Wednesday, May 30, 2007

REVIEW OF ZUNE CASES AT WWW.CLICZUNE.COM
CLICK HERE TO VISIT REVIEW & PICTURES BY: Stephane Dion

This week we have a spotlight on Fortte's Zune cases. The company has been around for awhile and besides offering cases for the Zune, they have cases for all sorts of PDA and MP3 players. A few weeks ago, I received two Zune cases from the manufacturer. They sent me a black "Open Face" case and an orange "Carrier" case. Before publishing or writing the review, I used them in my everyday life to have a better understanding of what these products have to offer. I was impressed with the quality of the product but also about the very unique design of Fortte's cases make this company a top class Zune case manufacturer. 9.0
Product Quality: 9.0 Ease of Use: 9.0 Player Protectiveness: 8.5 Manufacturer: Fortte Model: Open face, CarrierPrice: $29.99 - $64.99
Website: www.fortte.com Category: Cases Made for: Zune 30Gb, First Generation
Pros: Very functional cases. Good pricing. Excellent overall quality. Adds real protection to the Zune. Cons: The "Open Case" model is a bit too tight for the Zune. Product Description This elegant and functional leather case is specially designed to custom fit your Zune to protect it from dents and dings of every day life. Made of the finest selection of high-altitude leather, this elegant case is produced by Fortte's certified ISO 9001:2000, OHSAS 18001:1999, ISO 14001:2004 Facility. They also offer the ability to personalize your Zune by embossing your company name, company logo, your name or your initials for a small additional fee.
Product Quality 9.0 Fortte's cases are top of the line products. From the packaging to the small details, the product won't disappoint you. Fortte's designers are really taking the time to find new ways of doing things, and it shows. The case is made of very good quality leather, even for the basic models we received. They offer other types of leather for an extra $10 to $20 charge. Those top quality leathers will bring you very close to what we are used to seeing with Vaja cases. The stitching is also very well done, even though we noticed a few places where it could have been better.
Ease of Use 9.0 Zune cases equipped with belt clips and loops are for the most part very difficult to use, when they are attached to your belt. But Fortte's cases bring the solution to this problem. If you have to pause or change the music often when the Zune is attached to your belt, you might seriously consider the Zune "Carrier" model (orange case seen on the picture). When attached to your belt, the Zune is upside down. This way you can easily look at the Zune screen and use the control buttons to make the changes you want. Very clever! The belt clip included with the "Open Face" case is excellent and clipping and unclipping the Zune was done without hesitation. The small leather loops stitched to the cases are also very useful to hold the earphone cable. The only small problem I had was the "Open Face" case. Inserting and removing the Zune player from it was somewhat of a challenge. I'm sure the leather will expand after a while and the problem would disappear at the same time.
Player Protectiveness 8.5 When I first looked at Fortte's cases, I thought that it would not offer the Zune a good protection. But after taking a closer look, I realized that it does offer an excellent protection to your precious toy. They are just doing it with a different approach than we are used to see. The cases don't have screen protectors but Fortte's designer inserted, under the leather, a rigid material around the screen that makes the case thicker in that area. That simple detail in the design makes the Zune screen more difficult to reach. Consequently more difficult to smash or scratch. The back of the case is the back bone of the product. It's made with a rigid material underneath the leather. The back is also slightly oversized and this helps to protect the corners of the Zune.
Conclusion 9.0 Fortte's cases for the Zune are clearly quality products. Their corporate tag line, "Stylish Functional Cases", very well represent what the company has to offer. The multiple color combinations and personalization options will give your Zune the style you want. But the case designs in themselves have a very strong personality. Details such as the little loop to hold the earphone cable or the belt loop are excellent examples of that. Even though Fortte's cases for the Zune don't have the "Designed for Zune" approval, the cases are an excellent choice if you want something different and of good quality. I strongly recommend their cases.

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