PalmOne 3218WW Aluminum Hard Case for LifeDrive Mobile Manager

This case works great to protect my LifeDrive. I have dropped it a few times, and it cushions the impact and has kept my LifeDrive running. Granted, it is bulky, but the LifeDrive is bulky, so there's really no way around that. It fits nicely in my pocket and is easy to open when I want to use the LifeDrive. There is a hole to get the stylus out, and this case fits the LifeDrive like a glove. Very nice accessory!

The main thing that buyers need to know is that an adjustment can be done, slowly, with a fingernail file, to the 2 prongs which close and hold secure this case. If you find it difficult to open: file, a little at a time, the 2 prongs which secure the case. You will find that it gets easier and easier to open. DO THIS SLOWLY AS YOU CANNOT ADD AFTER YOU HAVE REMOVED. You will find that if you take your time, slowly removing a little at a time, you will be able, easily, to open your case as you wish. Praise to Palm for this inexpensive and helpful device!!!

Many positives for the case:

1. Excellent screen protection when door closed.
2. Armor.
3. May use on querty keyboard rests or with bluetooth keyboards without removing
4. Don't need to remove to see and use screen--only very rarely do I remove this case.
4. May freely use ports, such as audio jack and Ir.

A few negatives:

1. Opening--many users here have good tips on that. Opening becomes easier over time with the wearing out of the small aluminum "locking" tab.
2. Case begins to slip off (down) the Lifedrive more easily over time (case is completely open on top).
3. A Lifedrive in this case "thuds" harder when dropped than with padded cases.
4. Adds further bulk to an already oversized Lifedrive Palm model.

I put the Lifedrive, within this case, into an organizer binder with wide-spaced clips that fit such wider dedicated PDAs such as this, the Tungsten series, and the better legacy Z models. This adds desired soft protection--most of the time--as well....

(Considering purchasing such a binder these days? Many such binders nowadays use narrow-spaced clips meant for wireless phones or small wireless phone/pdas--they won't fit the dedicated PDAs mentioned above or virtually any other "serious" dedicated PDAs (HP, etc.). So, these newer binders are not "Universal" as they claim to be. Caveat Emptor!)

I'd wanted this for a long time, but it was too expensive new. When I found it here for much less, I was worried about the condition it would be in, but it was perfect. Thanks!

I purchased this item for my PALM PDA. What a waste of money. My Palm Tungsten would not fit. Probably my fault for throwing away the packaging before actually trying it out. I bought a new tungsten and the case, but the case arrived first. I opened the package and tossed the container. After all, both items I bought were from Palm. That was my first mistake. Now I'm stuck with a case I cannot use.

Thanks Palm!!!

I bought this item for my wife. She had the following to say: My LiveDrive came with a leather case that was the pits, because it fit too tight, and would make the LiveDrive turn on, just sliding it into the case. I opted for the aluminum case. I had a hard time opening it until I discovered that I needed to apply sideways pressure against the door, before lifting up on it. As long as I remember to do that, it solved the problem. It is very sturdy and I love it! I don't worry about the LiveDrive being damaged in my purse. I'm not as afraid that I will drop it. The door on the front is a little flimsy, but holds up. If they could improve the door, it would get a 5 star rating from me!

case is perfert for palmone PDA. Certeinly worth the price, and looks excellent.

I am realy surprise because i receive my item in record time! and in realy good condition of packing

If you have or intend to buy the LifeDrive Palm, you must have this case. Worths every penny!

This is a great hard case for the unit, however, it is really hard to open. I also find it harder to connect to the internet with the unit in the case. But for the protection it provides, it is a must have.

After my husband broke his first palm, I purchased this case to protect the second one. Wouldn't own a palm without it. The face is fully protected from damage, even when dropped!

I've never written a review for a product before, but something totally unexpected happened and I felt compelled to write. The case itself is ok, and you do need to open it with your fingernail, but the metal case itself... wow.

I have a 7 month old Labrador who chews abut everything she can get her mouth on -- provided it's behind my back. Anyway, one morning I go out for a pack of smokes and come back to find my Lifedrive, which I left on my desk, on the floor. The stylus was all chewed up, and the case filled with scratches, drool, and puncture marks. All the damage was superficial and nothing penetrated the case.

My Lifedrive was in perfect condition!

Overall this case will protect your investment. It is easy to open if you finally figure out how to open a door with a clasp. If you are looking for a case to carry credit cards and business cards get the leather case. Otherwise a good investment. I cannot believe that other reviewers cannot figure out how to open this case and spend so much time discussing this issue read the review on natural selection

The LifeDrive Mobile Manager is a pricey PDA. I paid $300.00 + about $4.00 for s&h. I purchased it because it gave much more portable computing power than my Zire 72. The hard case is a solid protection of this investment.

