Hardware

Finally my search for a perfect case for my Treo 650 is over. Today I received my TreoCentral S650 Skin Case. Prior to this I tried two other cases but I think this one satisfies my personal requirements the most. The requirements are:

No flip covers. I want to see the screen without flipping anything. Be as slim as possible. No belt clip (to help its slimness). I carry my phone in my pocket, not on a belt. (Don't want people to find out I'm a geek...) Have exposed keyboard for easier typing. Have exposed screen for easier access to screen edges. Have covered corners which are the most vulnerable parts of the phone when it's dropped.

I am happy to say that this case covers all of these requirements. When I saw the case at first I was wondering how to put the phone in there because I did not see how it could open.


Well the truth of the matter is that the case is made of flexible rubber.


To insert the phone into the skin, slide it through the screen opening.


Then stretch the rubber at the top of the phone and pull it over the antenna.


Here is what the phone looks like inside the case. As you can see, the speaker is exposed and there is a little hole for the status indicator. The keyboard is exposed as well.
As you can see the Palm buttons and the 5-way navigator are behind the case. You may think that pressing them is cumbersome. Well actually the rubber is so flexible that it's not a problem at all. In fact the rubber itself has bumps in shape of the buttons so you can feel them with your thumb and press them very easily. It's like having them outside the case.


On the back there is an opening for the speaker, camera and the mirror. On the bottom is a perfectly aligned cutout for the USB/Powercord connector and headphones. There is also a hole at the microphone although it's not visible on this photo.


On top of the phone is the opening for the speaker switch, infra red light, and the SD card.


The side buttons are not exposed, but pressing them is easy because of the rubber flexibility. Having the buttons inside is the only way because if they were outside, they would be difficult to press because of the rubber thinkness and they would not stick out as much.


Speaking of the rubber thickness, I think it's better at protecting the phone during drops than the leather cases because the rubber has greater shock absorbtion.
So bye bye my old cases. My first case was by PalmOne. I got it when at the same time when I bought my phone. The problem with this case is that it just looks plain ugly with that white thread. Also the belt clip mount was not removable and it made the case thick. Finally, the corners of the phone are exposed and are subject to scratches if it is dropped.

Then I tried Krusell Classic Case. I liked the overall look of it better than that of PalmOne. I did couple of modifications to the case. I removed the belt clip mount and cut the opening on top of the phone so that I can remove the SD card without taking the phone out of the case. I liked the fact that the corners of the phone were protected. However, the cut out at the bottom was misaligned with the connectors. I had to stretch the case to insert the jacks.

Both of these cases had the keyboard and screen behind the plastic. Although it does provide additional protection, it is not as easy to type on the keyboard coverd with plastic and use the stylus on the screen especially next to the edges.

So my third case is the charm. I like the way it looks too. It really does not even look like a case. Also it feels very good in my hand. There is plenty of friction and less chance of the phone slipping out of the hand.