What case is the best for a Sony Reader?

[okalyddude]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

I found all the Reader cover prices to be insanely stupid. Not a chance I'd be willing to pay $25 and up for a cover. The maximum I'd conciser acceptable for a cover is maybe around $10.

So what I did was visit a Goodwill store (you can look at any place that has cheap used books) and find some hardbacks that are the right thickness to be a good fit for the reader. I cut the pages out (don't buy anything with the pages glued to the spine) and trimmed the boards to be barely wider/taller than the Reader. Cover the boards with the fabric of your choice and hold the Reader in place with Velcro. I have 4 covers now that I made, with the cost of materials being less than the cost of one "real" cover. And they serve the only real purpose of a cover-- giving the screen some protection from scratching or cracking.

That is an awesomely good idea. Care to post a few pictures?

I have a prs600 and the brown, sony magnetic cover. I think it's ok for protecting from scratches, and it's nice to hold it in a case rather than naked, but I don't really trust it to protect from impact, or dropping.

Do you think your homemade cases would protect well from dropping? Did you put some magnets in there to keep it closed, or another method, and how did you hold the device inside the cover?

Originally Posted by terekkincaid

I commute to work on a bus daily, and travel some, so to me, protection is #1. I want to be able to throw my 600 in my bag and not have to worry that it is perfectly sandwiched between things to protect the screen. I really don't like that the Sony cover is so soft. So, I spent big to get what I feel is the best setup for protection and usability.

I got the Sony Standard cover (I've already written about how I feel about the cover with light) and a BookArmor cover edition (found here http://www.ecaddycase.com/coveredition.html). I got the Sony cover for $17.99 with a 40% off Borders coupon, and the BookArmor is $35. So yes, about $60 (with shipping and all) for this.

The BookArmor is a form fitting zipper case with plastic and metal inserts to keep the screen safe. They have a version that you clip your unit into "naked", but it looks pretty janky. The cover edition holds your reader in place using the Sony cover. So, when I'm traveling to work, I zip everything up and it stays nice and safe. When I get to work, I pull the reader out of the BookArmor case, but leave it in the Sony case so it doesn't get scuffed up laying around. That way it stays protected without the slightly bulkier case. I've been using this setup for about a week now, and it's great. The bonus is that the case gives me something to clip my reading light to on the bus.

Awesome, I was just going to ask about this.

I like the default brown case, (i have a 600, doesn't come with 600 but i got it when i bought mine) but don't trust it for transport. I was thinking of trying to find a neoprene case that would be about the right size to just put the whole thing into (my friend has one for his macbook, vows that he could drop the device on the floor with no damage)

Your solution looks pretty nice - do you fully trust the book armor case, if you were to drop it, put it in checked luggage at the airport, etc?


ps - how do you like the reading light? I find that glare in direct artificial light is the one thing making me ponder trading my 600 already...and turning on lamps etc at night is not a great solution sometimes. I'd love, also, to be able to carry around a book reading light, and the brown case wouldn't suffice for clipping one on...

I saw one comment about a headlamp, and while admitting it's dorky, that's not a terrible idea...

[poshm]

I like the idea of making your own covers which I could do except I wouldn't have a clue how to actually secure the reader in there.

I have the standard Sony leather book-style cover which is very sturdy. With it I use a clip-on light for reading at night. I have to angle the light to the left and onto the inside front cover to get the best lighting. If the light is angled directly over the reader screen you get a nasty glare.

We've got a headlight so I might try that!

[PennyPie]

I like the idea of making your own covers which I could do except I wouldn't have a clue how to actually secure the reader in there.

Sticky back Velcro attached to the cover & the Reader, or elastic in the corners on the cover to slip the book into.

[poshm]

Originally Posted by PennyPie

Sticky back Velcro attached to the cover & the Reader, or elastic in the corners on the cover to slip the book into.

Great idea, thank you.

Hope lots of people use this idea, I've always thought accessories for gadgets are ridiculously expensive.

[FragFrog]

Originally Posted by Raúl

Hi, I find the light quite a good thing, if it was not because of the strong reflection . When I use the lamp, I make the light shine directly onto the upper part of the frame, so as to avoid the reflection on the screen, but then, the lower part is not so well lit . Anybody doing things differently and getting a better result?

I have now switched completely to keeping the light on the side of the reader, not the top. This way the most luminous part is the middle of the screen, with a slight decrease in brightness towards the edges - but far less than the gradient you get when you position the light at the top of the reader. As a result, I have no glare on the screen (I aim the light a bit to the left of the reader) and a fairly even illumination throughout the page.

Of course, with the 600 cover with light, this is easily done since it's very flexible - other lights might not offer this option. It would be even better had sony made the light a bit wider, but alas.

Mind you, I would never have bought that particular cover myself due to its exorbitant pricetag, but it does make an excelent gift.

[BenG]

The original tan covers for the 505 would fit the 600. Sometimes they show up on ebay for a reasonable price.

