Okay, so my mission to find the perfect Kindle solution after PW disappointment continues with a new cover for the $69 Kindle 5 (see here for the reference:
https://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,129956.0.html - So you didn't like the Paperwhite, now what? The solutions thread).
I just received the TeckNet® Kindle Lighted Leather Cover With Integrated Flexible Reading Light for NEW Amazon Kindle / 6 inch / 2011 generation / Book Style - Black (
http://www.amazon.com/TeckNet%C2%AE-Lighted-Integrated-Flexible-generation/dp/B008635H4M/). It is available with purple and black covers, I got the black one. The cover is compatible with both the $79 Kindle 4 and the $69 Kindle 5.
I am yet to try the cover, I will post those notes later in this thread, but here are the first impressions on the product itself. First off, what attracted me to this product is that it is one of the few lighted Kindle covers that can be powered by the Kindle 4/5 itself - just like the official Amazon lighted cover for Kindle 4/5 is. This means no battery swaps, you just keep the Kindle in the cover at all times, charge as normal, and you have a light at your disposal (when you want to use it).
Background:
As you may recall I wasn't particularly impressed by the official lighted cover for Kindle 4/5, the leather is poor, the light shines in the eyes when reading in bed and some even have issues with the official Amazon cover interfering with the page turn buttons (latter was not an issue for me though, perhaps a little with the Kindle 4 but time or Kindle 5 have removed that worry entirely though, personally I wouldn't worry about that aspect of the official cover).
So, I got this new TeckNet cover in the hopes that it would fare better than my official Kindle 4 lighted cover from Amazon does, with my new $69 Kindle 5 (my review:
https://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,129956.msg1921055.html#msg1921055). The TeckNet cover is different from the front and sides, hopefully eliminating those quality issues compared to the official lighted cover. Most importantly, though, TeckNet has a pull-out, movable/adjustable light instead of the on/off light of the official cover. I am hoping this will remove my worries about reading in bed.
What's it like, then? The TeckNet® Kindle Lighted Leather Cover With Integrated Flexible Reading Light for NEW Amazon Kindle / 6 inch / 2011 generation / Book Style - Black...
Exterior:
Overall, it looks quite a bit like the official Amazon cover - just a little bit taller because the lighted area on top is different. Top is black leather on the front and felt inside. Inside is also the moulded area into which the Kindle is pushed into, again just like in the official cover. The plastic inside is a little greyer and harder than on the official cover. Back, as I knew from the reviews, is not leather in the TeckNet, just the same hard plastic as the sides.
First impressions are that the quality is at times higher and at other times lower than in the official cover. The TeckNet leather front is definitely more detailed and better-looking compared to the lackluster fourth-generation official Amazon covers. The cover looks a lot like the well-made Amazon Kindle 2 cover. On the downside, the plastic in the bottom part is harder - I would probably worry more about putting the Kindle in and removing it in this one, than with the official cover. We'll see how it feels when I try.
Also, even though the official cover has some of the worst quality leather on its bottom I've seen, the TeckNet only has plastic on the bottom, which means it can slide on the table and doesn't feel quite as satisfying when setting down. So again a little trade-off, the plastic rear of TeckNet actually looks a lot better than the poor quality leather on the official cover, but putting it down on the table feels worse. The TeckNet might benefit from skinning its rear cover or maybe just a felt sticker or few.
TeckNet interior color is closer to the grey Kindle than the official darker Amazon cover is, we'll see how it works with my black Kindle 5. Overall, exterior seems a slight improvement over the official cover, thanks to the higher quality front. The TeckNet design of the sides is also different, which will hopefully eliminate any issues anyone might have had with the official cover interfering with the page change keys. I will probably add some padding to the rear of the TeckNet, though, to keep it from sliding on the table.
The TeckNet has the TeckNet logo in four places, but simply embossed without color, so nothing that will stick in your eyes. The product comes with a nice four page manual that explains the setup really well. It is packed in a nice plastic (but openable/closable) retail box. All in all, a professional product for the (low) price.
Operation:
You don't have to touch the hard plastic back with your fingers once you turn the front behind the cover. Taking the cover in hand feels pretty much like the official cover: the TeckNet front turns nicely over the back and the felt on the interior side of the front cover feels good against your hand, just like it does on the official cover. I should have no problems holding this with one hand as usual. So neither have any issues with how they feel in hand, or at least that is the first impression here.
The question here, of course, is the light. Opening the cover, the light is hidden in the top right corner, much like the Kindle 3 official Amazon leather cover (although its pull-out mechanism was different). If you don't want to use the light, you don't have to. The light pulls out around 9 cm (3.5 inches) and it seems you can either pull it out fully or leave it at some intermediate position. The light's arm bends many ways and also the light at the top swivels to the sides.
So, the light seems plenty adjustable. I will report back once I've experimented with it in the dark. At least it is obvious you can turn it away from your eyes when reading in bed, which looks promising. When you push the light back in, it clicks in place quite satisfyingly. Of course, because the light is adjustable, I will have to develop a personal routine to set it up right (unlike the Kindle 3 and Kindle 4 lighted covers that had only one position). Time will tell how easy or hard that will be. Will report back.
First impressions:
Overall, I'm liking what I see. The cover is quite low priced compared to the official cover, but can still beat the quality of the official cover especially in the way the front looks. The light seems far more functional as a concept, but of course experience and time will tell how well it works. Hardness of the plastic back is a little worse than the poor-leather back of the official cover when placing the device down, I think it will require a little felt tape, but so far this small con seems very well offset by the upsides of this cover.
Can't way to try it out!
Comparison pictures with the official cover will follow, too, once I get to that.
