Orbino Palm V Series Case

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Julie

May 02, 2001

Product Requirements:
Device:
Palm V series

Orbino leather cases are to the Palm V series PDA as a Rolex watch is to your wrist. Pure unadulterated luxury. These cases are hand-crafted by master artisans in Italy and are made of full-grain calfskin generally reserved for the finest Italian shoes. The Orbino cases are made by the same craftsmen that stitch or have stitched for the top European luxury brands such as Prada, Fendi and Hugo Boss.

The cases are available in several fashion colors:

Radiant Silver Grey (glass glazed metallic calfskin)
Radiant Umbrian Green (luxury metallic patent leather)
Radiant Blue (luxury metallic calfskin)
Deep Teal Blue (glass glazed luxury calfskin)
Black (glass glazed luxury calfskin - in zinc alloy flanks or palladium flanks)
Burgundy Cordovan (glass glazed luxury calfskin - in zinc alloy flanks or palladium flanks)

I was presented with a Carmel Tan and the Burgundy Cordovan cases for review.

These cases exude style and richness. They almost glow. Actually the brilliant sheen comes from an ancient polishing technique known as 'glass  glazing'. The leather texture is very slick and smooth. Holding your PDA in these cases just feels plain great.

The Palm V and actually even an m500 (haven't tested the m505 yet) fit in this case like a hand in a glove. The Orbino is a slipper style case in that the PDA slides into the play-through holster part of the case and is held there with by friction. No Velcro of any kind is used in this case! :-) The inside of the holster is lined with a black satin material.

The holster part of the case is like a firm shell. The front portion is a thicker leather with rolled edges around the screen. Due to the thickness of the leather in this area, it is somewhat difficult to tap around the extreme edges with your stylus.

The Orbino is unique in that the leather actually covers the application buttons. Small discs are embedded in the leather above each embossed leather button so that pressure on the leather activates the appropriate button. Although I would prefer direct contact with the buttons, this feature does make the case look pretty cool. The only thing I can see wrong with this design is that there may be a potential to damage the embossed leather icons if a fingernail was used to press the buttons instead of a fingertip. Also, game playing might be a bit restrictive. Otherwise, pressing the buttons thru the leather seems to work just fine. 

The sides of the case are reinforced on the outside with either Nickel, Zinc Alloy or Palladium flanks. They have the Orbino logo tastefully inscribed on them. You maybe asking, what is Palladium. It is a metal that is even more precious than Platinum. Besides looking very stylish, these flanks actually give quite a bit of rigidity and strength to the sides of this case. The Carmel Tan case that I reviewed had brushed Zinc Alloy flanks while the Burgundy Cordovan case had the Palladium. Can you tell a difference? Yes, while the Zinc flanks on the Carmel Tan case look very nice, the Palladium has a beautiful gleam that pretty much begs you to run your fingers over them.

The back of the case has a cutout for the hotsync port. You can actually sync via the cradle while your PDA is in this case. And unlike other slipper cases, the Orbino does not require any 'breaking in' period. Both the cases that I received for review fit in the cradle perfectly the very first time. You can also use this case easily with other accessories such as the Stowaway keyboard.

The screen cover portion of the case is stiff and thick enough to protect the screen in the event of a bump. One wide card slot is available for business cards or papers. Using this slot for credit card is not recommended do the fact that the cover uses a magneto-closure system to hold it closed. Instead of only using 2 sets of magnets to keep the cover closed, the Orbino uses four sets. One in each corner. The effect of the strong magnets makes the cover almost jump to the closed position. I have no worries that the cover would come open on its own.

Orbino cases are extremely fine. Of course they are not for the typical person that buys their clothes at Target and shoes at Foot Locker like ummmm, yours truly. They are meant for the executive that shops at Saks Fifth Avenue and has a summer house in the Hamptons. These are very expensive cases that don't protect your Palm any better than slipper type cases from other well known makers. But boy do they make a statement and look fantastic. If you have the cash and wanna join the jet set, you'll definitely want an Orbino. 

Price: $149 / $189 with Palladium

Pros:
Hand made in Italy
Fine craftsmanship
Magnetic closure
Sync in cradle

Cons:
Expensive
Probably won't protect the PDA much in the event of a long fall