Why is it that it seems that nearly every company that makes cases for these things are "environmentally conscious" and "donates to buy land that is environmentally threatened" and makes the case out of "hemp and spun gypsy monkey turds?" Is there some sort of a prerequisite that I missed somewhere, that to own an e-reader you have to be a concerned hippie, who's sole motivation for buying one is to prevent trees from being hurt?I see a market niche for, say, MagPul.
Friday, September 17, 2010
I smell a market niche...
Bluesun has a question about cases for Kindle e-readers or, more specifically, the companies that manufacture them. (Except "manufacture" is such an ugly and industrial word. Say instead "responsibly and sustainably craft"; it has more fiber):
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28 comments:
It's true. If I had a Kindle-alike and I was looking for a case for it, I don't want it to be made of homespun anything, unless it's homespun aramid holding together homespun titanium and high impact Glockium. I want it to be black and silver and matte, and stand a pretty reasonable chance of stopping .50 BMG rounds at point blank range. ;)
They did make iPhone covers for a little while... I guess they weren't too happy with the finished product though, so it's been in Limbo for a while.
It's not specific to e-reader cases. "Environmentally conscious" is a big buzzword in PR right now. Companies of all kinds are claiming to be 'green' to some degree, from Kindle and cellphone frames all the way down to biodegradable plastic bags.
I would buy one from magpul. That would be awesome.
Speaking of the PR angle, the most perfect example of greenwash I've heard of was a telecom conference (CISCO sponsored maybe?) our company attended a couple years back. The theme was "green".
Massive, power hungry servers made out of every evil plastic and rare earth element ever discovered being pitched to replace the massive, power hungry servers made out of every evil plastic and rare earth element ever discovered that were purchased last year and should be depreciated off the books and tossed in the dumpster. But it was green because they did 1% more with the same electrical plug out the back. Or something.
It was a very intense WTF moment.
The cover for my kindle is made out of the hide of a tasty yummy cow!
Meat....its whats for dinner!
Want to be "green"?
Any thrift store you walk into has piles of every kind of case, bag, and purse you can imagine, for a dollar or two.
Zero natural resources are used, the things already exist and will go to the landfill if no one uses them.
My laptop rides in a leather briefcase, probably forty years old. All natural brass hardware. Cost me a buck.
Oh yeah.
I love my local Goodwill & Ladies Church auxiliary store.
I wear awesome silk ties $3 ( all you anti-tie nazi's, just back right off) have beautiful wool sweaters for under 5$, a set of luggage cost me a princely 15$, a new stainless steel gas BBQ with one dent 100$... I did pass on the elephant's foot umbrella stand - cool, but ratty looking.
And yeah, I want a leather case made from croc or rhino or something.
On the hippie spectrum, the Kindle attracts one end with the promise of greenery while repelling the other with the threat of a company controlling access to your personal library.
I'd say marketing sustainable, low carbon footprint, soy fiber kindle covers with hemp tassles is good marketing sense.
I don't mind if they make Green cases, but they keep using the wrong shade of Green. Olive Drab, baby, Olive Drab!
Me, I go with a wirelessless Sony Reader wrapped in cow.
Hmm, my Kindle case (a Patagonia brand) is considered "eco-conscious" because it's made of 100% recycled polyester.
That's a relief! I'd certainly hate to think a bunch of Polyesters had to die so my Kindle could have a nice, black, "tactical" case :)
I understand that the Sony ones are leather, they don't talk about it on the website.
All this crap is because kid-brains are being greenwashed to create a dominant paradigm.
I see a market niche for, say, MagPul.
Or Hogue.
Need one with special pockets for that SureFire booklight and spare batteries.
"Need one with special pockets for that SureFire booklight and spare batteries."
And rails. Can't forget the rails.
Our Sony readers are also clad in dead cow. Since bossie probably died to feed people--probably not at the hands of the Lafayette IN, PD--I consider this to be multi-tasking and an efficient use of resources.
Or would, if I actually thought about such things.
My Kindle sits in either a 5.11 PUSH pack (along with various other items) or a 5.11 bail-out bag, depending on what I'm doing and how much other stuff I need to carry.
Thing is, now that I've given in slightly to peer pressure and obtained a smart phone (I didn't give in totally and get an iPhone) I don't feel that much of a need to carry the physical Kindle any longer.
But I would like a super-tough practical case for the EVO 4G. I have a great case, made by Proporta, for the Nokia N800 that wasn't advertised as being green in any way, shape, or form; but Proporta isn't currently offering EVO cases.
I was thinking Ted Blocker.
One or more genuine endangered black Naugas were slaughtered to make the case for my Kindle.
Heh. I was just today considering getting a Kindle Wi-Fi to load up with all my wookie manuals from Sweden.
A Magpul cover would be sweet but one that doubled as a Faraday cage would rock.
In Fla. we save trees (renewable job-supporting crop) by replacing textbooks which were you know, costly, and only lasted about ten years of being tossed, lost, soaked, forgotten, stolen, and vandalized with these things. I'm sure it'll work out fine...
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/sep/16/161326/kindles-replacing-textbooks-today-at-clearwater-hi/
But they did Go Green...taxpayer green*backs* that is; those hard-nosed negotiators hammered out an awesome discount down to $177 per each just for buying a couple thousand of 'em. Guess they forgot to check Amazon...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002Y27P3M/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=5512640967&ref=pd_sl_1d8nsv3rm8_b
As for what to wrap 'em in, unless they come sealed in kevlar and attached to the kids with kryptonite locks, I predict those spare couple hundred will last 'em, oh, about a week. Seriously though, the whole damn thing is wrapped in fail, and further proof that there is no hare-brained idea that is *too* stupid to throw your money at. And that's the main lesson being taught to those high school kids.
AT
They could make them green... Soylent Green.
I have a manual push lawnmower, not because it is more ecologically sound or any of that nonsense, but rather for the fact that it is the only mower I can store in my present digs.
Also, I have a reusable grocery bag because it is of better construction than the plastic ones.
If this fetishy eco-nonsense happens by chance then so be it but I won't go out of my way to see it happen.
Jim
@Dwight Brown:
OtterBox makes a case for the EVO. http://www.otterbox.com/htc-evo-4g-cases/htc-evo-defender-series-case/htc-evo-commuter-series-case
I had the Defender series for my Blackberry and it made it near indestructible. Going to order the Commuter for my EVO here in a couple minutes.
OtterBox also makes cases for the iPad but unfortunately not the Kindle.
Can I get a case made out of depleted uranium?
A case made of baby seal skin would be nice.
I want a kindle case made out of a live armadillo. It would be the same process as piercing, only slower, the animal would have to heal around an inserted form, and then your kindle would follow you around, instead of you having to remember it.
Just have to keep it from running under trucks.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/armadillo.html
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