[khalleron]

If what you're looking for is protection, I can vouch for the M-edge covers. I was carrying mine in my purse one day when I fell headlong in the parking lot, falling on top of my reader - and I'm a big person, so it took quite a whack, as did my knees. My reader only took very minor damage - a small nick in the corner that you wouldn't notice unless I pointed it out to you, and the power button being knocked loose which was easily fixed.

It took my knees weeks to recover, but my Sony was right as rain.

[terekkincaid]

Originally Posted by okalyddude

Your solution looks pretty nice - do you fully trust the book armor case, if you were to drop it, put it in checked luggage at the airport, etc?

I would trust it for a waist-high drop, yes (I'm 5' 9", though, YMMV if you're an NBA player). It's very tough, but also soft enough to absorb some of the shock. That's closed, however - if it's open, of course everything is going to flop around. It should also do well in checked luggage, though honestly, I have no idea why you would check your reader: reading on long flights is one of the main reasons I got it!! Also, I'd be more worried about it being stolen than broken - you really should carry on stuff like that anyway.

[Crowl]

I haven't tried the cases for the 300/600, but the tuff-luv case for the 505 is very nice, the way the front cover flips to the back like a notebook rather than a normal book also makes it more comfortable to hold when I am standing on a busy train etc.

http://www.i-nique.com/manufacturer.asp/cn=6/c=228

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by poshm

Great idea, thank you.

Hope lots of people use this idea, I've always thought accessories for gadgets are ridiculously expensive.

Yeah, like other people said, use Velcro. I've made 4 covers so far, experimenting with style. The first one was a "flip over the top" cover, the other three opened like a "normal" book. Also experimenting with how to wrap the covers with material-- on the first two, it was wrapped around and glued onto the inside. On the second two, I sandwiched the cover between two sheets of material and sewed the edges. The first two closed with a small "belt" of material and Velcro. On the third one, I still used a "belt" of material, but those little snap fastener things. On the 4th one, I left a full-width flap of the material on the front cover to wrap around an close with a full length strip of Velcro. Three of the covers use a faux-leather (vinyl, maybe) material I found at a fabric store for that purpose. 4th cover is canvas. (I wanted to make a real leather cover, ordered what looked to be some nice pieces on Ebay, got them, and the "leather" was obviously plastic, plus they were thick and padded-- it was big pieces of mousepad material.)

Actually, now that I think about it, there are photos of my first two tries in this thread:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ght=metal+clip

[Raúl]

Originally Posted by EatingPie

My solution: a headlamp. I look like a dork walking around the house, but it works perfectly. I get total coverage of the Reader (and even full paperbacks)

-Pie

Well, when I fly, which is when I use the light mainly, I'm sure I would make a sensation!!!

[EatingPie]

Originally Posted by terekkincaid

I would trust it for a waist-high drop, yes (I'm 5' 9", though, YMMV if you're an NBA player). It's very tough, but also soft enough to absorb some of the shock. That's closed, however - if it's open, of course everything is going to flop around. It should also do well in checked luggage, though honestly, I have no idea why you would check your reader: reading on long flights is one of the main reasons I got it!! Also, I'd be more worried about it being stolen than broken - you really should carry on stuff like that anyway.

I dropped my naked PRS-500 from about waist high (sitting and reading) onto a tile floor. Totally coverless, raw, unprotected Reader! Dented the corner... and I can now verify that under that sexy black paint is shiny silver aluminum! No loss of function whatsoever, and this was two years ago.

I think I got lucky in that it fell corner-wise, and the metal crushing absorbed most of the impact. But I was still pretty darn impressed.

I'm on sites all the time that bitch and complain about Sony in general (just say "rootkit" and all bets are off). But boy do they make some kick-ass products! (My PS3 is another example of absolutely sublime engineering.)

-Pie

[okalyddude]

I have another question about the 505 / 600 brown pleather cover:

On the 600, if you have the device on and close it, you run the risk of some buttons being hit. I thought I saw somewhere on the forum that somebody had found a good fix for this. (can't find the thread now) was it merely cutting a thin rectangle through the first layer of the cover? Anything else done? Anyone else a little annoyed by this?

I know it's not a big deal to shut it off (or sleep, rather) when you close it, but sometimes I just have to toss the book down (gently) closing the cover.

[crsheilah]

Originally Posted by erio

I agree with diabloNL.. and i don't really want to make my reader all full of fingerprints...

i was about to buy a Trifold Cover,because it was very simple (more info here--> https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...t=trifold+sony ) but then i found this oberon guys and i loved their covers... so i bought the opposite to simple cover... lol

http://www.oberondesign.com/Sony.php

Checked out the oberondesign covers and they are awesome! Pricey, but awesome!

[Katti's Cat]

I was looking for a covery for my sony as well. As I would have to get it shipped from the US again (should have bought one when I got the reader ) I didn't want to go down that route.

I found this thread and really liked ardeegee's idea. Unfortunately on the way to the goodwill shop I had in mind I passed a bookstore (can't resist to get now updates on the latest books) that sold notebooks with absolute beautiful covers. I just had to have one . Cost AUD25. Now I have to 'fix' it i.e. get the paper out, add velcro and some padding

But I will keep the idea in mind and might make up a few more. Or just buy a cover and save the crafting time for more reading