Going Caseless?
 

How many of you feel comfortable going caseless? I've always been paranoid about dropping my devices and used cases but for my latest device (kindle basic) I decided to go caseless. Has anyone ever gone caseless and then regretted it after a mishap?

I'm resigned to my device getting broken at some point, or else becoming obsolete. I've been using it without a case for 18 months or so now. It's much nicer to use without the case, although I admit it now has two small scratches in the light layer. (It's a nook Glowlight, and I beleive there were several reports of its light layer being fragile)

I have always used my device without a case in the house up until I bought a Kobo Aura H2O. My philosophy was that whatever was good for my coffee was good for my ereader. In the house my coffee is in a mug that could easily be spilled, but I'm careful so it doesn't. If I went anywhere where I wanted my coffee in a travel mug, then I put my ereader in a case. Now that I have an H2O costing over $180 to replace, I use a cover in the house.

I've been using a number of different e-readers since 2010 and never used a case on the device. I read mostly at home, so it's not traveling to/from work etc. I do have a wood case I use for transporting it when I'm away etc and that in my opinion is better than a case anyway since it doesn't allow the device to flex or twist. I have dropped several of the device and a few of them have dents/deformations in the plastic, but they all still work.
I'm just waiting for the usual suspects to show up and preach that you're crazy to ever not have a case on your device, but people with cases also manage to break their devices, so I'll say, live dangerously and go without a case!!

I don't use a case. I bought a number of them but I simply prefer to read without one. I do have a quilted oven mitt that I put it into when carrying it in my bag to protect it from scratches. I'm careful, but if I drop it, I drop it. A good excuse to buy a Voyager if I do break it.

i would very much like to use these devices case-less, but don't. my issue is not fear of dropping it, but scratches with continual handling and placement on surfaces. in addition, the one thing i definitely don't want happening is scratching the screen from movement while it is stored in my bag. so i go with a cover.

I bought a case for my Kobo Aura but I don't really like it. So I go without most of the time. Accidentally dropped it last week on a hardwood floor and luckily there was no damage. Guess it's a tough e-reader!

I tried a few cases, but never found one that didn't somehow "ruin" the device and/or make it seem bulky. I also feel that e-reader cases tend to cost too much in relation to what the devices cost.

With my two tablets I use a silicon half-shell that covers just the back, but not the front. Those were inexpensive and are mostly there to prevent scratches on the backs (the tablets cost more than an e-ink reader, so I'm more worried about cosmetic damage, which is probably a little silly too).

Mine is always in a case. At home there is a wife and large, friendly Golden Retriever. At work, I am a bench jeweler and have lots of things around that could damage my Nook HD+.
Even with a case you can still ruin your eReader. I once set mine down on the trunk of my car while I checked the mail. I backed out of the driveway and pulled up to the stop sign at the main road. As I pulled out I saw my Nook HD+ fly off the trunk. I pulled over at the next road and got out of the car. As I stood on the sidewalk waiting for a line of cars to pass, the last one swerved and deliberately ran over it.
I was PO'ed, but I had insurance through Square Trade.
Apache

I find my Kindles easier to hold with a case, and they've been dropped short distances with no harm done, which would not have happened without a case.

I'd never use a device without a case. The case both makes it easier to hold (I find a lot of modern devices to be too thin) and protects it.

Never would I go caseless.

Exactly :thumbsup:

I use a sleeve. I pull my Kindle out to read and put it back in when I am done.

I only use cases/covers for transportation, to protect the screen while the device is in my bag. I don't much care about any of the rest of it getting scuffed or scratched, but I'm fairly careful with them anyway. I find covers add too much bulk and weight.

I used all my readers caseless for months until I was able to acquire a decent case for them (for the K2, that actually took a number of years, since getting a reasonably decent price on one I liked, shipped to Canada before Amazon officially started selling Kindle and Kindle accessories here, was a minor challenge and I finally lucked out on the last remaining stock of a SkinDigital leather model on clearance with free shipping).

I would take my readers everywhere on public transit, and hold them bare while reading, and tuck them into a hard plastic B5-sized file case lined with bubble wrap and soft cloth as an improvised protective device (which currently houses my latest e-reader acquisition, the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet which is awaiting the purchase of a suitable case) for transport in my backpack or whatever other bag I was carrying.

It worked okay, but I just ended up being paranoid about it (especially when shopping for used & comic books, as I keep my list of stuff owned on my e-readers, so I would do this hand-to-hand passing of the reader while I juggled TPBs and waited for the search results to show and would put it down on a shelf so I wouldn't scratch the screen against my jacket while I readjusted the pile of potential acquisitions and pick it back up again and in retrospect I realize just how much that wore on my nerves) and now that my K2 and Sony have their own cases, I find it a much more relaxed and casual thing to take out and use them in a public setting, and at home also.

