Seidio 7130c Black Skin
Hands on review by
lgreenberg
July 24, 2006
Price as reviewed: TBD
Since I decided to start carrying my Blackberry 7130c xxx8220;caselessxxx8221; I felt I needed some sort of protection for those time when the device does come in contact with a foreign object. There really isnxxx8217;t anything on the market yet that fits what Ixxx8217;m looking for. Neither Best Skins Ever nor Invisible Shield have release a set of protective skins for the 7130c and there are no Egrips available yet either. Very disappointing.
I was living with the realization that what I wanted just wasnxxx8217;t available yet. That is until today when I opened my mailbox. Waiting for me was the soon to be released
Seidio Black Skin Case for the Blackberry 7130c.
The Skin comes shipped in the usual plastic Seidio bag.
Upon opening it I found that the Skin is made from a much stronger material than the clear Seidio skin for the 8700c. I like this material much better. It feels like strong rubber that will resist tears. The material used for the clear 8700c Skin is thin and feels like it could tear if youxxx8217;re too rough with it.
Looking at the front of the skin you can see how much stronger it is. The front piece stays up where as with the 8700c it flops down because itxxx8217;s so much lighter.
The same is true for the back. The back part of the skin stays rigid.
You can sort of see the differences in material used by looking at these two images. Notice how the piece which covers the three buttons sags in on the 8700c version and remains stiff on the 7130c version.
8700c clear skin:
7130c black skin:
The skin has cutouts for the track wheel, escape key, speaker, headphone jack, LED and charging port.
There are no cutouts for the top power and mute buttons.
To place the skin on you first insert the device into the bottom part of the skin.
Then you pull the back over the top of the device.
For those of you using the Seidio USB cradle, it is possible to still do so with this skin installed.
Although covered by the skin the three front buttons on the device still work properly. There are three raised nubs on the skin where the buttons are located.
The only downside to the black skin is that is does seem to attract more lint/dust than the clear skin. Itxxx8217;s possible that the lint/dust is just more noticeable against the black background.
Ixxx8217;m very pleased with this product. The material feels very durable, the fit is perfect and all the buttons and ports remain accessible.
If you are looking for some added protection for your 7130c and donxxx8217;t want to add the bulk of a leather case this might be the accessory for you.
I give this skin case 4 out of 5 Blackberries.
Pros: Good fit, slim protection, buttons and ports remain accessible, strong material.
Cons: Attracts dust, no sleeper magnet, no screen protection.
Hands on review: Seidio 7130c Black Skin Case
