Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Silicon Valley, California
Posts: 173

But it's not purple!!!!!!

Seriously, my Prism fits into the custom case I bought for my deluxe...it just fits face down! I may seriously consider trying to get that plastic cover thingie into the other case. Super glue might work....

Purplemd

Registered: Jan 2001
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 7

Ack! So many choices. I'm looking for a good simple attractive case that I can leave on during Hotsyncs. Been closely observing the EB Prism case.

Would the stock slip case REALLY pull the Prism's paint off faster?

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 19

E&B Slipper

I have the E&B slipper for my Prism (without the belt clip). After reading the reviews, I was sold that this was the case for me.

PROS -
* fits like a glove, very clean and professional looking
* perfect fit first time using it - they improved on the old velcro - they added a full strip running nearly the entire width of the case (at the bottom). It isn't very loud at all (bigger loops) and holds the cover in place nicely.
* can synch with case on (although you have to do a little work by unzipping it and pushing the case up slightly)
* removed plastic covering the buttons
* IR unobstructed
* power button, microphone, and reset button accessible with case on
* compatible with Stowaway keyboard
* stock stylus easily accessible
* standard size modules work perfectly (those that stick out from the top can be used with the case open)
* E&B logo is not so large or ugly that it takes away from the overall look
* quality appears very good - and case shipped to me in three days!

CONS -
* difficult to find the reset hole with case on (but when unzipped, the reset hole is accessible)
* must unzip and move case slightly to put in cradle and on Stowaway - sometimes makes it slightly more difficult, but certainly not that big an issue
* might not work with the aftermarket styli that protrude from the case - you have less than a 1/4 inch of clearance on the top
* probably doesn't afford the most protection in a fall (I had a Ti Slider for my VDx which is bombproof). But protects the screen reasonably.
* power button difficult to access with finger (unless you have longer fingernails - I use my stylus to power it on)
* forget about oversized modules
* no hole for the blinking charge light - however, you can see it because you have to move the case slightly out of the way

I think it is a fantastic case. I know that I'm a little more careful when handling my Prism now though. But I would definitely recommend this case.

Here are few photos:






Mike

[Edited by ginmtb on 02-01-2001 at 10:50 AM]

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 77

Hey ginmtb, good review of the E&B Slipper. I've been trying to figure out which case make the most sense for my Prism. I read all the bad reviews of the E&B velcro, and I'm not sure just what to make of all the other comments. Seems like, on the whole, people like it. I should say first that I really like the Vaja case except for a few things...

-Syncing looks like it might be a pain... I might be able to stomach the $70 + $14 shipping if it was a guaranteed syncable case, but it isn't. IMVHO, $84 (total) for a non-syncable case is too much. Also, removing your Prism to sync is a pain... I did this with my Vdx in the Rhodiana and never got used to removing it all the time

-Plastic over the buttons seems like it might get in the way; indeed, another poster indicated that the plastic "pouches out." I like my buttons and play a fair amount of games. This is something I might risk if the rest of the details were more in its favor (ie. syncing and $84 cost), but they are not.

So on that note, I'm going to try the E&B Slipper - Directcase has free shipping and guaranteed satisfaction, so it would seem you can't go too wrong.

I didn't see whether or not they had a hole for the blinking power light? If they don't that should probably be in the "con" list ;-).

On the list of cons, they all seem pretty reasonable. Difficult to find reset hole... can deal with it. Must unzip to sync... maybe a pain but better than any other deal out there (except Vaja... but they don't guarantee syncable). Aftermarket Stylii... my PDA Panache broke my last Prism... so I'm back to default stylus ;-(. Protection... this is proportional to thickness. Overall it looks pretty nice. I especially like the fact that they got rid of the plastic. I'm going to try one... the thing that still gives me pause is the velcro. I hope it isn't a problem.

Brian

Registered: Jan 2001
Location:
Posts: 5

RE Prism Cases

I was at Staples on monday and found prism slimline "snap" cases made by Handspring. After calming myself down, I managed to flag down an employee (anyone who has tried to shop there knows how absolutly difficult that is). upon inspection it looked like the appropriate modifications were made to the snap-on cover to fit the back of the prism. The fit was perfect and i was about to make a happy purchase when.... I closed the front flap and discovered that the case was not thick enough. It looked as though they simply took the standard case and fit it with a modified snap-on cover. It did not look good whith the snap/velcro ( cant remember which) closure secure...it looked squished.
I chose not to buy it, but in retrospect it would almost be worth purchasing it just for the modified snap-on cover to use in another case.

