FIGURE B

Many of the Orbino cases feature polished-nickel flanks. Click picture for a larger image.

Never need to leave the case
The case itself is a play-through design, meaning you never need to remove your Palm device in order to use it. After flipping open the front cover, you slide the Palm device into the case through the top. There are no snaps or Velcro closures necessary. Both the Palm V series and the Palm m500 series fit perfectly. The front cover swings completely out of the way for working and closes securely using magnetic closures.

One unique feature of this case is that there are no cutouts for the application buttons. Rather, there are embossed representations on the face of the case, as seen in Figure C.

FIGURE C

The case features embossed representations of the Palm unit's hardware buttons.

These are very nicely done, by the way. Each embossed button has a small dimple below it. When you press the top, you activate the button below. This is very elegant, and, in my opinion, a better alternative to the cutouts.

The only cutout is at the bottom of the case for the HotSync connection. One drawback with the older Ondata case was its inability to allow HotSync operations to be performed because of the thickness of the finger strap. Well, the finger strap is gone, and the Orbino case allows for HotSync operations to be performed perfectly while the device is still in the case, as shown in Figure D. This is a major improvement.

FIGURE D

Your Palm device can connect to its cradle without being removed from the case. Click picture for a larger image.

Conclusion
All in all, this is easily the finest and most elegant case available for the Palm V and Palm m500 series PDAs. Of course, this level of luxury and fine workmanship comes with a price tag. It'll cost you between $149 and $189, depending on the particular model chosen. Once you've seen the case, however, the price becomes quite reasonable. I've seen some other designer name-brand cases costing even more than the Orbino, and in my opinion, the Orbino stands head and shoulders above the competition.

In striving for the correct description of this beautiful and functional case, I came up with the following: You take a sleek, modern gadget like the Palm V and wrap it in an elegant, old-world style work of art. The combination is perfect. There may be an unending debate over which PDA is better, but if you have chosen a Palm V or Palm m500 series device, there's absolutely no doubt that the Orbino is the finest case for your new PDA.

Product availability and resources For more information on Orbino Luxury Italian Palm Cases, visit http://www.orbino.com. For the article, "The Ondata luxury leather case," by Mark Asadoorian, visit http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200002/ondatacase001.html. For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com. Bulk reprints Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.

For more than 20 years, David Gewirtz, the author of Where Have All The Emails Gone? and The Flexible Enterprise has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and can be reached via email at david@zatz.com.