Well we've got another case to review courtesy of Otterbox and I'm flabbergasted that we haven't looked at this one yet since it veers into my specialty of Amazon Kindle cases. But we have a worlds colliding situation here but it's not exactly what you'd expect. Keep reading after the jump for our review of the Otterbox Amazon Kindle 3 Commuter Series case!
While this isn't one of the standard Defender Series cases we normally see from Otterbox, it still embodies most of what we know and love from Otterbox. There is a midlayer and outer layer, with the former made of silicone and the latter polycarbonate, which is the standard fare for Otterbox. It's how their cases are the most protective out there. But the strange thing is that while these materials are usually the main reason for that high level of protection, the same can't be said for this and it has more to do with the Kindle itself than the case.
If you're familiar with Amazon Kindles at all, you know that their cases are notorious for cracking very easily. My Kindle 2's screen cracked with a spiral notebook on top of it. It's that easy. And what this particular Otterbox protects is the body of the Kindle, which is very durable, but not the screen. They obviously cannot put a glass protector over the screen as they do with some of their other models since one of the Kindle's main selling points is the glare proof screen, which would be undone by the glass. So they're forced to leave that open. But instead they include a self-adhering screen protector. That's really the bread and butter here.
The one part of a Kindle you absolutely have to protect is the screen. I've never seen any kind of dent or even scratch on the body of my Kindle but the screen is a different story. And that's the problem with this Otterbox. Their cases, while top of the line in every possibly way, just aren't made for the Kindle due mainly to the Kindle and of no fault to Otterbox. The screen protector and case itself due to its thickness do do away with a lot of the potential harm to the Kindle, but it may not be worth it in this case.
I absolutely love Otterbox's products but in my opinion, you would be better off going with a company that makes book style Kindle covers like M-Edge or Amazon itself if protection is your main goal. While the color, black, looks very nice and sleek on the Kindle, and almost makes it look like there's no cover on at all, protection of the screen has to be the main objective with a Kindle cover.
The protection of the body is second to none, but the screen is what you have to watch out for.
