The Bond Latch Device Review

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The Bond by Force Technology Corporation is an accessory that allows you to wear your Palm III or PalmPilot around your neck. The bond is made from one block of aluminum that has been milled with a CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) machine. The device comes in 3 colors: silver, gold and onyx. The colors are anodized and polished. An 1/8" nylon cord is attached to The Bond so that you can wear it around your neck. A special cord lock allows you to adjust the length of this cord. Metal watch type chains and other devices are also available from Force Tech. that you can attach to The Bond.

The idea behind The Bond is that if you wear your PDA around your neck, you won’t be able to drop it or lose it.  During the course of my review, I wore The Bond around my neck at work and at home. Here’s what I found… The weight around my neck was negligible. It didn’t bother me at all. Being able to just pick up the PalmPilot from around my neck and start using it was really nice.  I can see how this type of device would be very useful for a person that sat at a desk or stood in one place for most of the day and needed instant access to their PalmPilot.

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But, when I got up to walk around, I didn’t care for the way the dangling PalmPilot
would swing back and forth like a pendulum banging my stomach. Of course, it didn’t
hurt… it was just annoying. Another bad thing was that sometimes the PalmPilot would
turn around so that the screen would be facing my body. This wasn’t a good thing when I
would wear a button down shirt as the screen would bounce against the buttons. I would
really suggest that some sort of screen protection be used with The Bond…

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The Bond is made very well. It is a smooth brushed aluminum that has no sharp edges. Getting it on and off the PalmPilot is very easy. The device is held in place by the same clips that the Palm modem uses. A spring loaded button clicks into place when you put The Bond on. Removing The Bond just requires you to slide that same button forward which releases it from the PalmPilot. When the device is in place, it fits like a glove. It is a snug fit that doesn’t wiggle around or make you worry that it will fall from your neck. You can use The Bond with a Palm III and the screen cover. It does not get in the way of opening or closing the cover.

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The Bond is a neat accessory that is useful in some environments. But it is hard to
recommend it for the PalmPilot due to its VERY high price.  If you are the PalmPilot
user that has everything (including lots of disposable cash), then The Bond might be the
gadget for you. But for the rest of us working class people, I think I’ll just stick to
using my belt clip case. If you have a Palm III you are lucky as the price is half as much
as the PalmPilot model.

Price: $29.95 PalmPilot, $29.95 Palm III

Pros:
Made very well.
Easy to use.
Makes your PalmPilot more convenient.

Cons:

Swings and bounces against your body when you walk.
Have to remove to hotsync.

For another viewpoint on the Bond
read what the PalmGuru
said …

Tagged as: Palm

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