Kindle touch at the beach?

[VictoriaP]

TrendyDigital has come out with a model specifically for the Touch (they also have a padded version). They say it works with the touchscreen, and since Kathy's worked too, I figured I'd give it a shot. It'll be here Thursday (too late to get one day shipping, alas!)

[Kathy]

TrendyDigital has come out with a model specifically for the Touch (they also have a padded version). They say it works with the touchscreen, and since Kathy's worked too, I figured I'd give it a shot. It'll be here Thursday (too late to get one day shipping, alas!)

That's the one I used but the bigger size. I'm glad they have a smaller one. Let me know how it fits when you get it. I have used mine for the K1, K2 and the K3, but it is really to big for the Touch.

[VictoriaP]

I'll definitely post. I love the heavy duty factor of the DryPak, but the stitched off corners make me a little crazy, so going with the 6"x9" for that just didn't appeal. And I really want something as small and snug as I can get, or I worry it won't work as well.

[VictoriaP]

The Touch version of Trendy Digital's WaterGuard pouch arrived a few minutes ago. I haven't yet taken the time to water test it, just checked it for fit and touchscreen function.

Fit is pretty good. While my personal preference is for a fully snug fit around the Kindle (I had a KlearKase for my K2) realistically, I doubt it would then fit through the double zip closure. Once inside, there's about 3/4" of extra pouch on three sides of the Touch. It definitely looks made for the device, and if anything, it might be a little shorter than pictured.

Operation:  Page forward works consistently. It does take a bit more deliberate tap than the bare touchscreen requires. Page back is less consistent, due to the narrow range of that zone (careful swipes work better than taps for that function). Menu function seems a bit less consistent than page forward; the menu does (mostly) pop up. However, I've yet to get it to successfully complete a search. The bottom corners of the keyboard seem to overlap a bit, so if you're trying to press return (for "go"), you'll also press the delete key. Most things appear to respond a bit better using a stylus than my fingers.

In a nutshell, it'll be fine for reading. Less so for note taking, or anything that requires search.

[Kathy]

Thanks for the update. I never tried to do anything but read with mine for the K2 or K3 because it was really hard to use the keyboard when in the pouch. As long as I can read that will be fine. Can you put it to sleep and wake it up when in the case?

[VictoriaP]

Thanks for the update. I never tried to do anything but read with mine for the K2 or K3 because it was really hard to use the keyboard when in the pouch. As long as I can read that will be fine. Can you put it to sleep and wake it up when in the case?

Oh yes. Since that's a push button instead of a slider, as long as you put the bottom of the kindle towards the bottom of the case (not the folded end), it works perfectly. And there's probably enough slack at the top for it to work even if you reverse it--say, if you're the type to use the neck cord and want to be able to just flip it up for viewing.

I'll do a longer, actual reading test with it tonight in the bath and report anything new, but I suspect this is going to be an adequate solution for the majority of folks who either need something splash proof for outdoor reading or who are bathtub readers like myself.

Edit, 9:30 PM:

Well, "adequate" is about the best I can call it, though I'm not sure how much of the trouble I had is user induced and how much is due to the IR technology involved. I suspect this may be as good as it gets due to the latter, though.

I first gave it the paper towel leak test, which it passed with flying colors. I then put the KT into it and headed in for an hour-long read. During that session, I managed to get through about 1/2-2/3 of what I would usually read in the same amount of time. I encountered the following issues (none of which I've had happen in "normal" use)--

- Repeated non response to taps or swipes for page turns forward. Never have gotten it to respond to a page back tap, and it's iffy on page back swipes.
- Repeated increase in font size (which normally requires a pinch-out motion) and difficulty using pinch-together to then decrease the size back down.
- Several sudden advances way forward or back on a single tap.
- Menu response was erratic, and the back button never worked at all.

Now, I do read a bare Kindle, and this is the unpadded sleeve. Perhaps a covered Kindle, or the padded sleeve version would tighten the plastic differently. I tried several things--wrapping the excess around both sides and holding it snug, pushing the Kindle all the way into the right corner and holding the sleeve down on that side, using it on a stand, holding it tight with both hands, using fingers and using a stylus. You get the idea. Sometimes it would behave for most of a chapter before acting out. Other times--like with the font size changes--it might take me several minutes before I could get back to reading.

It did seem to behave best when held on the flat of one hand, no gripping of the edges, and tapped for page forward. But who knows? At this point, I'm REALLY interested in others' experiences.

Again, I want to be fair here. I'm not thinking it's the product's fault. It may be something to get used to--a specific pressure or speed of movement that's ideal. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Heck, maybe it's just my specific Kindle. Or it may be that with the IR technology as a whole, there is never going to be a perfect solution. But these are all issues that I've not encountered with the bare Touch, or with a plastic sleeved iPad--gotta say I'm really learning to appreciate capacitative screens at this point over the IR!

It's still better than the ziploc I tried, so I will be keeping it. Next I'll try adding some padding in there myself to see if that changes anything.

