Jason Dunn
09-17-2007, 03:00 PM
<img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/noreve-hard-drive-case-leather.jpg" /><br /><br />When it comes to leather cases, I'm usually a <a href="http://www.vajacases.com/">Vaja</a> or <a href="http://www.senacases.com/">Sena</a> guy, so if I have a bias, it comes from the standard those companies set. With that out of the way, let's take a look at the <a href="http://www.noreveusa.com/product/Portable_hard_drive_leather_case.html">Portable Hard Drive Leather Case</a> from <a href="http://www.noreveusa.com">Noreve</a>. I wanted something to carry my <a href="http://astore.amazon.com/digitalmediathoughts-20/detail/B000HZGQ9C/104-6504838-9248767">120 GB Western Digital portable hard drive</a> in. The Noreve case is designed to hold 2.5" or 1.8" portable hard drives, with room for cables. I also wanted the case to double as a general gadget bag - and sure enough, I can put my Zune and my Ultimate Ears headphones and carrying case inside the main compartment of the Noreve case with a bit of room left to spare. The main body container has a leather and Velcro strap that holds the hard drive in place - my Western Digital drive fit easily and is held securely in place. The top flap has three pouches lined with soft fabric: a large pouch that's nearly as big as the top flap, ideal for longer USB cables. There are two small pouches below that, one having a leather Velcro-secured flap on it, the other is simply a pouch. The pouch is so small I'm not entirely sure what you'd put in it - perhaps CompactFlash or Secure Digital memory cards? This case could easily be used to carry a wide-screen portable media player as well.<br /><!><br />The outside of the case is soft leather - I chose black, but the case is available in pink, camel, or Sandy Vintage. There's a zipper that goes around the exterior allowing the top flap to open and lay flat at 180 degrees, and a small Noreve silver-coloured logo. This case looks and works great, but I was a bit surprised to see a scuff mark and a few small dents/holes in the leather. Again, since I'm used to Vaja cases, my expectations for leather are extremely high. The flaws in the Noreve case aren't very noticeable, but I was still surprised to see anything other than a perfectly uniform leather surface. The case sells for $39.99 USD, or 39.95 Euros if you order from the European Noreve site. In light of that price, I feel the quality is in line with the price. If this were a Vaja case, the quality would have been higher, but it likely would have cost $100 USD. The Noreve case strikes a good balance between quality and price, and it does the job nicely for anyone looking for a portable hard drive carrying case.<br /><br /><i>Jason Dunn owns and operates <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com">Thoughts Media Inc.</a>, a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He loves the smell of leather.</i>