Piel Frama Leather PDA Case

Many people sling their PDA into a briefcase or at the bottom of a gym bag. You can even keep one in your shirt pocket (assuming you are a burly lumberjack). But if you want a means of protecting your PDA that gives pleasure of ownership – perhaps even makes a statement – then you need a high-end leather case.

Piel Frama is a Spanish company that has been producing leather goods for sixty-odd years, and is making quite a name for itself through its dedicated PDA and phone cases. The PDA range covers all models from 38 different suppliers, so you are bound to find the one you need. Having reviewed the XDA IIs recently we decided to have a look at the case for this device.

We had three expectations of the case: the quality of the leather, the craftsmanship, and the tightness of fit to the device. Even with such anticipation, we were surprised by the sheer quality of the case as soon as we took it from its impressive presentation box.

The leather is incredibly soft, as you might expect from Spain, with a very fine grain and yet obviously durable. Each piece is hand made and the stitching is flawless, indicating stringent quality assurance controls.

Fitting and Use

Being designed for specific devices, the PF case is a very snug fit (lose-fitting cases are always an annoyance with generic products). An ingenious method is used for fitting to the XDA IIs: you slide out the keyboard, which fits into a transparent membrane on the inside of the case, and then close the PDA over it. This makes for a very secure grasp and an extremely tight fit.

Equally inventive is the belt clip system. The clip itself attaches to the belt in much the same manner as the iPod. A stud on the back of the PF case slots into a groove in the clip and locks into place, giving a full 360° rotation. A quick release button on the bottom of the clip allows for rapid access to the device for taking incoming calls. If you don't need the belt clip, the stud can be removed and a blanking cap inserted in its place.

A nice feature is the inclusion of slots in the opening flap for business cards and SD expansion memory cards.

There are precise cut-outs for access to device features all around the case, each with the edges sealed so they will not fray. There is even a tiny hole for the Reset button. There is also a cut-out at the bottom for access to the sync port, although the PDA will not fit in the cradle with the PF case fitted. I have often wondered how long it will take the device manufacturers to realise that we like to use cases and to redesign their cradles accordingly.

Verdict

At ITnews we select products before we review them. We only review bad products where we feel there is a genuine need. Otherwise, only reviews of top quality products are published.

So make no bones about it – the Piel Frama PDA case goes further. It is absolutely at the top of the top class. This is a case of true craftsmanship and of superior quality. It is by far the best case of its type we have seen and worth every penny.