If any one has ideas, I'm open to suggestions.

[Kathy]

Hopefully it just takes getting use to. I had issues with the touch screen at first but after a week my fingers seem to know just where to touch to get it to do what I want. I don't use the waterproof cover for anything but the boat and that is more for splashes than anything else. I'll probably get the waterguard that you have and see how it works. If nothing else I will know it is protected when near the pool or on the boat. Thanks for the update.

[VictoriaP]

Well, after some further experimenting this morning, I do suspect it will work better with a KT that is in a book or flip style case. The extra thickness should help.

Since I use mine without a case, I added two pieces of plastic canvas...



...cut to go all the way to the edges of the Waterguard. These help hold the back a bit more taut.

When that alone didn't work, I added a piece of thin craft foam, cut to about the size of the Kindle itself. This produced some improvement.

Behind that, I added a layer of cardboard from an Amazon shipping box, again cut to the size of the Kindle. And I'm not squishing the air out of the Waterguard before sealing it.

This stack of mods seems to be producing better results, and pretty much mimics the thickness of a basic Kindle case, which is why I suspect cased Kindles will do better in a waterproof such as this one. There's a better blend of tautness and flexibility to the plastic overlayer with this setup. It's still not perfect; taps near the edges aren't consistent, and swipes sometimes produce no result or the wrong one. But I've been able to get it to go back a page with a tap now (though sometimes it takes more than one try), to pull the menu up more consistently, even to do a search once, though again, I wouldn't count on it. But for just reading, it's now behaving a bit better.

It does prefer a very crisp tap--I really have no better way to describe it--and nearer to the center rather than the edges. And at times it seems to prefer a thumb tap over a finger tap--maybe the larger size is easier for the IR to read?

Regardless, I think I have it rigged currently to a working state for me to at least read on. Hopefully most people using it will have a case that helps get it to perform better overall.

And...one last edit:

Pulled everything above out and cut a piece of 1/4" closed cell foam--that's the firm, kinda plasticy stuff that you sometimes get as padding with computer equipment or electronic cases. This one came in a sleeve for a laptop, I've gotten others in with iPad covers. Cut the foam as close to the inner dimensions of the Waterguard as I could get, curled it slightly to get it in there, then added the Kindle. This produced the best results of all--much more consistent tapping and swiping, use of most menu functions (no bookmarks) and a much improved reading experience.

Interestingly, adding back in a layer of plastic canvas, which is super thin, actually made it worse again, so there's definitely a sweet spot with this thing.

All in all, it's a bit of a nuisance. I'd say even with a cover, be prepared to add a layer or two of some sort in case your cover isn't thick enough, and if you've got an uncased Kindle, you need around 1/4" of fairly firm padding to make it work. I'm not sure whether or not the actual padded version of this sleeve would be better, but it might be worth a try.

Once you've got that figured out though, it seems to work pretty well.

Whew.

[love2read]

Has anyone tried putting their Kindle Fire in a plastic bag or does this only work with the Touch?

[VictoriaP]

Has anyone tried putting their Kindle Fire in a plastic bag or does this only work with the Touch?

It should work fine, it's a capacitative screen--totally different tech, and the same as the iPhone or iPad, both of which work in plastic sleeves. Because it's backlit, it won't work well in bright sunlight though.

[Myndymoo]

It should work fine, it's a capacitative screen--totally different tech, and the same as the iPhone or iPad, both of which work in plastic sleeves. Because it's backlit, it won't work well in bright sunlight though.

Correct. But it won't last long. Sand gets everywhere. Even taking it out of the bag will cause problems. This goes for any device with buttons, knobs, screens,sockets etc: Only needs one grain to scratch or jam things up

[Betsy the Quilter]

True, one does need to be careful, and think through the risk/reward.  But we've had members taking their Kindles to the beachbsince the first K1s with no issues, hence this thread about doing so with the Touch and, now, Fire.   There's a thread somewhere with a fairly recent detailed discussion of people's experiences, including mine.  I've read with my Kindle 1 outdoors in stadium parking lots, on beaches, and at car shows. (without a plastic bag except at the beach.)  If a grain of sand was going to kill it....  Bit a good reminder to take care!

 

Betsy

[Kathy]

I live in Florida right on the Intracoastal and across from the beach. The salt air coats everything but so far hasn't hurt any of my electronics. My husband dropped his phone in the water getting on the boat and there was no hope for it when we fished it out. The salt water fried it and noting helped. It wasn't an iPhone so I don't know how that would have done. He has an iPhone now and so do i and we take them with us fishing all the time. We have cases that clip on the side trays to keep them from falling when bouncing around in the boat. It doesn't protect against water and so far we have had no problem. Mine is almost 2 years old. I have taken all of my Kindles on the boat but I do keep them in the Trendy Digital bag. People think I'm crazy but I have these great floats that I can tie on the back of the boat and I float and read my Kindle. I just put the strap around my neck and enjoy my Kindle. If it falls in the water it is a goner because where we are is way over 600 feet deep.