Customer Reviews

Kindle Lighted Leather Cover, Steel Blue (Fits Kindle Keyboard)

5 star:		(7,843)
4 star:		(2,025)
3 star:		(629)
2 star:		(325)
1 star:		(380)

 

 

I've noticed that like myself customers have been concerned primarily with two things regarding the new lighted case from amazon. These are: 1)The weight and 2) The uneven lighting. My review will briefly discuss these two things.

1)The Weight - The lighted leather case is a nice weight, sturdy and comfortable to hold. In ounces it is about the weight of the kindle itself however don't let that concern you. With the case on it feels like a medium sized paperback, however it is far much more comfortable to hold. It's easy to hold the case open like a book (nice for couch and table type reading) or to fold the front back and close it with the bungee so that the bungee doesn't hang around (this is good for bedtime reading).Closing the front back with bungee keeps the case folded in position and you don't have to worry about it bothering you. BTW THIS CASE FOLDS BACK 100% - Very comfortable. In sum very comfortable to read with the case and very sturdy.

2) The uneven lighting - Amazon's pictures don't do this case justice. The light hits the ENTIRE screen. Yes if you look closely it's brighter in the top right corner than in the bottom left but Amazon's pics make it look the top is lighted while the bottom is dark. There is good light all over the screen. Trust me I'm fussy about these things - the lighting will not bother you, your entire screen will be lighted and it is extremely pleasant to read in the dark.

*Final Thoughts - Great case, good quality, works well, kindle feels very secure and protected (I would feel comfortable slipping this case into my backpack or suitcase and I think it would sustain some mild impact). Lastly hinges are a non-issue, casing of the kindle will not get damaged with normal or even slightly aggressive use. You could damage the kindle by trying to pull the back of the case but you'd have to really force it to cause any sort of damage to your kindle. The hinges work fine and should not be a concern to any case user.

Update 25th July 2011:

Have now been using the case for over 9 months. Leather still looks impeccable. Some people expressed concern that the bungee cord might loosen with use. I have not experienced any loosening so far. Quality of the product has proven outstanding. I've occasionally spilled or messed the cover, just a wipe with a damp cloth has cleaned it up, and the case looks like new. Have to admit I enjoy the feel of the case in my hand, there's just something great about taking your kindle to a coffee shop in this case, it just looks and feels so classy. Also with regard to the hinges: I have had no scratches on my kindle or any other issues, so I remain convinced that the hinges are a non issue.

Length:: 1:31 Mins

I bought the burnt orange color cover so I can spot my Kindle where ever I leave it easily--and hopefully not misplace it! The cover is good quality leather, and even with the cover on, I can slip the K3 into my small purse without squeezing it in--something I could not do with my coverless Kindle 2.

For an easy purchase without having to buy a separate book light, the Kindle 3 lighted cover is a good choice. The light works _great_ reading in bed. I can see all of the lighted screen just fine with the upper right corner a bit brighter. In any of the customer cover videos/pics on Amazon, the camera picks up and exaggerates the brightness of the light in the upper right corner. In real life, it's much less distinct and I don't notice it as I read.

January 2011 UPDATE: The VIDEO shows the cover inside and out without the Kindle, and how the light fits seamlessly and pulls out. I had to keep it short to fit with Amazon's video guidelines. I have a longer lighted cover video on Youtube that continues with connecting the Kindle to the cover, and a demo of using the light in a dark room--see the "UnrulyGuides" Youtube channel for that.

Pluses: Built in light that slips securely out of the way, no batteries to replace, better clips/fit than past covers that connect to Kindle, adequate to light the entire screen, no looking for a booklight, no clipping a booklight to my Kindle and scratching or damaging it, the book light LEDs point down towards the screen, so no bright lights in your eyes.

Minuses: The cover's weight doubles the weight of the Kindle 3 in your hand, the book light stays in one corner and doesn't move around the Kindle, uses more Kindle battery life (it's powered by the Kindle 3 -- and I noticed a definite drain on the battery from using the light). BTW, this cover will NOT fit a Kindle 1 or Kindle 2.

UPDATE: I've used the Kindle light for some months now, and the battery life goes down noticeably as you use the light (esp. if you keep the wireless "On"). Last night I read with the light for about 2 hours after a full charge and today the battery looks down about 15%. At that rate of use (with no wireless constantly "On" and regular reading in the daylight), I estimate the battery will need charging after approx. 1 week.

If the overall cover+Kindle weight is an issue for you--more than protecting your Kindle and the handy light--then this cover is not for you.

Kindle Lighted Leather Cover alone = 233 grams or 8.2 oz

Kindle Lighted Leather Cover + Kindle 3 = 447 grams or 15.75 oz. (almost 1 lb.)

