Windows Phone Thoughts: Vaja's ivolution Case Snuggles Samsung Omnia

A few weeks ago, I posted news that Vaja cases, the South American based company known for their rather elegant cases, had released an ivolution case for the Samsung Omnia. Shortly after posting the news, Vaja was kind enough to offer to send me the ivolution case so I could take a look at it myself and decide how it well it accompanied the Omnia. I've never owned a Vaja case before, so with the case came much anticipation about the quality and design, and today I'm pleased to share my experiences using the case!

The first thing you surely notice about a Vaja case is the packaging. The packaging that the case came with was nicer than some of the boxes my Pocket PCs have come in (looking straight at you AT&T...). The small box slides open letting you easily take the case out, and keep the box for future use. A small thing, but I'm always grateful when i don't have to destroy packaging just to get something out.

I would have taken more photos of the case I received, however in this case I'll point you to Vaja's site as the case I have is literally the exact same case used for the PR shots (The color is spot on to the shots, no strange lighting distorting the true teal seen above). Getting my Omnia into the case was a real snap - I simply placed it into the back at an angle, and shifted it up until the two grips held it firmly in. The gripping pieces are nicely finished and don't damage the device with even the smallest marking or scratching. The case then folds up and the grip seen in the lower right of the picture above secures it shut.

The case adds very little bulk to the device, always something nice. It can't be attached to any sort of clip for a belt (that was SO 2003...), and without any sort of nub it looks plain and elegant. The biggest reason I have never been a 'case' guy is simply because I can't stand a bulky case on the device when the device spends the majority of the time in my pants pocket. This case doesn't bulk up, and still allows the device to slide in and out of my pocket without trouble.

Visually the case is very nice, however functionally I do have two small issues. First, the grip that holds the front of the case to the phone can be a bit hard to open once it's been shut up. It takes a bit more force than I'd like (at times making me worry about opening it and having the phone pop out), however I suppose that's needed to keep the phone secure. The second issue is using the case while charging. The charging port is not covered by the case, however to open the port cover, one must use their fingernail to slide along the bottom of the cover and pop it open. When the case is on the phone, my finger is simply too large to get in there and have enough leverage to pop the cover open. The result is that I must remove the device from the case to open the charging port cover, then can place the device back in, plug in the charging cable, and be done. In the morning I can easily close the port cover without removing the device. Takes but a minute to pull it out to open that port, yet it is still somewhat distracting.

Like all Vaja cases, the ivolution comes in a variety of colors and designs. The starting price, before customization is around $75, however if you're looking for a nice sleek case that appears durable and elegant all at the same time, the price may be worth it. After all, the device you're housing wasn't exactly cheap! Speaking of that device, someone should really write up a whole review on it... perhaps having it up on the web by the end of the week... !

Jon Westfall is a contributing editor for Pocket PC Thoughts, as well as a Microsoft MVP for Windows Mobile. Currently he is finishing his doctorate in cognitive psychology, and experiencing the usual holiday stresses! Find out more about him, his life, his cat, his meaningless thoughts, at JonWestfall.Com

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