I’m always looking for alternative sources of power for my electronic devices, which is why the Datexx Sentina Outback Rechargeable PowerBank caught my eye. Billed as a super bright LED flashlight, a motion detector / emergency light, a USB charger for electronic gadgets, a power generator, and an SOS siren, the Outback almost sounds like it tries to take on too many properties, a “jack of all trades” if you will.

Let’s take a look and see if this device lives up to its billing, or if as the famous other half of the “jack of all trades” saying goes, it is a “master of none.”

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The Motorola Q is a very thin, yet wider than usual Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone which was designed to be held to the user’s face when making calls. It also sports a full QWERTY keyboard for thumb-typing and a bright 2″ wide x 1.5″ tall screen. Making a case that would keep the screen from being unnecessarily scratched, protect the majority of the device’s plastic body, and yet allow unfettered access to the keyboard and other ports was the challenge. If anyone could rise to the occasion it would be Vaja; read on to see how they did…

There are four new Motorola Q cases offered by Vaja. Of them the most device-accessible version is the Motorola Q Classic MO111, an open-faced custom handcrafted case which is available in plain vitelino or plain aniline leather. The difference between the two leathers is that aniline is a soft leather with a smooth finish. According to the Vaja site, ” no pigmented finish or topcoats are applied to correct or mask the natural beauty of the hide. This means that you will be able to see the actual surface grain and markings.” Vitelino leather, on the other hand, has a “beautiful, cracked-look surface” which is “achieved by polishing with extreme pressure by rollers made of agate, steel or glass.” Vaja uses the glass rollers, “because it allows for the best possible results.” There are fourteen different vitelino color choices, and there are eighteen different aniline color choices.

If you would like a belt-clip, there is an option of adding a plastic Ultra-Clip for $6, or the sleek rivet clip system for $20. Personalization may also be added, with embossed text costing $10 and an embossed graphic costing $30.

I was sent two Q Classic cases - an Olive Vitelino for the Q with regular battery and an Azzuro Vitelino for the Q with extended battery; let’s look at the Olive case first. The sewn-in plastic screen guard has a piece of blue protective plastic on it, and there is no device inside to push out the custom sculpted leather sides. Worth noting are that the only branding evident on the device are the two subtle pewter colored teardrops which make up the Vaja logo, and there is a repetitive embossed Vaja logo making up the interior’s back wall.

The case�almost looks like a slipper here, doesn’t it?

This is more like it…once the Q has been inserted in the tightly fitted case, the leather sides are filled and the case hugs the device’s body to perfection. Without a case, the Q measures exactly 4.6″ tall x 2.6″ wide x 0.46″ thick and weighs 4.2 ounces. Inside the Classic case, the Q now measures 4.6″ tall x 2.7″ wide x 0.62″ and weighs 4.8 ounces. The difference in size is negligible, but the difference in the feel of the device is immediately evident. Where the Q’s exterior was a slightly cheap looking prone-to-scratches silver plastic before, the Q is now transformed into a sumptuous leather-wrapped device with silver trim.

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