By far the majority of posts state that the price is outrageous.
I don't mean to be defending them blindly, but comments on a thread aren't anywhere near conclusive. ;) If I had gone by comments on forums, I'd have never bought an iPAQ 3650. It was perhaps the buggiest device based on discussions at PDABuzz and BH back in the day, but I still loved mine. We really can't conclude alienation until we see their sales numbers.

--janak

Paragon

10-10-2003, 03:55 PM

Personally I've never seen much of an advantage gained by alienating my customers over price issues. Just looking through this thread it is very obvious that is the case. By far the majority of posts state that the price is outrageous.
We really can't conclude alienation until we see their sales numbers.

--janak

I think you are under estimating the POWER of you "Thoughts" subscribers. :D

Dave

Janak Parekh

10-10-2003, 04:40 PM

I think you are under estimating the POWER of you "Thoughts" subscribers. :D
Heh! Maybe you have a point. :lol: Time will tell in that case...

--janak

journey

10-10-2003, 05:19 PM

Over and inch thick: take a svelte device and wrap a brick around it, just beautiful.
I agree with your observation -- this case will nearly double the thinkness of the PDA. So much for carrying it in your pocket. Are all cases this thick?

Janak Parekh

10-10-2003, 05:27 PM