Kindle 3 Cases: The Leather Lies Flow Like Water - Acase, Mivizu et al.

First we watched "J. Johnson," the young, articulate Asian kid from Chicago, IL. who spoke in near rapturous nerd-tones about this product (exciting us, we must admit). But then I read on, reader, read on and realized that "J. Johnson" shills for ALL ACase products...boooo!

J. Johnson may have inadvertently (but deservedly) lightly crusted this case with a patina of MISTRUST and fakery...

Largely, those impressions hold up.

First, it is NOT leather...maybe the stuff you touch when it's unfolded is...but largely this thing is synthetic.

The smell is atrocious...my wife purchased an M-Edge Go! Kindle case early last year for her Kindle 2 (which of course WAS the latest Kindle at that time) and it had all the hallmarks of a quality case (minus the awful hand-feel of the interior "faux-suede," which I hate and she does not). But mainly, IT SMELLED LIKE A NEW PAIR OF FINE LEATHER SHOES (that's a good thing).

This one smells like a NEW PAIR OF WALMART SHOES.

Get the difference? Basically it smells of some ungodly Chinese chemical treatment they probably also use on the skin of political dissidents.

I will be the first to admit: when I read a book for hours on end, I need a good hand-feel. I like the smell and (more importantly) the ability to hold an item for long periods of time leather affords.

This is NOT that case.

The stand works well and the front and back panels of the case are rigid to protect the kindle. But that is about the only thing going for this thing to this guys eyes.

I edited this review after using the item for a while...sorry, this just downgrades my Kindle experience and I am going to shell out a few more bucks for something that feels like it should: comfortable and natural, not odorous and synthetic-strange.

UPDATE: And the Acase acme vintage brown = same problem. Fake chemical-smelling plasticky vinyl-feeling case. I now have $75 worth of Kindle 3 cases to return to Amazon. Oh well. Ended up with the "official" non-lit case, which is BRILLIANT, tailored, IS real leather (albeit not as strikingly aromatic as my wife's M-Edge Go! was for the Kindle 2...I hear their Kindle 3 cases are not leather at all, but then again, they don't claim that they are...one point for honest, thank goodness).

I tried the Mivizu "Sleek" as well - same problem: cheap feeling, smells terrible, gives me headaches with the sharp chemical/vinyl smell, almost definitely not leather. Feels nothing like it.

I had to buy my "official" Amazon-branded Kindle case from my local Target. It was $35 (twice as much as this one and $5 more than the Acase Acme Vintage or Mivizu sleek cases), but worth every extra cent. Gives it a "moleskine"-like, very professoinal, tailored and studious look, very well suited to the Kindle. I could not bring myself to pay $60 for a lit case, and at the same time I really prefer the thin, sleek Kindle non-lit case. So this is "case" closed for me, I am all ORIGINAL from now on. These 3rd party cases apparently feel it OK to just lie, lie, lie about being leather. Supremely annoying and time-consuming.

Yes, I am "fickle", and even though the Kindle has now become (at $139) "cheap," it is by no means a "cheap" experience...on the contrary, to me it is QUITE "premium" and I wanted a case to reflect that. Neither Acase nor Mivizu did that for me, and I have heard complaints about other brands as well (check out their 1 star reviews and/or mentions of faux or fake leather on items claiming to be leather...the phenomenon is RAMPANT).

Alright, enough bugging on this subject. Peace.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• mivizu
• acase
• acase acme vintage brown
• kindle
• case
• cover

[srmrmatt]

Excellent choice. The ONLY real choice for the serious leisure reader. The other solutions are two-gadget logistical affairs, whereas this is sleek, in one very convenient piece. Amazon's price is outrageous but you pay it once you realize how lousy the other solutions are. Re-reading this, I am having chemical odor headache flashbacks. Yikes.

P.s. Months on and I still love the official lighted case. I abuse it and it has kept my kindle screen-crack and damage free through multiple long drop

[srmrmatt]

You can always return it, but for my money (and I am a cheap bastard), there is no better case than the Amazon "official" kindle lighted case. Kindle 2 cases were much better, the third-party manufacturers got cheap, but are cranking out headache-inducing cases that reek and don't have that nice hand-feel you'd expect from leather. Judge for yourself and reply back. I read glowing reviews on all of the cases in the video, yet none felt that way to me. I suspect some are leather some are not.

[srmrmatt]

So, bottom line, the lighted cover is so far and above any other combo solution that it makes it well worth "crying once" and getting. The transition from day to night, light to dark now is so seamless as to be an absolute joy.

[srmrmatt]

I love the "moleskine" look of both amazon covers, but the "magic disappearing" lamp and the fact that it needs no batteries (ever) to me was enough to get this tightwad to spend the money on the lit cover. I got it and haven't looked back. Yes it's expensive ($60 to cover a $139 device...well in my case, a $189 device, but the extra $50 was WELL worth it because I have no smartphone or data plan...free "anywhere" internet is just brilliant and very useful, as clunky as it may be to use).

[srmrmatt]

@richit (continued) ...so for like $25 more, I got a seriously well integrated and most importantly NON-FRUSTRATING light that goes anywhere and is always perfectly positioned. You know what they say, when you buy quality you only cry once...very much the "case" here. The lighted cover is easily the way to go.

[srmrmatt]

@richit I ended up buying the non-lit cover from my local Target store (as in the video), but then after some time using either my Rayovac RLA3AAA "necklace" booklight (junk) and then using an ikea Jansjo lamp on my bedside table (limiting ereader placement) I ended up RELENTING on my vow to NOT buy the "way too expensive" lighted cover...

[SoraTodi]

I like this actually, but you have to admit that in today's world people don't know real leather, I actually tooled out a leather case that was nice, until the dog got a hold of it, and that chemical smell is annoying, but it also is the ways that leather is treated now, and there is a feel that is fake that more people like than not, so it's what goes now, but I totally get what you mean.

[NirreFirre]

Very nice video review! But I think I can clarify the material those cheaper covers (at least the first one since I got one of those from eBay) use "a split leather with a layer of polyurethane applied to the surface and then embossed" - See Wikipedia for Bicast leather, also known as bycast/split/PU Leather. So, it's leather in a way but the result is - as you say - cheap, smelly, plasticky but perhaps also easier to clean/maintain and keep consistent.. I'll get the lighted Amazon :)

[tvxxlover1867]

Uh oh I ordered the m edge go case from amazon just right now... Is it a nice case

[MRCAB]

If it melts, it's not leather. lol

Thanks. This video was very helpful. There are a lot of leathers out there with strange plastic coatings on them that might fool people into thinking they're not leather; just not very good leather :-p

[ryanhayn]

You need to turn up the audio. I can barely hear you with my laptop turned all the way up.