Case for the Amazon Kindle?

[grumpy3b]

I will likely get one of these beasties this year sometime but from my reading there is a weak selection of cases for them. Here is a thread on a site dedicated to ebooks and the devices to read them on:

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17437

The person made their own case...maybe there is something there Tom can figure out which fits into your design ideas?

[Darcy]

I think that's an interesting idea. We'll see...

Has anyone here bought a Kindle?

[rabergnc]

I have one on order but it likely will not ship for several weeks. Amazon just can't keep up with the demand. I'd certanly be interested in a case. I have also thought about getting an eee pc and carrying the Kindle and the eee pc in my brain cell- if they would both fit!

[PanicKing]

Actually, I ordered a Kindle way back on 12/12 and I just got my shipment confirmation email this afternoon... I can't wait for it to arrive next Wed! It's certainly pricey, but I'm justifying my purchase by switching my NY Times subscription and counting on the lower bestseller costs.

I certainly hope the Kindle sells well, so not only will there be more books and periodicals to choose from, but so there will be a market for a TB case to replace what many owners are saying is a barely workable leather case.

[scholar]

I want a kindle, but it's just a little out of price, so I'm going to settle for a sony that I got on ebay for about a third of retail

[Zephyrnoid]

Having been torched by an earlier project that I participated in, Netpliance's i-opener, I'd be leery of buying or building for anything like the Kindle. Anyone remember what happened to Web-TV ? Uh Huh! exactly. I've been wrong before (iPod) but I dunno- build a case for a not-ready for prime-time e-book?
I'd wait for e-paper instead. Nicolas Negroponte is MAYBE going to do the 'thin client' / sub $100 laptop right but that's 10 years after the i-opener went to market.
I'd stick to real laptops, iPhones etc for a while longer.

[Darcy]

We recently sent a prototype Small Cafe Bag with a built-in padded pocket sized for the EEE PC to forum member cwhit for testing. The Asus Eee PC is 9" by 6.5" by 1.25" and the Amazon Kindle is 7.5" x 5.3" x 0.7", and cwhit suggested that this Small Cafe could also be a good bag for carrying the Kindle. What do you think?

You can view her pictures of the bag (and read cwhit's comments) here. (That link goes to a Flickr photo set that cwhit posted in this thread.)

[rabergnc]

Based on the measurements alone, the Kindle would certainly fit nicely. The bag looks quite nice in the photos of the prototype that were posted. For me, however, I tend to carry a bunch more stuff - laptop, files, phone, etc - and the small cafe-type bag wold probably be too limited for my needs. If I did not carry a laptop (even an eee pc which I hope to get soon), the bag would be just about right. Sadly (only because it speaks to the kind of person I am "needing" my toys), I can't envision having the Kindle without another device at least the same size. (Now if the Kindle's browser is improved, or the iPhone is updated to make full use of its potential as a UMPC-type device, then the bag would be ideal!)

[Darcy]

So maybe a Soft Cell type sleeve would work better for you, so you could slip it into any larger bag?

I agree with Zephyrnoid's point: we probably won't make a Brain Cell for the Kindle but I can see a Soft Cell. Or maybe it'd even be a large Padded Organizer Pouch type sleeve!

[rabergnc]

A soft cell sleeve would be great. I could use my Zephyr or other bag. A brain cell would be overkill indeed, especially if I am already using one for a laptop. The Zephyr is big but 2 brain cells would be a challenge!!

I just took another look at the Ristretto (?spelling) that is being designed. The size that would fit a MacBook would work for me with a Kindle and a sleeve, or on that rare occasion that I am without a laptop, the Kindle could go in the padded compartment, especially if there were some type of closure strap at the top of the padded area to keep the Kindle from popping out by accident. I may have to get one of these just to get the Olive and Cayenne color combo!

[grumpy3b]

Din't mean to seagull post. Life gets in the way now and then. I see a long life span for the device. Amazon just recently acquired Audible also, which makes for an interesting issue as iTunes also re-sells Audible content. But I envision the next gen Kindle to be a more multi functional and include MP3 and access to download Audible content directly to the Kindle.

Ebooks are hear to stay now. I can say I prefer the Kindle over Sony for two reasons.

First it has built-in EVDO access to the web, which is actually free for now. It allows you to do a fair amount of free web browsing. I do expect this will eventually change as the EVDO network becomes my saturated. But the ability to have content delivered over EVDO free of charge forever will not go away.

Next is the access to Wikipedia is part of the deal too. Something they left out was the ability to work the NYT daily crossword puzzles...sniff...but my trusty Clie nx73v handles that for me...

Second, it supports MOBI format Ebooks natively. Of course because Amazon owns Mobipocket kinda-sorta helps there too.

It's still not an ideal device but they are selling LOTS of them. Heck, people are spending 1.5-2.0x the retail price for them on eBay. So i guess people a very happy with them.

Content is good but not exceptional yet, but this is where the support for mobipocket format books (non-drm) comes into play. This also allows one to read content from the free Project Gutenberg as well as FeedBooks.com both are free public domain eBooks. I am reading the whole Barsoom series right now...just such fun and I never read then before. You can also d/l lots of free and very reasonably priced SciFi from Baen (who also offers their entire catalog free for life to disabled and visually impaired people...I HAVE to support a company who works this way.)

And yeah, the price for a Kindle is a bit much but, I figure I'll sell it when the Gen2 version comes out supporting both Audible books as well as an improved from factor. I think they just missed it. But in a year or so I'll get 75% of what I paid and then buy a new gen device.

The biggest advantage of these is the eink which can be read in sunlight plus battery life. Disadvantage is you need a light to read in the dark...I read on my Sony Clie at night because it's a backlit TFT which does not disturb the better half when I cannot put the book down or the RA is keeping me awake.

======== about the bag/pouch

Darcy,

I like the idea of the same sort of bag as used for the Eee. A soft sided pouch/carrier is a must really. Might be nice to have something that folds open and allows the addition of a small sized yellow pad for notes on the other half. But that fold open style needs to open all the way so the device can be help/operated in one hand.

Another thing that would be helpful is a way to store a couple memory cards safely. This would become more significant once Audible functionality is added to the device. I also suspect they will add the ability for having the book read as you read it so maybe a pocket for some earbuds. This can help many with reading/sight issues who can see the text for the most part but have to focus so much the lose the meaning of the words.

I decided what the heck and blew the budget and ordered one still waiting on my Kindle...I am patient and it will get here when it gets here. Pricey yes, but I can write off a big part of the cost.

[grumpy3b]

BTW, if you watch "The Drop Test" video for the Kindle over at Amazon you will see a hard sided case like a Brain Cell is indeed overkill...these are pretty tough leetle beasties. Survived a 30" drop on a corner with no damage. A bit of a soft sided paded type pouch/bag/sleeve will be more then sufficent I think. ;)

[grumpy3b]

Based on the measurements alone, the Kindle would certainly fit nicely. The bag looks quite nice in the photos of the prototype that were posted. For me, however, I tend to carry a bunch more stuff - laptop, files, phone, etc - and the small cafe-type bag wold probably be too limited for my needs. If I did not carry a laptop (even an eee pc which I hope to get soon), the bag would be just about right. Sadly (only because it speaks to the kind of person I am "needing" my toys), I can't envision having the Kindle without another device at least the same size. (Now if the Kindle's browser is improved, or the iPhone is updated to make full use of its potential as a UMPC-type device, then the bag would be ideal!)

I just also ordered a Nokia N810...it runs Skype and I have an EVDO USB modem, the tablet has a USB 2.0 port, a version of Linux and since the CDU680 EVDO modem is setup as a PPP Dial-up device it should be easy to massage the Maemo OS2008 to use the EVDO device. This equals full mobile broadband web access anywhere I might travel in the US. And because it runs Skype it is basically a cell phone w/o and problem of a long term cell contact. My deal is via a Sprint network ISP reseller called Millenicom for just $49.99/mo...month-to-month. So those are my new toys.... :) Now I need bags/pouches/whatever for them... :)

[johnkzin]

Yeah, I'm looking for something to hold my Nokia N810 (and bluetooth keyboard) as well. Thus my thread for "a bag idea for PDAs".

If you DO get the EVDO modem to work directly with the N810, let me know. I doubt it'll work though. You might consider a Cradepoint Personal Hotspot though (attach your USB EVDO modem to it, and it acts as a wifi hotspot for your N810 (or laptop, etc.)).

The small padded cafe bag looks promising, but it's not exactly what I want. For one, I'm looking for something more horizontal (like a tiny dufflebag or messenger bag), something that can be worn as a lumbar/waist bag, or carried without any kind of strap at all (so, removable strap). Even something small enough that I could wear diagonally across my back, under a rain jacket.

That's why I think the Snake Charmer is a better starting point. That size and shape is much closer to what I want.

[rabergnc]

Finally got my Kindle!! It's all I had hoped for. Simple to use, materials download fast. It's great. Anyway, now with one in hand, I can say that a sleeve type case would be ideal. The cover that comes with the Kindle is dreadful! If this is still being considered, a case for the device would likely be popular.