Kindle Touch Lighted Cover FAQs

Will the Kindle Touch work with my old Kindle Keyboard Lighted Cover? The short answer is, no. Not only is the new Kindle Touch device a different size to the older Kindle Keyboard but they attach to their respective lighted cases using unique methods too. The older Kindle Keyboard attaches to the cover with prongs on the inside of the spine whereas the Kindle Touch attaches using a couple of connectors at the bottom interior of the case. The upshot is that every Kindle device uses its own unique cover. 

Apart from the Kindle Fire tablet which is backlit like an iPad, mobile phone or computer, the other Kindle devices use a special e-ink technology that is much more comfortable for your eyes to read from and very much like reading from a high quality newspaper.

As with a paper book, you can read the Kindle in natural light easily. But if you read at night, in dimly lit areas or while traveling and cannot guarantee your light source overhead - then you'll find that having a dedicated light source is much better and also highly convenient.

The cover is made from real leather and has a very smooth finish on the exterior with a small embossed 'Kindle' logo on the front. The quality is very apparent if you view close up shots of the neat stitch work. The inside material of the case is a special and soft microfiber on the left which won't scratch the screen when closed. On the right is where the Kindle sits snugly inside a rubberised compartment.

There are 4 colors for the Kindle Touch cover with light and these are: Jet Black, a deep Wine Purple, Olive Green and Saddle Tan. None of these are bright colors and they all have a professional, almost corporate look to them.

At the bottom of your Touch device, you'll see some connection points. These match up with some connectors at the bottom inside of your case. You simply slide your Kindle into the molded area in the case and push it down firmly but gently into place.

Amazon made the attachment of the Kindle Touch into its lighted cover a lot simpler after taking on board many comments from customers who found the side hinge attachment method on the older Keyboard Kindle too fiddly. It's great that a company takes constructive criticism on board and uses it to improve the next model.

The connectors in the case which match up with the points on your Touch device are used to conduct electricity from the device to the light in the case when it is switched on. So you absolutely do not need to worry about buying or installing your own batteries with this fantastic design.

The LED light is a little 'arm' that flips out from the top of the cover. The light arm will only move out to a set angle which is the optimal angle for the light to cover the reading screen. You don't need to press a button to turn it on because it will come on automatically for you. To turn the light off, simply close the front cover of your case which pushes it back in or push the arm back into the device. The light will automatically go off if the Kindle Touch screen-savers come on (which happens after a period of non-use) and it will not work at all if your Kindle is not actually turned on.

While the light does a good job of illuminating the whole screen, it is a little brighter near the top middle where the light source is than the bottom of the screen. This is the same with the majority of light attachments that you can get.

So you couldn't say that the light is perfectly even where it is distributed over the screen. Whether this will bother you is something that remains to be seen. Some people dislike the graduated effect and some people don't mind it at all.

The light which is an LED is very bright and certainly bright enough so you can read even in a pitch black room. Some people find it is too bright if they are reading next to a sleeping partner. You cannot adjust the strength of the light; it has been optimized at a level so it is bright enough to read with in dim and dark light situations.

You can definitely read one-handed with the Kindle Touch Lighted Case. Simply fold the front cover to the back of your device and wrap one hand around it to read.

The light will turn itself off when your device goes into what is called a 'sleep mode' which activates after around 10 minutes of no use by you. So if you've put the Kindle down and forgotten to turn the light off or if you've fallen asleep, your light will not carry on wasting the battery life needlessly.

The size of the cover is as follows: 7.3 inch height x 5 inch width x 0.6 inch diameter. It weighs in at just under 6 ounces at 5.4 ounces. Sleekness, lightness and a form-fitting design were clearly taken heavily into consideration with this case.

With the older Kindle Keyboard model, there was an elastic band which held the cover shut. This got a number of bad reviews from people who thought it looked cheap or that there was a risk of breakage over time. Amazon listened to those concerns and this cover for the Touch model has no strap, clasp or fastener. The front cover stays closed naturally but might come open if the device was dropped or thrown around.

The light pulls out to a specific angle and cannot be changed. That's because it's been designed so the light is in the best place once pulled out. Unfortunately you cannot alter the brightness of the light which is perhaps a feature that could be improved upon for future models as there are times when dimming the light would be a useful thing.

The case allows easy access to all your connections such as the charging socket, headphone jack, power on/off button and your Home button.

The one slight downside is that the case does cover over the rear, external Kindle Touch speakers which has a small effect on the clarity and strength of the sound coming through when you play audio or music. This is only a problem if you do use these rear speakers and it poses no problem when using headphones or earphones with the jack.

Removing the Kindle Touch from the lighted cover is easy, just pull down on the bottom right corner of the case which exposes a corner of the device and you'll be able to take the Kindle out.

If you mostly read at home and you are very careful with your devices then you might not need a case or cover to offer any protection from bumps and knocks. If you intend to carry your Kindle Touch around, almost certainly you'll need to keep the screen from getting bashed. If you have kids or pets at home, they too could be less careful with the device than you are! It certainly isn't invincible and the screen can break under force. So, apart from the light factor, a cover or case is nearly always a good idea.