Finding a case for your PDA…. Easy. Finding a nice case for your PDA…. A little harder. Finding a beautiful case for your PDA…. Well, you know where this is going. So as not to rip off a certain credit card companies ad campaign I’ll stop right there.

What makes a case beautiful? Well, we know that there are lots of leather cases on the market, of varying quality. They range from slipcovers to sync-in-case flip-tops, and from soft plush leather to very sturdy harder leather.

On my quest for cases, I’ve been to several sites, and on many boards I kept hearing of Vaja, so I went to check them out. Vaja is a designer case maker with some very unique designs. I talked to one of their marketing people who was more than generous to send me three review samples.

The cases that I received were a black classic iPAQ 3800 case, a brown magnetic closure Jornada case, and one of the new iPAQ 3800 i-Volution cases.

I’ll break them out here and tell you what I thought of each one after using them for a while.

Classic Series for the iPAQ 3800.

Upon opening up the box for the classic iPAQ case, I was greeted with something nice… the great smell of leather. It was so good actually, that I felt like I was in a leather shop, or maybe standing by the belt rack at Nordstrom. The case has textured leather on the front, and a very smooth, shiny outer surface all the way around. It looks very much like a nice set of shoes as far as the deep black and the shine goes.

I opened it up and on the inside of the case on the back panel, there is a short statement by Vaja about the case. Sort of a mission statement. It reads:

“This case ahs been designed by a group of PDA enthusiasts, and made by a skilled craftman following the highest quality standards of the leather industry taking care of every detail in each of its almost fifty processes. Only the top ten percent of the Argentine leathers are selected for its quality, tack and durability, to be able to offer comfort and service during its natural lifetime utility.”

That’s some detail. As far as features go, the case is not lacking. It is very well designed and fitted to the 3800, allowing easy access to all features, but still keeping a good grip. The seams are very nicely done, and there are no little burrs or snags at corners. There are two business card slots, and two SD holder slots, and both work quite well. The case has a snap closure and a metal Vaja logo to top it off.

One thing for a feature that some people would miss would be the option for a belt clip or other attachment mechanism. I think that this is a case for style rather than just a way to carry your iPAQ and didn’t see this as a drawback. Actually the opposite on another case you’ll see in a few minutes.

Overall this is an excellent case, both by design, materials, build quality, and fit. I was skeptical of the prices on the site at first, but once you handle one of these cases it makes sense. The case without belt clip runs $65-75 and with the belt clip is $69-79.

Classic Flip-top case with Magnetic Closure for the HP Jornada 568.

After the iPAQ case, I expected nothing but the best from the Jornada case, and I wasn’t disappointed. One of the first things I noticed was that the case was very much different from the iPAQ case, meaning that each style was very customized. This case has a very smooth flat surface continuing all the way around the back.

Another big difference is in the way that the case closes. This case uses a magnetic closure rather than a snap. The magnets are behind the leather, so you don’t lose the look or feel of the case, but they are strong enough that it’s not something that will spring open on you. They are also aligned very well, and just dropping the case shut locks it right down.

The notable features on the Jornada are the side slot for the navigation button, and two triangular cutouts on the front. The cutouts, naturally are for the power and speaker. Here is where the attention to detail and perfect fit come in. On the left is the power button, which pops up and fits nicely through the cutout. On the right, where the speaker resides, there is a small mesh screen covering the opening. Nice touch! To top it off, it has the Vaja logo, and the other great qualities of the iPAQ case as far as design and build, etc.

i-Volution Case for the iPAQ 3800/3900

So now for the third case. I saved this one for last, because I knew it had to be special. Why did I think that? Because while the other two came in printed cardboard boxes like other cases, or wallets, etc, this one came in a larger, rectangular box, with a rounded top and the Vaja logo impressively embossed in the top.



I open it up to find a beautiful hard leather case, and above it in its own recessed area the belt clip attachment. I lifted the case out and looked at it. It was made of a very nice brown leather, had a lift in the front like a V you would see elevated on the hood of a car. Below on the closure was the metal Vaja logo, and on the back there is a brass button for the belt clip attachment.

The case is fashioned after an iPAQ sleeve, and therefore, works with the naked iPAQ and allows syncing while still in the case. It also keeps a very nice grip on the device, and becomes an extension of it. The bottom protrudes and covers the sleeve interface slot.

At first I had a hard time getting used to the case. It seemed difficult to open and close, and was very stiff. But, being the gorgeous case that it is looks-wise, I decided to pack it around for a week. What were my results? This case rocks!! Like a pair of cowboy boots, after a week and a half or so of carrying it around and using it, it got “broken in”. It opens and closes perfectly and easily, and the way the magnetic clasp is designed keeps it from opening any other way than by gripping the bottom, meaning it will never flip open.

Needless to say, this became my new everyday case, and now I’m saving up for an iPAQ 3870 to replace my 3835 + Bluetooth sleeve, because I like the case enough to use IR with my phone.

I do like this case more than the other two, but I do have two problems with it. Remember these are problems I have with it, and aren’t issues that cause daily use problems. The first one is that it has the belt button, and you can’t remove it. (Trust me, it’s anchored like crazy) Since I always carry it around in my pocket, I catch things on it occasionally. No big deal, really. It’d be cool if it were removable, but if I chose to use a belt clip I’d really prefer it’s anchoring the way it is. Just a personal preference there. The other one is that the belt clip has a couple of corners that face towards the case, and while testing out the belt clip, I got a few scratches on my case. Just a superficial thing, but it’s something that I noticed.

To sum up this case in one sentence, I’d just have to say that it looks and performs like something that a CEO or President of a company could be just as proud of as his new Italian leather shoes.

--Robert Hartley
PocketPC Editor

For more about Vaja Cases visit http://www.vajacases.com