[ffeingol]

After reading a lot of good reviews (and a couple of bad ones) I decided to order one. It arrived last Thursday (the 5th) and here is my "about one week" review.

- Ordered 19-Jun-2007
- Order confirmed 20-Jun-2007
- Order shipped 29-Jun-2007 but it missed the FedEX cutoff so it actually shipped on 2-July
- Order delivered 5-July-2007 (4th of July holiday messed up the shipment)

Product Ordered: Vaja Classic case in Plain Vitelino "Passion" color with no belt clip.

The Good

- The leather is extremely thin so it really adds very little bulk to the device
- The manufacturing quality seems pretty good.

Two minor issues. There was a protective film over the "screen protector". There is a small bit of the protective film in the lower right hand corner of the screen protector that I just can't get off (but it's not covering any part of the screen). There was a stray end of the stiching but I cut that off with an exacto knife.

- It fits extremely snugly around the device

The Minor Irritant

There is a small "pucker" by the USB port on one side and the volume control on the other. It's not a huge deal but it makes the case look like it has little "ears" near the top.

The Bad

- As reported by other people (too late for me to read) there is a fair amount of dust accumulating between the screen protector and the actual screen. The dust is pretty much invisible when the screen is on, but it's annoying.

- The screen protector material seems too soft. There are many scratches in it already (but again they are not visible with the screen on).

- The leather is just too fragile. I put the berry in my left front pocket. There is nothing in that pocket other than an occasional USB thumbdrive. I already have a fairly large scratch in the back of the case (1/2 inch long and 1/4 inch wide).

At this point I'd have to say that I'm just "ok" with the case. I'll give it a few more weeks and then update this review. At least one other person write that they cut off the screen protector but I'm very nervous about doing that as there is nothing to hold the "top" of the case together then and I'm sure it will begin to stretch.

I'll try to post some pictures also, but my photography skills are not that hot anymore.

Frank

[thetonyclifton]

I dont like the fact that they went with a classic style case for the 8800 the ivolution style is far more ruggid and flaw free, all the edges are tucked in and its just clean.

I have had several ivolution cases from vaja for ipods and phones and they have all been perfect...i just think the style the went for with this product lends itself more to flaws I will post some exmples of the ivolution to show you what I mean.

[thetonyclifton]

[thetonyclifton]

as opposed to p6260094.jpg on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[takeshi]

Hopefully they'll release more case styles as they've done for previous BB's.

[ffeingol]

Yea, I'm going to give it a month or so, but I may just end up ordering a Seido slim rubberized hard case. I really wanted something that did not add much bulk (and sorry I like leather) but between the dust and the scratching, I don't think this case is going to hold out.

Frank

[thetonyclifton]

send them an email in support of the ivolution style cases, but I think it unlikely they will create a new case for a product they already support (8800) more likely to change their styles for future bb cases though so might be worth a punt...let them know what you think can only improve their products.

[ffeingol]

Yes, I will definitely send them some comments. Seeing that the iPhone sold 500K+ in the first weekend and they sell several iPhone cases I know which product I'd be working on ;)

Frank

[ffeingol]

OK, a one week follow up:

- The plastic screen protector has several dozen fine scratches in in and several large ones.
- I now have 2 small scratches in the right hand side of the leather volume control side in addition to the big one in the back.
- I emailed Vaja (who where very quick to reply to sales questions) and I've heard nothing back.

I'm about to give up on the Vaja as the scratches in the screen protector are unacceptable.

Frank

[thetonyclifton]

I am definitely a vaja plan and have had no complaints about their cases, however you may have a point with the screen protector, this isnt something I have encountered as I have actually always put a sticky screen protector on the vaja case (seemed excessive at the time but the cases were expensive and I seemed to have made a good call)...but your right,it shouldn't scratch too easily.

[ffeingol]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I actually have a protector on the screen, but never thought about having to protect the one on the case.

Frank

[thetonyclifton]

yeah thats what i mean, it seemed like a weird thing to do at the time, but given the cost of the case and the fact that it could get scratched like anything else...including the screen of the device which is actually supposed to be scratch resistant... i figured i had nothing to lose.

Originally Posted by ffeingol

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I actually have a protector on the screen, but never thought about having to protect the one on the case.

Frank