What is it?

The Proporta Alu-Leather case for the Cingular BlackJack – Samsung i607 flip style case.

Cost:

$34.95 + shipping

Features:

• Hand made – black leather with white stitching
• Removable belt swivel attachment
• Magnetic clasp closure
• Aluminum screen protection system

How I see it:

I will just tell you now that I’m not going to have a lot to say in this review. Why? Well, because to be honest I think this case is capable of speaking for itself. I’ve got a bunch of images to share, so there will be a lot of talking … just not a lot from me!

More after the break …

I figured I could save you the trouble of seeing the packaging as it sat in my mailbox, but this is the box you get. I see your excitement already. Ironically the package shipped from Brighton, Great Britain and arrived at it’s destination in Brighton, Colorado. Go figure.  

I have to give some credit here to the folks from Proporta. Typically you don’t get this level of attention put into the packaging of a product. It shows that there’s something special inside.

I thought this was the coolest part of the whole case. Not only does this little shot of aluminum look good, but it reminds you of how solid this case is at protecting your beloved BlackJack. This is the front/top section of the case that flips over to cover up the screen and keyboard. Very functional, lightweight, and much needed!!

Just a simple shot of what the BlackJack looks like while in the case. Proporta did a nice job of making this case grab the sides of the BlackJack without hampering the functionality of the buttons. This was my biggest concern when I looked at the design of the case, but I didn’t find it hard to work around. After a short while you sort of forget the brackets are there.

A couple of better shots of the brackets. As you can see they hold close enough to the middle of the device without covering any buttons on the side.

I love the stamped emblem – classy touch! This shot also affords us a good shot of the magnetic clip system.

Front shot of the clip system. I love these types of clips because they don’t require any effort on your part to line up the two parts. Get them in the same general area as each other and let the magnet do the work.  

And yes … the case can support itself so you can keep an eye on the phone while sitting at a desk or whatever.

 This shot is of the replaceable screw for the belt clip system. The next few shots kind of speak for themselves. 

So, there’s the belt clip in place. Not a ton to say. I like the shot above of the metal stud itself. As you can see it doesn’t add a whole lot of depth to the case, and still lets you put it in a pocket if needed.

Finally … this shot is for the folks at proporta.com – They were kind enough to send along a bag of English Breakfast tea (another nice touch). But, I have to say, if you’re going to send me tea, send me some REAL tea 

The final 2 cents:

I was completely impressed with this case. They’ve done an excellent job with the Alu-Leather flip case. The aluminum in the cover does a killer job of protecting the screen. And if you doubt that you can ask my dog who stepped on it accicentally – thankfully without the BlackJack in the case - and it barely warped. Not too bad for having a 70lb tub of chubby dog on you!

My only complaint – no support for the extended battery. proporta has a lot of cases to supply, so I understand the need to pick a form/function and support that. But since the BlackJack has such horrible battery life on the stock batteries I really would have liked to see this case support the (now included with every BlackJack) extended battery setup.

All in all, no major issues – the quality of the case is top notch.  The leather has an excellent texture, the aluminum adds a lot of protection and they did a brilliant job on the side grips. The belt clip is also very solid so no worries about it falling off.

Recommendation – buy one if you’re a "regular" sized battery user. I personally can’t make it through the day on that, so I’ll most likely supply this case to a reader, but if the case came with extended battery support, you wouldn’t be able to pry this thing away from me.