This beauty arrives nestled in a hinged box, complete with its own production number embossed into the back of the case and a signed certificate of authenticity. Each Ondata case carries a lifetime guarantee. The fine workmanship is immediately obvious, as you can see in Figure A.

FIGURE A


The fine workmanship on the Ondata luxury leather case is immediately obvious. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The case is a play-through design, with a flip-up screen cover that's secured by two small magnets. The screen cover is padded and has an inside pocket, probably designed to hold a business card or two, but not much more. The Palm V is inserted into the case through an opening at the top that's secured, after installation, by two small button snaps.

High quality and a perfect fit
Obviously, the craftsman in Riola took great pains to ensure that the fit was perfect, and it is. There are cutouts for each of the face-mounted buttons and for the power button. There's also a cutout for the serial port at the rear of the unit. The cutouts are exact. The stylus slips out easily with the case open or closed, regardless of the stylus silo you use.

One unique feature of this case is the finger strap, shown in Figure B, supplied in the back. It's also made of leather, but it's secured to the case at three points with elastic. The idea is to slip a couple of fingers through for added security.

FIGURE B


One unique feature of this case is the finger strap supplied in the back for added security. You can also see the exactness of the cutouts. Roll over picture for a larger image.

I don't use the finger strap, personally, but with my big mitts I don't need to. Perhaps someone with smaller hands would find the additional security a plus. The manufacturer claims the strap can be used for right- or left-handed people. I wonder, however, if the elastic will stretch with continued use, possibly even becoming saggy?

The Ondata case is available in black, burnished, blue, green, and red. There's also a version available for the Palm III series.

A sign of weakness
There does seem to be one weakness with the case's design. Using the docking cradle while the Palm V is in the case is problematic. The case prevents the contacts from aligning properly. I believe the slight additional bulk of the finger strap may be the problem. I've heard that some people have had luck in applying pressure to the top of the unit to force better contact. I tried that and it does work. However, the second you relieve the pressure, contact ends.