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Proporta Week: LifeDrive Aluminum Case, Superior

February 6, 2006

At first glance, the Superior LifeDrive aluminum case looks like most other hard cases designed to protect mobile electronics. The exterior is a matte but still somewhat shiny silver, and you can see that the case is molded to perfectly fit the device inside the case. For the LifeDrive, that means an inset where the screen of the device is located, as well as an area close to the bottom that is bumped out to provide room for the application buttons. The back features several cutouts designed to dissipate any potential heat buildup from the integrated hard drive, and to prevent muffling the alarm volume as well. There’s also a small hole into which you can insert the small metal screw that provides a belt clip attachment, in case you want to wear the LifeDrive on your belt or clip it onto a bag.

The left edge of the case has the expected cutouts for the voice record button and microphone, and the screen orientation button. The bottom edge of the case, just under the application buttons, has cutouts for the charge/sync port, headphone jack, and reset hole Finally, the top edge of the case is left open so that you can insert and remove the LifeDrive as needed, and also have access to the SD card slot, power/hold switch, and stylus. As expected, the interior of the case is lined with black neoprene to cushion the LifeDrive and protect it from cosmetic damage.

What makes this case “superior” is the way that the opening mechanism has been constructed. Instead of the typical single hinge that you find on most aluminum cases, this one has a double hinge. The beauty of this design is that you can fold the lid of the case completely back behind the device, making it much easier to hold and to use. Instead of trying to fumble and hold the LifeDrive with just a thumb on the front and the rest of my hand curving around the back, I can grip the device naturally. It may not sound like much of a difference to have the lid out of the way, but I assure you it is a big improvement.

That doesn’t mean that this case is entirely without trade-offs, because the double hinge design does introduce a couple of things. For starters, the device doesn’t close as tightly as a regular aluminum case, and wiggles slightly when jostled. This is especially apparent if you drop the case—I don’t usually “drop test” things, but I did have a slight accident that sent my LifeDrive crashing from my desktop to the floor. It was in this case, and thankfully my device didn’t suffer any harm. After that incident though, I noticed that the closure latch was just a bit looser and tends to open more easily than before. I don’t think it will come open on its own, if I dump it in a bag, but I did think that it was worth mentioning.

I really like this case and can certainly recommend it to anyone who wants ultimate protection for their LifeDrive with the added convenience of being able to fold the lid of the case completely out of the way. This case is normally $34.95 at the Proporta online store but as a special bonus for Proporta Week here at PocketGoddess.com, you can get 10% off plus free standard worldwide shipping if you type in the code “PKTGODDESS” without the quotes when you check out. That code is good until midnight tomorrow (Tuesday) night on everything that Proporta sells (excluding GPS), so hurry and cash in on the great savings!