Has anyone else seen these? Or is it possable the one i tried was a fluke and sucked, and would the case strech with time?

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Streamwood, IL USA
Posts: 118

Yepperz

You are correct the slim case from HS is CRAP. It is a velcro closure and the Prism does NOT fit. I did buy it for the platic cover and cut it out of the case and carefully fitted it into my existing case. Works pretty well.


Good luck.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Silicon Valley, California
Posts: 173

Re: Yepperz

quote:

---

Originally posted by ruexp67
You are correct the slim case from HS is CRAP. It is a velcro closure and the Prism does NOT fit. I did buy it for the platic cover and cut it out of the case and carefully fitted it into my existing case. Works pretty well.


Good luck.

---

Registered: Nov 2000
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 201

Re: Re: Yepperz

quote:

---

Originally posted by purplemd

quote:

---

Originally posted by ruexp67
You are correct the slim case from HS is CRAP. It is a velcro closure and the Prism does NOT fit. I did buy it for the platic cover and cut it out of the case and carefully fitted it into my existing case. Works pretty well.

---

I bought the snap Prism slim case. And, acually, I'm pretty satisfied with it. My only complaint (besides the fact that I couldn't get it in purple) is that there is no slit in the spine to hold an extra stylus.

---

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 153

I bought and returned a cognac bridle leather case with snap or the PRISM and was surprised at how poorly the case fit. The snap strap stuck out at least 3/4-inch and was always uncoupling when I slid it into my pocket.

So I bought a Vaja with snap and found that it is very different in fit from the VDX cases. The back and side leather is thin and puckers and it's a bear to get my PRISM into and out of.

So far my broken-in OmniSky case is the best of the lot.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

I'm waiting until directcase.com has the Vaja case. That way I get the best of both worlds. I get the guaranteed satisfaction and no shipping charges. Thank God for companies like directcase!

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 77

Dick,

You'll have to let us know how you like the Vaja Prism. Seems like we're seeing mixed reviews at this point. I went ahead and ordered and E&B Slipper for my Prism (from Directcase.com, although it's backordered...grr), it sounds like it might be good. About the only thing I'm not excited about is the velcro closure... but it's better then a snap, although not as nice as a magnetic closure. Also, the lack of plastic over the buttons is nice, too.

Directcase.com promised they would have the Vaja cases in "as soon as they start making them." Seems like they keep their website fairly up-to-date... they have modified the Vaja page several times in the last couple weeks. Anyway, if I'm not satisfied with the Slipper I suppose I'll be looking elsewhere... probably at the Vaja.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Aberdeen, SD
Posts: 2531

Will do. It may take a while depending on how quickly directcase gets it in, but I'll be ordering it that day.

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 19

In looking at the Vaja case, the things I see and don't like (versus the E&B which I own):

- Plastic over the buttons.
- Must remove to hot sync
- $10 more expensive (nice looking leather - however I prefer the smoother black leather look)

As for the velcro with the E&B - it is not the typical velcro that you're probably thinking of. The sound when opening is very short and not loud at all. While the velcro (hook & loop) surfaces are close to 2" long, the loops are thicker than typical velcro you'd find on gloves, kids shoes, etc. This creates less "bite" between the surfaces and therefore you don't get that long, drawn out "rrrrrriiiiippppp". But it keeps the cover closed nicely. I'm sure E&B explored many velcro options before settling on this one.

E&B (http://www.ebcases.com) sells cases directly (and has the same satisfaction guarantee as directcases.com - plus they have it in stock - only took two days to get mine). Shipping was only $6.

Please note I'm not an E&B employee. I just really like their product after using it for a couple of weeks. My wife definitely likes the look better too (vs. my Ti Slider).

Mike

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Streamwood, IL USA
Posts: 118

Modified Case

I have a case that I originally bought for my Palm III. It has a complete zipper closure. It held the Palm III in with velcro. There is a "page" in the middle of the case, the Handheld goes on one side and there is room for business cards on the other side.





Here is the link to Palmgear's site:

http://store.yahoo.com/pilotgear/devian.html

What you cannot see is that under the handheld is another pocket. Basically the top, bottom and right sides are sewn down, but the left side is fully open. (In the Second picture the Pen is along the "open" edge of the pocket.) After I removed the "extended reach" hard cover from the el cheapo HS slim case I used this as a template to mark the corners of where the cover would come through the leather. I then cut slits at the top and bottom of this pocket using an exacto knife and some cardboard in the pocket to prevent me cutting too deeply. I also had to remove the lining in the area between the slits where the cover would ultimatly rest as the leather was too thick for the prism to "clip in" correctly. I also had to trim back the leather down from the top slit because it interfered with the clip in process as well. Approximatly 2mm. (Mabey 3)Making the slit a rectange about 40-45mm by 2.5mm I also removed the velcro by simply cutting the thread holding it down with my exacto knife. I was then able to pull out the rest of the thread holding the velco in. There was a small ammount of gule holding it down as well, but it came right off.

