| Proporta Aluminum Hard Cases for Tungsten C and Zire 71 |
Reviewed by: Greg Gaub
Date: September 23, 2003
Check out the Proporta web site for ordering info.
Ok, so unless you've been hiding in a cave or otherwise not paying attention to hard cases for PDAs, you have probably seen these cases and read other reviews. Instead of doing yet another spec review, I'm just going to share my thoughts and opinions on them as someone who has been using them for a while. Good? Ok, here we go...
I knew from experience that I wanted a hard case for my precious new toys, my Zire 71 and my Tungsten C. In fact, I had accidentally broken my TC screen while waiting for my hard case to arrive! Doh!! My Zire 71 was already shielded from stupidity by its Proporta hard case, so I knew what to expect from my TC case. Things to expect include form fitting design, light weight, good protection for the screen and unit overall, and easy access to the stylus, SD, and other ports. All these things are true for both the Zire 71 case and the TC case.
The Zire 71 case, specifically, holds the Zire 71 in quite well. In fact, it can be tricky to get the Zire out. You have to hold the case and push the Zire up by pushing on the HotSync connector, otherwise you just slide up the camera. Speaking of the camera, the case works great with it. Just open the case and slide up the face of the Zire to use the camera. The inside of the cover of the case has two slots for SD/MMC cards, which is great for when you take a lot of pictures, or have dedicated backup and mp3 cards. My one and only minor complaint is that there's a gap between the back of the Zire and the inside of the back of the case. This does not cause any problems, it just makes it seem less form fitting.
Some reviews have noted, even complained, about the fact that the card slots hold the SD cards with the lables facing in, where you can't see them. Well, if you look at an SD card, you can see that there's a ridge on one side of each edge. The card holders are using that ridge to hold the cards in. If the cards were to go in "face out" then the card holder would have to be thicker, possibly by a mm or more, just to be able to hold the card with the sticker facing out. IMHO, if there's anyone to complain to, it's the SD consortium for dictating that the ridge be where it is, and the labels go on the side they're on. The labels should be on the other side. ;-) Anyway, I'm sure that a small mark with a fine tip Sharpie would be sufficient, or even another label of good quality.
The Tungsten C case has all the same valuable features of the Zire 71 case, and other cases in this line. If there's one difference between these two particular cases, it's that the TC case is even more form fitting than the Zire 71 case. This has the unfortunate consequence of being able to get knocked out of whack more easily. For example, while my TC was charging, my cat decided to knock my TC case off my desk. When I next placed my TC in the case and closed it, I noticed that the lid didn't snap shut quite the same way as before. Since then I've noticed that the pliable aluminum is likely to blame, and the hinge can be tweaked a little in many directions, causing the lid to come down on the case funny. That pliability also allows it to snap shut anyway, so it's not really a problem except for the perception of damage and loss of fit. A little gentle twisting or pulling can usually rectify any tweak problem, so it's not a big deal. If there's any worry, it would be that long term tweaking like that will cause the case to stop snapping shut or something.
I would like to note that both the Zire 71 and TC cases, and probably every other case in this line includes a hole to allow the speaker to be heard more easily, and pretty much full access to ports and switches that need such access. While the application buttons and scroll/nav buttons are well protected, the power button itself can still be accessed on the TC case. The TC case also has a hole for the reset pin which is just big enough to allow a reset with the stock pin in the stock stylus.
The Proporta branded cases are marked as such with their logo. Their logo, which looks like 4 CDs pulling a domino kind of falling effect, is very nicely done. Each case has this logo embossed on the front side of the case somewhere. On the Zire 71 it's on the bump that protects the app and nav buttons, and on the TC case it's in the lower right corner. While some people gripe about such additions to an otherwise sleek case, I have no problem with it. Speaking of sleek, the cases are somewhat slippery, but there are small bumps on the sides that aid in grip. Also, the door opens to the right, the opposite of a book in the US. As a lefty, this is not a problem, but others I have known find it to be problematic.
Overall I highly recommend these cases. I always recommend a hard case to people, and these fit the bill VERY nicely.
Likes
Dislikes
Rating: 4.5 needles (out of five).
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