Monday, September 29, 2003
Do you use Protection? The Proporta Aluminum Case for the iPAQ 2210
Posted by Anthony Caruana in "HARDWARE" @ 09:00 AM
Well, you've spent weeks or even months agonizing over which Pocket PC you'll buy. You've spent hours pouring over benchmarks and reviews and interrogated every sales person within 100 kilometres of your home. Finally you choose your new Pocket PC. For me, it was the iPAQ 2210. You get the box open and all is good. Then, you see the pitiful slip case HP provides and the glow of your new iPAQ is tarnished a little. But, luckily Proporta comes to the rescue with one of the nicest cases around; its aluminium hard case.
The Proporta Aluminium Case not only looks great but provides your iPAQ 2210/5 with some serious protection. The case adds very little to overall weight and size of the 2210 and looks very slick. This is the second Proporta Aluminium case I've had and I've been very impressed.
Mmmm... It's Shiny
When I first got my case I was struck by how good it looked and by its solid feel. This case is a real head turner. It feels pretty good in the hand and doesn't make the device any more difficult to use. All of the cutouts are well placed and line up correctly. You can even access the reset button on the back of the iPAQ with the stylus if you need to.
The iPAQ sits snugly in the case and I don't believe there is any danger of it becoming accidentally dislodged. It passed my "turn it upside down and give it a shake test" without any problems.
Figure 1: My 2210 in the Proporta Aluminium Case.
Using the Case
Once the iPAQ is in the case you'll find that you still have access to all of the iPAQ's ports and slots - as you can see in the figures below.
Figure 2: The back of the case showing the stylus and speaker cutouts.
One of the things I especially liked about this case was that I could easily connect my charge and sync cable without having to open the case.
Figure 3: The underside of the case showing the sync port cutaway.
As you can see, it you use a CF or SD card that protrudes from the iPAQ you can leave it in place even if the case is closed. This is one of my favourite features of this case. It means I can keep my device protected and still leave my WiFi card in my Pocket PC.
Figure 4: A top view of my iPAQ in the case showing the easy access to the SD and CF slots.
Gotchas
Well, there has to be something wrong doesn't there? My only issues with this case are :
You can buy the Proporta Aluminium case directly from Proporta for $39.95 USD. I've bought a few things from Proporta and their service is great. From order to delivery only takes a few days (from the UK to Australia). As this case is not yet available, if you pre-order Proporta will ship you a Neoprene case until the aluminum case is available.
Conclusions
There's a lot to like about this case. It looks great and offers plenty of protection for your iPAQ. Would I buy one? You betcha!
The Proporta Aluminium Case not only looks great but provides your iPAQ 2210/5 with some serious protection. The case adds very little to overall weight and size of the 2210 and looks very slick. This is the second Proporta Aluminium case I've had and I've been very impressed.
Mmmm... It's Shiny
When I first got my case I was struck by how good it looked and by its solid feel. This case is a real head turner. It feels pretty good in the hand and doesn't make the device any more difficult to use. All of the cutouts are well placed and line up correctly. You can even access the reset button on the back of the iPAQ with the stylus if you need to.
The iPAQ sits snugly in the case and I don't believe there is any danger of it becoming accidentally dislodged. It passed my "turn it upside down and give it a shake test" without any problems.
Figure 1: My 2210 in the Proporta Aluminium Case.
Using the Case
Once the iPAQ is in the case you'll find that you still have access to all of the iPAQ's ports and slots - as you can see in the figures below.
Figure 2: The back of the case showing the stylus and speaker cutouts.
One of the things I especially liked about this case was that I could easily connect my charge and sync cable without having to open the case.
Figure 3: The underside of the case showing the sync port cutaway.
As you can see, it you use a CF or SD card that protrudes from the iPAQ you can leave it in place even if the case is closed. This is one of my favourite features of this case. It means I can keep my device protected and still leave my WiFi card in my Pocket PC.
Figure 4: A top view of my iPAQ in the case showing the easy access to the SD and CF slots.
Gotchas
Well, there has to be something wrong doesn't there? My only issues with this case are :
- The front cover doesn't flip all the way around to the back. This means that it looks like an open book when I'm holding it
- There's an SD/MMC card holder in the case but you leave the card with the connectors on the outside I'd prefer the connectors facing inwards so that they are more protected.
- Unlike many of the leather cases on the market there is nowhere in this case to stow a credit card or business cards securely
- No belt clip
- Blutooth range is severely impeded when the case is closed
You can buy the Proporta Aluminium case directly from Proporta for $39.95 USD. I've bought a few things from Proporta and their service is great. From order to delivery only takes a few days (from the UK to Australia). As this case is not yet available, if you pre-order Proporta will ship you a Neoprene case until the aluminum case is available.
Conclusions
There's a lot to like about this case. It looks great and offers plenty of protection for your iPAQ. Would I buy one? You betcha!
