My Kindle display self-destructed

The Kindle display...dead after two days

(Credit: Matt Asay)

I was planning to write about how much I'm loving the Amazon Kindle. I got one to try to consolidate some of the weight and clutter I routinely carry with me on trips in the form of books/magazines/newspapers, and spent several hours on my Cincinnati to London flight absolutely loving the device.

The wireless connectivity and other technological features of the Kindle are nice, but that's not where it shines, in my view. No, it's the feel of the Kindle that is amazing. I read for hours, surprised by how well it rested in my hands and by the exceptional display.

Well, the display was "exceptional" until it stopped working. I got to my hotel an hour ago and, since I couldn't yet check in, decided to open up the Kindle to read. Despite having used it just two hours ago on the train into London, and having done absolutely nothing that could have physically impacted the screen (Rode in a taxi? Checked in at my hotel? The Kindle was safely protected in my bag all the while...), the screen is apparently dead.

I've contacted Amazon customer service and will wait to see what they say, but as I'm thousands of miles from home and won't be back in the US until Wednesday, I'm afraid I'm going to have to go buy another copy of Dickens' The Pickwick Papers so that I'll be able to finish it on my flight home. Annoying, especially as I was set to recommend to everyone that they rush out to buy a Kindle.

At $350, that's roughly $175 per day that I paid to use the Kindle, and I only ended up using it on the second day. Amazon needs to fix my Kindle but, even more importantly, it needs to fix its hardware problems. I'm apparently not the only one having problems with the Kindle screen.

Again, I loved the reading experience with the Kindle, which is saying something given how tired I was on the plane. But the Kindle needs to work for more than two days to be worth the hefty price tag. Much as I'd like to keep this device, I can't justify to my wife a $350 paperweight, and how can I trust that it will stay operational on my next trip?

UPDATED: I've been scouring the web to see how Amazon has been handling problems similar to mine. To its credit, Amazon appears to be very responsive and has been replacing the faulty Kindles.

This begs the question, however, as to why Amazon has let the faulty Kindle sit on the market for so long without fixing the problem. When complaints came in to Apple about its easily scratched iPod Nano, Apple quickly moved to improve the Nano. So far, Amazon has done nothing but replace easily-broken Kindles.

One thing Amazon could do is to ship the Kindle with a protective case. By this I don't mean the cheesy leather "book cover" with which it ships, but rather a hard case that can protect the screen (if, in fact, the problem stems from physical damage being done to the screen, though this wasn't the case for me). I couldn't find a hard case on Amazon to go with the Kindle.

At any rate, Amazon needs to do something. Two days and $350 later, my Kindle is broken, and I'm struggling to come up with a reason beyond defective design or receiving a "lemon."

[payne722]

I've had my Kindle for 7 months now and I've never had a problem. Not one. So in my opinion, Amazon is doing just fine with their hardware.

[Matt Asay]

I hope you're right, and I just got a bad apple, er, lemon. I loved the device. I just have no idea what could have happened to kill the screen. It literally happened within a 30-minute period when I was en route to my hotel...with the Kindle safely tucked away in my bag. No physical trauma to the device at all. Nothing.

[xnowimcoolx]

2 things drive me crazy.

First, the idea that because something faulty happens to your kindle means that all kindles are somehow compromised and just waiting to self-destruct is nonsense.

Second, improper use of phrases like "begs the question". That phrase is not equivalent to "forces me to consider" or "makes the next question obvious". If an idea "begs the question" it means that the idea used circular reasoning in order to arrive at a point - making the point invalid.

So in other words, this blog begs the question (in the proper use of the term). Which, seeing as you used the term, makes it kind of funny.

[kempette]

I can't imagine what might have happened to your Kindle, but I've had (& loved) mine for more than 6 months without incident. I wonder if it's from a bad batch? I suppose it could've been worse- you could've had to wait 2 months for it and THEN had it break after two days. Still, to have it break so quickly while you're out of the country is miserable. I hope they replace it quickly.

