mcdj
01-28-2003, 05:15 AM
A quick question for HPaq HQ: how come a $50 HP scientific calculator comes with a nice little wallet case and a $300 h1910 comes in a Glad bag? It's not even a Zip Loc. Thanks.
The world of fitted leather cases for the h1910 is not a vast one.
A few weeks ago when it popped up on the EB site, their 1910 case was the first major alternative to the $50+ Vaja. Others companies have been trickling them out, but mostly in different form factors.
From day one, the EB case was "backordered". Hmm, does that mean see how many orders you get before you make any, then hurry up and make enough to fill the orders? While I don't know what EB's quality is like otherwise, as this is my first case from them, I'd have to say that from the looks of it, either EB ain't all that, or they hurried to get these cases out.
The good...
Slim profile
Magentic closure = sweet and positive
Slightly puffy top feels swell, gives good screen protection
The bad...
There's good leather, there's ok leather, and there's bad leather. The leather EB used for the 1910 is just plain old mediocre. It's basic boring dull black leather. The leather quality is a notch or so above the house brand generic PDA case found at your local Best Circuit USA. Even in the basic dull black category, there's better leather being used by other companies making cases in the same price range.
Holding the EB case in your hands is about as exciting as holding 2 free passes to All You Can Eat Ice. That's unfortunate because the form of the case is basically well designed. Nicer leather would make it sing. It's a shame too because well done leather doesn't have to be expensive, as I have seen first hand in the Clie 760 case from Sony Japan, and in the Vaja iPod case ($35).
Nicer leather would also probably fit better. Or maybe the cutter had a bad day. All I know it, the tolerances on the case I received were pretty wide. The notch at the top doesn't really line up over the power button. The sides are kinda loose. The strip of leather that runs across the top of the front of the unit bows out at the slightest touch.
Overall, quality control seems a bit lax and production seems a bit rushed.
Little clues include; the raw lopsided-X-acto-blade-cut hole for the sync port; those annoying spikey melted thread ends (hey is that a band?); the lip of the flip top that's oh so shy of a perfect meeting at the end of the case; the scratch it had before I even got it out of the package, the sound of glue crackling as I slid an SD card in the one of the slots...
Does this case suck? No, it almost sucks, but it could be great. To me, it's a $25 case that happens to sell for $40. Many folks will like it just fine.
It's a decent mashed potatoes sort of case. Had I know it was quite so bland, I would probably have opted for the Vaja flavor.
-Rob
The world of fitted leather cases for the h1910 is not a vast one.
A few weeks ago when it popped up on the EB site, their 1910 case was the first major alternative to the $50+ Vaja. Others companies have been trickling them out, but mostly in different form factors.
From day one, the EB case was "backordered". Hmm, does that mean see how many orders you get before you make any, then hurry up and make enough to fill the orders? While I don't know what EB's quality is like otherwise, as this is my first case from them, I'd have to say that from the looks of it, either EB ain't all that, or they hurried to get these cases out.
The good...
Slim profile
Magentic closure = sweet and positive
Slightly puffy top feels swell, gives good screen protection
The bad...
There's good leather, there's ok leather, and there's bad leather. The leather EB used for the 1910 is just plain old mediocre. It's basic boring dull black leather. The leather quality is a notch or so above the house brand generic PDA case found at your local Best Circuit USA. Even in the basic dull black category, there's better leather being used by other companies making cases in the same price range.
Holding the EB case in your hands is about as exciting as holding 2 free passes to All You Can Eat Ice. That's unfortunate because the form of the case is basically well designed. Nicer leather would make it sing. It's a shame too because well done leather doesn't have to be expensive, as I have seen first hand in the Clie 760 case from Sony Japan, and in the Vaja iPod case ($35).
Nicer leather would also probably fit better. Or maybe the cutter had a bad day. All I know it, the tolerances on the case I received were pretty wide. The notch at the top doesn't really line up over the power button. The sides are kinda loose. The strip of leather that runs across the top of the front of the unit bows out at the slightest touch.
Overall, quality control seems a bit lax and production seems a bit rushed.
Little clues include; the raw lopsided-X-acto-blade-cut hole for the sync port; those annoying spikey melted thread ends (hey is that a band?); the lip of the flip top that's oh so shy of a perfect meeting at the end of the case; the scratch it had before I even got it out of the package, the sound of glue crackling as I slid an SD card in the one of the slots...
Does this case suck? No, it almost sucks, but it could be great. To me, it's a $25 case that happens to sell for $40. Many folks will like it just fine.
It's a decent mashed potatoes sort of case. Had I know it was quite so bland, I would probably have opted for the Vaja flavor.
-Rob