Techy I am not, but I’m still going to offer advice
At the risk of being corrected by someone who actually knows the technical and mechanical side of the Kindle, I’m discussing two issues with my Kindle 2. My original Kindle 2 is now more than two and a half years old. Several months ago the battery life deteriorated. After only an hour of reading the battery would be nearly drained.
My husband and I were travelling and there weren’t enough electrical outlets in our hotel room to charge our phones, tablets, laptops and Kindles every night.
Amazon states that the battery should be replaced only by an Amazon authorized service provider. Replacement batteries for the Kindle 2 are available on the internet (but not from Amazon). Videos on YouTube show you how to replace the battery. I’m too big of a fraidy cat to try this, so I found a much simpler method that is working to give back normal battery life for a couple of months. It’s as simple as restarting my Kindle by pressing Home > Menu > Settings > Menu and select Restart. This free, safe, and quick action has helped extend the battery life – for now.
The other problem I experienced recently was the crumbling of the power cord. On the Kindle connection end the covering broke into tiny pieces and continued to flake off the cord. It still worked, but the wires started to break and fray also. I went to Kindle Customer Support on Amazon’s website and explained the problen through a chat with customer service. Even though the cord was more than two years old, Amazon sent a new one and paid the shipping too.
That Kindle Cloud
For those of you who have questions about the new Kindle Cloud and how it will function and look, this article provides insight to the product. The author of the article felt that the product still needs work to be widely popular. He states the the look and feel will be familiar to Kindle users, but that the product doesn’t yet have the features we will want and it still isn’t available on many popular browsers. Has anyone taken the Cloud for a test drive? What are your thoughts on the product.
Back to school and fables for all ages
The Old Man & The Monkey is a stunningly beautiful story of a relationship which develops between an old man and a creature which is regarded as a dangerous pest in Japan, a snow monkey, in George Polley’s moving allegory of dignity in the face of racism. This fable is written for children and adults of all ages and is selling today for 99 cents.
Grandfather & the Raven: George Polley’s ‘Grandfather’ stories are fables capable of teaching children – and not a few adults – about the value of appreciating all living creatures, of the wisdom of being open-minded enough to seek solutions in unlikely places, of the rewards of working systematically towards your dreams, of the futility of bullying and aggression, and of the reassurance of a loving and harmonious environment in a world which tips all too often towards the arbitrary destruction of war.
As ever, George Polley recounts these near-legends in a voice which lulls and beguiles, and above all nudges us towards a kinder and more spiritual approach to the world around us. Buy this book for children of all ages and adults for only 99 cents today.
Since the cable problem is actually a manufacturing defect and not a “wear and tear from use” it’s good that they replaced it. I’ve seen a few others post on that cable issue.
Batteries are a pain in the patoot. One of the things that bothers people the most about sending them in for replacement is that they don’t always get the same unit back–Amazon simple sends a unit back that is guaranteed to work. So if you leave your skin on or have etched name and address on the back–you might be surprised to find you get a different unit. This is standard practice in the industry.
Personally I wish they would just make it so that we can replace the batteries. Battery technology isn’t that great–they don’t last and a replacement WILL have to be done eventually. So let us do it. Seriously.
Maria – Pain in the patoot is an accurate description of the battery. They do eventually wear out and customers will have to take some action. I have watched the video on battery replacement and it appears to be simple enough. I’m waiting until I have to replace the battery before I take any action. Even though Amazon states that the battery should be replaced by an Amazon authorized service provider, they don’t provide links or listings of those service providers. I would gladly pay someone to replace the battery so I can keep my original Kindle.
Amazon’s (and the nook’s) claim that the battery lasts a month is more than a bit misleading. The battery may last a month is the Kindle is used only 30 minutes a day, the wireless/wi-fi is off, and a minimum number of page turns are completed.
–Paula
Luckily the hubster is very techy, so I know he’ll be able to replace the battery on my K2 if I need it. As for the cable, thanks for the heads-up. I’ve been having the exact same problem with my 1.5 YO cable. Luckily, I had a spare from a used Kindle DX that a friend had passed on to me, but now that I know Amazon CS will replace the old one, I think I’ll give them a call.
On the other hand, I’ve been wanting the K with special offers anyway, so if my battery dies, I’ll probably just get a new one….
I’ve replaced the battery in my K2. I was nervous as heck, as I’m not that technically inclined either, but it was quite easy. I figured if it didn’t work, well, I wanted a Kindle with Special Offers anyway….. Plus, if I sent my Kindle in for a replacement I would still have to replace all those books, so it was worth a try.
As far as the Cloud, I’ve used it and I like it. I’ve had much better luck syncing with it than I do between my Kindle and my PC or Mac.