Bad news for the Kobo battery.

[SameerH]

Originally Posted by CazMar

Is it my imagination of do these devices last longer with some people than other? I still have my first Sandisk Sansa MP3 player - still working in a slightly wonky way after being crushed and repaired at home with bits soldered on. The 2nd Sandisk still works perfectly and is over 3 years old. My ancient Nokia phone is now about 10 years old, we recharge it for use by overseas relatives when they visit Australia. Yet my lovely husband, a genius with anything mechanical, can reduce a phone or any electronic device to waste within about 12 months!
I'll bet my Kobo is still working in 5 years time. Oh, and I still have a working 1995 Cassiopaeia (but it didn't have rechargeable batteries).

I had a Cassiopaeia too! Nice little device, but had to forego it for the then-ahead-of-its-time Palm/Handspring Treo.

[digital_steve]

I have 2 psion 3c's, a psion 7 and a psion netbook pro
Do i win the old technology award?!

also, i actually use my psion 3c daily

[sabredog]

I only recently got rid of my Cassiopeia. Still worked fine.

[corona]

Look at all those Priuses out there, too! (Anyway, whatever the plural of Prius is. Prii?)

[thufir]

For the eager and manually adept...it looks like the specs on the Kobo battery are:

H503456 1000mAh 3.7v

One manufacturer's website info on this battery:

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/37...6_1000mah.html

A picture of Kobo disassembled, showing battery:

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/f...ive_or_pdf=pdf

So...all we need is some enterprising person to buy a lot of 1000 batteries, and turn around and sell them on eBay to the rest of us. It looks like the batteries could be bought for $2 a piece. I would be willing to buy one for $20. The break even point is selling 100; the chance for profit is pretty good!

[smoggy]

I'm thinking about using just the power leads from the USB cable,
and making a small external battery source. Pinouts & specs
appear easy, and with an external batttery I should be able to
get better than the day to day and a half I'm currently getting.

I'm not a "technician" in any sense of the word, but I am tired of
having my Kobo die every time I want to read.

Google for USB specs, you can easily find pinouts. 2 rechargable
AA batteries should suffice, a very short USB cord, shorten as
needed, and a bit of velcro to the back of the case, and I should
be able to go away for a weekend without having to bring along
my laptop so I can recharge.

I'm not going to try this until KOBO tech support abandons me,
although it is getting very lonely out there.

Anybody have that lived through the warranty period?

[smoggy]

Ok, after talking, I did some hunting around and there are a few external USB battery devices available on Amazon, do a search for Kobo Battery, there are a couple wall chargers, and a car charger. The Battery pack, contrary to my above post, would use 4 AA batteries.

[smoggy]

Follow up & hopefully some good news.

I spoke in Email with the Ceo, and by phone with the tech support senior Manager.
There is an engineer reading my comments & problems, and is testing a unit to ensure
it meets all advertised specs, & within a week I should have me a ne trouble free Kobo.

Many Thanks to the Kobo Senior Management

[filmo]

Might try Minty Boost charger kit.

[smallhagrid]

I have a Kobo that is around a year old and it's battery is discharging at an outrageous rate - even when 'asleep'.
Being out of warranty I would merrily open it up and see about replacing the wee thing.
I also have a thing that uses 4 AA batteries with a mini-USB connector which will power it.
Aside of this one problem I consider the Kobo my 2nd best reader, after the EZReader.

I will now search for a non-Alibaba source of a single H503456 1000mAh 3.7v battery.
(And BTW - Borders is blowing Kobos out at their stores for $60 - nice deal !)

Edit/addition:
A post here about the Pocket Book 360 mentions what appears to be the same battery, and it is found here:
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/339

For about $12 = shipping.

Has anyone tried this in a Kobo ?

[J. Strnad]

The non-replaceable-battery thing really irks me. I hate our disposable culture, where it's cheaper to toss stuff in the landfill and replace it than it is to repair it, even when that "repair" is nothing more than replacing a battery.

[geormes]

How many other e-readers secure their batteries with glue??

[RolandD]

Originally Posted by smoggy

Ok, after talking, I did some hunting around and there are a few external USB battery devices available on Amazon, do a search for Kobo Battery, there are a couple wall chargers, and a car charger. The Battery pack, contrary to my above post, would use 4 AA batteries.

Originally Posted by smoggy

Google for USB specs, you can easily find pinouts. 2 rechargable AA batteries should suffice, a very short USB cord, shorten as
needed, and a bit of velcro to the back of the case, and I should
be able to go away for a weekend without having to bring along
my laptop so I can recharge.

Most any mini-USB phone charger will charge the Kobo. Ours only plugs into the computer to transfer books.

[OneandonlyDoc]

Originally Posted by RolandD

Most any mini-USB phone charger will charge the Kobo. Ours only plugs into the computer to transfer books.

Yeah, my sister has used her phone charger to charge her Kobo, and I have a feeling my iPod charger (once I find it again) will do the job as well.

[luqmaninbmore]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

The non-replaceable-battery thing really irks me. I hate our disposable culture, where it's cheaper to toss stuff in the landfill and replace it than it is to repair it, even when that "repair" is nothing more than replacing a battery.

That's why I purchased my Toshiba Thrive. It's the only Android Tablet that I know of that has an easily replaceable battery. I want to be using this thing five years from now, God willing.