Hard Case for T/E

[GypsyJon]

I am thinking of upgrading from my m505 to a TE...

Are there any slide in hard cases for the TE?

[breegenie]

Yes, palmOne offers a silver metal (I think) hard case that the TE slider bar attaches to. I got it at Best Buy when I got the TE yesterday. It took me a little while to figure out how to open it :) but it works great.

It also has slots for two SD cards. It does add a little weight to the TE, but it covers the TE all the way around, which is important for me when it resides in my purse with wandering keys, pens and altoids tins that could damage it.

Since the TE attaches to the slider rail, you can sync and charge in the case (also important). I'm hoping the additional weight will keep me from knocking my TE off my desk at work, as all my previous handhelds had a cradle to keep them in place.

[Ni+Mh]

The Palm Tungten-E hardcase is actually quite cool, similiar to the previous Palm M500 series hardcase, just that it ain't got no cool looking stylus

[breegenie]

FYI: there are no holes for access to the stylus, power button or headphones. The case closes evenly all the way around, so if you want good protection, this is it, with some minor annoyances when trying to quickly access those three areas.

[G-San]

breegenie, I forgot to ask in another thread: does the hardcase lock closed, or just snaps closed by some spring. I'm worried that even this case will pop open in my wife's purse. How is your experience ? G-San

[breegenie]

Well, I've been using it for a couple of weeks, and the case hasn't popped open yet. Once you close it, you have to carefully press the back of the case in one direction to open it, making it difficult to accidentally pop open. Although-- not necessarily inpossible--it would depend on where the pressure came from.

I dropped my TE over the weekend (in the case) about 3 1/2 feet down on hard wood flooring and it survived with the case closed and TE intact.

I do have some very light scratching on the hard case now (hey, it lives with keys), but the TE is still spotless (with the usual fingerprints). My biggest complaint right now is Grafitti 2!

[G-San]

Well, we went out and bought a Palm hardcase and indeed it is as described. It closed well, the TE does seem to be a bit loose inside, but since my wife has no SD cards to store, she used the foam that came with the case: she cut it into 2 parts which fit the SD slots. These pieces of foam now keep her TE from rattling inside the case. I'm personally not very happy with the fact that they (the pieces of foam) push against the screen, so I will use a trick another poster on this forum mentioned: I will put small rubber "drops" on the opposite side of the case so that they put pressure against the housing of the TE when the hardcase is closed. Apart from my personal opinion, my wife is very happy with the complete protection it gives. None of the cases by any other brand give the same protection. She can live with the annoyances of charging, acces to stylus and syncing (which I do for her mostly). Conclusion: use it if you need to completely isolate your Palm TE from the outside world while travelling. Do NOT use it when you want fast access to all functions of the TE.

[Gnam]

Originally posted by breegenie
My biggest complaint right now is Grafitti 2!

I have a tip for using G2 - If you draw the space in the same area that you use for writing capital letters you might find that many of the nuisances of G2 will be solved (i.e. an L followed by a space becoming a T or an F).

Back On-Topic: I think the hard case is perfect for full protection of your TE. I even manage to use it quite easily while in the case. It adds bulk and I would have preferred a foldable hard plastic cover like my IIIxe or m130 but this is the best I can get for the moment.

I also had to stick in two foam pads to stop it rattling but they don't put pressure on the screen.

Bye!
Gnam