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Vendor: Incipio
Price: $19.99

One of the 1st things that anyone needs to do when spending a decent amount of cash for a gadget is to protect it. Cases, cleaners, screen protectors, etc… When the Zune 80 hit the streets, there really were not many options other than the “Zune Branded” Black case. Now that some time has passed, there are more and more cases becoming available. One of them is the Incipio Flip Case I am presenting today.

This classic design offers great access and excellent protection. Your Zuneâ„¢ has to be ready for today’s fast paced world. The Incipio Flip case is up to the task. The Flip case is made of premium supple leather on the outside and soft micro-suede lining.

Features

• Made of high-quality, premium Top-Grain Leather
• Easy access to all buttons and features
• Clear shield protecting the screen
• Backed by Incipio’s lifetime warranty

The Incipio Flip that I’ve been testing is the brown leather version. The outside of the case is a padded dark brown leather that is soft and the flip cover seems to be stiffened up with piece of cardboard.

The inside of the case is a lighter color soft leather. The holder that keeps the Zune 80 in place has elastic to expand to hold the Zune in there nice and snug. It does a super job of that too. I have walked 5+ miles so far while exercising and not had any problems.

The screen of the Zune is protected by a hard, clear plastic covering. The controls are easily accessible with the case open. If I could redesign the case, I would make the cut out a little wider so my fingers don’t touch the sides of the cutout when using the back and play buttons. They are fine as is, just a little wider would be even better.

So far, the only complaints I have about this case are the clip and the hold button being covered when the case is closed. The clip seems kind of fragile and in the rough environment I work in, I would be afraid to trust this clip on my hip. It does just fine when I am walking though. I would prefer a heavier duty clip that swivels.

As you can see above, the case supports the sync cable. Unfortunately, the Zune 80 cannot be placed on a cradle with this case. I don’t think there is a case out there that allows for this anyhow.

 
Look at the photo above right. If you image the over closing, you will see that the hold button is covered. Also, the sides of the device are well protected with the leather/elastic. 

 
Here you can see the accessibility of the headphone jack. But once again, the hold button is not accessible. Not a big deal and it would look silly exposed with this sleek case anyhow.

Conclusion
For $19.99, I doubt there is a better case out there that has a belt clip and flips to expose the controls this easy. Out of the 10+ Zune 80 cases I’ve used so far, this one is my favorite.