Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Review of Skins for Kindle

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Has anyone else seen these adorable protective covers for the Kindle?
These products by DecalGirl come in the most imaginative and gorgeous designs. This winter I ordered three DecalGirl covers to protect my new phone and absolutely love them. They are cheerfully colored, interchangeable, and made of hard plastic that will truly protect my phone from my klutziness and occasional foul temper. More, those little jewels only cost about $7.

When we acquired our Kindle this spring, I was excited, especially when we got to take it on its first road trip. As I was tossing the Kindle into my computer bag, I thought, "Ooo, that's going to get scratched or squished or otherwise mutilated." I looked up protective covers for it, but it was too late to receive anything I ordered before we left town. Still, I was thrilled to see that DecalGirl had some cutesie covers available and put several on my wish list. "$20?" I thought. "That's pretty steep, especially since the cover won't be much bigger than the cover for my phone. Gee, they're robbing people here. But I'm sure it will be worth it."

So, this last week I decided I better finally order one before I managed to drop this costly device on my new stained concrete floor. I chose the one pictured above b/c it's not too floofy and the Kindle is technically my husband's and I wasn't about to ask him to carry around cherry blossoms or something. I eagerly awaited the item in the mail and stopped by the post office just today to pick it up. In my box, what I found, to my consternation, was a flat envelope. "What is this? There's nothing in it?" I said (yes, I frequently talk to myself, especially when miffed).

I had to open it then and there to see if someone at the Amazon warehouse forgot to put the actual item in the envelope. Imagine my horror when I saw that, indeed, the item was present, and that I had paid $20 for a sticker. Yes! $20 gets you an adhesive vinyl sticker to stick to the back and front of your device.

I have just attached the thing to the back and find that the item does not want to stick at first and must be gently massaged to convince it that it wants to be there. But it does look smashing with the gray version of the device.

On the other hand, this "protective" skin can only possibly protect this expensive device from scratches and general wear. It will stand no chance if I happen to drop it on the stained concrete floor.

So I suppose, in summery, my greatest complaint is not that I failed to read the fine print, nor that this "protector" is in fact nothing more than a sticker, or that it should be advertised as merely decoration, but that this sticker is so abominably, ridiculously priced, especially when compared to the seven-dollar, fully protective covers for the phones. What gives? Demand, no doubt. Frivolous, but cute, and the Kindle is so in vogue; therefore, more people such as myself will no doubt run to snatch up these adorable, useless things and waste more of our money.

Enjoy!
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4 comments:

Anita Grace Howard said...

SWEET! Thanks for the tip. As you know, a kindle is in my near future, and I'd love to have one of those covers that actually protect, as opposed to one that's window dressing. Heh.

And that design is awesome! It's almost steam-punkish, which I lurv very much. :)

Court Ellyn said...

Steampunk is what came to mind to me, too. Sorta techie but artsie, too. :D Yeah, the leather covers are $60 or whatever, but they really will do a better job of protecting your Kindle, I bet.

Tammara Webber said...

Oh my gosh! I'd have been so PISSED! I got an "M-Edge Executive Kindle Jacket" which was $40 from Amazon, but it's AWESOME. The inside is suede (outside leather, with a little latching strap - not just a piece of elastic, either!), and it even has an inside pocket and a place you can stick a business card. It's very cushioned. I haven't dropped it yet (*knocking on wood furiously*), but I'd have to stick it inside a pillow to be better protected. Highly recommended. (Husband and son both bought the same thing when they saw mine. Except I got purple and they got "manly" colors, lol.

Court Ellyn said...

I think that's what my sister-in-law received for her birthday. I got to look at it for like 2.2 seconds before it was whisked away. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to spend quite that much, but $40 for full protection over $20 for bling? Yeah, wise move.

Thanks, Tammara!