DLO case(s) review

The nice folks over at DLO asked me if I would like to review their cases for the blog. Being that I'm a gadget freak, of course I said yes. I need to make as disclaimer here. I do work with these companies every day and sometimes when I'm critical, it can come off as "MS says that your is bad because XXX" THESE ARE MY PERSONAL OPINIONS.

Before beginning, I have to say that before doing any review, I like to live with the product for at least a week. You can't really write a good review until you've really experienced (I wish all reviewers felt that way). I cheated a little bit on this one and used all three for one week rather than in successive weeks. But, I think you'll get the idea.

Silicon Case - I've never been a fan of silicon cases. I think they tend to add heft to the device and they tend to pick up lint when you put them in your coat pocket. But they do add scratch and drop protection, which can be useful. I'm not so sure that the Zune needs scratch protection, but I am pretty rough on the devices. I put the case on and placed it in my backpack for the week with a set of headphones, two phone chargers, a pen, and an old cell phone just to see what happened. At the end of the week, the device was a good as new. It worked fine. No new scratches to report. And as a bonus, the lint factor was minimal. I decided that that wasn't enough so I did two drop tests. One from about a foot and a half and one from three feet. Worked fine. Cosmetically, I'm not crazy about the white color and I wish that it came in brown and black (and maybe even green), but that is just a nit.

Arm band - I'm absolutely the worst person in the world to evaluate a workout device. I tell everyone I don't run unless someone chases me. So in this case, I just tied it on for size and comfort. I found it to be quite comfortable if a little bulky. I found the controls were a bit hard to use. I didn't get to test the sweat factor, but I bet it is OK. I was not at all crazy about the rubber edge around the clear cover. All in all, I suspect if you were a runner, this would work in a pinch, but I think a breathable fabric based like what Nike makes would be better in the long run (no pun intended).

Leather case - Far and away this is the best of the bunch. The flip mechanism on this device is snappy. The controls work very well in the case. The clip is solid. It looks nice in the Black and brown (again, colors would be nice). After a week, there were a couple of things I did notice. I saw some puckering around the USB connector. I also wish the headphone jack hole was a little taller to accommodate the plug I have. But, this has become my day to day case. I even gave one to the guy who runs the show. It still isn't as nice as the Vaja cases (which I still don't have. Are you listening guys?). But then again, it is half the price.