After I made all the appropriate cuts I double and triple checked my fit. Once I was satisfied, I mixed up some epoxy and glued the top of the hard cover to the bottom of the pocket. I was careful to try and catch the edges of the lining that I had cut back so I would not have to hem them in. (It would be VERY difficult to do this as this is a very tight area.) I was also careful not to mis-place any of the epoxy as I wanted to make sure the pocket was still usable, even though I don't use it for anything. I did this with a piece of paper that I placed between the gluing surfaces until I had all the glue in place. Then I removed the paper and pressed down. This kept all stray glue away from the bottom side of the pocket.

After the epoxy dried, I went over to my parents house and had my mom sew the corners of the slits on the left side together just to keep them from ripping out. It is not the prettiest solution, but it is pretty good. I will try to take some picks of my case and upload them here.

Good luck.

Pete

[Edited by ruexp67 on 01-30-2001 at 11:41 AM]

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Chicago, IL USA
Posts: 19

I have had a visor deluxe and am going to upgrade to the prism. For the past 1.5 years, I have just been using the plastic snap thing that it came with. For me, this seems to work the best. Here are the advantages:

* It is as slim as you can get.
* Easy to sync and add springboards.
* Easily accessible.

Thus far, I haven't had a problem with protection (the sole reason you would get a case). The plastic snap thing has served me well. I think I will continue doing this with the Prism, but I am a little more hesitant since it costs more. Am I the only one that uses the no case alternative?

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 77

Figures... when you finally decide to order something they are out of it.

E&B and Directcase.com are both out of the Slipper Prism. They said it would be several weeks before they got any more in... oh well. I was all set to order through E&B so that I could have it in a couple days ;-(.

Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 77

The "no case" alternative...

I've tried this, but to be honest this scares me a bit. I'm looking for a little bit of protection... something to take the edge off of a fall. I carried by visor deluxe this way for some time, but always felt like I might drop it or something. The other thing driving my want of a case was the need for a belt clip. I think this is especially the case with a Prism.. it really weighs down the unfortunate pocket you put it in ;-).

I should add that I dropped my Vdx on a couple occasions... the last being when my Rhodiana belt clip broke ;-(. I never had any problems when it was in the Rhodiana, but the pictures I see on the web of broken and battered Visors make me aware that a little fall can go a long way...

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 2

Plastic Cover That Comes w/ Prism

One major issue with the snap cover that comes with the Prism is that you cannot remove it from the front and snap it to the back. The Prism is a bit thicker than the other Visors (not to mention the curves). You'll have to put it somewhere while you're using the Prism. It's about as convenient as the leather case that comes with it. The leather case does provide more protection.

[Edited by chanp on 01-30-2001 at 05:15 PM]

Registered: Dec 2000
Location: ...somewhere, deep down inside
Posts: 38

The Ultimate Protection

I consider myself a packaholic of sorts, finding intrigue in different ways to efficiently stow away equipment. I have gone through the gamut of Visor cases from the clip-on hard case (when I had the VDX) to different variations of the small camera cases to carry a variety of modules along with the base unit.

I was fairly impressed by my latest acquisition of the Aquapac PDA Wallet http://www.aquapac.net and found it more useful than just for taking the Prism poolside or on the slopes. The hermetically sealed case protects the base unit and the smaller form-factor modules in potentially dangerous environs of the kitchen, gym, bathroom, not to mention those occasional downpours or blood splatter (for you amateur surgeons out there).

Now I wish I had the foresight to have ordered the extended versions specifically for GPS units and their antennas, but alas my trip to Donner Pass, Nevada is looming near and there is no time to spec out this item much less wait for it to be delivered from England (the turnaround is quick by the way). So as I am packing it occurred to me to use one of the items on my list of necessities for a trip into the unknown...
...my Prism and its GPS Companion is getting the ultimate protection in a condom.

Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 62

I am using a Sport Case that is made for the VisorPhone for use with my Prism and Minstrel S modem. It is a bit tight but it works pretty good. It is cut out on the left top side to accommodate the antenna.

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Jeff Schaffer
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