Lightning review: Fortte Thin Pocket for the Blackberry Bold
- I decided to give the Fortte Thin Pocket for the Bold a try. Here are my findings:
Likes:
- Extremely low profile -- fits almost like a skin, disappears into your pocket
- Nicely reinforced, fully covers the front and back of the Bold
- Removing the Bold doesn't leave fingerprints on the screen (the sides of the case partially exposes the Bold)
- Easy to feel the phone vibrate in your pocket
- Has a sleeper magnet
Dislikes:
- Cannot see the LED while device is in the case
- Not designed to accommodate partially sliding the device out of the case to check/delete emails
- Top opening is tapered inwards. You will occasionally cause an inadvertent button press removing the device from the case.
Compared to the OEM Blackberry sleeve:
- OEM sleeve is wider (advantage: Fortte)
- Harder to feel the phone vibrate in the OEM sleeve (advantage: Fortte)
- Can see the LED while phone is in the OEM case (advantage: RIM)
- Cannot keep the screen free of fingerprints with the OEM sleeve (advantage: Fortte)
- OEM sleeve allows for easy spot checking of email without fully removing the device from the case (advantage: RIM)
- Vulnerable to accidental button presses (tie: the OEM case tends to accidentally engage the right side camera button, Fortte will hit keyboard buttons)
My opinion:
If you're looking for a clip-less sleeve, the Fortte Thin Pocket is an excellent choice. I like it a lot more than RIM's OEM sleeve, and will continue to use the Fortte. If Fortte makes some slight modifications, I think it will be even better.
Fortte absolutely needs to cut a notch in the sleeve to make the LED visible. I also think the tapering at the top makes this case too prone to accidental button presses when removing the phone from the case. The lack of LED visibility is almost a deal breaker for me. Make these changes and I'll be first in line for version 2!10-09-08 09:01 PMLike 0 -
- OK, one post later and I went ahead and ordered it. A couple weeks of procrastinating after reading this thread ... http://forums.crackberry.com/f83/slim-case-bold-75665/
I finally bit the bullet. The review on this thread tipped the scales for me.
Thanks again alee0729,
PvT10-11-08 05:42 PMLike 0 - I've had one for a week. The OP is exactly right with his comments on the inwards curved entry. It results in an accidental key press nearly every time I remove the Bold.
The leather is still quite stiff on mine. I can't easily pull it from the case by gripping the sides.
But if you want a really classy, perfectly form-fitted pocket case, this is the one. It's beautiful leather and very well made. I think it will get better and better with use.10-11-08 06:43 PMLike 0 -
So, about being able to see the LED... here's one where they thought of that: Blackberry Bold Cases - Beyza SlimLINE - VSL17 Vertical Leather Case Black
I need to be OK with my decision, so I'll say I'm happy with my Fortte choice :~| I'll keep telling myself that... The fortte case looks to be more pocket friendly and when I have the phone laying on the table, I won't have that "annoying" :~| LED come on to alert all who are there that I just got mail.
OK, I've almost convinced myself
Anyways, thought I would post the above link as there was the discussion about an LED cut-out.10-13-08 04:50 PMLike 0 -
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If I want to be on the ready and see the LED, I'll half "slip it out" or just lay it naked on the table or desk for everyone to see.
Thank you Beermeupscottie, for allowing me to reflect on this, now I'm content with my Fortte decision.10-15-08 06:16 PMLike 0 - I got my Fortte Slim case today...
Leather case for Blackberry Bold 9000
Nice when the phone is in the case...
Difficult to remove the phone from the case...
Usually activates some function on my Bold when I slid it out. Opens call list, activates camera etc.
My left convenience Key is Voice Dial and right is Camera.
Most times I slide the phone into the case I either see the screen go white to the Call list or it activates my Language choices (I'm running three language choices) or often I hear "Say a command" (My voice dial)
Again, I love the case when the phone is in it.
I have now, moved keyboard lock to my home screen and lock my phone before I slide the phone in... even though the case has a magnetic sleepr function :~|
I use Voice Dial alot, so if I choose to use a convenience key for keyboard lock, I may have to assign it to the right one which is currently my Camera.
My 2 cents.... I hope the case softens up a bit and I get more comefortable with it.
The slim case I have been using to date is the RIM Blackberry slim pouch:
Here are some images of my new Fortte case:
10-25-08 08:30 PMLike 0 - i purchased this case and am highly disappointed. I thought it would have felt soft but in reality it feels like cardboard with leather glued on. I opened it right out of the box and the supposed "stitching" is really just glued around the edges. It in fact started to PEEL off as soon as I put my Bold inside.
I have attached pics so you can see what I am talking about. I have already contacted Fortte to see what they can do about this.
11-06-08 04:30 PMLike 0 - I've had mine for almost two weeks... used it once...
Don't like the fact that it hits my convenience keys every time it goes in or out of the case. It's also so stiff as ^^^ you say and rubs up against my screen every time it slides in and out.
Again, spent money... used it once11-06-08 04:54 PMLike 0 -
11-07-08 04:18 PMLike 0 - I have to say I've been very happy using my Fortte case over the last several weeks. Yes it's stiff, but I'm has done a great job protecting my Bold. It's a no-worries, "toss it in your pocket with your keys" kind of case.
I just received my Beyza Slimline case today. If you're looking for a softer case, this case is much closer in design to the OEM case (but with much higher quality leather), and a notch cut in the top for a visible LED. Jury is still out on how it wears over the coming days and weeks.11-10-08 06:06 PMLike 0 - Enjoying the Beyza case immensely... there is A LOT of padding in the case, so it took a few days before it became easy to slip the BB in/out of the case. I got the antique leather which looks like it's holding up very well. The stitching and the sealed edges are also holding up quite nicely.
Definitely a much more luxurious feel than the RIM slip case, and seems to be just as durable as the Fortte. The notch for the LED is excellent... and the notch at the bottom of the Beyza case makes it very easy to remove the BB from the case.11-19-08 02:42 PMLike 0
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Lightning review: Fortte Thin Pocket for the Blackberry Bold
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