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."
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
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.
I bet you will get a speedy replacement from Amazon. They've always been pretty good to me.
Sam Weller rules!
--mike olson
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.
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.
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.
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...
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?
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.
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.
- by danconley August 8, 2008 7:22 AM PDT
- 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.
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