I have been going through various $69/$79 Kindle 4/5 covers and cover modifications looking for the perfect one (see my signature for some older stories). So far the best cover has been the original Amazon lighted leather cover in black, I bought back in 2011 for the $79 Kindle 4, modified with a piece of black cardboard to stop the light shining into my eyes.
As I upgraded some family members Kindles to the $69 Kindle 5, I also got a chance to toy with a few new, 2013 acquired official Amazon lighted leather covers - so far again in black and also wine purple. I was interested to see if anything had changed in the cover since the 2011 version of the same cover. Also, I wanted to see the difference between different color versions. Here are my findings.
First of all, since last year's $69 Kindle 5 facelift I assume, the cover now ships in Kindle Paperwhite cover styled case, whereas the $79 Kindle 4 contemporary of this same cover shipped only in a plastic bag. You can see the difference below, on the left the 2011 version, on the right two 2013 versions:
Getting the covers out from their boxes reveals basically an unchanged design. Although between the colors it is easy to notice how the wine purple cover has a grey interior, one that better matches the grey version of this Kindle, although it is not the exact same shade (all non-black Kindle 4/5 official covers have this lighter grey interior) - luckily the light grey interior doesn't look as cheap as it did in pictures, it looks fine. The black covers, both new and old, have black interiors. As for the yearly revisions, as far as I can tell, nothing major has changed between 2011 and 2013 versions. That doesn't mean there aren't some details that are different, though, which I'll get to in a minute.
2013 black on the left, 2011 black in the middle, 2013 wine purple on the right:
I could discern the following small changes in the 2013 version of the covers (compared to the 2011 one):
- Slightly thicker front leather (not much, but it does seem thicker), which mostly shows a slightly more substantial sides
- Slightly blacker/glossier leather on the black version, this is on both sides so I don't think it is sun fade on the old one
- Slightly lighter color on the black plastic interior in the new black version, this shows well in the picture above (I don't have a 2011 wine purple to compare to)
- Significantly blacker and shinier Kindle imprint on the inside cover, new one looks quite nice actually
- Slightly different light warmness/brightness
- New packaging
So, while the cover basically is the same, the new version does seem a little shinier all around. As the old one is in very good condition and has been only used at home, I don't think wear and tear explains the difference. The new one just is a little shinier. I think the quality is a tiny sliver better, but you have to realize the difference isn't that big. But it is there. Still, I wish the Kindle 4/5 cover would be as nice as the second and third generation Kindle covers, or the Kindle Paperwhite - it isn't, but oh well.
One thing warrants special mention though, the LED light has definitely been changed. It still "shines in the eyes" equally, but the 2011 light is different from the light in both the black and wine purple 2013 covers. The new light is warmer, a little more yellow than the slightly bluer, colder old light. The new tone is probably easier on the eyes and more book-like, if that means anything. I swapped different Kindles into the cases, that didn't affect the light - it is a different light in the cover itself between 2011 and 2013 versions.
It would seem the new 2013 light is also slightly dimmer, though, which causes two things: There is none of that excessive hotspotting on the top part of the screen, which is great, but as a downside when reading in pitch black the bottom right corner seems a tad bit darker. Just the bottom right corner, rest is just fine. Someone mentioned this in the newer reviews at Amazon and I couldn't see the issue in my 2011 cover, because the 2011 cover has a little brighter light. I can see the issue in both of the 2013 covers. Now, it probably isn't a problem for most people, but this is a clear difference between my 2011 and 2013 versions of the cover.
Luckily, this seems fixable. As the 2013 cover also suffers from light shining into eyes, I believe it too requires the cardboard trick I mentioned before for maximum usability. I quickly experimented with cardboard that was white and glossy on the bottom side, which shines excess light from the LED back on the screen and makes a clear impression on the problematic bottom right corner, which is suddenly a lot less problematic. When I install the cardboard trick on the new covers permanently, I plan to use a glossy white cardboard this time. If I have something new to add, I'll report back, but it seems promising.
These pictures show the lights considerably bluer than they actually are, but you can see the brightness difference in the lower right corners and in the "hotspot" top middle of the screens:
It is a tad bit unfortunate one has to tinker this much to try and find the perfect Kindle solution these days. It was so much easier in the Kindle 3 Keyboard times. Off to cut some cardboard!
One final note, while the light grey interior of the wine purple case is unfortunate with a black Kindle, and all new baby Kindles are now black only, the wine purple color itself does look absolutely beautiful. It does add that extra bit of punch to an otherwise quite modest cover. Maybe I could get used to the grey interior and give my black cover to someone else instead...
As I upgraded some family members Kindles to the $69 Kindle 5, I also got a chance to toy with a few new, 2013 acquired official Amazon lighted leather covers - so far again in black and also wine purple. I was interested to see if anything had changed in the cover since the 2011 version of the same cover. Also, I wanted to see the difference between different color versions. Here are my findings.
First of all, since last year's $69 Kindle 5 facelift I assume, the cover now ships in Kindle Paperwhite cover styled case, whereas the $79 Kindle 4 contemporary of this same cover shipped only in a plastic bag. You can see the difference below, on the left the 2011 version, on the right two 2013 versions:


