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Provided By: Rivet
MSRP: Universal PDA Case - $34.99, Fashion Wrap - $34.99, Stereo Earphone - $29.99, Mobile Stereo Headset - $29.99
Review Date: April 27th, 2007
Written By: Daniel W.

These days everyone has gadgets. Whether it is a cell-phone or a portable music player (or a music playing cell-phone!), you've got one and so does everyone else. How do you distinguish your gadgets from those of others? With accessories of course! In this review, I will take a look at the latest cell-phone and music player accessories from Rivet. Such accessories include a neatly designed PDA/Smartphone case, a Fashion line of Rivet's Wrap line of cell-phone cases, and uniquely designed earphones and stereo headsets for music players and multimedia phones, respectively.

Packaging:

Each of Rivet's items come packaged in sealed clamshell blister packs with card inserts. The front of the retail packaging displays highlights of the enclosed product's attributes while the back of the packaging gives a more detailed overview of the item's features.

Features:

Features and specifications for Rivet's accessories can be found on Rivet's web site.

Universal PDA Case

• High grade leather
• Magnetic closure
• Sleeper magnet function for BlackBerry®
• Ultimate Belt Clip™ attaches quickly and securely to belt
• Interior slot for business cards, credit cards or cash
• 1 year limited warranty

Fashion Wrap

• Clips to purses, bags & belt loops
• Easy access from both ends
• Fits most phones
• Patent pending Grip-It™ design holds phone in Wrap™
• 2 year limited warranty

Stereo Earphone

• Extended bass with accurate sound reproduction
• Sound isolation to block outside noise
• Adjustable, tangle-free cords
• 3 sizes of earbud gel tips for maximum comfort and fit
• Compatible with most MP3 players, laptops and airline audio systems
• 2 year limited warranty

Mobile Stereo Headset

• Extended bass with accurate sound reproduction
• Music mutes with incoming call and resumes when call ends (subject to phone and network)
• In-line microphone for clear voice pick-up
• In-line answer/end button for one touch transfer between music and phone call
• Sound isolation to block outside noise
• Adjustable, tangle-free cords
• 3 sizes of earbud gel tips for maximum comfort and fit
• Compatible with most phones with a 2.5mm connector
• 2 year limited warranty

Rivet Universal PDA Case

As the name implies, Rivet's Universal PDA Case is a carrying case for PDAs and medium to large smart phones. The rectangular case is made of high grade black leather and features cutouts on its sides and bottom. Assuming your smartphone/PDA's function buttons and ports line up with these cutouts, the cutouts will allow access to your device without having to take it out of the case. The sides of the Rivet's Universal PDA case are tapered with elastic so that even the thickest smartphones should fit snuggly in.

To insure your phone/PDA stays securely enclosed, the top of the Rivet Universal PDA Case features a clasp that holds shut via a Sleeper Magnet – magnets placed inside the fabric of the clasp and the corresponding front of the case as opposed to the surface of the fabrics.

The inside of the case has, of course, a roomy main compartment to hold a PDA or smartphone. Also on the inside is a slot pocket to hold flat items such as cash or credit cards.

Rivet's signature feature of case accessories is the Rivet mounting system. This system allows for the case to be quickly and easily, yet securely, attached and detached from your side. Included with the case is either an Ultimate Loop Clip (which attaches the pant's belt loop) or an Ultimate Belt Clip (which clips to a belt).

The back of the Rivet Universal PDA Case has an integrated Universal Pin. This pin allows the case to quickly attach to and detach from an Ultimate Clip.

I found Rivet Universal PDA Case to be a wonderful case to hold my Qtek S200 smart phone. Though my phone is not big enough to fit snuggly into the case, I never felt like my phone was going to fall out. Rivet's Universal PDA case worked quite well allowing me to attach and detach the case from Ultimate Loop Clip that was attached to my belt loop.

Rivet's Universal PDA Case was very comfortable to wear. When attached to Ultimate Loop Clip, the case hung freely below my waist. This made it very comfortable when I was walking or sitting down. Though the case hung "freely" from the Ultimate clip, it always seemed to be secure.

Rivet Fashion Wrap

Rivet's Fashion Wrap is an extension to Rivet's line of Wrap cell phone holsters. Whereas the other Wrap lines (Leather and Sport) have a masculine and/or unisex appeal, Rivet's Fashion line of Wraps have very feminine styles. Such styles include leather (beige or black), black crocodile, gold rhinestone, and pink quilted.

Rivet's Fashion Wrap is a double open ended phone holster with a built-in clip that allows the Wrap to clip onto various things such as belt hooks or purse/bag straps. Using a double open ended design makes it easy to insert and remove a phone from the holster. At the same time, the inside of the Wrap is lined with Rivet's patent-pending Grip-It lining which, combined an elastic strap that keeps the holster tightly closed, grips your phone firmly making it highly unlikely that your phone will accidentally pop out.

Of the four phones I tested (two candy bar style and two flip phones), I found that one flip phone (Motorola V300) could not squeeze into the Wrap. The other flip phone (Samsung t319) as well as the two candy bar style phones had no problems fitting into the Wrap. Therefore, it seems that any phone that approaches 1 inch thickness or more will not likely fit; unless that phone is unusually narrow. Of the phones that do fit, the Fashion Wrap holds onto the phone very firmly. For candy bar style phones, it is definitely recommended that you lock your keys before inserting it into the Wrap because it will most likely press on some keys.

