Covers Redux, or: You Don’t Really Need One

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I rarely read on my Kindle, but I do use a cover with it. A sleeve would be OK to protect it from scratches when I just throw it in my purse, but the cover does that while also making the reader easier to hold, and I do like the sense of opening the cover as if I were opening a real book.

I also like that opening the cover also wakes the Kobo from sleep and closing the cover puts the Kobo to sleep.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Detachable hand straps have been options on pocket radios and cameras since maybe mid 1960s. IMO horrible & useless. Who even sells them for an ereader?

They don't need to be specific to an ereader. They're device agnostic.
I wouldn't be able to read one-handed in bed in any position without one (tablet or eink device). IMO dirt-cheap and utterly indispensable.

[issybird]

Amazon’s announced a new Fire 7 tablet for $59.99; the official cover is $28.99.

I rest my case. Certainly at that price I’d rest it.

[Quoth]

Tablet will be at near cost or even subsidized to sell Amazon content. But cover is x2 over priced.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Tablet will be at near cost or even subsidized to sell Amazon content. But cover is x2 over priced.

I’d argue that any cover for a $60 tablet would be overpriced. Tablets are pretty sturdy and given an exposure of only $60, it would be worth the risk not to have one at all. The odds are overwhelming that nothing beyond the odd scratch or chip would happen to it, if that.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by issybird

I’d argue that any cover for a $60 tablet would be overpriced. Tablets are pretty sturdy and given an exposure of only $60, it would be worth the risk not to have one at all. The odds are overwhelming that nothing beyond the odd scratch or chip would happen to it, if that.

The unofficial cover I got for my 10-inch Fire tablet was around $15 a few years ago. Without it, the tablet is awkward to hold. In addition to having a helpful hand strap on the back, the cover can be folded to stand the tablet horizontally for video and games. I think the cover is well worth the price.

[DiapDealer]

My uncovered 10" Fire tablet is chipped and broken on all corners (it has a Fintie hand strap stuck on the back), but the screen itself is still just fine.

The Fintie handstrap has a rigid piece of plastic in the strap that can be rigged in such a way as to prop the tablet up on a flat surface, but I don't typically use a tablet like that. For desk situations, I have cheap cradle-like stand that will hold all my different sized tablets ereader (and a phone) in a landscape or portrait orientation.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

cheap cradle-like stand

Yup. Back in the day, I used to hold my devices in my left hand; now I use a stand for both my ereaders (in covers) and Fire HD 8 (no cover). One stand to hold them all - the easiest and cheapest solution.

[Hemmi]

I always get a cover for my ereaders. Just protects the screen and corners from scratches and drops.

[GERGE]

I bought an original Kobo Libra cover just today. The old nameless Chinese cover was much cheaper, but it is perfectly clear that Kobo cover is much better looking, more durable, and weighs less.

My e-reader is my most used mobile device after my phone, I have no problems paying for a premium cover for device that I use so much.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by GERGE

I bought an original Kobo Libra cover just today. The old nameless Chinese cover was much cheaper, but it is perfectly clear that Kobo cover is much better looking, more durable, and weighs less.

My e-reader is my most used mobile device after my phone, I have no problems paying for a premium cover for device that I use so much.

Yup! Same here.

On all counts.

Now waiting for my Kobo Libra and Kobo cover.

[Lemurion]

I put a cover on all of mine--even if it's just a cheap black $10 cover I find it helps. Besides, I do find that flipping the cover open does make it feel more booklike.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

I always go on Amazon and buy a cover for my readers, tablet and phones. They are too slippery without a cover and cost too much money to risk having it break in whatever accident.

The same goes for my phones, I have a solid multipurpose cover for them, I have dropped my phone outside a few times, and it survived unscathed. Even the phones I use as mp3 players have a case on them to prevent them from slipping out of my hand.

This is me as well. I'm always afraid I'll drop my reader because it's just so slim and smooth to hang onto. The cover is a big help with that, plus I wouldn't be without the convenience of a sleep cover so I can just open and close the reader.

I'll agree with them that the manufacturers' covers are ridiculously expensive, usually 1/3 or more of the cost of the reader. So I always get 3rd party covers as well for under $12 and they've been every bit as good, even better in a lot of cases.

My phone also has a glass screen protector on it, I'm saved from having that on my reader because of the cover protecting the screen. I hate having my gadgets with scratches on them, I'd get a new reader or phone just for a scratch.

[Witty Username]

Originally Posted by Quoth

You only need a stand for either use as recipe book or for recording narration which needs onboard buttons.

People have been reading in bed for maybe 5,000 years.

I need a stand because I like to read while I'm eating and a cover with a flip-out stand is easy.

5000 years?! Most writing systems around 3000BCE were used for recording livestock or other commodities on clay tablets - reading those in bed would literally be counting sheep for the insomniacs

[Quoth]

Gilgamesh