[sailnit]

Wah, my <insert name of electronic device> broke soon after I got it. Every single other one ever made must have too. I didn't do anything with it. Please note that "didn't do anything" also includes bringing it half way around the world. Oh, and you'll just have to trust me that it was properly stored for the journey through the airport and in the taxi. Obviously, this is all some other entities fault.

[mao995]

I feel for you! I have owned the Sony eBook reader for a long time. The UI is not that good, and I would like to get a Kindle, but can't really justify the additonal price for the minor upgrade to what I have now. When my Sony goes south, though...

I bet you will get a speedy replacement from Amazon. They've always been pretty good to me.

Sam Weller rules!

--mike olson

[fmou]

The other day I saw a guy holding this ?thing? in a cafe. When he realized that people were staring at him and laughing he got embarrassed and took it away. I also want an ebook reader but this thing is so fugly and 80?s style and uhmmm UGLY??Anyways, good luck with that.

[The_Decider]

You bought an expensive bulky POS to read books? You got everything you deserve. Most of the kindle using idiots only get snickers behind their backs, they should consider themselves lucky.

[dkb937]

Good thing I'm mature enough to make up my own mind about what I like and don't need to conform to someone else's idea about what is "cool." Snicker all you want.

[princessgeek]

I did worse than that - I bought two.

I'm thankful for your insightful comments about the Kindle. Sometimes it's helpful to consider the thoughts of someone who hasn't used a device to get an objective opinion. Thank you for showing me the idiocy of my ways; I finally understand what the noise behind my back was all about.

But, now that I think about it, I was the one snickering: at people paying $20 for hardcovers while I only paid $10; at carrying a 10 ounce device instead of 50 pounds of books; when I started reading a book within 60 second of getting the recommendation; when I decided not to buy a much-hyped book after finding the Kindle sample not to my liking. Oh, yes I'm full of snickers thanks to Kindle.

[Stormspace]

The biggest question I have is. "When you send it in for repair, will all the books you bought be on the replacement?"

[kempette]

Stormspace- the books are on your Amazon digital media library, presumably forever. If I add additional Kindles to my account (up to six I believe) they can access any books in my digital library. If I replace my kindle with a new one they can access any books in my library- they books are attached to my Amazon account, just like the Kindle is, so yes, he will be able to easily transfer all his books to his new Kindle. It will be absolutely no problem. :)

[Sparkle100]

I'm somewhat surprised you posted your problem with your Kindle before even contacting Amazon and talking to customer service. Just because your Kindle has a problem, does not mean the majority of Kindles have similar problems. You should have given Amazon a chance to respond, first, and then written a complete review of whatoccurred, and how it was addressed by Amazon. Your article implies that most Kindles are going to self-destruct at some point in time, which is certainly not true.

[johndoe08]

Matt,

It is unfortunate that you had a bad experience. But the article seems to be biased to the core by the experience, and you cannot appreciate anything positive, which is more unfortunate. I cannot agree any less with your article.

This article is not a news item but for a layman, it would look like a news article coming from a cnet editor (or sub editor or whoever) and you are not even affiliated with cnet (Just to keep the records straight)

And dude, if you are so worried to justify the cost to your wife, don't buy anything (yes ANYTHING, unlike Sparkle100 says, given enough time everything including the Sun and the world will self destruct). If you don't buy anything, nothing will self destruct ;) But please don't cry in public about how your wife will bash you.

I am seriously surprised that you are in the advisory board of so many companies with such a narrow perspective.

[lesleyd]

Reading Amazon's own Kindle forum's do chronicle a certain number of purchasers are experiencing early failure on the screens and other problems. However, the vast number of Kindles do NOT have failures.

Granted all in-the-field Kindles are essentially early models (I've had mine since the end of January and no problems to date), it should be noted that buyers have been pleased at Amazon's responsiveness to replace any broken devices.