I find the case easy to open. Users should not use their fingernail to lift the door. They should push the door open using the flesh of the finger tip - push straight toward the hinge. Don't try to pull the door toward you until after it opens.

As for the increase in size: yes, the LifeDrive is already larger than any other Palm PDA and this case makes it a little larger. Actually, I don't like the feminine style of my Zire 72. It looks like one of those fancy silver cigarette cases popular in the 1920's.

i've had this case for more than a month now and never figured out how to open it without using a card or a pen to slide under the front cover to open it. finally, i decided to break one of the 2 the small parts on the front cover edge that slides under the oposite side to secure it close, and guess what, it finally can open it easily.

Although serving its purpose as a protective case, It makes the already bulky Life Drive that much more so. The side hinge is engineered about as good as your standard porch door. The clasp is sometimes hard to open and doesn't seem to close securely.

This case is a nice example of Darwinian selection at work, since it requires a thoughtful appraisal of how it works before it can be opened. Our Neanderthal cousins undoubtedly cut their clumsy fingers and died of septic wounds after opening this case, which explains why they disappeared (for the most part) and left the relatively clever homo sapiens as the survivor in the evolutionary sweepstakes.

They say monkeys can be trapped by putting a piece of fruit in a jug with a narrow neck. The monkeys reach in, grab the fruit, and are unwilling to let go of the fruit to remove their hands from the jug. So they sit around complaining about the stupid design until the hunters come up and thwack them over the head.

One can only hope that similar selection places evolutionary pressure on human beings. In general, companies test these things using random test subjects of average intelligence, and I see no reason to doubt that this was done for this case.

It works nicely and well using any of several techniques to open the door, but one does have to be capable of letting go of preconceptions and idées fixes if a first attempt fails. Not every solution requires a large rock.

I purchased this case despite the complaints about the aluminum door, and quickly discovered that using the thumb of one hand to pull back on the black edge of the case while using the thumbnail of the other hand to open the door made this necessary task easy, although I did have a few moments of frustration before figuring out the proper method.

The hardest method is to grasp the case firmly in the left hand, with the thumb pressing against the aluminum hinge, or in the right hand, with the fingertips similarly pressing on the hinge, and then try to lift the cover with the other hand. Beating your head against the wall and cursing may help when using these hand positions, although they may seem natural.

The hinge must be free to slide to the left slightly, whereupon the two tiny metal tabs which comprise the latch almost disengage themselves. This makes for some slightly awkward hand positions but, trust me, it works.

My own method is to grasp the case from the bottom using my right hand, with the thumb pulling back on the black edge of the case, and then place the forefinger and pinkie of my left hand at the very top and bottom of the hinge side, on the black plastic, while sliding and lifting the cover with the thumbnail of the left hand, using the indentation provided.

This works like a charm, although the position of the left hand is strangely reminiscent of Spiderman when he shoots out his web.

For those with less dexterity, one might *carefully* use a tool (I tried the handle end of a metal nail file) to lift the door. Be very careful not to scratch the screen.

As the case is used, opening the door becomes steadily easier as the parts "settle in."

Describing the case as "aluminum" is a bit of a stretch, since the case is actualy a durable rigid plastic with an aluminum cover for the screen and an aluminum double-hinged mechanism which allows the cover to be neatly folded back behind the case and allows access to the voice memo and page orientation buttons on the left side of the case.

On the whole, it seems well-designed and I haven't encountered any need to remove the LifeDrive from its case for any function. There's even a tiny access hole provided for resetting the unit.

I don't think the designers at Palm were awake when they designed this case. I'll have to wait for an alternative to come out, as the case that came with the Palm invites static and the leather case does not work well. I am willing to put up with a bit of difficulty to have a secure case, but this is ridiculous - we've cut our fingers, dropped the LifeDrive - it's not worth it. Save yourselves the trouble and just don't buy this.

Neat design. Well worth the investment to get the hard case for my Lifedrive. All functions are easily accessible when in the case.

Con - Opening the case is difficult.

This case is perfect for the life drive manager, it fits like a glove, and nothing is ever going to happen to your device in this case. There is access to every port on the Lifedrive, and it is a very solid case.
It opens easily if you just take your stylus and slightly place pressure on the cover, it is not a problem.
I looked at many cases for the Lifedrive, and seen cases other have for their devices. This is the one to get!!!!

Roger Neace

I am working with my new PDA the Live Drive and is great to have akk ny videos, music and to write my notes and documents before my shift or meeting, and also the wireless connection is so great. I like the option that you can use it as an external drive.

While this case does protect my new lifedrive well, it unfortunately is extremely hard to open each time I want to use it! This attribute makes it extremely annoying to use. So, it might just be easier to buy a case from another manugfacturer, or use one of the leather casings, which I am sure would work just fine.

