Little known Pacific Design has incorporated some innovative features into its Axim x50v case, and has made itself a serious player when it comes to design and functionality.  I just received my new case and took it for a spin.  Come with me on my journey as I discover what wild weapons are woven into this case.

What am I looking for?

Before buying a case, I had to decide what features I wanted and needed and what compromises I was willing to live with.  I have a clipless Sena Case with for a regular battery and it works fine for my 1800mAh.  As a power user, however, I need more options!  What if I want to use the extended – 2200mAh battery, which is too big for this case?  I don’t want to carry two cases.  What do I do?

I’m trying out the Pacific Case.  I found this case at Dell.com for between $40 and $50.  According to the website,

“It allows full access to your Axim’s features, including the ability to hot-sync the device in the desk cradle. In addition, it features a detachable 360 degree swivel belt clip with stainless metal post. The case is expandable to accommodate the extended battery options and the interior includes storage slots for SD and business cards.” 

One case fits both the regular and extended batteries.  That’s worth a look.

Bulk

There is no escaping the bulk.  The 1100mAh battery lays flat in the back.  The 1800mAh protrudes out 2.3mm, which is 1/3 of 1/4 of an inch.  But the 2200mAh sticks out 1/4", or triple what the 1800mAh sticks out.  No matter what case you use, the overall thickness of the pda and case combo will be doubled with the 2200mAh battery.  I managed to jam the 2200mAh into my standard size Sena Case, but it was a little stretched out.  Sena has an extended case to solve this issue.  But Pacific has one case that can comfortably fit all three battery sizes snugly.  How do they do it?

Creative Design

Tension and elastic combine to hold the battery in place.  The two leather strips that border the 5 hard-buttons at the bottom of the Axim go underneath the Axim and are connected to elastic that is held with just the right amount of tension.  The two thicker bands of leather on the lower sides of the Axim also are connected with elastic.  You can’t see the elastic, but you can feel it when you pull.  The elastic is very strong and well sewn to the leather.

By contrast, if you have a Sena extended case and put a regular battery into it, you will have too much extra space in it, and your Axim will be swimming around.  People suggest putting extra foam into it.  You won’t have to do that here.  The elastic will pull firmly and hold the Axim snugly in place.  It happens without you even knowing. 

Fits in the Cradle

People love the Sena for two reasons.  One of which is they don’t have to remove the case when they put it in the cradle.  You won’t have to remove this case either.  The very bottom back of the case flips out so the case fits comfortably into the cradle. 

 Other Features

The other reason people love the Sena is the magnetic closure.  Senas have magnets (that won’t harm your pda) built into the leather that hold them closed so they don’t need those tongue-looking things to hold them closed.  The only thing this case is missing is the magnetic closure.  On the other hand, the tongue has a magnetic loop closure.  The screen of the Axim is surrounded by a metal frame to add extra protection.  The top part of the case has a layer of foam padding and decorative stitching.  The  case includes two sd card holders and a couple pockets for credit cards.  It also comes with a belt clip.  It’s loaded with features.

Exposed Corners

Like the Sena Case the corners are exposed and vulnerable to scuffs.  Yet this case has a wider bottom and top than the Sena.  This is good and bad.  The extra width decreases the vulnerability of the corners, yet it adds more size to the already large package I’m going to be carrying – when I use the extended battery.

The corners are protected, but the bottom flips open to fit into the cradle

Conclusions

I use my Axim every day.  But this 2200mAh battery is huge and I don’t know if I can use this battery every day.  I can’t use the 1100mAh battery every day because it doesn’t have enough juice.  The 1800mAh battery is the Goldilocks battery – perfect.  Not too small, not too big.

I’m so used to sticking my Axim / 1800mAh / Sena Case into my pocket, but with this much larger combo I have to get used to a whole new way of doing things.  It won’t fit into my jeans.  Maybe I’ll wear a belt clip and be a nerd/geek.  It will come in handy when I fly, that’s for sure.  The bottom line is this.  The review is about the case and not the battery.  I love the case.  I recommend the case.  It’s well made; Pacific Design is very creative in how they make one case for 3 different batteries.  It fits in the cradle, it fits in my Arkon GPS mount and it’s good looking.  It’s a great value.  See the pricing below.  And if you read on, I show you how I modified the case in 5 minutes to make it even better.

Case with the 2200mAh battery

Pricing

I first saw these on Dell.com for about $40+.  Then I shopped around but realized that these cases were contracted for Dell and nobody else was selling them.  But I found this seller on ebay:  Technologeez Limited and they gave me great service.  I spent $23.00 shipped for this case.

Pros

One case fits 3 batteries

Well made

Creative design

Fits in cradle

Great Price

Cons

No magnet closure (but you can mod it) 

Hard to find other colors

Larger than the Sena

Modification

My kids received toys with these little round magnets at birthday parties.  I glued the two down onto the leather strip with the pictured glue, and simply placed (not glued) the other two magnets into the pockets where the sd card and business cards would go.  I never carry those with me anyway.  This took me 2 minutes.  I plan on cutting the tongue out.  For now, I just folded it in.