Time will tell how Kindles fair long term but if you really think you want one of these eBook readers, I would still encourage folks to get one. If you read the Kindle forums deeply enough, you will find sufficient stories of owners who have done extensive traveling, including camping trips, with their Kindles and have not had any failures so this is not an especially fragile product. A lot of users also carry their Kindles with them daily on their job commutes and/or because they like to catch some reading time all day when the opportunity arises.

I am more impressed by the opening comment on this CNET report that the user loves the product than I am by the fact the screen had problems.

[padreislandgal]

I have had my Kindle for 6 months and LOVE it! No problems at all. It is so easy to travel with a lot of books and to read all kinds of materials without lugging a lot of STUFF. Marcy

[Jonathan Ward]

My Kindle came down with an annoying vertical white line on the screen a couple of days after Christmas. Amazon sent a replacement leaving me the (slightly) defective machine to use in the three days it took the new Kindle to reach me. They paid postage both ways. I use the reader several hours a day because it's the only way to get newspapers and books quickly here in Bumpass VA. I've had no problems since the initial glitch.

Incidentally, of the computers I buy for the office, one in ten is DOA or dies shortly thereafter. Such a failure should not be that much of a shock...

[JeffcnetSKent]

I bought a Kindle the day it came out and paid $20 to have it delivered the next day. In the seven months I have used it, it is wonderful. After about three months the screen went halfway black and would only display the top half of the page. Amazon phone service tried a couple of diagnostic checks and sent me a replacement in a couple of days. I returned the defective one and all has been fine since then.

Lemon? Anything can break at any time. How do you define a lemon? A product that breaks one time? Poor design or defective design? Certainly, but all technology is constantly in need of improvement and updating. Even hammers are being updated and improved tremendously these days. Is there any thing which is perfect as it is? I can't think of anything. Can you?

[Raffeer]

Take the Kindle out of the cover. Turn it over. Turn it off. Find the "reset" hole. Take a paper clip. Open it up. Put end in hole.
It worked for me.
In seven months I have had one incident and the above took care of it.
My Kindle has traveled with me around the Horn. It is an incredible device.

[princessgeek]

I've had my Kindle since early January and I 'm very pleased with it. I've not had any notable issues at all. I got a second Kindle for my daughter in April and she has had two replacements due to screen issues (although one problem was likely due to negligence and not hardware failure). Amazon was super-quick with overnight shipping on the replacements, and I have no complaints about the experience.

Amazon shipped a new (not refurbished) Kindle at no charge and then waited for me to return the defective one. Too often, companies charge for a replacement and then initiate a refund upon receipt of the return, or they'll make you wait until the return is received before shipping a refurbished replacement (TiVo, for example). I really appreciate how Amazon cut throgh the typical hassle and made the replacement process as quick and hassle-free as possible.

One thing to keep in mind is that the screen manufacturer has quickly and dramatically ramped-up production to meet recent demands (I read somewhere that it's doubled or tripled since last year), It's possible that quality has taken a temporary hit due to additional process control issues with increased volume output.

Though certainly a few Kindles have screen problems, they're the exception and not the norm. Though I frequent several Kindle forums, I'm not aware of a single bad customer service experience with Kindle support and I've never heard of a Kindle user who didn't completely adore the device.

I think you'll find that Amazon is eager to resolve the problem and get you up and Kindle-ing as soon as possible. I hope you'll post a follow up with your experiences with customer service and with your new fully-functional Kindle.

[kevinor31]

I have had my Kindle since mid May. My screen has the same problem. It was working last night. I opened it this morning and had a black screen with white lines. No physical damage happened since it was just sitting on a table. Amazon customer service was great and I will have a replacement within a week.

[danconley]

I had my Kindle for six months until the screen went out yesterday. Amazon is shipping me a new one, which should arrive early next week. I give them an A for customer service, but a product that lasts only six months? I hope they give all the early adopters an easy upgrade path to Kindle 2 when it comes out, especially if they've fixed the display problem.