I noticed that Amazon is now advertising a Limited Edition Project Hail Mary case on the product pages for the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Colorsoft.
The design is a lot more eye-catching than most Kindle cases, but at $49.99 it is a bit more expensive than Amazon’s standard Kindle cases, and they don’t have any cheaper used ones available yet.
The case has the usual magnetic front to keep the cover closed, and it has the auto-wake/sleep feature that turns the Kindle on and off when opening the front cover.
I find it kind of odd that they don’t say what type of material the case is made from anywhere on the product page; Amazon usually specifies that. It would be nice if it was based on Amazon’s plant-based leather covers, but it’s probably not if they aren’t saying so. I really like the plant-based leather cover I got for my Kindle Paperwhite. I actually like it better than the more expensive premium leather cover, and the material feels nicer than their previous gen leather cases.
Whatever material it’s made from, it is slightly heavier than Amazon’s other Kindle cases based on the package weight. They have the weight listed at 5.89 ounces, whereas the plant-based leather cover weighs 5.29 ounces, the premium leather cover weighs 5.64 ounces, and the fabric cover weighs 4.94 ounces.
Oddly, those are what the “packages” weigh, not what the covers weigh. I just checked and my plant-based leather cover weighs 3.9 ounces and the premium leather cover weighs 4.1 ounces, so I don’t know how useful that information is—they should list the weight of the actual covers since that’s more important.
It’s surprising Amazon doesn’t release more custom covers like this; it seems like an easy way to sell unique accessories for popular books. Thankfully they’re not reusing the movie cover on the case, which they annoyingly changed for the cover of the ebook when the movie came out.
I like the subtlety of the cover. Much less “in your face” then most covers promoting a movie adaption. I also wish Amazon would do this more often. Heck, I wish they sold the Kids covers separately. I don’t want to go through the lottery of a getting a good Colorsoft screen when I’m happy with my no-yellow-band Colorsoft SE.
TL;DR: If you don’t need a water-proof case, find a used REAL leather one on Amazon, like I did:
As far as “plant-based” leather: (1) Some marketing dude calling whatever that is “leater” doesn’t make it such; either in durability or looks. (2) Though I’m a vegetarian, I figure the cow’s already dead & my eating habits didn’t kill it, so the morality of a leather case isn’t an issue for me.
IMO, real leather is a much better option, especially the *used* Amazon real leather case that you pointed out in an earlier article.
I had one of the original Oasis 2nd-Gen leather cases (the one Amazon recalled, with the partial back cover held with magnets) which lasted the Oasis’ entire life and looked better at the end than brand new. At $50+ (as I recall), it ultimately was a bargain for its 8 years of life.
Shortly after replacing my dead Oasis with a cover-less PaperWhite, I began to seriously dislike it and refused to consider a leather cover: an additional $60+ cover for a device I hated seemed a very bad idea.
THEN I discovered the Winterbreak jailbreaking hack and the PW became a (little) better to use. Not great but better. About that time, I also read your review of a used leather case and found one of my own on Amazon in like-new condition, for $23.
Since then — after your instructions for de-registering the PW & adding a few more hacks — that jailbroken PW is now MUCH better & I’m genuinely glad I got that real leather cover.
Thanks for both the de-registering tip and the used-cover tip; I wouldn’t have known about either, otherwise, and both have improved my Kindle reading life.
The marketing dudes don’t call it “leater”, they call it leather
I use a case like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZXWFZXN?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_7
I find a flip case so much more convenient than book style. Sitting it on the table while I eat, propped on a pillow in bed, on top of the spare TP cabinet in the bathroom… I like the magnetic closure and the magnets hold it open as well. I have yet to find this style in real leather. On this particular one, I bought some kangaroo leather from Etsy, and shored it up by gluing it on the bendy parts. I would love a real leather one. Perhaps I will go back to Etsy and see if anyone with custom make one for me, or cannibalize an old one to try making one myself.
I’m hoping they make this for the older Kindle releases. I have a 2023 model but apparently it’s not compatible with this case..