Rivet Stereo Earphones and Mobile Stereo Headset

With the exponential growth of portable music players in the last few years, one particular style of headphone that has skyrocketed in popularity is the in-the-ear earbuds. This style of earbud fits into your ear canal blocking out outside noise and generally offering great base. The Stereo Earphones and Mobile Stereo Headset is Rivet's take on in-the-ear earbuds. The two products are essentially the same except the Stereo Earphone is equipped with a 3.5mm jack so it can be used with portable music players while the Mobile Stereo Headset has a 2.5mm jack and built-in microphone so it can be used with most music playing cell phones. Rivet's Stereo Earphone is available in four colors (black, white, pink, or graphite) while the Mobile Stereo Headset is only available in black.

The earphones/headsets have earbuds with removable gel tips. Three sets of varying size gel tips are included with each to insure that the buds fit a wide array of ear sizes. Earbuds are connected to cords that are covered with a braided fabric. The two bud cords are separate for about half the length of the headset, joining at around 26" down from the buds. A two piece Slide Adjuster collar couples the two separate wires together. It is this separate wire and Slide Adjuster design that makes the Rivet earphones/headsets unique from others.

Rivet's earphones can be worn like traditional earphones by sliding the Slide Adjuster down the wires. However, the with the Slide Adjuster slid up, a loop is created between the Slide Adjuster and the base of the earphones where the two wires join. This enables the Rivet Stereo Earphone to be worn Lanyard Style. The main advantage of wearing in this manner is that the cords will not tug on the earbuds which help them to actually stay in your ear. Another advantage is that when you are temporarily not wearing the buds, they just hang around your neck for easy access.

For the Mobile Stereo Headset, the microphone pod is located down the cord of the left earbud. The pod has a single button for answering and ending calls. For the headset, the Lanyard Style of wear is pretty much the only way to wear it because the presence of the mic pod prevents the Slide Adjuster from sliding down too far. When worn Lanyard Style, the microphone would generally be just below your collar bone.

When the earphone/headset is not being used, the two piece Slide Adjuster can be separated to couple the wires and different lengths ( ie one up to the buds and one half way down the wires) to help prevent the wires from tangling during storage.

Performance wise, Rivet's Stereo Earphone and Mobile Stereo Headset sound superb. In typical in-the-ear earbud fashion, the base output was very strong. Mids and highs were also well defined with no noticeably unpleasant distortions. Music, for the most part, sounded very accurate. Despite the base being amazingly strong, it did not overpower the treble. Because the earbuds block out so much background noise, details in music sounded particularly clear. And when music is playing, moderate background noise practically disappears. A caveat to the in-the-ear design though is that they amplify noises in my mouth such as teeth clicks and swallowing noises. The earbuds also conduct and amplify any harsh vibrations from the cords dangling from the buds; tapping on the cords sounds like a person tapping on a base drum!

Compatibility wise, Rivet's Stereo Earphone works with any portable media player (or any audio device for that matter) that has a 3.5mm audio port. The Rivet Mobile Stereo Headset is designed with work with any music phones that have a 2.5mm headset port. So if your music phone has a proprietary port and no adapters, you are out of luck. However, even if your phone has a 2.5mm jack, the Rivet Mobile Stereo Headset may still not be completely compatible. In my experience, the headsets do not work with Windows Mobile smartphones (apparently, these phones have a different jack-signal order than standard music phones). Most "standard" music phones with 2.5mm jacks seem to be compatible. Even non-Windows mobile smartphones like the BlackBerry Pearl seem to be compatible.

When they are working, Rivet's earphones and headsets work great. However, they do not seem to be that durable. Rivet's HARMONY headset, that I previously reviewed, had earbud failures about after a month of standard use. With the Rivet Stereo Earphone, I got the same failures after a month of use as well. The problem in both cases seems to be with stress joint on the audio jack. If I wiggle the wire feeding into the audio jack, I could momentarily hear sound in the earbuds, but if I leave the stress joint alone the sound will cutout.

Conclusion

Rivet's Universal PDA Case is a very well designed case for medium to large sized smart-phones. From its leather construction, to its elastic sides, to its magnetic clasp; its build quality is top notch. Add to it Rivet's ingeniously simple yet secure attachment system, this is in my opinion one of the best holster/cases on the market for smart phones and PDAs.

With their Fashion line, Rivet now has five chic cell phone holsters that should appeal all the ladies out there with cell phones. The Rivet Wraps are nicely designed cell phone holsters that should be able to fit all current phones. With the combination of a double open ended design and the Grip-It lining a phone can be inserted and removed quickly. At the same time the phone will stay securely in place when you are not accessing it.

Rivet's Stereo Earphones and Mobile Stereo Headsets are great sounding in-the-ear earbuds for portable audio players and music playing cell phones, respectively. Rivet's unique Lanyard wearing method makes uncomfortable tugging on the buds by the audio cord nonexistent, among other benefits. While compatibility is in issue with the Mobile Stereo Headset, as long as you're multimedia phone has a 2.5mm jack and is not running Windows Mobile, you should be good to go. As great as these earphones/headsets sound, their durability is not very good (at least in my experience). Great care will need to be taken to insure these earphone/headsets can be enjoyed for a long time.

Rivet Universal PDA Case

Pros:

• Very Well designed
• Sleeper Magnet functions very well
• Built-in slot pocket

Cons:

• None

Rating:

Excellent

Rivet Fashion Wraps

Pros:

• Grips phones firmly
• Easy to insert and remove phone
• Can clip to a variety of things

Cons:

• None

Rating:

Very good

Rivet Stereo Earphone

Pros:

• Great sound quality
• Unique lanyard wearing style
• 3 different sized gel ear tips included

Cons:

• Not very durable

Rating:

Good

Rivet Mobile Stereo Headset

Pros:

• Great sound quality
• Unique lanyard wearing style
• 3 different sized gel ear tips included

Cons:

• Not very durable
• Potential compatibility issues with certain phones

Rating:

Good

(Ratings Possible Terrible, Very Bad, Bad, Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent)

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