Recommend a good case for M500?

[NickBrain]

At the risk of getting as many answers as there are cases, can anyone recommend a good case to protect my recently replaced M500?

I think I would prefer a hard case - any ideas?

Thanks All!

[tuffguy]

I recommend a rhinoskin. Check them out <www.rhinoskin.com>.

They have hard and soft cases. I bought a leather case a few months ago. Exceptional craftsmanship and superior quality.

tuff

[Lauren Neher]

I would highly recommend the hard case by Kensington. It is a very nice aluminum flip case that has a rubberized finish. Very comfortable, and non slipping in your hand or your pocket. I bought mine for $30.00 from Best Buy, and it paid for itself the first time my Palm was knocked out of my hand by a car door and landed face down, open in a parking lot. And was undamaged. I use my Palm all the time, and I have drop checked it more times than I'd like to remember, including about an 8 foot fall onto a tile floor, and my Palm is undamaged. Amazing. I recently saw one at Circuit City for $20.00. The whole case is hardly larger than your Palm, and it still fits easily into your pocket.

[OldBlue]

I've had my m505 in an Innopocket aluminum case for over a year. It's barely larger than the Palm itself, is lightweight, lined with a thin layer of neoprene, and allows access to the SD/MMC card slot and the stylus. It's $20.00 from gethightech.com and comes in titanium or black finish. I chose the titanium, while 3 co-workers at my office chose black. Here's a link if you're interested:

http://********hightech.com/item.jhtml?UCIDs=467354%7C1176735&PRID=1085118

(If the URL wrapped, you might have to type it in)

OldBlue

[DrMud]

I have three cases. Innopocket, PDALife Leather, and the Palm Hard Case. The Palm hard is by far my favorite. Tuff! Solid latch. (I have used it for 9 months and the latch is as cight today as on day one.) The front cover swings around to the back so it sits on the desk with a small foot print and sits in your hand firmly.
DrMud

[Michel]

Yesterday I bought the Palm Hard Case, and frankly I am not very happy with it; I find it quite big and overly complicated to open and handle.

I have looked at all the cases suggested here, and the one I think I like the most is the Innopocket case: it seems small and handy, and the design is a lot slimmer than the Palm case.
But I would like to know if it flips open 360º like the Palm case? Also, is it sturdy?

Michel.P

[Calvados]

Michel,

The Innopocket does not flip open like the Palm hardcase.

As to whether it is sturdy.

1. I was bowling with some friends and like a dummy forgot to take my Palm out of my shirt pocket. You guessed it on the approach the palm flew out of my pocket the case bounced 3 times on the hardwood floor, the SD card even popped out, but the Palm was perfectly protected. I put the SD card back in and everything worked great.

2. As if that was not enough, 3 days later the palm fell from my shirt pocket again, this time on concrete. It again bounced, the Innopocket case took a hard hit and put a large dent in it. It was somewhat deformed, but the Palm came out fine.

To answer your question, with the luck I have had lately, I would say it is more than sturdy, I just ordered a replacement for the one that gave its life for my Palm. :D

Hope that this helps & have a good day,
Calvados

[Michel]

Thanks for your reply Calvados, it does help :)

Seems like you are happy with your case -- all that remains is to find some retailer that does shipping to Europe, which could be difficult :( ....

Do you find it to be a problem the fact that it doesn't open 360º? Is it easy to open?

Michel.P

[Calvados]

Michel,

I also live in Europe & I ordered my first one from Innopocket & they shipped to France. The bad news is that shipping cost more than the case cost. Then I got stuck for customs, so the case was quite expensive at that point. Since it saved my Palm that is alright. For my 2nd one, I found someone in the USA that could recieve it for me and ship it to me by mail. That way I did not have to pay all of the extras. I got is at "gethightech.com" (the link is above in OldBlue's reply) and it cost me a lot less.

Hope that this helps & have a good day,
Calvados

[papazote]

I also would like to reccomend the hard case from kensington. I have the palm hard aluminum case; while it has ok durability, it seems to dent from the smallest of bumps. Kensington is much more durable

[uncle bob]

some very interesting comments about cases. can you put the palm (m5xx) on the cradle without taking it out of the hard case? if not, how much work is it getting the palm in and out of the case?

also, which, if any, hard cases allow you to use an SD card that sticks out a little (like the bluetooth card)?

thanks

[Calvados]

Uncle Bob,

I have several Hard cases, I like to change from time to time. As to your questions:

1. About putting the palm on the craddle in the case. With my Innopocket & the Rhinoskin I have no problem. I just fold the back around and let the front part of the case cover the palm and it goes on the craddle just fine. Of course I cannot see the screen, but when I am charging it that does not matter. As to taking it out of the case, that is simple and quick.

2. About the Bluetooh card sticking out a little. It would depend on how much it sticks out. I know on my Innopocket that there is a cutout for the SD card slot and so you have access to the slot even with the case closed, so that should be no problem. The Rhinoskin is totally enclosed, so unless the card only sticks out by 1 or 2 mm then it will not work.

Hope that this helps & have a good day,
Calvados

[jrchrist]

I recently purchased the Nite Ize PDA case. It is big but very functional, and is a half hard case the back is bendable steel, but not too too bendable, it has about 5 tiny pockets. Check it out at http://www.niteize.com and the cheapest I found it was at www.pockits.com.