12-23-2008, 01:01 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 518
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Case for AT&T Fuze....
Finding a good case for the AT&T Fuze is proving to be a challenge. Although the difficulty obviously varies according to Personal Preference (How, exactly, does one define "Good?"), nearly all of the options seen to date feature one or more Significant Flaws, many of which are due to the relatively complex design of the device (Touch Screen, sliding keyboard, speaker & camera lens on the back...).
1) A "Slip Case" requires that you remove the unit in order to use it.
Yes, you CAN make & receive phone calls using a Blue Tooth connection & Voice Command, which works while driving, when (Of Course!) No One would ever consider trying to hand-dial a number and/or take notes. But Eventually you will want to / need to access the screen / hardware buttons, and constantly having to fish your PDA out of a slip case only increases the probability of eventually Dropping it  (and / or losing the case!).
2) There are a number of nice looking leather cases available for the Fuze / Touch Pro, which are designed to permit at least some functionality without having to remove the unit - and many of which feature cut-outs for the camera lens & speaker, etc. But nearly all of them have at least one Significant Flaw: They secure the device to the case by means of a plastic sheath that covers the top of the keyboard.
While an obvious tactic, this technique has at least 3 major flaws:
a) It looks funky. Perhaps a minor complaint to begin with, but past experience with thin, clear, sheets of plastic suggest that appearance is likely to deteriorate over time;
b) A plastic sheet over the keyboard does not Enhance one's ability to use said keyboard; and
c) The sliding mechanism on the Fuze is fairly precise: even a thin sheet of plastic forces the gap between the two units open. Given enough time, this seems likely to cause damage to either the unit and/or the cover itself (see a above...).
"Tested" b) & c) with a variety of plastic sheets gathered from around the house.
3) One of the few leather cases that does not use a plastic sheet over the keyboard is by Noreve. This is a nice looking case, but its design leaves 2 questions: 1) 3 tall 'bent fingers' help to hold the un-opened Fuze in place - alas, when the keyboard is opened it APPEARS that these will interfere with attempts to actually USE the keyboard (or, at least, those keys located near the fingers); 2) the design seems to leave a lot of the Fuze exposed. This may be nit-picking a bit, but compared to a Mythical "Ideal" Case.....
Also, alas!, the Noreve is NOT inexpensive at around $45 - although for fancy-dress business use that may be less of an issue....
4) There are a number of 'plastic shell' cases, made out of a variey of materials - from real Hard Plastic, to silicone, to rubberized plastic, to Aluminum, and varying in price from Under $10 to Around $30 (or more?). By their nature, these tend to leave the SCREEN entirely exposed - a fairly large No-No - and or Look Funky, and / or seem to offer little protection either from the elements (Primarily Dust...) or Drops, although it is possible that the softer silicone ones would be more protective than some of the thin hard ones....
At least some owners are using one of these snap-on cases WITH a slip case: the slip case (perhaps with a belt loop) provides protection & carry convenience, while the snap-case protects against scratches to the body and helps keep finger prints down...
Also, a number of users have reported having trouble with the Touch Screen while using some of the snap-on cases: apparently they tend to put pressure on the screen corner(s) which renders it un-responsive (filing the inner surface of the case is the best recommendation to alleviate this).
.........
OK: has become a small book  & am being called away by the love of my life to consider Shopping Duties  - so will have to wrap this up later.....
Last edited by Reid Kistler; 12-23-2008 at 04:22 AM..
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