Golla, a company based in Finland, has had great success with their products thoughout Europe and the UK. Golla cases are trendy, fun, and have innovative designs. In the last 10 years Golla has become one of the most successful suppliers of this product on the market. Their cases are fashionable and they appeal to men, women, and teenagers. Golla cases are universal and fit most mobile phones.
Their cases really do look like "fun" and are certainly trendy. I haven't seen a Golla case yet that I don't like. Check out the Golla cases in the TreoCentral Store.
I chose the Golla Gale Brown Pouch (GGB) to review. I liked the GGB because it looked so soft. And believe me, it "is" soft. The outer part of the GGB is a corduroy material made of 65% polyester and 35% cotton. I've always been fond of corduroy and wore my share back when it was popular. I can remember those funny swishing sounds that all the corduroy pants made when the kids walked down the school halls.
The GGB is also very casual and would most likely go with about anything. Casual is my cup of tea as I don't usually dress fancy shmancy. I want to be comfortable at all times.
Design
The GGB is very lightweight and soooo soft. I put the GGB on my postal scale and it registered a mere 1.5oz, including the D-post. That's the same as three AA lithium batteries weigh on my scale, which isn't much weight.
As mentioned above, the Golla pouch case is made of a polyester/cotton corduroy. The color is a rich brown which looks nice and goes with other colors quite well. There is a cool looking green and white Golla logo patch on the closure flap. The area in which the logo is located has soft ridges of corduroy that run horizontal as opposed to the vertical running ridges on the rest of the flap and on the back of the pouch. This area is outlined with a light green stitching that looks nice next to the green and white logo patch. The stitching on the back of the pouch is a dark brown color that blends in well with the darker brown channels that run between the lighter brown corduroy ridges.
The Golla pouch is a top pouch and you can slide your Treo or Centro right down inside the pocket. Of course I think that my Copper Treo 680 goes perfect with the pretty brown corduroy on the GGB. And my Treo fits inside just right; not too loose and not too snug. My iPhone also fits nicely inside the GGB.
The flap closure on the GGB, 5 inches long, is almost as long as the whole pouch, which is about 5 5/16" long and 3 4/16" wide. The flap closure overlaps the opening, and closes with a velcro strap, insuring that your Treo or Centro will not fall out.
Usability
I appreciate the extra pockets on the Golla pouch. Besides the main device pocket, there are two other pockets. There is a pocket on the front of the pouch that is overlapped by the flap when the pouch is closed. This pocket is perfect for driver license, business cards, credit cards, earbuds or Bluetooth headsets.
The other pocket is located on the back of the pouch and runs horizontally with the length of the pouch. This pocket zips open and can hold pocket change or spare batteries, etc. The zipper is an olive colored leather with a lime green "G" for Golla on one side. Nice touch. I can't swear that the zipper is pure leather but upon doing a smell test, it sure smelled like leather to me. The inside lining of this pocket as well as the inside lining of the main pocket is some sort of lime green colored nylon material. I'm guessing it's nylon anyway since it has the texture of a windbreaker. Don't quote me on that though because I'm sure no expert on materials. Far from it. ;-)
The extra pockets make this a favorite type of case for me to carry my Treo in. I can travel light by putting my money and driver license in the case and not have to carry a purse.
And even if I do happen to carry a purse, I can attach the Golla Gale Brown Pouch to my purse strap and take it along too without adding very much weight. Most of my handbags are sort of small so it's not easy trying to cram a Treo inside. There is a reinforced, stitched belt loop attached to the back of the GGB pouch. You can put a belt through the loop (I'm definitely not the "case on a belt" carrying type) or attach the GGB to a handbag strap with the D-ring attachment like I did in the photo above. There is also a black lanyard cord with which you can attach your Golla Pouch to a handbag, laptop case, backpack or whatever.
The D-ring on the GGB looks cool and sporty, and is a carabiner type of fastener. It's so lightweight that it alone didn't even register on my digital postal scale. I thought at first that it was some kind of plastic that had been painted silver. I took a pocket knife and scraped on it but didn't see anything but more silver color inside. I touched a magnet to it but there was no pull whatsoever. The D-ring carabiner stays closed and feels strong enough, but I sure wouldn't use it for any type of climbing. ;-) Anyway, you can attach the GGB pouch to your handbag, backpack, belt, or gadget bag with the D-ring or the attached belt loop. And of course you can just carry the GGB in your bare hand if you'd like. That's what I do lots of times when not carrying a handbag or gadget bag.
You have to take your Treo or Centro out of the case in order to use it since the pouch completely encloses your device. That's no problem for me because my Treo slides out very easily once the velcro flap is open. Most of my Treo cases are the type that cover my entire Treo anyway so I'm used to having to take the device out to make or answer calls.
Protection
As with just about any soft pouch case, your Treo is protected pretty well in the Golla Gale Brown Pouch. Your Treo is tucked away safely inside where it won't get scratched or dinged. The screen is protected through three layers of material since it's inside the main pocket, has the outer pocket directly in front of that, and the flap cover is a third layer of softness to cushion against the outside world. If you have a credit card inside the inner front pocket, that's even more protection for your Treo. Of course the GGB isn't a hard case so I'd be more careful about not sitting on your Treo or putting a lot of pressure on it when wearing the pouch on a belt.
I seriously doubt if the corduroy material is at all waterproof so I wouldn't want to be caught in a downpour. I can imagine this material getting quite soggy in such conditions. Corduroy absorbs and releases moisture quickly, but the "absorbs" is the part that I'd be more concerned about. Corduroy is pretty durable so I would think that the GGB pouch would last for a good while. Corduroy made from 100% cotton is washable, but since this corduroy is made of a 65% polyester/35% cotton blend, I really don't know if it's machine washable or not. I probably wouldn't be too afraid to toss mine in the washer for a short spin and then let it air dry. Being the shade of brown that it is, the GGB probably wouldn't show much dirt but the light colored logo patch sure would.
Conclusion
The Golla Gale Brown Pouch quickly became one of my favorite Treo accessories. The pouch is stylish and I've gotten many compliments on it. People appreciate that it's universal and they know that they can carry their MP3 players or most phones or slim cameras in the pouch.
I like the design, fabric, color, and features. I can carry it just about anywhere, and I enjoy traveling light, which this pouch lets me do. The brown color goes great with my Copper Treo 680 and I feel that my Treo is well protected.
The extra pockets are a big plus for me since they keep me from having to carry a handbag around. If you're looking for a lightweight, pouch type case and like corduroy in this rich brown shade, here ya go.
You can get the Golla Gale Brown Pouch for $19.95 here If you aren't crazy about corduroy, there are some other nice Golla pouches to choose from.
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| Pros |
Lightweight
Smooth inner lining
Cool design
Soft corduroy material
Extra pockets
Velcro closure
Carrying options
Reinforced, stitched belt loop
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| Cons |
| Treo not usable while in case |
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