MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Consumer-replaceable battery

GA Russell · 08-15-2009, 10:33 PM

I've never had an iPod. I don't imagine that I will ever get one because I don't enjoy listening to music with headphones (or, I suppose, earbuds).

But from the get go Apple alienated me when I learned that the iPod's battery needed to be replaced every 18 months or so (I can imagine that the kids with iPods use them a lot), and that the consumer/owner could not replace the battery himself. He is required to send the unit back to Apple. As I recall, Apple's sales pitch suggested that they would change the battery for you, but in reality they were sending you a different (I assume a rebuilt, used) unit with a different hard drive, so if you hadn't saved your music on your computer you were out of luck.

So now it appears to me that the eBook reader industry is much like the mp3 player industry was, what with the practice of linking a bookstore's DRM to a particular reader (similar to Apple's iTunes website being linked to the iPod).

I have been intrigued by reading Robertb's sales pitches about the Astak Pocket Pro, particularly the part where he says that his product allows the consumer to change his own battery.

That is a concept I would like to see included in the eInk eBook reader matrix. Since it is not there, I wonder if there is a list somewhere of those eBook readers which allow you to change your own battery. Or is the Hanlin V-5 the only one?

Can anyone name any others?

08-15-2009, 10:33 PM	#1
GA Russell Montreal wins Grey Cup! Posts: 7,583 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	Consumer-replaceable battery I've never had an iPod. I don't imagine that I will ever get one because I don't enjoy listening to music with headphones (or, I suppose, earbuds). But from the get go Apple alienated me when I learned that the iPod's battery needed to be replaced every 18 months or so (I can imagine that the kids with iPods use them a lot), and that the consumer/owner could not replace the battery himself. He is required to send the unit back to Apple. As I recall, Apple's sales pitch suggested that they would change the battery for you, but in reality they were sending you a different (I assume a rebuilt, used) unit with a different hard drive, so if you hadn't saved your music on your computer you were out of luck. So now it appears to me that the eBook reader industry is much like the mp3 player industry was, what with the practice of linking a bookstore's DRM to a particular reader (similar to Apple's iTunes website being linked to the iPod). I have been intrigued by reading Robertb's sales pitches about the Astak Pocket Pro, particularly the part where he says that his product allows the consumer to change his own battery. That is a concept I would like to see included in the eInk eBook reader matrix. Since it is not there, I wonder if there is a list somewhere of those eBook readers which allow you to change your own battery. Or is the Hanlin V-5 the only one? Can anyone name any others?