Boxwave has an excellent reputation for protective supplies for various handheld gadgets. They have been well regarded in the Palm community for many years. Boxwave is the maker of one of the best PDA screen protectors around; the Clear Touch Anti-Glare and Clear Touch Crystal lines. During the years I have owned many iterations of Palm products, starting with the Palm Professional to my current smartphone, the Palm Treo 700P. After having witnessed many friends shattered Palm devices, I understand the importance of keeping the Palm device in some sort of protective case or holster. Boxwave has sent DragonSteelMods.com the FlexiSkin with Belt Clip for testing. As the resident Palm user, Dracos has let me put this carrier through its paces. Lets get started.

Boxwave FlexiSkin with Belt Clip

Reviewed by: Tomas Ratas

Sponsor: Boxwave

Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:

FlexiSkin for Palm Treo 700p

Enhanced with new SmoothTexture SmoothTexture makes the FlexiSkin feel softer to the touch and reduces surface dust.

BoxWave’s newly designed FlexiSkin for the Palm Treo 700p comes in your choice of six colors: Aluminum Grey, Coral Pink, Frosted Clear, Future Blue, Jet Black, and Smoke Grey. This lets you customize the color of your Treo! It also has a cut-out design for the keyboard so that you can see the keys clearly and keep the same tactile feel as using the Palm Treo 700p without a case.

FlexiSkin is durable, soft to the touch, and it can stretch and flex to help cushion your Palm Treo 700p from falls and hard knocks. And best of all, your Treo will still remain 100% usable while it’s protected in this low-profile case! Usable and protective, FlexiSkin is the new way to protect your Palm Treo 700p!

Features:

• -Enhanced with new SmoothTexture! SmoothTexture makes the Palm Treo 700p FlexiSkin feel softer to the touch and reduces surface dust
• -Soft, low-profile case
• -Form-fitting case designed to perfectly fit your Palm Treo 700p
• -Cut-out design for the keyboard so that you can see the keys clearly and keep the same tactile feel as using the Treo without a case
• -Aluminum Grey, Coral Pink, Frosted clear, Future Blue, jet black, or smoke grey color
• -Anti-slip properties gives your Palm Treo 700p more grip on surfaces
• -Durable and protects your Palm Treo 700p from scratches and bumps
• -Washable and tear-resistant
• -Designed with a low-profile strap hole
• -Includes a hand strap and a lanyard
• -Includes a high quality, simple-to-use, and detachable belt clip (optional)

A Better Look at Things

The FlexiSkin arrives in a clear plastic box. There is no branding on the box itself, just the Model name of the PDA on an adhesive label. The Flexiskin comes with a belt clip, a lanyard and the carrier itself. Since Boxwave directly distributes their products, there really is no need for exotic packaging.

The FlexiSkin is a unibody piece composed of smooth feeling silicon. The back has a metal belt clip and is well fastened to the FlexiSkin case. One of the first things you notice about the FlexiSkin is its stretchiness and unique tacky feel.

Installation, Testing and Comparison

To get the Treo 700P into the carrier, one needs to slide the Smartphone through the main window hole and then pulled the top part onto the Treo. On the Flexiskin there are raised areas for the buttons on the front and the volume buttons on the sides. There are cut out sections for the screen, the stylus, earphone jack/power/dock area, and the camera.

The FlexiSkin fits snuggly and contours around the Treo 700P like a cocktail dress on a Bond Girl. It has a low profile, but the attachment knob for the belt clip does add some bulk to the case. The good news is that this knob can be unscrewed, making the Flexiskin a much lower profile carrying case, if you decide to eschew the belt holder for whatever reason.

Installation, Testing and Comparison Continued:

The carrier snaps into the belt clip with an audible and palpable click, which lets you know that the phone is locked into the clip. The phone is held by the belt clip and feels secure attached to ones belt or pants, but the clip itself seems a little thinner than other belt clips that I have used in the past. The clip seems secure on the belt or on a pair of pants. You will notice a little stretch at the knob of the FlexiSkin due to the weight of the Treo 700P, but this is minor and you will soon not notice this effect. The Treo does tend to bounce on the belt which was slightly annoying after using a regular holster prior to the FlexiSkin.

On the back, there are two slits for threading the device through a belt, but since the FlexiSkin is not a holster, where the phone can be easily removed, I fail to see the purpose for this option. Also, the included lanyards are a nice thought, but there was no noticeable position to thread through. I would never use a lanyard to carry my phone, but some folks may choose to use them.

The tactile sensation of the FlexiSkin is comfortable, it feels soft, and you never feel like it will slip out of your hands. The body of the FlexiSkin is uniform in color and is opaque for the Smoke Grey model, which I tested. This caused the buttons not to be marked, so if you are a new user of a PDA and do not know the button assignments, this may be a drawback to you.

Overall, the FlexiSkin looks and feels like it was made to paired with the Treo 700P. All the features of the phone are easily accessible, yet the phone is well protected by 2-3 mm of silicone rubbery material.

Summary:

Overall, Boxwave has a winning product with the FlexiSkin PDA protection line. The form factor is near perfect and it does its job of protecting the PDA without ruining the aesthetics of the device.

DragonSteelMods gives the Boxwave FlexiSkin with Belt Clip a 4 out of 5 score

Pros:

• +Excellent Protection
• +Composed of a comfortable soft, rubbery silicon protective material
• +Excellent aesthetic appearance
• +Form fitting
• +Attachment knob is removable

Cons:

• -Button covers not translucent
• -Belt Clip too narrow