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At last Palm has come out with a case that is too girlie even for me. Or maybe it's just too turquoise for my taste. Palm's slip case tries to appeal to the wide audience, and slightly misses the mark.

Looking at just the basic case, it's relatively attractive, and certainly well made. The front is turquoise edged in brown leather with heavy brown stitching, and the back is solid brown. The sides are turquoise, as is the suede interior. Had Palm stopped there, this slip case might have a little more appeal (and cost a little less than the $29.99 advertised on Palm's website).

Starting with a perfectly reasonable slip case, they forgot the old adage "know when to say when." I could see tossing my Centro in this case despite it not matching anything I own. I can envision my Centro inside this case in a purse, briefcase, or even shirt pocket. But then there's the little frufru tag on the side. Isn't the embossed logo on the front enough? Why did this case need the little luggage tag that does nothing practically or esthetically? I would cut it off, but then you're left with a little cut out on the side, which not being reinforced, could serve no other purpose.

Then there's the lanyard. Don't get me wrong, I am all about lanyards. I loved using the Bun-J back on my Treo 650, and I was thrilled to death when I discovered that Palm had put the lanyard hook back on the Centro. That being said, my idea of using a lanyard is to secure my device directly to my person. I like Prima's Nicole Miller cases because the straps will secure to your purse or to your belt loop. The lanyard that attaches to Palm's slip case is an old fashioned leather lanyard that can only go over your wrist. This means your Centro is swinging free in the case at the end of your wrist where it could (potentially) go flying out. I'd rather put the lanyard on my Centro and have the Centro swinging freely but secured directly to my body! But it is a pretty lanyard, with the same theme as the case: brown leather exterior, turquoise suede interior.

Of course, you don't have to use the lanyard, but then you've got this little metal loop at the back of the case. Without the lanyard, that loop serves about as much purpose as…the little luggage tag on the side. You could always attach the lanyard directly to your Centro, but then you really can't use the slip case, which only has two small openings towards the bottom on either side. Fortunately, the size of the Centro means using almost any generic slip case for cell phones.

All in all, I'm disappointed with this case. Palm should leave the designer look to designers. Dooney & Bourke already have a case out for the Centro, and that's the way it should be.

Related Links

Palm Slip case for Centro

Centro Accessories

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