It was great to have books with me when I was travelling light in Croatia or staying at the Camus centre on the remote shore of the island of Mull. To be able to sit on the top of Duni, the hill on Iona, and choose a Terry Pratchett escapist novel to suit my mood.
It has the other great advantage of both wi-fi connectivity and a 3g connection. The 3g connection, though limited by the basic browser, I have found to be a lifesaver when I have been out of contact with the world and nowhere near wi-fi.
But this morning I had a shock. I settled down in my seat in the train and took it out of my backpack to resume reading the book I had started last night. I was stunned as I opened the case and found that there were horizontal and vertical lines on the screen. I could not read the text clearly. What had happened? It had been OK last time I had closed it in the case.
I will never know what happened. Perhaps it got accidentally touched by some high magnetic field. I can't see how it could have been bashed or dropped without me knowing about it? I was pretty devastated to say the least. I had had it for less than a year during which time it had become part of my life.
But as I looked on the Amazon website when I got home I realised all might not be lost. There was a one year guarantee with certain exclusions.
I phoned the hot line and talked through what had happened and the nice lady I spoke to promised they would send me a new one in 3 days time. And then a few hours later I received an email saying my kindle had been dispatched and would be with me tomorrow!! Wow - what amazingly good customer service. Amazon I cannot praise you highly enough.
Perhaps I should be worrying if there is a fault that causes screen problems. Perhaps I must be extra extra careful and keep it in a safe place all the time to avoid any possible repeat. (But as I don't know what caused the problem it is impossible to know what to do to avoid it recurring!)
But tonight I simply want to praise Amazon for knowing how to make people feel better! Thank you.
Postscript
I have just google searched for information on kindle screen problems and they seem very vulnerable to damage and mostly people are given relacements. The screen is vulnerable plastic and the whole unit is very thin and so easily twisted or bumped perhaps even without realising it. However, there are many reported instances of it breaking for no reason at all. See reports here, here , here and here.
Yes, Amazon is great about replacing a broken Kindle - until the warranty is up! Then the tune changes. They will charge you $85 for a refurbished Kindle 3 (keyboard model) and it will only come with a 3 month warranty - not a new warranty. Better to spring for the extra $15 or so and get a new one with a 1 year warranty. Better yet, go elsewhere. I think the real problem is defective products.
ReplyDeleteI asked for even a partial credit towards a different Kindle and was turned down. I switched to a Nook Tablet, and the build quality seems much better, but time will tell. With a Kindle app added on, I still have access to all my Amazon books.