8BitKid: Living Bit by Bit

I have been enjoying my Amazon Kindle e-book reader for several months now.  I am a gadget fiend, and having one that encourages me to read is a good thing.  It is incredibly portable and readable, and the wireless store is a fantastic convenience.

A problem has arisen recently that is definitely aggravating.  After being away for a couple of weeks, I came home with a hankering to dive back into a book.  When I powered up my Kindle there was no power to be had.  I had never run the unit down during use, so it meant that the battery is draining even while off.

My first instinct was to research the matter.  I found mixed results from other users in the Amazon forums, and so I created a new thread.  After not finding a clear answer I contacted support via e-mail.  I got a quick, somewhat-canned response from them telling me that battery drains like a cell-phone battery in standby. My unit was losing charge when completely shut off, and so I wanted more details.  I called Amazon customer service and explained the drain issue.  They provided a similar story about how it is normal for batteries to drain slowly on consumer electronics devices, but I asked why it was using power while off, because if the battery is being used it isn’t really “off”.  They failed to provide me with a satisfactory reason for why this behavior was occurring, so I ended the call to regroup.

This morning someone posted in my forum in the Kindle saying that they experienced a similar problem with theirs, and that Amazon replaced it.  So I called back and described the situation, and they were able to pull in my unit’s log files over the Kindle’s wireless connection.  After persistently explaining that this wasn’t a standby problem but a problem with how the unit works while off, and having the battery drain 25% just while we were on the phone, they agreed to escalate my case.

So now I play the waiting game to hear back from Amazon about their analysis of my log files and what will happen next.  They told me it will take 24-48 hours for them to get back to me, and hopefully the Kindle tribunal will decide that I am ready for a new unit.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally received my Amazon Kindle in the mail. Almost two months passed from the time I placed my order until the day it reached my doorstep. For those unfamiliar with the product, it is an ebook reader that allows a user to download books wirelessly from an Amazon store via a cellular-based network called “Whispernet”. The Kindle certainly isn’t the first ebook reader on the block, but the ability to get your content delivered to your device wirelessly sets this one apart because there is no computer required.

You can read my full review of the product after the jump…

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