Bellagio Designs Leather PDA Case for Palm Tungsten C Flip Style

Let me state from the outset that I'm someone who normally hunts for bargains and loves a good deal. (Indeed, when my Sony Clie SJ-33 died, I did a lot of reasearch on potential replacements, and finally picked up a factory refurbished PalmOne Tungsten C with a free folding keyboard from the PalmOne factory outlet for $279, $120 off the price for a new unit!) Yes, I love getting a good price on a purchase, but on the other hand, I've learned over the years that sometimes, "cheap" is, well... just cheap. You often do get what you pay for.

I did a lot of comparison shopping for a case for the Tungsten C, scouring online retailers, eBay, and local shops. In the end, I gulped hard, plunked down $39.95 plus shipping, and ordered Bellagio's flip case (without the available belt clip — I like to keep my PDA in my pocket).

The PDA cases from Bellagio Designs aren't the cheapest you'll find; your local Best Buy will sell you a "Universal PDA Case" from Targus or the like for around twenty bucks. On the other hand, neither are Bellagio's cases the most expensive (a comparable case from Piel Frama of Spain costs 60 Euros, or currently around US $75.)

The little voice in my head that said "am I nuts to spend this much on a PDA case?" has been silenced in my day to day use of the Tungsten C flip case. It's hard to describe how much I love this thing, or how much satisfaction I get from using it.

First, Bellagio customer service (assuming you order directly from them) is great — I got an acknowledgement of my order very quickly, and the case shipped out on the day I ordered it.

The case itself is made of very nice black leather, and the stitching appears to be of a fine quality. The flip cover is nicely padded, and reinforced with some kind of molded material inside — it is reassuringly rigid under the padding, and features perfect cut-out storage slots for two SD cards on the inside surface. It closes with a magnetic clasp that has a "just right" feel: easy to open, even with one hand, yet strong firm enough not to pop open unintentionally.

The case requires no stick-on velcro or other cheesy apparatus to attach to the PDA. Rather, the PDA slides into a perfectly-sized leather enclosure, which shields the PDA on its sides (I love this feature — more below) and leaves the screen and buttons totally exposed when the flip top is open. Retaining tension is provided by what feels like a leather-wrapped metal rod that runs around the PDA screen's front bezel, and the snug fit of the lower leather section. It's quite a tight fit the first time you put the Tungsten in the case, but it loosens up just enough after a week or so to make it effortless to slide the Tungsten out of the case.

However, Bellagio has designed the case in such a thoughtful manner that you may rarely if ever have to remove the Tungsten from it. The SD slot and IR port are fully available when you flip open the case. Also, there's a small hole molded into the back of the case which exposes the Tungsten's speaker, so you can hear alarms clearly even when the case is closed. Additionally, the hotsync port on the bottom of the PDA is exposed when the case is open, making it possible to sync with a cradle without removing the PDA from the case. The really great design touch, though, is that the rigid back of the case flips up and out of the way near the middle of the case, making it easy to sync the PDA in a standard PalmOne hotsync cradle without removing it from the case. Cool!

I mentioned before how much I like the fact that the retaining element of the case wraps around and protects the Tungsten's sides. I really want the case to protect my PDA from scratches and knicks (from car keys, for example) while it's in my pocket. The Bellagio flip case has kept my Tungsten C pristine among car keys and pocket change!

I can only think of one down side to this case: some sync and charger cables have a flat, square-ish piece that protrudes out from under the metal contacts to support the PDA. In my experience, it's hard to get a good connection with these cables while the Tungsten's in the case; you may have to remove it for that purpose. For cradle hotsyncing, however, there's no such problem.