March 2008 News Posts
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PDair
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Date:
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21/02/2004
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PDair Shop Products by Shaun McGill
The very
first accessories you need when you buy a new PDA are a case and screen
protector in my opinion, so I was lucky when PDair Shop sent me an Aluminum
case, a leather book type case, a screen protector, a 3-in-1 stylus/pen and a
retractable cable to review- certainly makes life easier when adjusting to
having to lose my current accessories and starting all over again. If I'm
honest I was not expecting too much as their prices are normally quite low but
it's fair to say I have been VERY surprised. I will take each one in
turn-
 The PDair shop screen
protector came in standard packaging and looks perfectly normal from the
outside but I was surprised to find a small smoothy card included which is
unusual. The application of the protector always takes time but this one is
quite thick and thus the chances of bubbles appearing underneath on the screen
are low. Most importantly it does what I like in a protector- it stops glare
but allows the full screen brightness to show through. A nightmare to review
but a dream to use and the most surprising element of this product is the price
which at £4.99 is very, very good value for a quality protector which
compares with the likes of Covertec's and the other top of the range protectors
available.
Full details of the range available are
here.
 Now I am a bit obsessed with having
a good quality case on my PDA and this leather case from PDair appears
to fit the bill nicely. It contains 2 credit card slots, 2 SD card slots and
most improtantly in my view a protective insert whish sheild the screen of the
T3 from the credit cards. The T3 itself is held in place by two sturdy plastic
side clips which have enough give in them to allow the PDA to be inserted and
removed easily. The magnetic molded clip mechanism is also very good as is the
stitching. On top of this there is a pen slot for carrying an extra stylus
which I have not seen on a case which costs only £19.95. I really wanted
to find a fault with this but couldn't- simple design, good quality and once
again a stupidly low price.
Here's the
range available.
 Next to a screen protector a PDA stylus is
possibly the most difficult to review but the PDair 3-in-1 Metal Stylus
has a twist to it. It looks and feels exactly like the standard T3 stylus that
comes with the machine but if you twist off the nib end you have access to a
ball point pen which writes very well. There is an obvious advantage in the
thickness of the T3 stylus as it allows for a firmer grip and a similar feeling
to using a normal pen. If you twist the middle of the stylus you can then
refill it with a new pen when yours runs out. I couldn't see refills available
on their web site but more on that later... You may wonder why you need a pan
in a stylus and it's true that you would never use it everyday but for
emergencies it's great to have when you need to sign a receipt (useful at
McDonalds Drive Thrus:))
The whole range is
here and again it's awesome value at
£6.49.
 I have never been a fan of metal
cases, mainly because I either use my T3 at work and don't need a case or
when I'm out and about I like to have a leather wallet style case to carry
cards and money as well as my PDA BUT this one is very nice. It fits very
snugly around the T3, has a good secure catch to keep it shut and a clever
little slot to allow the carrying of an extra SD card. Inside it has a soft
lining which does a good job of protecting the T3 and I'm going to sound like a
broken record now but £19.99 is yet another bargain price. The only issue
I had with the case if the difficulty in inserting and removing the T3 from it-
I personally felt quite concerned at the effort required to remove it but after
about 3 attempts got the hang of it- I presume this is a natural drawback of
such a close fitting case but maybe it could be re-worked a tiny bit to save
the worry for the new buyer. The T3 slider works well in the case and you do
get instructions showing you how to insert and remove the PDA which really is
needed. The final nice touch is the fact that you can recharge and sync the T3
whilst it is in the case- it does not seem to work in the cradle but it works
very well with their retractable cable.
PDair currently have 7 different metal cases
available
here.
 The PDair retractable hotsync &
charge cable is a nice piece of work- these are available from quite a few
sources and £9.99 is a competative price. The advantage of this type of
cable is that it is tiny to carry around and can be used in ANY laptop or PC to
get a quick recharge and thus saves carrying lots of wires with you when you
travel. All you need to do is pull it open (from both sides) and you
have a full blown cable which stretches up to 35 inches. The only drawback is
that it will take longer to charge your PDA with this than with a standard
cradle but that's a natural drawback for all charging cables.
Lots available
here.
Conclusion
There's good and bad in the PDair range and the
good news is that none of the bad affects you as a customer. The products are very good quality, VERY good value and come in
nice bright packaging which I personally found appealing- I cannot
really fault any of the above products and for the prices they are awesome. The
bad concerns their web site- it is bland, has some strange navigational quirks
and could well deter potential purchasers from thinking that the products are
not too good either- trust me, THEY ARE EXCEPTIONALLY
GOOD!
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