In short, the Shocksuit from Rhinoskin is a high-tech looking solution for providing first class protection for your 3COM Palm III device (including IIIx and IIIe).

The shock suit is a unique approach to Palm protection. It's a foam case with plastic reinforcement, nicely covered in fabric. It has a handy detachable, quick release belt clip which I especially liked. A quick push of the button on the top of the clip and the case comes right off. It just plain won't come off any other way. Putting it back in is a snap - literally - you slide the knob on the back of the case into the groove on the clip, and CLICK, you're in. It's easy, and quite secure.

Overall, the case has a high tech look with those cool shipping crate foam ridges. I especially like the thickly padded corners - great protection for those 30 ft/sec^2 trips to the floor. I like to think I'm more careful than the average guy, and I've still dropped my Palm IIIX a couple of times (lucky for me, I've never won the $100 prize- a cracked a screen). The Palm's built in stylus is inaccessible with the shock Suit on, so the folks at Rhinoskin put a 2-clip stylus holder on the right side.

Fits in my small hand no problem I lost my stylus under my car's seat several times, as it is possible to unintentionally dislodge the stylus from its place. Having said that, the folks at Rhinoskin have already fixed this problem. In the initial crop of Shocksuits, the stylus was held in place by friction - they revised the clip so now it's more of a real clip and, I don't have to worry about losing it. I tried it out, The verdict? Problem solved.

The IR port is usable with the top cover open. The down scroll button was slightly obscured by the plastic frame - but only slightly. It was quite usable. In order to HotSync using the cradle, it is necessary to remove the Palm from the case, however, it does have a cutout at the bottom which works fine with a Hotsync cable. The contrast wheel in inaccessible from inside the case. To me, that's not a big thing, since I rarely mess with it, anyway. The power switch is easy to reach with the case on - since it's a "play-through" case, that's pretty much a necessity.

Funny you should ask - Yes, I would...and Yes, I did. I really like this case. I've had several cases over the years (well, since the Palm Pro, anyway) and I really like this one the best.

• The belt clip swivels so when you sit down, the case moves out of the way.
• It's fairly light, and has a nice feel in your hand (and I have small hands).
• Inexpensive security (only about $35) for when gravity comes up against slippery fingers.

• I was going to say that the stylus clip was inadequate, but they beat me to the punch and fixed it.

If you're looking for the best balance of weight vs. protection vs. convenience with a high-tech look - this it it. This is the first product to win the TekCool award!

Bill Griffith operates TekReview.com, a website dedicated to providing comprehensive, unbiased product reviews from a true user perspective. He can be reached at bigpaws@hotmail.com.