May 21st, 2007
By M C - http://palmdiscovery.net Discover a world of possibilities in the Palm® of your hand
Grab Hold Of Your Enfora Wi-Fi Sled Treo With Fortte’s Open Face Case

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE YOUTUBE.COM VIDEO

A BIG THANKS to Peter of Fortte for providing the product for this review.
For those who want to skip over all the detailed review and just want a summary, you can jump to the review summary
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Open Face Case For Treo 650 with Enfora Wi-Fi Sled
Video at YouTube
Alternative link: Vimeo
Slight correction for the video. The case does offer a removable ratchet belt clip in addition to the fixed and swivel clip that I mentioned in the video.
Details from Fortte's website:
Palm Treo 650 with Enfora Wi-Fi Sled Open Face
# Dedicated Fit for Treo 650 with Enfora Wi-Fi
# Available WITH different clip options to suit any lifestyle or WITHOUT any clip.# Open access to screen and control surfaces (no clear plastic covering)
# Headphone Jack Access
# Access to all side controls
# Full screen visibility
# Premium Full Grain Leather
Fortte allows full customization of the case including a variety of colors to choose from. In addition to the variety of colors offered, they now offer a new vibrant set of colors in their "Life Color" collection which includes the following colors:
Deep Sea/Kiwi Mint, Deep Sea/Natural Ocean, Deep Sea/Perfect Banana, Deep Sea/Sunset, Kiwi Mint, Kiwi Mint/Perfect Banana, Natural Ocean, Perfect Banana, Sunset, Sunset/Kiwi Mint, Sunset/Perfect Banana.
As well, embossing and further customization options are also available. Please check out my previous review on the Fortte Lateral Pouch Leather case for more details on the services and customizations they offer.
The Open Face Leather Case for Treo with Enfora Wi-Fi sled is (as far as I know, please correct me if I'm wrong), the only leather case or even any case for that matter, that is designed to fit the Treo 650 with the Enfora Wi-Fi sled attached. I knew about this case before I decided to buy the Enfora Wi-Fi sled (I'll be doing a review of that later) and was excited that there's a case for it. So, when I finally bought the Enfora Wi-Fi sled, I knew that I had to get the Fortte case for it. And being someone who dislikes holding anything mobile that is somewhat slippery, this case was exactly what I needed.
The leather case comes available in a choice of belt clips. You can choose from a removable 360 degrees swivel clip, removable ratchet clip, or a non-removable fixed clip. The case I'm reviewing is in black and with the swivel clip. It's a vertical case with an open face design, a design that I really like and a great way to show off the beauty of the face of the Treo. This design can be viewed as a full frontal cutout that allows access to the screen and the hardware and QWERTY keys. At the front, there are cutouts for the LED indicator, the phone speaker, and the power button for the Wi-Fi sled. At the side, the cutout is covered by a protective plastic covering to protect the buttons. At the back, there's a cutout for the speaker (that's always a big plus for me). The belt clip attachment is permanently sewn into the back of the case (another plus since the screw on attachments never stay on for me). At the top, the leather magnetic snap tab wraps over diagonally to easily snap into place to secure the Treo in plase. There's a cutout for the ringer switch. At the bottom, a single strip of leather wraps around the bottom to secure the Treo and sled but also allow access to the headphone jack and power adapter jack.
This is a fine case that wraps up the entire and somewhat bulky package of the Treo and the Enfora Wi-Fi sled. It does a great job of keeping them together and still make the everything look very stylish as well as making it much easier to hold or clip to a belt or pants. Without the case, I was having difficulty keeping my grip on the sled with Treo and I'm so glad that Fortte has created a specially designed case for this. Now, it's so much easier to carry the Treo with the sled and clip it ot my belt or pants.
Most of the Treo is accessible through cutouts in the case including the camera, stylus and headphone jack. The problem I've found mainly lies in the design of the Enfora Wi-Fi sled instead since a lot of the Treo isn't accessible with the sled attached. So, for what the case offered, it gave as much access to the Treo with the sled as possible so I'm quite happy with the case.
Here are my observations of the case. The open face design is quite a nice design which shows off the beauty of the Treo with the sled, allowing direct access to the screen and keys. This design, also, on the other hand, also may allow unexpected accidental screen taps and button pressing since there is no protection at the front. So, those who want protection for the front may find that it may not suit their needs.
I was somewhat disappointed that there was only a cutout for the ringer switch at the top. The SD card slot,the infrared port and the SIM card tray is inacessible when the magnetic snap closure tab is in place. I kept forgetting to remove the snap closure the numerous times that I was beaming some files over, at first, wondering what the problem was, only to discover that, duh, I forgot to unblock the port by removing and holding the tab out while I do the beaming. It's a bit cumbersome but I can deal with it. I just have to remember to remove the top tab before beaming.
I do like the numerous cutouts found in the case, which offer access to various features of the Treo including the camera, ringer switch, headphone and the speaker hole. I love leather cases that come with a speaker hole because they really help to unblock the speaker and sound that emits from the Treo. Thus, when a call comes in, or your alarm rings, you can easily hear it ringing. Otherwise, as with many other leather cases without a speaker hole, most of the sound will be blocked and muffled. So, a speaker hole, although it may not look so nice, is very functional for me. Again, I'm more of a practical user than a stylish user.
The permanent belt attachment sewn into the back of the case is another plus for me since that solves a common problem that I've experienced with other screw in belt attachments that they will tend to fall or unscrew over time. Having a permanent attachment solves this problem. But, alternatively, having it there also "sticks" out a bit which may irk some people, especially if you are placing it on a flat surface like a table. The case with the attachment will not lie perfectly flat.
The swivel clip seems to be sturdy and grips well enough. I like the hook at the end to better grip or clip to the pants or belt. Since the swivel clip doesn't completely touch the back of the case, you may notice that the case may tip a bit over due to the weight of the case. And since it is a swivel clip, and doesn't lock into various positions, the case will adjust according to the weight and gravity pull, which, depending on your preference may be good or bad.
Review Summary
I like how Enfora has created a specially designed case for the Treo 650 with Enfora Wi-Fi sled, offering those who have the sled, a solution to an otherwise case-less package. This case does a great job of keeping the Treo with wi-fi sled together and made it look so much nicer. A lot of the Treo features are easily accessible through cut outs, with the exception of the infrared port, SD card slot and SIM tray, to my chagrin. I do like having the speaker hole at the back, which I consider a big plus. I also liked the permanent belt clip attachment which solves a common problem of a screw on attachment falling off over time but that does stick out, which may bother some people.
Overall, this is a quality leather case from Fortte that allows those Treo users who have the Enfora Wi-Fi sled to have a case for an otherwise, bulky and handful package. It displays the Treo with sled in a very stylish manner yet keeps everything all together and easily accessible. Besides providing protection against scratches and bumps, the nice feel of leather (not to mention smell) also helps keeps your grip on the bulky ensemble. Keep in mind that although the open face design presents the Treo in an appealing way, it also means that the Treo is unprotected. I personally love this case because it now provides me with a great way to hold the two together. As always, you have to balance out your needs and preferences since we are all different in my opinions. Please visit our Fortte affiliate store for more info.