I did take my PlayBook out on public transit yesterday because it turned out to be easier to take photos of my most recent batch of acquired graphic novels than to type up and list them all to avoid buying duplicates during the holiday sale raid on the not-so-local comic book shop, and used it bare the way I used to with my e-ink readers.

I didn't like the experience and don't care to repeat it (but think I might have to, since it's also a better way of storing transit map/schedule information and the bus trip connections planning info from the transit company's website than trying to zoom a PDF printout on a K2), so I've prioritized getting a decent low-cost case for my PlayBook, which is mildly complicated by the fact that they're officially discontinued and so no one really makes specific supporting accessories for them anymore and have generally already sold off their stock. I have a couple of candidates in mind (one of which I should have gotten pretty much immediately when I saw it, but "oh, they've got 10 left in stock and no one makes or even buys these tablets any more, so that's plenty left for me to pick up when I'm ready to decide" ahahaha… all sold out even before Black Friday, though at least the product page says they can get more in, at a slightly higher price), but might end up getting a generic 7" tablet case if I can find a nice one which fits well on sale.

I've never used a case, but the "battery bulge" on the JetBook Lite would make it difficult to find one. I have the manufacturer's slip-on case for when it's not in use, and I found a very nice Nintendo DS case that fits it well and is padded for travel.

I use skins with multiple cases.
Book style cases if I am out and about.
Silicone gel cases for a comfortable grip if I am going to read for an extended period.

Never thought of using an oven mitt to protect an ereader. While out and about at the mall I found myself using my pocket to protect/carry my kindle. The only thing I had to remember was to take out my car keys from my pocket to avoid scratching the screen and to take the kindle out of my pant pocket when I got back in the car to avoid "bending" it by accident. Now, I'm debating whether to put a tempered glass screen protector on my ereader (if possible).

Bad idea to go caseless. Do you want to drop it and have a higher risk of it breaking? Would you put it in a bag where something could scratch the screen or but undue stress on it and break the screen? Do you want to go on vacation and find it's broken and you have nothing to read for say two weeks?

I know you can go without a case and everything could be fine, but you have less of a risk of a broken Reader with a case.

Exactly, the cases can make it easier to hold and if you have a Reader with side bezel buttons such as the Voyage, it's quote easy to accidentally press the button to turn the page. Easier in fact then accidentally touching the screen to turn the page.

The Kindle Basic that didn't have a Touch screen is difficult to hold without a case and without pressing a page turn button.

A sleeve of that kind is a waste of money because when you take the Reader out of the sleeve, you lose 100% of the protection.

Another good reason to have a case is a lot of new Readers such as the PW2/Voyage and H2O have the ability to have sleep covers where all you do is close the cover and the Reader is in sleep mode. This saves wear and tear on the power button. If the power button goes, you would not be able to turn on/off the Reader or do a full power off or a reset or factory reset.

Not only does the sleep cover protect the Reader, it saves wear and tear on the power button.

When I got my H2O, I never took it with me when I went out because I didn't have a case. So I only used it in the house and I was extra careful with it. I didn't even read in bed with it in case it fall off the bed. I got a case for it straight away and now I can take it with me.

A sleeve is not always a good solution (unless the sleeve fits with Reader AND case) as there are times you take the Reader out of the sleeve and then you have to put the sleeve someplace before you start to read and it's a very bad idea to go without a case when you are out and about with your Reader.

You are sitting on public transportation, you are reading, you get to your stop and you have not put your Reader away, so you get off the train onto a concrete floor, you try to put it back into the sleeve and it slips and hits the floor and breaks. If you had a case, you would have closed the cover and then tried to put it away. If it had then dropped, there would have been some protection and it might not have broken.

I find cases make the eReader too bulky and hard to hold, at least for me. I've been using pot holders as sleeves since I got my first Kindle in 2009, and I've never broken any of the many eReaders I've owned.

I won't take my reader out of the house until I have a decent case on it. The trick is to find a slim-fitting case that doesn't really add any bulk to the reader. Such as the official Kobo covers for the Glo are much too bulky, I'd never use one of those, but the cover I do have hardly adds anything to the size of the reader and generally makes it comfortable to hold. Usually a case where the reader snaps in is the thinnest, those where you slide the reader in like a sleeve are the bulkiest and I avoid those.

