"Single worst product ever" forces restless quest for case

IN MY quest for a hard case for the Palm Tungsten T the other day, I ran across the single worst product I have ever bought, the Palm Essentials kit. Thirty dollars later, I still needed a case, so I decided to look at the hard aluminum ones. My choices were the standard Palm hard case for $40, or a Rhinoskin case for $10 less. The thought of another Palm case made me rather queasy, so I went with the Rhinoskin.

The case itself is a rigid alumin(i)um structure lined with a grippy rubber surface. Once put in, it holds the Palm very tight and snug. The case locks with a click, and stays closed through pockets, minor abuse, and the occasional drop. It has cutouts for the sound recorder button, the hotsync cable, and the power button. When open, there is a cutout on the back so you can grip the unit to slide it open, and a lip to keep it closed when the cover is shut. Both the stylus and SD card are removable when the case is shut.

Additionally, the case comes with a removable belt clip that screws into the back. The clip has a retaining mechanism so it will not fall off while on your hip, and the release button is easy to use one handed, you can slide the unit off with almost no practice.

The last feature is on the inside. Like the Palm case, this one has two SD card holders on the inside of the cover. The cards slide in and lock positively. Removing them is also nice and easy.

The Rhinoskin case is not perfect though, it has two liveable flaws. The most glaring one is the hotsync cutout. It is correctly placed, but the case it is a little too thick so you can't slide it into the cradle while the case is on. I would rather have it thick, sturdy and undockable than thin, weak and dockable.

The other little quibble is that the case has no cutout for the middle button. On the Tungsten, if you press the centre button, it flashes you the time and date. I have become fond of this feature, and miss it with the hard case. The reason I call it a quibble is that you can't see through the alumin(i)um case, so even if there were a cutout, it wouldn't do much good. Does anyone make a hard case with a clear plastic cover?

Overall, I am quite pleased with this case. Not perfect, but everything works like it should, with a few nice additions. 7/10 with a warm feeling for working like it promised, unlike the last case. µ