Speck sent me two cases for the Kindle 2. Both are neat and work well.
The first is the “Fitted” case. This is a simple two piece plastic shell. Place the Kindle 2 in the lower part and then snap the top part over it. The back is covered in fabric and the plastic of the front part is painted with black, non-slip paint. The case will protect the body of the Kindle from scratches, but offers no protection for the screen. All the ports on the Kindle are accessible.
I rather like the look of my Kindle in the case and it has the definite advantage of making the Kindle less slippery in the hand – especially with the textured fabric back and the non-slip covering on the front. I’m always afraid that my Kindle will slip out of my hand so this is a good solution. By the way, the details on the Speck site are wrong. The case weighs 3.25 ounces, not the 8 ounces that the site says. At the “real” weight, you hardly feel it when the case is on, and it doesn’t add enough thickness to make the Kindle uncomfortable to hold.
Here’s a shot of the back:
It comes in black and white plaid (my favorite and shown above), black pinstripe and houndstooth gray and costs $39.95. You can find it here.
The second case is called the DustJacket. It’s a typical book jacket type case with two differences. The first, and most important, is that it has a built-in bookstand. This makes is great for reading at the kitchen table. Why more cases haven’t done this I simply don’t understand. The second feature is that the Kindle snaps into a plastic holder attached to the back of the case making it extremely fast to put it in and take it out.
This case does add a lot of thickness to the machine, making it no so suitable for holding while reading in a chair, for example, and it adds quite a bit of weight – 8.5 ounces. On the other hand it does provide a lot more protection than the Fitted case. The two are really meant for different usage scenarios.
The DustJacket comes in Black Leatherette and Red and costs $34.95. You can find it here. Here’s a shot of it on my kitchen counter
