HardCandy Bubble Case for Kindle Fire Review

Full HardCandy Bubble Case Review

If you are on the market for a tablet or smartphone, it's likely you are also on the market for a case. When you are going to drop a few hundred dollars (or much more if you are interested in one of the fruit-branded products), you want to make sure your investment is safe. Or at least protected. Even the most stalwart of owners makes mistakes. They may think they have perfect aim just to watch their new tablet bounce off the couch. They may think their phone is securely packed in their pocket just to hear it clatter to the ground as they turn a corner.

Add that, if the new phone/tablet is a gift for a child, well that layer of protection becomes even more important.

My son turned 9 recently and he is a voracious reader. In a case of "1st world problems", my son most often gets fussed at to "put down the book and listen" rather than the normal things kids get in trouble for. We thought about buying him a regular e-reader (like a Kindle or a Nook) for his birthday but decided on the Kindle Fire. A regular e-reader wouldn't feel too special for him with there being iPads, iPods, and Galaxy Nexus smartphones in the home. With the price of the Kindle Fire being so low, it just made sense.

Installation and Use

The HardCandy Bubble Case for Kindle Fire made an immediate impression when I received the press release. The distinctive bubble design on the back was intriguing and the price ($40) seemed reasonable. The case came in a clam-shell plastic enclosure wrapped in a cardboard box. The case is very lightweight and thin. At only 2-3/8 ounces (66 grams), I was thankful it wasn't going to add much weight to the Kindle Fire (at 14.6 ounces (413 grams), the Fire is hefty for its size). The black and grey color motif is attractive if near impossible to photograph.

The HardCandy Bubble Case is a one piece affair with two cutouts on the top for the speakers a single cutout on the bottom for access to the port, power button, and headphone jack. Like just about every case these days, you can forget using headphones with a full-sized connector as the case blocks all but the smallest. If you have a set of headphones that are meant to be portable, you should have no problems (I have a number and they all worked). Access to the port (mostly used for charging) and power button were unfettered. I wasn't completely impressed with the fit and finish of the top ports. While they didn't block the speakers, they seemed to be slightly off center with the speaker grilles. It was something that irked me whenever I caught sight of the top of the Kindle Fire.

The polycarbonate body is not lined with any sort of soft material and, instead, sits directly on top of the Kindle. If you are familiar with the Fire, you know that the back has a matte finish. After many days of use with the case - including removal of the case a number of times during my testing - the Kindle Fire showed no signs of scratching or other cosmetic damage.

It is very easy to install the HardCandy Bubble Case on the Kindle Fire. You simply push the Fire past the grey rubber surround. Like all good cases, in my opinion, taking the case off is a completely different story. While during use, I often though that the rubber surround could be manipulated too easily, taking the Kindle out was not at all a simple matter. The rubber is not as soft or pliable as you may think and it holds the Fire within the case very securely. This is perfect to keep little boys that like to play with stuff from taking the case on and off as he reads (one of the things I was seriously worried about with any case).

I honestly thought that the grey rubber on the HardCandy Bubble Case would be softer. It feels more like malleable plastic rather than rubber. The polycarbonate case feels only slightly less malleable. This gives the overall case a slick feel that I didn't love. The concave bubble design, however, gives you plenty of places to hold onto when reading. When setting the case down on a hard surface like a marble countertop, the case tends to want to slide. Usually I'd put a case like this face down so that the rubber surround (which is raised above the face of the Kindle Fire to protect it from falls) grips the surface. This would be incorrect with the Bubble Case. Putting it down on its back allows the grey HardCandy logo portion to grip the surface. I placed the case on both sides and pushed it. With it face down, it slid easily. On its back, it spun around the logo. I do think that it would have been better if the surround rubber was a little stickier as I think that placing a tablet face down makes more sense to protect the sensitive screen.

My last gripe with the HardCandy Bubble Case is the lack of face protection. While I don't expect a full screen protector with a case at this price point, the inclusion of some sort of adhesive protection seems to be in order.

HardCandy Bubble Case Conclusion

I'm a fan of the Bubble Case for Kindle Fire by HardCandy. It has a lot of what I like to see in a protective case. At just over two ounces, it doesn't add much to the weight of your device, while offering a lot of protection. The case is attractive and its distinctive bubble design on the back has already brought on a number of compliments. At only $40, it isn't going to break your budget. It is easy to install and hard to take off. My only two quips is that there is no screen protection (built in or adhesive) and the case is slick to the touch. With weeks of use with it, the Bubble Case from HardCandy has left no marks on the Kindle Fire and it has proven to be resistant to everything my 9 year old son can throw at it. Overall - recommended.

HardCandy Bubble Case for Kindle Fire

$39.95

www.hardcandycases.com

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

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Metric	Rating
Function
Build Quality
Ergonomics & Usability
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value