Color Looking For Skin for Color JetBook

[poohbear_nc]

As many of the Color JetBook owners have noted in their reviews, the glossy shiny white bezel is quite annoying - especially under brightly lit situations that are needed for optimum screen readability. Ectaco has not yet to my knowledge marketed their black cased version. As noted with the Kindle DX, changing the bezel color to black significantly improved the reading experience on its eInk screen.

So I contacted DecalGirl to suggest adding this device to their skins library - and suggested at least producing a matte black skin for the current white model. Here is their reply:

"Thank you for your suggestion. We do not have that device currently. What I can do though is have it added to our list of devices to discuss with our development team.
If the device is really being marketed or we get a great response from consumers there may be a great chance we will do it. We release about 4-5 devices per month so are always looking for devices to bring in. We use Facebook to announce all our new device designs, so please follow us!

If you need more assistance with this let us know. We are available Monday - Friday EST 8am to 6pm via live help on the website or via our phone listed below.

Have a great day!

Erin

DecalGirl
302-360-8072
1-888-653-1430
Monday-Friday 8:00am-6:00pm EST
Find us on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/#!/decalgirl"

If you are interested, please contact them (https://www.decalgirl.com/support/suggest.htm) to indicate the level of interest in skins for this model.

Also, if any of you have other sources for skins, please add contact information in this thread, so that the gang here can contact them to show manufacturers there is a market for JetBook Color skins.

[mod186k1]

Thank you,
I'm interested in a dark opaque skin and I just follow your suggestion.

For now I found a temporary home-made solution:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=171222

[ProDigit]

I've always wanted to create a thread like this, I wonder why I never got to it...

They do sell black on preorder though!
The box I got says two models on them, black and white. Mine is white.
The idea of a black Jetbook Color has been on the table since the manufacturing of the JBC, Greg told me he knows they will manufacture the black ones after the preorders and regular orders calm down a bit. They have a large batch for schools still to manufacture.
They initially went for white because they thought it would be more popular (a marketing mistake if you ask me).
My estimation is that either by the end of April, they will either start the black batch, or start releasing it; as by then most of their pre-order and large batches of the device will be sold.

But for the mean time, for those who only have the white one (like me):
My 2ct:
I've been thinking about printing stickers on top of the cover that will fit the Jetbook's frame. There are 3 cons though:
1- Stickers tend to get loose over time
2- Stickers tend to lose color over time (especially in places where you hold the device often).
3- Stickers are nearly always glossy; it's hard to get your hands on a matte sticker.

I've tried using Permanent marker,black, on an old gameboy for testing, but permanent marker goes off even faster than stickers (and makes your hands dirty).
I used both the old permanent markers (with the forbidden toxic substance in it) and the newer (containing acetone)
Both faded over time in sunshine, and because of sweaty hands.

I've also thought of just replacing the plastic cover, that would be the best solution.
There are several machines able to print these covers, however they cost $1600, and people printing plastic pieces rather want to print replacement parts for their printers than to print covers (or they'll charge you a ridiculous amount for the time they took designing the frame)...

Last option would be if Ectaco would sell fronts, so that early adopters would be able to buy a black cover.

Best would be matte black, or dark grey/blue/red or very dark green. It looks less nice than white or brushed aluminum, but is better to the eyes.

What would also be nice is a grey front, matte, darker than the white background of the e-ink screen.

Ultimately, if you're a woodworker,you could fabricate your own cover out of wood (say Bamboo). It'd look very nice too!

But if you're cheap like me, stickers would be the best solution. Perhaps glue some color paper over the frame... lol...

[mod186k1]

ProDigit,
the "stickers" I used in my post is of 2-tier: the one exposed to air is an particular robust and opaque: it is used to cover wood board when you build a furniture like for example a library.
The Second layer is the one sticked on JBC white case and its main feature is the very light glue that don't ruin the plastic.
It works I assure you. But the solution is temporary.

[ProDigit]

There's another option,
Get a colored silicon sheet, cut it to size, and overlay that over the cover.
I don't know where to get those, but I'm sure they must be around somewhere.
Silicon sticks to the plastic very nicely, provides a soft protection against scratches, breaks down the reflection shine a bit, is soft on the hands, etc...

It's not done much before, so finding silicon sheets might prove difficult, let alone colored ones.

[Ken Maltby]

Google "3m di noc carbon fibre wrap".

Luck;
Ken

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

Google "3m di noc carbon fibre wrap".

Luck;
Ken

Interesting -

Found this on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...wrap&x=18&y=16

[ProDigit]

Out of the link I've selected a few of the cheapest samples, which would cost less than $6 for a 1 x 1 ' sample (good enough for the Jetbook).

They include real carbon fiber, or vinyl lookalike carbon fiber.
One of the things I've noticed is that they say that you get a different light reflection depending on how the light enters the sticker; which makes me worry if applying a vinyl or carbon fiber sticker is really going to reduce shine!

Since they have em in all colors, it's a nice variety on your standard black carbon color!

Which one would you choose?:
Light grey vinyl; $4,95 + $3,65 ship = $8,60 (or same color here in red)
Black carbon look-alike vinyl $4,95 + $3,65 ship = $8,60
3M Carbon Fiber (black)$5,99 + $3,83 ship = $9,82

Would be nice if someone would care to test it out and report how it can reduce glare!
I suppose it might be difficult to cut out a jetbook shape out of this material!

[Ken Maltby]

The process that you see in the YouTube videos has the device to be wrapped first disassembled.
Then the casing is wrapped, with the help of a heat source, like a hair dryer.

3M has it in a number of colors and with a matte finish (harder to find). This is a specially made
vinyl that looks and feels like the much more expensive carbon fiber.

Luck;
Ken

P. S.; The real carbon fiber is like fiberglass cloth and you "lay it up" in the same way, within layers
of epoxy.
P. P. S.; If you have or have handled an ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, I suspect that they are using it
(the Di Noc) on the back of the tablet and keyboard/base.