Getting the covers out from their boxes reveals basically an unchanged design. Although between the colors it is easy to notice how the wine purple cover has a grey interior, one that better matches the grey version of this Kindle, although it is not the exact same shade (all non-black Kindle 4/5 official covers have this lighter grey interior) - luckily the light grey interior doesn't look as cheap as it did in pictures, it looks fine. The black covers, both new and old, have black interiors. As for the yearly revisions, as far as I can tell, nothing major has changed between 2011 and 2013 versions. That doesn't mean there aren't some details that are different, though, which I'll get to in a minute.
2013 black on the left, 2011 black in the middle, 2013 wine purple on the right:


I could discern the following small changes in the 2013 version of the covers (compared to the 2011 one):
- Slightly thicker front leather (not much, but it does seem thicker), which mostly shows a slightly more substantial sides
- Slightly blacker/glossier leather on the black version, this is on both sides so I don't think it is sun fade on the old one
- Slightly lighter color on the black plastic interior in the new black version, this shows well in the picture above (I don't have a 2011 wine purple to compare to)
- Significantly blacker and shinier Kindle imprint on the inside cover, new one looks quite nice actually
- Slightly different light warmness/brightness
- New packaging
So, while the cover basically is the same, the new version does seem a little shinier all around. As the old one is in very good condition and has been only used at home, I don't think wear and tear explains the difference. The new one just is a little shinier. I think the quality is a tiny sliver better, but you have to realize the difference isn't that big. But it is there. Still, I wish the Kindle 4/5 cover would be as nice as the second and third generation Kindle covers, or the Kindle Paperwhite - it isn't, but oh well.
One thing warrants special mention though, the LED light has definitely been changed. It still "shines in the eyes" equally, but the 2011 light is different from the light in both the black and wine purple 2013 covers. The new light is warmer, a little more yellow than the slightly bluer, colder old light. The new tone is probably easier on the eyes and more book-like, if that means anything. I swapped different Kindles into the cases, that didn't affect the light - it is a different light in the cover itself between 2011 and 2013 versions.
It would seem the new 2013 light is also slightly dimmer, though, which causes two things: There is none of that excessive hotspotting on the top part of the screen, which is great, but as a downside when reading in pitch black the bottom right corner seems a tad bit darker. Just the bottom right corner, rest is just fine. Someone mentioned this in the newer reviews at Amazon and I couldn't see the issue in my 2011 cover, because the 2011 cover has a little brighter light. I can see the issue in both of the 2013 covers. Now, it probably isn't a problem for most people, but this is a clear difference between my 2011 and 2013 versions of the cover.
Luckily, this seems fixable. As the 2013 cover also suffers from light shining into eyes, I believe it too requires the cardboard trick I mentioned before for maximum usability. I quickly experimented with cardboard that was white and glossy on the bottom side, which shines excess light from the LED back on the screen and makes a clear impression on the problematic bottom right corner, which is suddenly a lot less problematic. When I install the cardboard trick on the new covers permanently, I plan to use a glossy white cardboard this time. If I have something new to add, I'll report back, but it seems promising.
These pictures show the lights considerably bluer than they actually are, but you can see the brightness difference in the lower right corners and in the "hotspot" top middle of the screens:


It is a tad bit unfortunate one has to tinker this much to try and find the perfect Kindle solution these days. It was so much easier in the Kindle 3 Keyboard times. Off to cut some cardboard!
One final note, while the light grey interior of the wine purple case is unfortunate with a black Kindle, and all new baby Kindles are now black only, the wine purple color itself does look absolutely beautiful. It does add that extra bit of punch to an otherwise quite modest cover. Maybe I could get used to the grey interior and give my black cover to someone else instead...