Mr Flibble
05-08-2004, 01:17 AM
Thought I should share a few thoughts on the Inno Pocket Hard Case for the XDA II. Founf at http://www.innopocket.com/EShop/Main/product.php?ID=102&name=Others
The case finish is very professional looking (brushed chrome look), it is attractive and heavy which is a clear indication of the quality of materials used. For me that is about it for positive comments so I'll start on the many reason why interested buyers should think carefully before purchasing this product.
1. The phone reception will degrade dramatically with the lid closed. In fact many times I opened the lid to find the phone searching for a network! So, I sat the phone on the coffee table at home and a signal strength of three. I then put it in the case in the same spot with the lid open and had signal strength of 1. I closed the lid waited for ten seconds and then opened the lid and the phone was searching for a network (phone was not moved during the test).
2. Even in strong signal areas I had fellow staff complain about reception when I used the device with the lid closed.
3. With the case closed the star and end call buttons are about 3-4mm below the case surface. Consequently they are nearly impossible to press unless you use your pinky and suck in your stomach. The access slots to these buttons simply aren't wide enough.
3. I couldn’t close the lid with the head phones in. The rubber grommet that flips up out of the way for the head phones won’t allow the case to be closed you would need to really stretch this clear and then shut the case. I still think it wouldn’t work and was hesitant to try fearing It would simply snap off completely. Even if it was OK shutting the case would become a chore and extremely inconvenient.
4. The belt clip, not bad but the screw in locking tab is so small that inserting it into the clip can’t be done with one hand. You have to use two hands, one to push the XDA down to lock and the other to push the release mechanism. The release mechanism is so damn tight you’ll just about break into sweat doing this. Perhaps it may free up with time and on the bright side it isn’t going to accidentally eject your XDA II.
5. I use a USB Sync/Charge cable rather then the supplied cradle. I can use the XDA and charge and sync whilst using it at my desk. Carefully pushing in the sync cable will push the XDA upwards, friction is essentially holding the XDA II in place when the lid is open. There are two small spring levers that have a small nipple on each lever that apply pressure to corresponding point on the rear of the XDA II but the benefit is negligible as the springs are week and I guess if they were to strong it may damage the case sliding it in and out. This may be why they opted for the lid to offer additional security when closed as it holds the PDA in firmly. Anyway, probably not a big issue but if you dropped the device with the lid open then nothing other then luck is going to stop it from spitting your XDA II out on the ground on impact.
In summary, would I recommend this case? Nope, case specific issues aside the whole metal case on a Phone edition PDA is more the issue I think. How many full metal jacket phones are there? Not many and I guess they have a good reason, light and doesn’t interfere with reception.
Vaugh
The case finish is very professional looking (brushed chrome look), it is attractive and heavy which is a clear indication of the quality of materials used. For me that is about it for positive comments so I'll start on the many reason why interested buyers should think carefully before purchasing this product.
1. The phone reception will degrade dramatically with the lid closed. In fact many times I opened the lid to find the phone searching for a network! So, I sat the phone on the coffee table at home and a signal strength of three. I then put it in the case in the same spot with the lid open and had signal strength of 1. I closed the lid waited for ten seconds and then opened the lid and the phone was searching for a network (phone was not moved during the test).
2. Even in strong signal areas I had fellow staff complain about reception when I used the device with the lid closed.
3. With the case closed the star and end call buttons are about 3-4mm below the case surface. Consequently they are nearly impossible to press unless you use your pinky and suck in your stomach. The access slots to these buttons simply aren't wide enough.
3. I couldn’t close the lid with the head phones in. The rubber grommet that flips up out of the way for the head phones won’t allow the case to be closed you would need to really stretch this clear and then shut the case. I still think it wouldn’t work and was hesitant to try fearing It would simply snap off completely. Even if it was OK shutting the case would become a chore and extremely inconvenient.
4. The belt clip, not bad but the screw in locking tab is so small that inserting it into the clip can’t be done with one hand. You have to use two hands, one to push the XDA down to lock and the other to push the release mechanism. The release mechanism is so damn tight you’ll just about break into sweat doing this. Perhaps it may free up with time and on the bright side it isn’t going to accidentally eject your XDA II.
5. I use a USB Sync/Charge cable rather then the supplied cradle. I can use the XDA and charge and sync whilst using it at my desk. Carefully pushing in the sync cable will push the XDA upwards, friction is essentially holding the XDA II in place when the lid is open. There are two small spring levers that have a small nipple on each lever that apply pressure to corresponding point on the rear of the XDA II but the benefit is negligible as the springs are week and I guess if they were to strong it may damage the case sliding it in and out. This may be why they opted for the lid to offer additional security when closed as it holds the PDA in firmly. Anyway, probably not a big issue but if you dropped the device with the lid open then nothing other then luck is going to stop it from spitting your XDA II out on the ground on impact.
In summary, would I recommend this case? Nope, case specific issues aside the whole metal case on a Phone edition PDA is more the issue I think. How many full metal jacket phones are there? Not many and I guess they have a good reason, light and doesn’t interfere with reception.
Vaugh