For years I have always liked the look and feel of leather, so the cases I bought matched my desire to have that richness that leather has. For centuries, leather has been the “basic” covering used for valuables, books, luggage and most recently, PDA’s. The quality you get depends on the manufacturer and that certainly does vary.
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With the advent of technology and the use of metals for protection, people on the go have often opted for metal cases to cover their most precious items. What comes to mind is a metal locket my mother used to wear to encapsulate a picture of my dad. Sure, it was a piece of gold jewelry but it served the purpose of protecting a picture…and 70 years later, it is still protecting the same picture from getting bent, creased or destroyed. The paper that the picture is made of will disintegrate before the case allows it to be crinkled.
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I remember a review that I did sometime back where a reader made a comment about metal cases. Of course, being stubborn and old fashioned, I took the comment with a grain of salt. Of course, my life has changed and now, much of my time is finally being spent hiking through the woods or climbing the rock formations in the North East USA. I enjoy finding that far away place that overlooks some piece of this country where I can sit, relax, read a book on my iPAQ or even play a game or two.
As I was climbing over some rocks on the coast of Maine the other day, I slipped and landed on my side tearing my coat and getting a few bruises. I attributed it to old age but my wife attributed it to my foolishness to get to the furthest place I can go to just say I did it. What ever the reason, when I fell, I landed on my iPAQ. I was lucky, it did not break, there are no scratches and to my surprise, it still works but my leather case did suffer some damage. It was then that I remembered the reader’s comments about a metal case.
I was fortunate that I did not break or damage my iPAQ and clearly, if I was going to continue to do what I have been doing, I needed to get a case that would give me solid protection from mishaps. It was the right time for me to look for a metal case that I could use to protect my iPAQ when I was out and about doing my “exploration thing”. But I still had that desire for “the look”. The cases I was seeing on the net just had a plain, stark look that was, in my view, classless; that is until I saw a Rhino Skin case.
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As I have acquired my iPAQ collection, I have begun to use each for specialized purposes. My 1940, because of its size, is the one I generally carry as I am hiking the shores and trails of Maine. When I saw the Rhino Skin case that was made for the 1900 series, I was impressed with its design and the overall look. It had a classy look; a form fitting design that was “sleek” and an inner shell made from a rubberized material that would protect your device from shock. The cover has a slight extrusion near the bottom highlighting the navigation button and the four program launch buttons. This look combined with the Rhino Skin logo at the top of the cover gives a very nice look to the case. Combining the lightness of aluminum with its strength, it clearly had what I was looking for…solid protection and good looks.