Product Requirements:
Device:
Palm m500/505
Ever since the introduction of the elegant Palm V, Palms were no longer
considered a toy for propeller-heads and geeks. Its unique design has opened the door to
upper management making the Palm V a personal digital assistant with style.
It also took a device like the Palm V to encourage exclusive brands from
London, Milan and Paris to design and manufacture cases for an electronic device like the Palm V or Palm m50x. Louis Vuitton, MontBlanc, Tumi and
Mulberry now have cases for the Palm, and
Mulberry has just recently upgraded their portfolio with a beautiful case for
the new Palm m50x series of PDAs.
I have been a fan of nice leather accessories for years. They add style to
otherwise ordinary items like keys, pens or notepads and for long I was
disturbed about the fact that I could not get a proper case for my beloved
Palm m505. Most products on the market are in one way or another practical, as
in "Design Follows Function".
The case reviewed is a black colored and durable, what Mulberry calls, Congo
style leather case characterized by the imprinted leather as seen on the picture
(note, however, that this is not crocodile leather!). The case is also available
in dark brown and green, both traditional Mulberry colors. Furthermore a plain
leather version in light brown exists.
Rather than using Velcro, Mulberry has decided to rely on a stylus rail to
attach the Palm device. Since the rail itself is covered in leather as well, it
is a bit tricky to insert it into the Palm’s left slot. On the other hand you
can safely rely on the fact that your Palm will not easily drop out of the case.
The case is held closed by a strap that attaches to the lid via a snap
button. Early adopters of Palm organizers will remember that Palm (actually U.S.
Robotics) used to have this on their very first leather case for the PalmPilot
Personal and Pro. There have been numerous discussions in the past on whether or
not the snap button mechanism and the fact that you seemingly press against the
screen would lead to the destruction of the screen. Rest assured, however, that
due to Mulberry’s use of good material and the added layers of leather for the
business card slots, any harm to the screen is very unlikely.
The inside of the flip has two slots for memory cards as well as two slots
for business cards and an insert for anything larger including European style
driver’s licenses.
As you can see on the pictures, the interior of the case is made out of the
same Congo style leather as the outside. Mulberry did not use nylon or any other
compromise.
You can easily access all the ports (IR and memory) and the stylus, which is
one of the advantages of the way the Palm is attached to the case.
Synchronization via the cradle is equally supported.
The case offers good protection and unmatched elegance for your Palm PDA. It
is perfectly made with no scratches or color difference on the leather, just as
you would expect from a brand like Mulberry.
Price: GB £ 99 (approx. US $ 140)
Pros:
Beautiful British style leather accessory
Palm is attached via the silo rather than Velcro tapes
Adds only little weight and size to the Palm
Cons:
Hard to attach/detach the Palm
Expensive case if you are not into designer ware
Product Information
| Price: | |
| Manufacturer: | Mulberry |
