Minimalistic Kindle Fire Stand That Enhances Acoustics

The SOOT kickstand is a minimally intrusive stand for the Kindle Fire, that aids in creating a maximum audio output. As our portable consumer electronic devices get thinner and thinner, engineers are put to the trying task of squeezing all the bells and whistles into leaner packages. This leads to features like speakers being placed in less-than-optimal locations.

The Kindle Fire is one of those devices. Though admittedly not as extreme as what we’re seeing with the iPad 2 and the new iPad, the speakers on the Fire are in fact pointing away from the user. To resolve this, users are forced to cup their devices with their palms, creating a natural sound chamber to funnel all that sound back to where it should be — forward, toward the user. This effect is further exaggerated when you add multiple users into the mix. The sound should be directed towards the user, not away.

The Silicon Valley startup SOOT decided to tackle this problem by creating a modular sound chamber that’s lean enough to feel at home on the minimalist Fire’s housing. With the help of a removable credit card-sized stand, the chamber acts as a portable kickstand for propping the device up to read books, watch movies or type emails.

We’ve seen many of these types of devices being hocked on Kickstarter lately, but they’re all for the iPad or the iPhone. With the strength of the Amazon ecosystem behind it, the Kindle Fire is a viable competitor to the iOS ecosystem and therefore deserves some attention with regards to these sound-enhancing accessories.

Like many others, SOOT is turning to Kickstarter to crowdsource and pay for tooling, packaging, and other costs that come along with releasing a product. With everything on the planet seeming to be geared toward Apple’s iOS poster children, it’s refreshing to see some innovation in the Kindle Fire department.

Check out the video below of the company founders explaining the details and goals of the kickstand, and then let us know what you think.