Otter Box 3600 Universal Rugged Case and Ram Motorcycle Mount Setup
www.OtterBox.com
Price: $99 + 29.99 for the Ram Mount

Like OtterBox's other products, the 3600 is made to be super rugged and work in all conditions while protecting the vital PDA inside. Today I am excited to review the 3600 and a unique add-on, a motorcycle mount made by Ram Mounts that will let us mount our PDA to our Motorcycle!

The 3600 comes in a standard white box with itself, tools to take off the hand strap, and screw the case shut (optional), plus a foam insert (which is vacuum packed to save space).

After taking the 3600 out of the box, it can seem a bit bulky. It is quite a bit bigger than the 1900 which is made for smaller PDAs, but the 3600 can also support almost every PDA on the market thanks to its greater interior space. In the picture below you can see the 3600 (Yellow) sitting by the 1900 (black).

As you can see the 3600 is quite a bit bigger in all directions. That is why the addition of the 1900 was so welcome when it first came out for smaller PDA models.

The 3600 is made out of a very hard plastic that is covered with rubber grips in areas like the back and sides. There are clamps in each corner that keep the case shut, plus the clamps can be screwed in place to keep them from opening by accident (which from use, I do not think would ever happen, but hey, its a nice feature). On the inside there are two velcro strips that make an X across the screen portion and are used to hold your PDA in place. At the top and bottom of the case are two ports that are double sealed and can be opened to add-on additional items like Otterbox's PODs that allow you to add CF GPS units, Barcode Scanners, and other things.

Now you may be wondering how do you use your PDA when it is in the case? Well, that is where Otterbox's unique screen system comes into play. The 3600 uses the same setup as the 1900 where there is a hard outer flip up clear plastic screen that you flip up to reveal the PDA Screen which is covered by a thin flexible plastic that is also built into the case. This thinner plastic allows you to still use your stylus without actually revealing your PDA to the elements. This works quite well, but is a bit hard to use your PDA, and of course takes some getting used to. It is a very good design in my opinion though, as it protects your PDA very well.

To further secure your PDA in the case, there is an included foam block that you should put behind the PDA before you put the back cover on. The foam is thick and you compress it when you put the cover on. This keeps the PDA from moving around inside the case (which does happen if you do not use the foam block).

On the back of the case there are two circle areas that have a screw in the middle. This is where the hand strap connects. The hand strap is a neoprene strap just like on the 1900 and is very comfortable to use, plus is very durable.

Now on to the fun part of this case (not that the other part is not fun, but this is just way cool). Otterbox has started supporting Ram Mounts which means you can attach your 3600 to many different types of stands and mounts that Ram makes (including car mounts, bike mounts, motorcycle mounts, etc.). Ram uses a ball and socket design that is very strong and durable, plus easy to change positions of and use with different mounts. For this review, we received a Ram kit for connecting the 3600 to your handle bars on your motorcycle.

The first thing you need to do is take off the hand strap by removing those two screws (which you use the included allen wrench to remove). Then you mount the specially made Ram ball and bar to the back of the case. As it is made specifically for the 3600, it fits perfectly. Once you have that mounted, you have the 3600 with one of Ram Mounts universal ball hookups on the back.

Now we can put on the bar that connects the ball on the back of the 3600 to the ball we are going to put on our motorcycle. This bar has a screw that can be operated by hand to tighten and loosen it. This means you can position it on the fly without any tools required. You also can remove it from your motorcycle with no tools.

Now for mounting the other ball on the motorcycle. To mount the ball on your handle bars, there is a U shaped silver bar that goes around your bars and then into the ball on each side. There are then two lock nuts that you screw on and tighten to keep the ball in place. The bar can be different diameters as you can loosen the nuts for larger diameters, or tighten them for smaller diameters. For review we mounted the ball to the front handlebars of a Yamaha TTR-225 Dirt Bike.

So now you may be wondering. Ok, cool, I can mount my PDA to my motorcycle, but for what purpose? Well, for road bikes you can use a bluetooth GPS and mapping software to use your PDA as a GPS for your motorcycle. In our case, on our dirt bike for off road use. We found the application Vito Navigator 2 from Vito Tech. This program let us see our current speed (as dirt bikes do not have speedometers). Plot our course and back track on that same course. Plus get distance (odometer) and acceleration readings. In the picture below you can see the unit mounted on the handle bars as we were getting read to depart on our journey.

In usage while riding, the case stayed very stable except over large bumps. It was fairly easy to read the screen, except for the Axim X5 PDAs screen is rather dim so at times in direct sun light it could be a challenge. One thing that would be neat is if OtterBox made the hard flip cover Anti Glare so that it would keep the glare down that the sun and outdoors cause. But for the most part, the case performed very well and was easy to use, plus it protected the PDA from and bumps, flying rocks or pebbles, and anything else that could damage it.

As far as the installation steps, nothing could be easier. I did not have to go get my own tools except for a socket set, everything I needed was included except for the socket set to tighten the nuts for the handle bar mount. It does not seem like they left anything out, and the build quality of all the parts is supreme. There is no cheap manufacturing here!

Overall I was really impressed with this case. It may be a bit bulky, but it definitely provides the best protection out there and fits a numerous amount of PDAs on the market. The Ram mount was amazing and kept the PDA rock solid on even a Dirt Bike! For GPS and other solutions on your motorcycle, it is truly unbeatable. It may be a bit pricey, but you will not regret your purchase!

Thanks to Otter Box for the Review Product