| Background I picked up my Clie maybe 3 weeks ago and ordered a Brando hardcase pretty quickly thereafter -- the flimsy flip that comes with the unit just didn't make me feel the screen would be protected or kept free of lint from a pocket. I've been a PDA user (and developer) for a long time and always protect my investment... Kensington doesn't yet have a 760 case, and I heard Brando was the workshop that designed or made cases for them anyway, so I figured if those are good, the Brando case would be good too. (I have friends with the Kensington case for m505.. very nice). Instead, I have a mixed review, so read on. I've had the case only one day, I should add. Summary
Price I think it was $29.95US or $34.95US off the website. Very good price for the value (I've had rhinoskin titanium cases before.. not a good value for the price, especially compared to these cheaper but good hard cases). Delivery Very prompt. They're in Hong Kong (with a second location in Australia?) so I expected a long delay in receiving the case.. but it arrived maybe 2 weeks after the order. I'm in Canada.. but since the order came from HK, the US should be about the same experience. I ordered from the website, used their tracking tool to check the next day and found it had been shipped already, and it arrived quickly. A pleasure to do business with. Appearance and Feel Pretty sharp to look at; I ordered the silver version, figuring I'd get something like a metal case with a rubberized feel (like the Kensingtons due to the Brando/Kensington relation.) Turns out you get no extra surface on the metal, so it feels like a medium rough metal case (which also means it slides easier than I'd like; no sticky grip to surfaces...). If it was a nice soft aluminum like that one aluminum case (Rhinoskin?) I'd be happy, or like those gray armour type cases.. but this is more of a cheap feel to it. Like a rough surface ashtray is all I can think of. It looks okay.. its silver all the way around with no external markings or logos or colour.. just silver. I'd rather it was smooth and/or rubberized. But it looks okay but doesn't feel so hot. Operation Hinged at the top; flips to a little more than 180 degrees. When fully opened, the lid sticks straight out which may annoy some. When lieing down, the case will tilt the unit towards you a little. Fine by me, though I like cases which fold all the way around and fit snug to the unit (see the www.flipcover.com for the Visor flipcover gadget. Way cool.) Closes fairly snuggly, so I do not expect lint or the like to get into it very easily at all. Magnets make sure it stays closed. If the Sony flip that came with the unit had magnets on it, I'd also be happy with it.. such a great idea these guys had to use them. Squishing the case doesn't push any of the keys by accident.. its a very rigid case. I should add the hinge doesn't squeak. I had a Rhinoskin titanium slider case for about 5 minutes before I hated it due to the fact they didn't line the hinge and it made racket.. like it was junky. This Brando case feels pretty solid.Lining Black fuzzy lining inside; seems to be in there pretty good and unlikely to come out on its own. Magnets are underneath the lining so don't scratch the unit. The lining does make a light lint all over the screen, sadly, but I'm hoping it'll stop after I've had it for a few weeks. Size/Bulkiness Feels a little big; the Clie is so light and good feeling the case is a little alarming at first, but I think I'll get used to it. It does add about half an inch to the height and 1/4 inch to the width. Really not a bulky case though, like the typical nylon or leather cases. Definitely fits in my jean pocket and would fit perfectly into a purse or the like. Like a sunglasses case, but half the thickness. Fitting One doesn't slip the PDA into this case; its tight. Not too tight, but your PDA will not go in on its own nor fall out if you shake the case (yep, I tried :) Its in there good. When you wish to sync, you pull the top of the PDA and it slides out. Its tight enough I'm worried its bending the PDA case ever so slightly, and I'm really worried the nice Sony case will get marred/dulled by repeated insertion/removal from the case (you cannot sync while the case is on, since it seals all around quite well). Perhaps its just the fuzzy lining which is tight and it will wear down after a few weeks of usage.. hopefully. Card Storage There is none; I don't swap memory cards so I don't care. But then, if your'eusing your 760 for mp3s and carry a few memory sticks, this could be a factor for you. Cases with card storage tend to be bulkier and this is a pretty tight little case. Protection Very good rigidity. Cases are never really good for drop-tests, but this is as good as any other case for that purpose. But for rigidity, screen protection, avoiding bending your PDA in half, running headlong into a wall, etc.. this case is good. You could probably hit it with a hammer and not hurt the PDA. Really. Very good. Access to buttons/stylus Not good. The curves of the case are almost right and you can tell they tried to make the buttons available. But they missed the mark. This could be in part Sonys design, where the buttons are a little submerged so you don't accidentally press them.. so the case needed to leave lots of room for you to get your fingers in there. But the Back button for example is almost entirely un-pokable. I've tried.. I just can't get enough push on it to trigger it, at all. The jogdial is uncomfortable fur workable (barely pushable, but rolls okay).. while jogging, your finger is gliding up and down the edge of the case.. if you like the jogdial, you'll get a nice callus building on your thumb no doubt. The headphone and controller is very nicely cut out though, so you can easily close the case and listen to and control your mp3s. Very well done there. Fetching the stylus is like the jog dial.. almost really good, but annoying. I have to use my pinky to slide it the first bit due to being unable to get to the stylus nib. Access to sync/externals Its a tight sealed case (good, the way I like 'em!), but it means you must remove the case before syncing. I sync every day and when I get home I drop the unit into the charger.. so I'll be putting lots of wear onto the case of the PDA as it slides in and out of the tight fitting case itself (see above). To use a keyboard off the bottom (are any available for Sony?) you'll need to remove it from the protective case. For a memory stick camera, you'll need to remove it -- the case won't close with the camera, and you cut your field of view by half due to the case not flipping all the way around back (or even 270 degrees would be nice). Overall A great protective case. I really wanted this to be a perfect 10, but the access to the jog dial and back button being marred really takes some of the shine off... as does the fact it has no shine on the case either :) So I'd say its a great protective case that discourages some of the unit benefits. It looks and feels okay, but its like a new car with doors that squeak when you open them.. they work, but they annoy you all the same. |