Thickness: Kindle cover + Kindle 3 = 3/4 inch

Cover Measurements (with Kindle inside):

Front: 7 3/4" x 5 1/8" (closer to 3/16")
Back: SAME as front
Spine: 7/8"
Open side (to the right) with Kindle inside: 3/4"

I have to say I'm getting used to the weight with the cover as I use it. The piece of mind of extra Kindle protection, plus a handy light whenever you need it, is worth the trade off for me. '

November 20th UPDATE:

**Still love the cover** and having the light handy without having to think about needing a light _is better than ever_. One thing however, is that the hooks to connect the cover are not sturdy enough, IMO, to take the cover on and off often. The Kindle "wiggles" a bit on the connectors, and be careful not to pull the Kindle forward or up off the back of the cover to avoid bending or breaking the metal connectors. Despite this, I am very happy with this cover after using it almost 3 months now.

December 27th UPDATE: A commenter asked about replacing the LED light -- a really good question.

First of all, we know there's no batteries required, so that is not a concern at all. If the cover light dims, it would be because the Kindle needs recharging. However, the Amazon CS Rep I spoke to said there's no way to replace the LED light, but shouldn't be necessary. So I asked "How long should the light last?," and she said for the life of your Kindle.

Length:: 4:05 Mins

I read in bed every single night, so having my Kindle be able to read in the dark is very important to me. With my Kindle 2 I used a mighty bright light, and with my Kindle 3 I've been using this Lighted Leather cover - and I love it!

Check out my video review for a size comparison of this case against my Kindle 2 and also an actual hardcover and softcover book, and then a lights out comparison of the Mighty Bright vs Lighted Leather cover.

Sorry for the shaky camera, it's the best I could do with one hand!

If you're interested in seeing a video review of the Kindle 3 itself, check out the one I did one here:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R21YU59NMOGKUR

I was hesitant to buy this cover mostly due to the pictures in its listing, which seem to show a light that doesn't even extend to the opposite corner. The fact that I have not been impressed with the Amazon's Kindle covers in the past didn't help. I went ahead and purchased it because the cover I wanted isn't available yet and I don't like to take my Kindle out and about without a cover. Now I am glad that I went ahead and bought it.

PROS:

1. The light is much better than I thought it would be. Using it in a darkened room I found that the light did the job very well. In a pitch black room, it performs even better. While the screen corner opposite the light is a bit dimmer than other areas, there is no problem reading the page at all.

2. The light gets its power from the Kindle itself, through the gold-plated hinges which attach it to the cover, so batteries are a thing of the past. When your Kindle goes to sleep, the light will go out as well. It will also turn off when you slide it back into the case.

3. The cover is slim, well-fitted and very easy to attach and detach using the hinges. The inside has good padding. The leather outer surface has a nice pebbled texture with the exception of a smooth area along the edge of the front. While stiff enough to protect the reader, the cover is slight flexible and the front easily folds behind when reading so you can hold your Kindle with one hand if you like.

4. A great plus is that the cover has an elastic cord that fits into a groove on the front of it. This holds your cover closed (unlike the original Kindle 2 cover that would flop open in your purse & let things slide into it) and easily distinguishes the front from the back--important as many owners of the Kindle 2 cover accidentally opened it from the back, which could cause cracking along the Kindle's spine.


CONS:

I haven't found any, really. The light Is a bit hard (stiff) to pull out of the cover, but then you wouldn't want it to be flopping out when you don't want to use it so that is more of a Pro than a Con.

The one concern I do have is about pulling the light in and out--I wonder if whatever wiring or conductor that is used to get the power from the hinges to the light will eventually break. But that is something to find out down the road. Right now, the more I use this cover, the more I like it.

For a folio type case, this looks and feels great and works very well. It does add significantly to the weight but that seems a predictable consequence of using leather, making it stiff enough to offer real protection, and building in a light.

Attaching Kindle is very simple using the directions on the product page. Make sure you heed the warning to work at it until ALL the gold is covered, which tells you Kindle is securely attached. Removing is quite simple: Slide down the top hook and rotate Kindle right off. I'm using a fingertip to do it rather than a fingernail. It's quick and easy enough to attach and detach Kindle that I won't have any difficulty switching to "naked" reading at will.

The cord seems to me strong enough for its purpose, but only time will tell. When the cover is closed, the cord is buried in a "channel" in the front cover so should not normally be subjected to much stress and strain. I did remove the little "flag" attached to the cord. Even without using fingernails, it's easy to open the cord up. Others have posted about the cord being in the way during reading, especially when holding Kindle and case in "open book" form. I put the cord between Kindle and the back cover, solving the issue to my own satisfaction. YMMV.

I don't think I'll use the "book style" reading position much. I'll "break the spine" as I did with my K2's case and read with the front cover folded flat against the back. It feels good like that, but when I have good light and will be reading a while I expect I'll do as I did with my K2: Remove Kindle from the case and read "naked." Still, even brand new, the leather folds flat easily and it's comfortable to hold and read.

The light seems to me to be well placed. I don't get any glare in any of my normal reading positions, so don't have a practical issue with its lack of adjustability. One very nice feature, particularly since it's powered by Kindle's battery, is that it turns off when Kindle turns off. So if you fall asleep reading, your light won't just keep running. I find it a bit stiff to pull out, but I expect it will ease in time. Also maybe stiff is good, as you don't want it just lolling out on its own while you've got it stowed away. Still, folks with difficulty applying much force with their fingers could find this an issue.

I bought this unseen, intending to return it if it didn't work well. It won't be going back. I may in fact buy another case for travel, as by design this folio style case is open on three sides. In some situations I would want more dust and bang protection, but I still give five stars because this is an unavoidable consequence of this style of design.

I ordered this cover because it was the only real game in town at the time. To let you know where I come from with this review... I purchased the 2nd generation Kindle back in March of 2009 with the Amazon cover. Didn't like that one, it actually cracked my mother's Kindle that I purchased shortly thereafter (Amazon replaced it, although it was probably from her opening the wrong side, doesn't matter, this isn't about Amazon great customer service). When that happened, we immediately went looking for a new cover and fell in love with the M-Edge Prodigy with light. Unfortunately, M-Edge isn't offering that for the 3rd generation Kindle, they changed it to have a nylon strap instead of leather and aren't utilizing the hinge technology for the light, which I think is genius and a terrible error on their part. I'm telling you this so you know that I ordered this new Amazon Lighted Cover with a WHOLE LOT of trepidation.

When deciding on the color, I didn't want black (I wanted purple, but Amazon doesn't offer that *boo*hiss*) and the green was backordered slightly, didn't like the other colors so I decided to get the orange. It looked interesting and since I live in Austin, some UT fan would buy it off me if I hated it, I was sure. It came in and it's the perfect burnt orange color. It might be slightly too tan colored, but it's not vibrant orange by any means. A great almost pumpkin pie color actually.

So... what did I think of the cover itself?

I slid the Kindle in there and pulled the light out and... nothing happened. I spent a good 3 to 5 minutes pulling the light out and pushing it back in, looking for a switch, something, anything. I finally gave up and turned the Kindle on and... yeah, the light came on. DUH! It works only if the Kindle is on. This is actually GREAT because I fall asleep reading a good deal and the light will go off when the Kindle goes to sleep after 15 minutes or so. I felt stupid, but at least I didn't call customer service and have them giggle in the background and the stupid lady that can't work the cover, eh?

ANYWAY... the Kindle slides in easily and the light works great. There is no glare at all because the LED lights are directed down the arm of the light so there's no "direct" light hitting the screen, it just flows down. It is brighter in the upper right than in the lower left because of that, but it's more than adequate. The light is NOT adjustable but you shouldn't need to adjust it either. I have found it really is a genius way of handling it.

The case itself is not too thick. In fact when I first picked up the case, I thought I had the wrong one because it looked too slim to have a light in there, but it's there. It is a little hard to pull the light out, but I guess the alternative is having it be too easy, right? I really wish they had included corner straps though. I read laying in bed and I worry it's going to flop open and crack the Kindle. I do realize this is probably unfounded and they fixed that flaw, but because I'm paranoid, I did put two small circles of velcro to the back of the Kindle and the cover so it couldn't accidentally bend the hinge system or crack the case. I'm aware this is insane overkill type stuff, so feel free to snicker... I'll wait... done? Okay, onward...

Now, back to reality... the chance of you opening the Kindle from the wrong side is basically zero. You have to unwrap it using this bungee cord thingy (yes, that's the technical term here, folks). It has a little leather tag on it that says "Amazon Kindle". The tag is a little annoying because I fold the cover back and use the cord to hold it and keep hitting the tag with my hand no matter where I put. I'm thinking of cutting it off. *shrug*

It does, of course, add some weight to the Kindle. The case, with Kindle and velcro circles weighs 15.5 oz on my postal scale. There's been some discussion if this is "too heavy" but I must say that I don't think so. I read with it folded back and the bungee cord thingy wrapped around the back. I have weak hands that keep me from reading hard backs and large paperback books. I think it's more of the force of holding the book open than the weight, so it's not been an issue at all for me. I also read with it propped up somewhere usually.

My favorite part is that with the new slim and sleek design of the Kindle and this slim and sleek cover (with a light, no less!) it really is a great size to grab and go, toss in my purse, in the car or my bedside. My other favorite (it's a tie) is the light. It runs off power from the Kindle itself so I'm never without a light. I don't have to find a battery somewhere when it burns out. Amazon knocked it out of the park as far as I'm concerned. I'm taking off a star just for the few little niggle things I mentioned before. After over a week of use though, this is the cover I'm recommending to friends/family at this time.

Well worth it.

I've been an avid Kindle user since Kindle 1, and I take my lights VERY seriously.

The problem is that the new Kindle 3 cover+light does not evenly light the screen. This results in a very bright top right corner, including the top right of the frame of the Kindle 3. And while the light doesn't glare off the screen, it does glare off my graphite Kindle 3's top right corner, making for constant distraction while reading. The light then gets fainter and fainter in a diagonal line from the top right to bottom left. It's not very fun, unfortunately.

Now, for convenience, this new cover is fantastic. I have the non-lighted one and the one with the light, and the weight difference isn't very much, and the bulk difference is truly negligible, so kudos to Amazon for this.

That said, I simply cannot recommend this cover unless you don't mind an incredibly uneven light. I will stick to my Mighty Bright. Yes, it's an addition to the Kindle, but I know that when I sit down to read, I want the pages to "disappear" as I become immersed in my reading. It's very hard for them to do so when the light is so incredibly awkward and uneven, constantly distracting. I'm happy to spend a few extra seconds clipping my light to the back of my Kindle so I can spend hours enjoying my book. That simply wasn't possible with the Kindle Lighted Leather Cover.

3 stars out of 5.

Length:: 1:27 Mins

This is a comparison between mighty bright and the kindle cover light. NOTE: the bottom left of the kindle is the part that receives the less light because it is the farthest away. The light still shines well enough to read the bottom left of the kindle , but the light distribution is not even.

I bought two of these (burgundy for my wife's graphite kindle and green for my white kindle).

The colors are gorgeous, and exactly as shown in the pictures Amazon has here.

The look and feel of the leather is very good and should more than satisfy most folks. If you're willing to spend more for even better leather, you'll soon be able to get high-end leather cases from designers like Cole-Haan. (If you're interested, look up their Kindle 2 cases here at Amazon and you're get an idea of what they're likely to offer for Kindle 3).

We love the design. We've had no trouble hooking our kindles in and out of the case. We love that the light is built in and we will never need to replace its battery. The cover folds completely flat around the back, and the elastic band keeps it there, then it's easy and quite comfortable to hold in one hand for long reading sessions.

A few reviews here complain about the weight of this case. I disagree. It is not heavy compared to other cases of this type (folio-style hard shell leather cases). My wife and I were up reading for hours last night, holding our kindles, cases on, in one hand, with no fatigue. (We're such an old married couple, that's how exciting our Friday nights are!) I used to have a nook with the same type of case (minus the light), and it was noticeably heavier. If you want something lighter, consider a neoprene sleeve or cloth case.

My only qualm about the Amazon lighted case is the uneven distribution of light on the screen - very bright in the upper right corner, dim in the lower left corner. It seems this doesn't bother most people here, but it bothers me a bit, enough to knock half a star off my review, but not enough to make me hesitate to recommend this case.

Some folks complain about the price. It is high, to be sure. But, you'd pay about the same if you bought a good leather case and a separate light. Then you'd have to worry about remembering to pack the light when you travel, making sure it has fresh batteries, making sure you don't lose it, etc etc. For me, the convenience of the built-in light is well worth the price.

And there's something intangible but very very nice about keeping our kindles in these gorgeous, almost luxuriously nice cases. They are definitely eye-catching and lust-worthy.

Have a good scale and have now seen all cover colors, so here's data to help you pick. VERY well made cover.

Weights are for the cover only, not including the Kindle:
Cover without light -- 170 grams or 6 ounces
Cover WITH light -- 240 grams or 8-1/2 ounces
Only you know whether the 2-1/2 ounce difference in weight is worth carrying all the time to have a light always at hand.

The most accurate depiction of the cover colors is the photograph at the bottom of the sales page.
Burnt Orange -- same shade as a basketball
Burgundy Red -- closer to a vibrant brick red as it has no purple overtone
Steel Blue -- pure grey blue which shows well on web page
Hot Pink -- deeper shade than it appears anywhere but photograph
Green -- picture a Granny Smith apple
Brown -- very deep brown, not a chocolate color