I pulled my new PAC Mate QX 440 case from Executive Products (http://www.ExecutiveProductsInc.com) out of the box expecting a flimsy leather case like I've seen for other notetakers, but this is no flimsy case. This is a case with thick leather coating that has obviously been designed with care. The strap and the storage compartment have a couple of issues, in my opinion, but overall the product is excellent. This article is intended to give you a thorough review of the case, it's benefits and drawbacks. Feel free to send me your feedback concerning this article at david@pacmategear.com Always concerned about the surface my PAC Mate resides on, the first thing I did was feel the inside of the case and I was happy to feel a soft and cushioned surface for my PAC Mate to rest. Around the rim of the case is a thick leather border that appears to be sturdily stitched. The leather border is what holds the unit in place. I questioned it at first, thinking, "How the heck is this going to stay in the case?" This was probably a serious design challenge and the solution was well thought out. I've been trying to make it fall out of the case, but I can't. I'm no light tester, you see; I like to test things as if they were going through the worst treatment they'd ever get. You'll see more examples of this later. It is obvious that a lot of care was put into designing the back of the case where the peripherals go into the PAC Mate because I've had little trouble plugging and unplugging headphones, compact flash cards, USB, or AC power. All of the ports are well exposed, including the power switch and the infrared port. The firm leather border and the cover make it a little difficult to pull a compact flash memory card out, but the protective quality of those two features far outweighs any trouble in pulling out the compact flash memory card. Other cards like my Ambicom WL1100C/CF wireless card are no trouble to pull out because it protrudes out an inch or so, making it easy to grab. The thick and durable cover that wraps over the keyboard doesn't allow for protruding compact flash cards and could put undo stress on the card if you pull the cover on really tight, but there is plenty of room to attach the Velcro strip at the front of the cover and leave the cover loosely wrapped around the compact flash card as to not put undo stress on it. So, now that I'm talking about the cover... There is this way cool feature that was added over the power switch so that, when you have the cover closed, a hard plastic protector makes it very difficult to accidentally press the power button. Very nice feature. I could, however, make the power switch activate with some poking and prodding (remember, I like to test things with vigor), but this feature is an excellent idea and will probably prevent most unwanted power switch activations while in your backpack. Unless you've got a little gremlin in your backpack (like me) that pokes and prods at the switch cover with all its might. If only they would have put that protective coating on the cover over the entire keyboard! It is still very easy to activate keys through the cover so if you have an alarm activate while it's in your backpack and that gremlin presses on the top of the case, the PAC Mate will wake up and drain your batteries until the system timeout activates. As long as the gremlin quits poking and prodding. Okay, back to the cover. The storage compartment on the cover is as big as the cover itself so you can store tons of stuff in there. The zipper operates smoothly and is durable. On the upper left side of the storage compartment is a business card holder with two pockets so you can hold other goodies in there too. The only problem I've found is that if you put things that are too small in there, and you flip the cover so it is hanging down towards the floor, the items in the pouch will come out. Keep the zipper zipped up if you are going to use the pouch for little things! On the right side of the storage compartment is a perfectly sized pouch for my wireless card. Nothing is going to fall out of this pouch if you hang the cover vertically. Keep the zipper zipped, though. Just in case your USB adapter is floating around in there, you don't want to have to train your seeing eye dog to find your USB adapter. So, one last thing about the storage pouch: I tried to put my headset in it (I have a folding headset with a microphone), and then close the case. It was pretty obvious this was putting pressure on the keyboard when JAWS started blabbing away, so I needed to find a solution for the headphone storage. Well, lo and behold, the storage pouch for the AC adapter is the perfect fit! And, I don't have to worry about having the extra weight of the power supply on my shoulder/neck as I'm carrying it. I always carry a backpack with me anyway, so I put the AC adapter in there with my wallet, sweater, and the occasional beer for refreshment while working on a remodeling project down the street. The cover wraps around the underside of the case and has a double sided soft Velcro lip on it to attach it snuggly or loosely to the front of the case. This way it won't be flopping around on you as you're racing down the street with your GPS, or just walking around the house listening to Daisy books, or talking with your friend from Russia on Skype while connected to your wireless router. Be careful, though, if you have stuff in the storage pouch and the cover is folded under, the PAC Mate won't sit level on a surface. If the items in the storage pocket are fragile you might be asking for trouble. That's why I bought the 512 Meg SanDisk Thumb drive. It's titanium! Supposedly you can stomp on it and it won't get hurt, but I ain't gonna try it. One of my favorite parts of the case is the fact that the thick border around the edge of the case, to hold the unit in, is almost the exact height of the whiz wheels. To me, this makes them feel protected and cozy. It also seems to make me less prone to accidentally bump them as I move my hands from the display to the keyboard. Yes, I am the clumsy braillist. Someday I'll mature into a proficient braillist, out of the awkward learning braillist stage, but for now I struggle to be proficient even with computer Braille. Let's move on to the strap; the strap bugged me right off the bat because when I pulled it out of the box there were these stringy hair like things on it. Probably just left over from manufacturing because they came right off with a little wiping and the strap seems quite robust. No fraying ends or anything. Here's a tip on this strap: Though:Make sure to put the clips onto the Braille display so that the lever to open the clasp is not pointed in towards the display. If you put it in towards the display it will not allow the clippie holder thingie to move freely because the lever presses against the Braille display when you stand up with the unit around your shoulder or neck. It was a pain in the rear to try and get them on that way, but it's well worth the effort to have the strap move freely. And, really, the strap that comes with your PAC Mate out of the box has the same issue. I've just got to find something to gripe about because overall this case is spectacular. Executive Products claims that there is something on the strap to clip your GPS receiver onto but if I put my Rayming Bluetooth GPS receiver on there it would be pointing outwards, towards the tree branches that hit me in the face all the time instead of upwards where the satellites are. This would be a great place to attach some sort of proximity sensor to save from getting walloped by those huge apples dangling off my neighbors tree, but not ideal for a GPS receiver. I think I’ll devise a way to clip the receiver on the plastic shoulder protector. Since that plastic piece is designed to be at the highest point of the crest of the strap, it will be ideal. On the left hand side towards the back of the unit is a strip of Velcro with two snap in buttons for the AC supply case. Actually, I call it the headphone case since that's what I'm going to use it for, but you understand. I'm sure they put the extra Velcro and the buttons on there for extra support since the AC adapter has a little weight to it. I'd suggest, if you are going to use this pouch for your AC adapter, take the adapter out, stick your hand in the pouch and carefully line up one button and snap it into place because it can be difficult to line up if you don't get it just right. Once that Velcro starts a stickin, it's difficult to move around. If you get one button lined up and secure, the other will fall right into place. After the pouch is secured to the case, put your charger or headphones or whatever in there and you're ready to go. Of course, since I didn't get any directions on how to install the case, I just started wiggling and pulling and grunting and groaning (It's not like I would have read the directions anyway), but after I got the case happily in place I felt two of those nifty Velcro/snap together buttons, one on each side. Make sure to undo those before you begin installing the PAC Mate. It'll save you from stretching out the case and your neighbors won't wonder if they need to call an ambulance. Again, as with the pouch for the AC adapter, you need to be very deliberate about putting this Velcro/button combination together, so be patient and try to line up the button before you stick the Velcro together all of the way. Overall, the new case by Executive Products for the PAC Mate QX 440 is excellent. I did notice, if I pick up the unit with my thumbs on the top back corners, and my fingers underneath the case, the thick leather border stretches around the PAC Mate and slides off. I'm not sure if that is because my unwillingness to read directions caused me to stretched the case, or because the design didn't take into account the two thumb approach to picking it up. It's not a serious issue, though, because the unit doesn't fall out of the case. This case is designed for rugged use. The soft padding will help to protect your PAC Mate if it gets hit and it will keep it warm in the winter. I wouldn't take it out in horizontal rains, though: The holes to put the strap in could take water. Who would walk in horizontal rains anyway, other than me, here in the Northwest? Keep your storage pouch zipped up if you leave your cover dangling vertically; be careful not to put too much stress on your protruding compact flash cards when closing the cover; and hey!...enjoy a superb case for the PAC Mate. It's worth every penny.
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