Okay, THIS I could have done without.
I’ve been using the Seidio belt clip holster for my phone. I find it very convenient to be able to snap the phone on and off the holder on my belt, and still have a swivel hook. Total space used up wasn’t very much – it didn’t stick out very far and wasn’t catching on things. Much.
Tonight it caught on one thing too many. Coming through a door at a meeting, I leaned too close to the door frame, the treo caught on it, and it went flying out of the clip. I didn’t notice the screen was damaged until I used it again a half hour later, but it was pretty obvious what had caused the damage.
Fortunately, I have insurance on the device, so Verizon -should- be able to replace it for me without any hassle, but it really means belt holsters are not for me.
So where does that leave me? Cat is ver fond of a big aluminum case style. I find these things incredibly unwieldy and impossible to use. You have to flip the case open (sideways) to talk or use the unit, which means you have a big piece of aluminum flapping either above or below your face while talking on the phone. Last but not least, this type of case doens’t support a belt clip. And if it did, it would stick out a tremendous amount. Not for me, thanks.
The ones I like the most are the leather magnetic-closure flip cases, which are belt-clippable, look nice, and do protect the phone quite well. What I’m worried about is how well the magnetic flap thingy actually stays closed.
I could use a top flip style case, which won’t have the magnetic problem, but these cases still seem to suffer from the “the clip part is very weak, and breaks easily.”
I could also choose something like a belt pouch style. My issue with this is the belt clip isn’t swivel, so it could get in the way (that’s probably not so bad), but the phone has to come OUT of the pouch to use it. Which removes a lot of it’s protection.
Maybe a belt pouch -and- a skin case. By day, the phone would live in the pouch, wrapped in it’s skin. At night, it could be pulled out, still protected!!!
Bleah. I’m open for suggestions here.
Edit – I just came across the Zcover which is a skin for the treo, with an integrated belt clip. Hmm.
it does too support a belt clip, i just don’t use it. and you can always take it out of the case to use it, i do that sometimes.
i don’t love the case style, but it does what it is supposed to do….
Actually, my issue with ‘dropping’ the phone has been that with the Seidio belt clip, it pops out too easily – when I’m not handling it at all. I haven’t actually -dropped- my phone while normally using it, or moving around. All the falls have been because the belt clip released when I bumped up against something.
So I think really my first focus has to be on something that -won’t- just pop off my belt when I get in or out of the car 🙁
Why is it a problem that the phone has to come out of the belt pouch in order to work? No matter what sort of enclosure you put it in, you’re going to have to take it out in order to use the phone. 🙂
It sounds like the phone most needs protection when it’s on the belt, not when it’s in your hand, so the belt pouch might still warrant consideration….
I got really good at fixing palm pilots. You can get parts here http://www.gethightech.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=GHT&Category_Code=_TREO or on ebay.
The aluminum cases generally have belt clips, and you can talk and access many of the features without opening the case (via the five-way control). I’m pretty happy with mine, especially given how many times it’s saved me from my clumsiness (dropping the phone, slaming it into doorways, etc).
ill buy this treo as is broken