adashe

While waiting for my Bellagio to arrive, I started inquiring about the rhinoskin hard case. . .thanks to those who gave me those answers.

Anyway, now that my Bellagio has arrived - no more questions are needed. I think I've finally found my perfect case.

Here's my review.

(1) The Bellagio arrived in a nice little box - labeled to suggest high quality leather - with solid packaging, and the appropriate amount of foam inside the case to make it look new, etc.
Plus.

(2) I took the case out and quickly put my axim in. Fits perfectly. Plus

(3) The case is very attractive. I don't really have a lot of comparison points, because I've never owned another leather case for the pda (only owned leather cases for cell phones - all of which sucked) - but this seems to be very high quality leather. If you look at the case in detail, there is clearly a lot of work on what type of leather, weave, etc. should be cut in at each piece - it just makes the whole piece seem and feel very high quality. (by the way, it had a nice - new leather smell as well - went away quickly). Plus Plus.

(3) The top cover especially is very attractive - and is strong and appears to be reinforced. Frankly, this really seems to provide the Axim with a lot of protection - the combination of the reinforced front and back in my mind definitely should provide some solid protection. Plus Plus.

(4) Everything is exposed that needs to be (although the soft reset button is covere) - but it doesn't feel overly exposed as well - it just feels good in the hand, etc. plus.

(5) The magnetic snap on the back - I know I read some complaints about this before - my take: ignore those comments. The magnetic snap is easy and works perfectly. I actually think it's probably better than an old-style snap that probably doesn't come apart easily when you want it to. I don't anticipate any problems with it whatsoever. Plus.

(6) I tried to put my Ambicon Wifi card into the credit card slot on the cover. the case still closed o.k., which is good, but it didn't close as easily as it did without the wifi card in there. I've decided not to keep the wifi in the case. By the way, though, the Bellagio exposes the CF slot - so you could keep the wifi card in there without a problem (if you didn't run into battery issues). Even.

(7) Finally - the clip. I've also read some concerns about the clip. The clip appears to me to be o.k, but not great. First of all, the tab on the back of the case is much smaller than the traditional ultraclip and bigger tab - the benefit of this is that the case actually lays flat when you put it on the table - the downside may be that it may not be as strong. Note I do say "may." Although the clip is different than others - I have no indication that it isn't completley strong enough for use. The clip itself and the button on the actual clip seem very strong. Basically, until I have other evidence, I'm going to assume it's strong enough for me.

(8) I haven't yet had the opportunity to sync in the cradle - but the system set up to allow the back flap to bend out of the way to allow cradle syncing is very very very well thought out. There's even a different stiching piece for the bend-back flap that allows the appropriate bending point - basically this appears to be incredibly smart planning. plus plus plus.

Conclusion - the bellagio is a great case. It's great to hold, use, and I'm looking forward to carrying it around. I really can't think of any downside risks - now I have a case that I can use for all purposes, can sync with in the cradle - can protect the screen, and is stylish. If you are considering the Bellagio - I say go for it! You won't regret it! As to any sort of clip problems - notice that there are many posts on here from broken DSI clips - none from Bellagio owners. So, get it! Plus, Plus, Plus, Plus!

Alex:D :D :D :D