When my wife first saw it, she declared, “That thing is hideous.” My neighbor thought that it looked pretty sweet and that $54.95 was a small price to pay for beauty – considering the price of the Treo. The truth of course, lies somewhere in between. However, in case my wife ever reads this, I’d better tend towards her conclusion.

Design

The Sena Cases Leather Croco Skin is a very, very snug case without any sort of flip lid. The keyboard and screen are open. All of the ports are accessible except the IR Port and mini-SD slot (more on that later). The case comes in clip and clipless versions, and I tested the clip version of the case. A large, non-removable rivet is stitched firmly into the back of the case.

The main selling point of the crocodile case I suppose is the reptilian nature of the leather itself. As you can see from the pictures, the leather is tiled into sections, scales if you will, with parts of the case a veritable cornucopia of snake-like textures. Even the inside of the case, save the edge of the inner part, is of the same make. Unlike its namesake, the crocodile case comes in many unnatural colors including red, black, and tan.

Here’s the main issue. The case I tested doesn’t really ‘go’ with the Treo 750 that I tested it with. The 750 is a modern device of metallic hues, industrial grays and blues. Quite honestly, the Crocodile Skin case just doesn’t fit fashion-wise. However, if you happened to have Crocodile Skin style purse or boots or some other perfect accessory, then these items would overpower the Treo and beat it into style submission. Alas, I don’t have Crocodile Skin boots (nor my wife, hence the aforementioned comment).

I have a few nits and picks. The case seemed to bulge out a bit at the edges of the screen. Oddly, there is a band of leather right across the volume rocker switch, creating two distinct areas to press (some will welcome this decision) yet there is no such bar between the side select button and the volume rocker. It feels like this rolled off the Sena production line just to fill yet another spot in the line up and someone missed the proverbial boat and put the horizontal strap in the wrong place.

Functionality

Yes, there are cut outs for the camera and self portrait mirror, thin (matching tan color) mesh grille over the rear speaker, a large cut out for all of the bottom ports, and the top strap snaps to the back without interfering with the ringer switch. The IR Port and miniSD slot are covered and when I first got the case, I thought that didn’t matter. Of course 24 hours later, I wanted to get to the slot to put the memory card into a friend’s photo printer. A while back I reviewed the awesome Spectec miniSD wireless card, and if you think you’ll need to swap cards a bit, then this case certainly isn’t for you. The reset button, next to the miniSD slot, is similarly inaccessible.

The case is extremely snug. I found the easiest way to remove it was to push on the bottom and use the back rivet for leverage. That back rivet is stitched in within an inch of its short life. I prefer a removable rivet, though I have found the non-removable ones to be sturdier. With this higher end case, I would have expected a more interesting belt clip. You get your run-of-the-mill five cent 1.5 inch black plastic belt clip. For whatever reason, it’s designed so that you’ll need to rotate the case 90 degrees to plop it in the clip. Perhaps it’s meant to help accidental ejection. With all the cases I’ve tested, I’ve never had that problem.

As for protection, the case only offers a modest amount. It will protect against nicks and scuffs, but is not designed to protect from falls, screen hits, or other torture you might inflict upon your device. For all of you Treo users who don’t have some sort of handset coverage, get it – it’s truly the best accessory you can get. A StuffBak sticker couldn’t hurt either.

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