I have always liked the quality of Sena cases, I used to use them for my Treo 650. But for my BB 8700g I only like to use "Pouch" style cases, and until recently, Sena had only made those magnetic "flipper" cases. So I've been waiting a long time for this case to come out, and I decided to order it from bberry.com to give it a try. I ordered the black one.
The case arrives in a nice box with a velvet bag, as all Sena cases do. I think bberry.com sells these in both Black and Tan, but you can get more case colors from
Sena Cases - Top quality leather cases : iPaq, Palm, Axim, Clie, iPod, and Treo leather case and other PDA cases. But I wanted the black one anyways.
After opening the package I could immediately tell this was made by Sena: glossy black leather, with excellent stiching... the leather isn't as "thick" as it is on some cases, and I like this because it helps Sena cases keep a low profile.
Construction is excellent, and I could find no defects at all. The leather is smooth, glossy, and has a great leather smell... (I like that). The clip, as you can see in the photo, is a standard leather-covered metal clip, and it ratchets around, stopping at each 45-degree turn.
The clip holds onto a belt (or waistband) reasonably well, and it's long enough to go over all of my belts. I think this clip is very similar to the fixed clip used on Fortte cases, and perhaps similar to the clips used on the newer versions of Gizmoskin cases.
On my case, the clip is easy to ratchet, but it has never ratcheted accidentally. However, I've only used the case for one week, so the jury is still out on whether the clip will get looser over time.
As I said, the finish is excellent quality, and on the inside is a thick velour padded interior. It IS padded, so at first it makes for a tight fit for my 8700g. But after a few days, the fit became just a tad better... it fits the 8700 VERY snugly, and grips it tight. There is no way the device is ever going to slip out of the case. I can even turn it upside down and shake it: it won't budge.
At first, the fit was almost TOO tight: it took some effort to get it out of the case (I use a BestSkinsEver screen shield but no other body coverings).
However, after a few days, the fit loosened up a bit, and now it is perfect. Snug fit, but easy enough to pull the 8700 out of the case.
A sleeper magnet is included, and on this case it works very well: the 8700 can be inserted face-out or face-in, and the magnet works equally well in both positions.
As the pictures show, there is no flap covering the device, but the fit is so snug you probably would not need it. Most of the ports are covered up while the BB is in the case, but the headset jack is exposed and available to use while in that case.
To sync and/or charge the BB you will have to take it out of the case...I always do anyways.
The only branding on the case is the word "SENA" embossed on the front, and this does not detract from the looks. The stitching matches the case color. This, combined with the glossy color makes it a great looking case. Almost "formal" looking, but I think it looks great with jeans as well.
As you can see, the speaker is covered up by the top of the case, but I have not found that this takes away from the volume of the ringer. I hear my ringer just fine.
This is just an excellent case, and I am particularly impressed with the leather quality and the high quality velour interior (this has the best feeling interior of any case I've used... a bit better than even the OEM RIM Leather case).
I can find nothing wrong with this case, and there is nothing I would change, and it has (and will be) the only case I'll use. No reason for me to use anything else. I think this case beats even the Fortte cases, especially in terms of leather quality, interior quality, fit, and clip functionality.
*Before this case, I used several other cases, including RIM, Fortte, Covertec, T-Mobile brand, Seidio, and Gizmoskin. This is easily better than the others, so I highly recommend it.
Let me know if you have any question about the case I did not answer.
NEW REVIEW: SENA 8700 pouch case
