I am thinking of purchasing a Kindle, but (for my own reasons) I would rather not use the leather cover that Amazon supplies. I have two questions:

1) Can Kindle be conveniently used without a cover, or is the device basically designed to be used with its cover? I get the sense from some of the posts that it is not especially easy to handle and use the Kindle without the cover. Is that right?

2) Does any third party seller have a non-leather non-suede version of the Kindle cover? I noticed that M-Edge's cover has a synthetic exterior, but it has a suede interior. Also, the Waterfield cases appear to be just that--cases--and not intended to serve the same function as the cover.

Thanks for your help!

Much easier to hold onto while reading with a cover

I like using it without the cover. I like having a cover on it when I put it in my handbag and when I'm reading in the dark I need one to clip my booklight to. Other than that, it's fine. If you've watched the video on Amazon, you'll notice the guy on there doesn't use the cover, either.

Alisa - which book light did you get for your Kindle and do you like it?

It can be used without a cover, but it definitely needs protection when traveling and the most common damage to E-Ink screens is from strong local pressure (e.g. from an object pressed against the screen) which a cover protects against.

I have the M-Edge Kindle cover, and I'm not sure the "suede" interior is leather (I have the same cover for my iLiad with the same interior, and ereaderoutfitters advertise it as having a "soft cloth" interior). I suggest checking with M-Edge (http://www.buymedge.com). The M-Edge cover is an improvement on the original, and I recommend it.

I have the Mighty Bright LED booklight. I wish it were smaller but there's not much smaller available. It works very well.

Thanks A - I will have to order one then.

Upon Wallcraft's suggestion, I checked with M-Edge and, to my surprise, they told me that the "suede" used in the cover was not leather. (I'm not sure why they advertise it as suede, if it is fake...but no matter). I was happy to hear it, and ordered one yesterday.

Thanks for your help.