bittCASE for the Sony Clie N700 Series Review

Product Requirements:
Device:
Sony Clie N700 series PDA

Are you bored of all the dull PDA cases available for your Clie? If so, then you
might want to give the
bittCASE a try. Although at first glance, it might be easy to dismiss this
product as "yet another case" because it looks like a simple play-through
holster style, the bittCASE actually has some distinguishing features that set
it apart from the others.

    

The bittCASE is comprised of a tightly woven nylon mesh with what appears to
be a vinyl trim. Best I can tell, there is no leather used in this product’s
design, so this should be a Vegan-friendly product for those of you that are
concerned about these things.

This is a tight-fitting classic flip-style case, which uses a snap-tab
closure system. The bittCASE is slightly padded and while it is in no way
crush-proof, it should provide some protection from low drops and slight shocks.
The flip-lid appears to be padded enough to protect the screen from regular
bumps and dings that might occur though daily use.

Available with bright red and blue exteriors with black interiors as well as
a more conservative solid black, this case is bright, cheerful, and loaded with
options that make it great for everyday use.

The Clie loads through the top of a velour lined holster. The cutouts on the case I received seemed to be a little bit too close to where my fingers rested when pressing buttons, and those of you with larger fingers might object to this. I prefer it when a case doesn’t use a "bar" across the underneath of the screen for this reason, but I can understand that this bar might be integral to helping the case keep it’s shape.

The cutouts on the side of the bittCASE are lined up properly to allow access to the head-phone jack, jog-dial, back and hold buttons.

The interior of the case will hold two Memory Sticks and two ID or credit cards. One thing worth pointing out is that when the flip-lid is closed, the card slots are positioned so that the ends of the cards will not touch your PDA’s screen – they rest on the previously mentioned "bar". This might be a reason why that bar is not such a bad thing.

One of the more interesting features of the bittCASE is that it comes with a neck lanyard that fits on the two D-rings near the bottom of the holster. This system allows you to wear the Clie and write on it while it is securely anchored to your body. For those of you that use the Sony lanyard anchor for a wrist or neck-strap, there is a cutout in the top of the case to allow access to that point, also.

Like many play-through cases, this one also allows access to the
charging/syncing port on the bottom of the Clie, though you can not sync in the
cradle while your PDA is in this case. As with other flip-style cases, when the
tab of the flip-lid is snapped, the port is protected.

The bittCASE is well-made and is constructed of better than average man-made
materials. I feel that it is priced a little high for a product that doesn’t
include any leather, and I don’t like the fact that there is no cutout for the
reset button, however those are the only reserves I have about this case.

Otherwise, the bittCASE is fun, bright, and has enough built-in features that
it might just outperform the case you are presently using.

The bittCASE is
available from Brando and other online
retailers.

Price: $39.00
Available in red, blue, and black

Pros:

Fun, bright colors that help take the monotony out of carrying a protective
case
Possible to wear case around neck on lanyard

Cons:

Seems a bit expensive
Must remove Clie from case to reset