Any of us who spend several hundred dollars on a PocketPC need some way to protect it right? I know I, for one, always make sure I am very careful where I put it in my bag, or on my desk, etc.

Gone are the days of the original Palm Pilot, yes, even before the III, when palm-sized computers would easily survive a bit of a beating. I’m not saying they aren’t rugged, I’m just saying I’m not going to drop my Jornada on the concrete floor in my office to try it out.

As usual, with anything this size, there are numerous carrying cases, most leather, some slip-on, and some you use in the case.
The RhinoSkin case is a little different than most. It is made of solid brushed aluminum, and slides open then swivels back to allow working with the device in the case. It has padding to keep the device secure and snaps closed.

In day to day use the RhinoSkin case did inspire more confidence. Although not super padded, it would prevent any scratches from affecting the body or screen of my Jornada. Being aluminum, it’s quite lightweight, and doesn’t add much over the normal flip cover I was accustomed to.

The slide motion works fluidly, and it is easy to work with the device in the case. The design of the case also allows access to both the IR port and the earphone jack on the top of the Jornada, as well as the middle suspend button.

A couple of things, though, bothered me about this case. It does add a bit of bulk, so it’s a little harder to put in my pocket. I’m sure though, if I was in an environment where I needed the protection, this would be a non-issue. I also couldn’t get to my jog-dial easily with the case on without moving the slide to a funny angle.

Two other things I noticed were that I’ve had a little bit of deterioration on the foam in the week I’ve been using it, but this isn’t a big deal, as its only in a couple of little places. I can see it being a problem after quite a while of moving the device in and out of the case several times to do syncs/charges. The last one is that the case doesn’t snap as securely as I’d like, this also is minor, and being that it’s a metal product, could most likely vary from unit to unit and be fixed with a little bit of bending.

Overall, I’d like to say that this case is great, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone wanting the convenience of having their PocketPC with them on a construction site, work areas, out in the field, or anywhere you need added protection. It’s definitely a small price to pay to have protection for a several-hundred dollar device, and I certainly see people overlook things like this far too often.

--Rob Hartley

Editor's Note: I just learned that RhinoSkin does offer free replacement neoprene at no charge, so if the padding wears down on any case you can contact their customer service dept.(info@rhinoskin.com)and they will send you afree replacement pieces for your case.

http://www.saunders-usa.com/rhinoskin/