I'm one of those that even a tiny scratch on a device would drive me nuts and I'd end up having to replace it, but with a good case and common sense my electronic devices remain in pretty much pristine condition. My phones also have cases as well as a good screen protector. Even my pocket camera gets a good screen protector.

For me, it depends on the device. For my original Nook, I had a zippered, sleeve-like case that I got at the $.99 store. When I replaced that with a PW, I got a case that turns it on when I open it. I have to say, I love this case!

My old Samsung 7" tablet is in a Kindle Fire case that fits it well. I like that case, it doesn't add much weight. I also have a screen protector on it. However my new Samsung 10.1" tablet came with a sleeve. On Black Friday, I got a case that also has a bluetooth keyboard for it. I mostly only use that case when I need the tablet propped up to use the keyboard. I don't have a screen protector for it. I find with it, I am using it caseless most of the time.

My current phone has a skin-type case and a screen protector.

Bingo!:thumbsup:

I use a hard case when transporting my Glo in by backpack or pannier, where it is ar risk from road viabration or crushing, but I always remove it from the case to read, and leave it out of the case at home.

It is so much more comfortable to read without a case that I'd rather do without the minimal protection it offers.

Edit: I should add that when I am at home and not reading, I place the ereader face down on a hard surface. I think the recessed screen is a very good protection from scratching, and would be reluctant to buy an ereader that had a flush screen.

My H2O is in a Finte sleep case and the weight difference it negligible plus, it is easier to hold.

I went caseless on my Paperwhite 2. I took very good care of my Kindle Keyboard in a case, but then some of the eink exploded. So there was no point after that. :rolleyes:

It depends on the device. I didn't use one on my HD 6 either, but by the 30 days it started to feel like it was going to fall apart, and that's the main reason I sent it back.

I don't like going caseless. Although I feel like I'm pretty careful with my devices overall I just wouldn't feel comfortable without a case. My Kindle goes wherever I go and I'm not sure it would fare well rattling around in my purse while I'm out and about. I use the Origami case from Amazon so I get the added bonus of being able to prop it up in either portrait or landscape if I need to free up my hands.

The only thing I go caseless on now is my phone because it would be too big to fit in my pocket if I used one. I do have a screen protector though. My Nexus 5 fell on the tile floor at home and I thought it was fine but I found my GPS didn't work anymore. It turns out that the corner came very slightly apart and when I pushed it back together GPS was ok again. It took a lot of searching to find that fix.

For my tablets I use rooCase slim shell origami cases - they don't add much bulk and I can use it as a portrait stand. It also has microfiber inside that when I fold it back to read makes it not slippery when I lean it against my leg when reading. I even got sticky felt sheets to put in the case for my T62 so it wasn't too slippery when I read. Without a case the T62 fell a few times because it was slippery. I am unable to hold on to any device for too long so too slippery is a real problem for me.

If I'm taking my reader away from home I usually put it in a case. At home, where I am reading on the couch or bed, I don't use a case. I have small hands and the reader is more comfortable for me to hold without any extra bulk or weight.

I use a Pelican case to transport the thing, but read it naked otherwise.

I went "caseless" with my first Nook Simple Touch (my first eReader). I just put it up in its box when I wasn't using it. One night I woke up (after falling asleep reading), put the Nook in its box and tried putting it up on the mantel -- but had turned the box upside down by accident. It fell out, slammed on to the bricks of the hearth and, when trying to grab it, I knocked it "face first" to the floor. I figured I had broken it for sure. It had (still has) a noticeable nick on the side, but otherwise it worked fine -- no scratches on the screen at all. That's the day I bought a case, and the Nook (and all eReaders that have followed it) have had their own cases ever since.

Not using a case on an ebook reader is like going outside in winter without wearing underwear.

At some point, something is going to break; and, at another point, something will freeze and fall off.

I protect both.

I still mourn the death of my first Kindle Keyboard.... it got knocked to the floor - in a sleeve most of the time - one too many times!

Thanks for the tip, I started placing my kindle face down on my table to protect the screen from scratches when I'm done reading. For me, the recessed screen offerers not only protection from scratching, but from preventing screen damage when dropped. For example, one time I dropped my iphone, which has a flush screen, while reaching for my car keys in a parking lot and it fell face down. The iphone had a tempered glass screen protector which cracked somewhat but the phone itself survived undamaged. The kindle basic's recessed screen should also protect the screen when dropped however I'm debating whether to put a screen protector on it just in case.

This thread has gotten me to try my sleepcover again. It's not that bulky, really. Might be an improvement over the super thin Kobo Aura. It's nice to be able to just open and close it to turn it on and off too. I'll keep it in the case and see how it goes. :)

bareback all the time! :thumbsup: