"The Future of Palm Protection"
is what they say on their web site about the new ShockSuit SportCase by RhinoSkin. I don’t know about
that, but this new PalmPilot/PalmIII case sure looks futuristic. And although it is light
in weight, it looks like you could punt it across the room and not damage your Palm PDA.
(But please don’t test me on this). I love the design, which is simple, yet engineered to
be a very protective case. It completely envelopes my PalmPilot.
alt="shocksuit1.jpg (5652 bytes)"/> 
width="223" height="202" alt="shocksuit3.jpg (5576 bytes)"/> 
alt="shocksuit4.jpg (3969 bytes)"/>
The ShockSuit SportCase is made of sturdy nylon
coated foam rubber, with reinforced sides, corners, and bottom. The top 4 corners
are connected by a plastic bracket, or "frame", that stiffens the entire case.
This frame is one of the most important features, because it is designed just the right
size to allow almost the entire front of either PalmPilot or PalmIII to be accessed. (The
only thing that you cant access is the contrast wheel on the side, but I never adjust
mine.) Yet it holds the Palm in place very securely. The right side of this frame has 2
clips that hold your stylus securely in place.
alt="shocksuit2.jpg (4655 bytes)"/>
The cover is connected to the case below where the location of
the IR port on the PalmIII would be. This is a good feature, not only so you can use
the IR port while it’s in the case, but so the cover can be flipped behind the case while
you enter data on the screen. The inside surface of the cover is lined with a soft felt to
protect the screen from scratches. It secures to the frame to close the case using Velcro.
alt="shocksuit5.jpg (9423 bytes)"/>
The foam back and cover have rigid inserts that are similar in
design to what you would find in a knee brace. (Although in the knee brace, they are metal
rods). But the design concept is similar and this offers great protection while not adding
much to the case in bulk or weight. At the weight of only 2 oz. and the size of 5" x
3.5" x 1", it’s not much larger than the Palm itself, and about as big as most
of the other cases reviewed on this web site. That said, I only have a few shirts that
have pockets large enough to fit this case especially since the belt clip button sticks
out of the back of the case. But if you use the belt clip, that’s not an issue. And
speaking of the belt clip…
The ShockSuit SportCase comes with a handy belt
clip, which has a easy quick release button to remove the case from your belt. The
case snaps in and out effortlessly. The location of the belt clip button on the case
enables the case to pivot while you are sitting down with it on. And it doesn’t swing too
much when walking.
alt="shocksuit7.jpg (7054 bytes)"/>
There is an opening in the bottom of the case so you can HotSync
using The Bridge or one of
the HotSync cables. This is another great feature. It gets to be a pain if you have
to remove the Palm from the case every time you want to HotSync. But beware,
although The Bridge will work with this case using the Palm III, it will only work in the PalmPilot Pro cradle.
The "curved" Palm III cradle does not allow this case and The Bridge to be used
with it.
alt="shocksuit6.jpg (6050 bytes)"/>
I really like this case a lot. I seems to have everything that
most of look for in a case. The ShockSuit SportCase is versatile
with it’s access to the IR port and the HotSync opening, offers great protection, is light
in weight, has a belt clip, and is very cool looking!
Price: $34.95 – available in black, blue
and gray colors
Pros:
Superior protective design.
Light in weight.
Belt clip.
Cons:
Can’t access the side contrast wheel.
May be too large to fit in a shirt pocket.
Product Information
| Price: | 34.95 |
| Manufacturer: | Rhinoskin |
| Pros: |
|
| Cons: |
|
{ 111 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Hi; thanks for the review. I had just bought the HP 5455 April 2003; and I want to say that I am fairly pleased with it. My unit came with a perfect D-pad; not hard or rigid at all and noticably easier to manipulate than my previous HP Jornada 568. (maybe HP has solved the stiff D-pad problem?) I am a college student and my university has Wi-fi hotspots all over campus. Having wi-fi allows me to check my email and surf the web conviently. I have to admit; setting up the wi-fi was confusing and time consuming at first. Once I had it set up I found that whenever I went from the access point I have setup in my dorm room and the access point on campus the wifi settings would reset and refuse to go back; thus requiring a hard reset. After downloading the new bios and wi-fi driver; the problems have seemed to go away. The only problem (minor) that I encounter is that due to the number of students on the wifi network on campus I am occasionaly dropped; and that requires a soft reset to get back on. I am pleased with this purchase; instead of doodling in class I now check my email, the weather, movie reviews and chat with friends on AOL IM; its great. And compared to my old HP Jornada 568, the screen, the hardware everything is a noticable improvement. I can easily see how a businessperson would benefit greatly from something like this. If you don’t have a use for the wifi or bluetooth; than the 3900 series will be better suited for you. The biometric scanner while I had no problems; is useless for me. I have no vital files on there to protect, and am used to no password (from the Jornada) and instant turn on. So I leave it disabled. Honestly; if you’re considering going with a wireless handheld; give the HP 5455 another look. With the BIOs and Wifi updates; things are running smoothly. Hope this helps everyone.
To answer Volant95′s questions;
1. I have not been able to log into a secure site on Wifi (this would be nice to buy stuff and check my bank account in class)
2. Best Buy is selling the HP 5455 and it is where I bought it.
3. I did buy the Best Buy service plan and have good luck with them. With something this expensive I think its worth having. Best Buy covers the battery and alot of times if you have a problem its a simple exchange for a new one. Admittedly service varies at different stores; but I’ve had good luck at store #20 Cedar Rapids (the one I bought from) Talk with the service guys before you buy.
Hope this helps
-Kevin:cool:
I’ve had my 5455 for about a month now and I have got to say, based on the review given here I almost didn’t do it. My wife said that if I didn’t get my S__t together soon I would be in trouble. So I purchased it thru Amazon at the best price I could find, much lower than anywhere else and took it the Comp USA and bought their extended warrentee.
My Review:
- HP 800 help line outstanding, never on hold for more than 45 seconds.
- Touch pad circle thing works OK. I don’t ever use it much.
- Fingerprint scanner. Works great. No problems unless I show it off to friends, then for the life of me I can’t get a good scan on the first try. Go figure.
- WIFI, fun but I can’t find much use for it in my home or business. possibly later. Battery life not-so-good on WIFI
- No dead Pixles, yet
I’ve had to soft reset it about 8 times so far, not bad and no Hard Resets yet.
All I can say is “so far so good”.
Hello all,
Just for quick background I am a military member and I’m also the supply officer at my unit. We purchased the 3970 for use at work. Let me say that this device (in my estimation) is every bit on par with laptop PC’s. With the right expansions you have all the capability of a laptop in a pocket sized bundle.
For work and at home this thing has taken over, from replacing my remotes to organizing my next base to base move this gadget rocks!
This message is a reply to Judie and Julie’s article on the 5400 series iPaq. Our unit is thinking of upgrading to the 5455 (we like the security features) and I’ve personnally had the chance to test out the 5455 on the showroom floor of a local Best Buy. I’m a bit concerned about some of what was stated in your article and have a few questions. Also, I have a few recommendations based on my experience with the 3970.
You mentioned that your dislike (or dissatisfaction) with the 5455 stemmed from the quirky operation of the bluetooth and WiFi. Did the faulty operation of these features become so overwhelming that it prevented normal use?
For a purely utilitarian use of the 5455, would you recommend it or does the 3970 do the job just as well?
As for some of the problems you’ve encountered with the bluetooth features (trying to sync via bluetooth) I contacted HP about this one as we’ve had similar problems. The response was interesting.
Say you want two Bluetooth enabled items to talk to each other. If you turn both on at the same time, they will not recognize each other (the technician got really confusing, talking about how the transmission wavelengths cancel each other out). He recommended that you enable each device about 45 seconds apart from each other. We tried it and since then we have very few problems with establishing connections via bluetooth.
Again, I’m curious about the features offered with the 5455 and want an unbiased perspective on its abilities compared with the 3970.
Thanks!
I’m happy to know that the 5600 will have a GSM phone inside. But what about the 5455? Is the SIM card slot useless? Are we sure? How come there is no info on this issue at HP?
If someone can help I will appreciate.
Any chance for a review of the 5550? I liked the 5400 and wonder if there are any big changes (plus or minus) between the two units?
I know 128 vs 64 mb ram
2003 vs 2002 OS
I am just wondering if its buggy or not . With all new units they all have bugs for the first few months. Anybody know if HP used the exact same casing for the 5550? I just wonder for cases , keyboards , etc…?
We’re hoping to review both the 5500 and 2200. Still waiting for eval units…
Sounds good Julie,
Hears hoping HP is listening!!:)
My previous post remained unanswered! :confused:
I try with a new issue to see if I am luckier. I can’t manage to connect the iPAQ to my wifi access point.
I have the following HW:
- iPAQ 5455
- LAN with 10/100 switch that connects: 2 PC’s, 1 T3 connection to Internet, 1 Netgear access point (54 Mb/s)
I usually connect my Sony Vaio and my MAC iBook through the wifi connection. I have correctly set-up the security options (WEP) and I inserted the iPAQ MAC address in the access point.
When I turn on the wifi connection in the iPAQ, it recognizes the access point (in the advanced menu of the status option) but it hangs out trying to connect (negotiating, joining, etc..). The signal strength bar shows no signal at all.
What am I doing wrong? Can anyone help me? I hope I will receive tons of replies!
Thanks.
I had the same thing pop up the other day. The folks at HP Cust. Service told me to remove the battery from the back of the unit for 30 sec. and then re-attach. It then worked like a champ.
Hope that helps.
Jeff
← Previous Comments