My first disappointment with Palm product. I am loyal Palm customer. I am hugely disappointed with the Hard case because as said it is almost impossible to open it. Secondly not worth to buy it.

One word...Don't waste your money..Not even one star!

I would say don't buy this case when you buy your life drive. First try the cover that comes with the Lifedrive i think it better then the hard cover.

I personally don't have problems opening the cover but i think the palm is not very save in it's cover. It just doesn't stick to the drive. so when you put your cable in you lifedrive you also push your palm out of it's cover.

It's not as good as the hardcovers i had on my Palm vX and M515 i would say look for something better and till then use the cover that is included in the package.

I like the way the case looks and yes it does protect your lifedrive especially with the black rubber back, but it also protects the Lifedrive from YOU! This is almost impossible to open, after much practice I am now able to open the case maybe on the 5th try, at times I even give up and just take the lifedrive out of the case and use it. Unfortunaetly there are not many accessories for the lifedrive yet so although I hate the case and it increases my stress level I am still using it.
Palm was not thinking when they made the lifedrive since the speakers are in the back of the devive and are shielded by any case you are to get. Good luck!

I have this product for about 6 months, and like most of the reviews said at the beginning I had trouble open it, but then I use the stylus pen that came with the lifedrive to open the hard case and It's not a problem anymore, so work good, and look really good

You open this hardcase by sliding your fingernail under the lip of the flap and pulling. It's a hard pull. I have healthy, strong nails, and it broke one of mine. It also cut me under the fingernail.

Other than that, it's a nice design, but who cares? The whole point of a PDA hard case is to use the PDA in the case so that it stays protected. The only way to use this case without wrecking your nails is to slide it out of the case every time you want to use it.

I received it today. It's going back today.

i used to have a T3 and an aluminum case for that. it was perfect. when i bought my lifedrive and the hard case for it, i spent hours to solve how to open the case when my palm is in. now i see i am not the only person. so bad, i dont know what to do with it now. the leather case coming with the Lifedrive is quite nice and useful. no need to buy anything else.

I think the concept of the case is good-very protective. However, I found it next to impossible to open the case. It was very irritating and time-consuming.

I have read that others have had problems opening the case and I can see where it might be a problem if you chew off your fingernails. But otherwise, if you have even a little bit of nail, you shouldn't have a problem. Also the lid on mine is not rough at all and could in no way cut you as some have suggested. If you like to hold your Palm in your right hand it might be a little difficult to press the voice memo and the rotate screen buttons but it's not impossible. All other buttons and features are easily accessible. The Lifedrive is held securely in place by friction and is actually a little difficult to get out once it's in there, but I like it that the Palm fits in there so snug. I would certainly buy it again, but doubt that I will ever have to.

Definitely this is the best protection for our palm. If you want to carry it to everywhere, you must have this case...

This case is very easy to handle, the best buy that i have done.

What a great little case, it is form fitting and still allows my Life Drive to fit in my pocket. The rubber on the back conveys a feeling of stickeyness when holding the device, and you feel that there is no way to drop it out of your hand. The only issue, and it's a small one, is that there is no slot for a Memory card.

This case is a piece of crap... It is impossible to open! I'm serious. PalmOne definetly did not do any product research or testing on this item. I also cut myself with the razor sharp metal lid. My thumb is very sore from attempting to PRY the lid open. Like the other posts, you must use a toothpick or similar to pry it open. Don't use anything metal to pry it open, as it will scatch the aluminum lid or whatever it is. I want a refund. This product should be labeled a safety hazard.

I love the feel of the case; it has a nice rubbery back that's comfortable to hold. When open, the hinges fold out to give you access to the buttons underneath. Very sturdy, sure to offer a long life and excellent protection since I carry it around in my pocket.

Biggest flaw though: it's very hard to open. There's a thumb indentation in the rubberize edge that doesn't seem to offer much help. You have to stick a thumbnail and pry the lid off. And now my thumbnail is sore. Surely there has to be an easier way to pry the lid up.

Also not that you have to remove the case completely if you bought the optional charger with the cradle. The case is too think for the Lifedrive to sit in the cradle.

This is a awesome case. I am very pleased with it.

I have titled this the cutting edge for a specific reason. I cut my finger trying to open the case. This has got to be a major flaw which PalmOne designers totally missed. The case itself is nice, has a rubber edge for protection as well as on the back. The hinged aluminum cover is where the problems begin. You need a finger nail in order to open the snap of the case. The edge is sharp and if you happen to slide your fingernail against the edge of the case, you can expect to get cut which is what happened to me. The price of the case does not warrant the design flaws and it is way too expensive considering that the Life Drive already costs an arm and a leg. I hope that PalmOne will take a look at this case and make improvements for functionality and safety.