Bad news for the Kobo battery.

[Tony1988]

Originally Posted by chas0039

I was looking into Kobo as a viable reader and when I asked questions about battery replacement, I was told there is no option for this and Kobo will not replace the battery. She said that you are expected to throw it away and buy a new one every 3 years.

I guess you could just figure it is like a set of tires, but even Amazon will replace your Kindle battery for $60. Maybe I am getting old, but the idea of so many battery powered gadgets with a 3 year life until it is trashed just seems wrong.

I wouldnt lose sleep over it. Chances are in either 3 years something else wil catch your eye or you will just replace the battery yourself. These batteries are a dime a dozen. There is always someone online who makes tutorials for battery replacement on items like this. Its not hard to do.

One thing I like about the sony ereaders is they have a case that is screwed shut. So its easy to open and replace the battery. Unfortunately the current kobo, and nook are a little harder to get into.
Since the new sonys coming out in october are going to be all plastic I am sure they will be harder to open as well. So Im keeping my 650.

[filmo]

Kobo Wifi is easy to open and replace the battery after you find replacement battery.

[molman]

I don't think people will be to fussed about the battery not being easily replicable in a ~US$130 eReader when many of them are forking out for hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars for phones and notebook/laptops without user replicable batteries (looking at you Apple).

As others said there will likely be a 3rd party market for those so inclined when the time comes, and for those on the go something like the MintyBoost (http://www.adafruit.com/products/14) or commercial alternatives are great.

This guy (or girl) even hacked some solar panels into their Kobo (http://www.instructables.com/id/Sola...ader/?ALLSTEPS). Just find sun to top up

[H3g3m0n]

It's planned obsolescence, there's a good documentary on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1xt4nEvipg

Apple was actually sued over a similar thing with their iPod batteries. Now they offer a replacement service.

Of course the price to replace the battery vs the cost of a new updated version is so close just about everyone will buy the new product.

Plus once the battery fails, it's not going to be to long before the flash memory follows which would be another repair.

[nogle]

Originally Posted by H3g3m0n

It's planned obsolescence, there's a good documentary on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1xt4nEvipg

Apple was actually sued over a similar thing with their iPod batteries. Now they offer a replacement service.

Of course the price to replace the battery vs the cost of a new updated version is so close just about everyone will buy the new product.

Plus once the battery fails, it's not going to be to long before the flash memory follows which would be another repair.

There is a (subtle) difference between planned obsolescence and mean time to failure.

Mean time to failure - your Kobo battery will last on average for x charges.

Planned obsolescence - Kobo is introducing a new eBook format that will not be supported on readers produced prior to XX/YY/ZZZZ

[kyriu]

Originally Posted by chas0039

I am also not an engineer, but every site that is full of engineers says that these batteries start to die from the date of manufacture. They add that you can shorten the life with heat, but no where do they say you can extend the life beyond what it is. You are commenting on the effects of charging cycles. This is not the life span based on the manufacture date.

In any case, I hope you are right as, otherwise, I would assume a lot of annoyed users.

I might notice that we all start to die the moment we are born. The rate of decay is what matters. On other hand, it is a valid comment that it is of generally no use to buy extra batteries thinking on using them some years from now.

[smallhagrid]

As previously posted:
Polymer Lithium Ion Battery - 1000mAh 3.7V
Dimensions: 2.09 x 1.3 x 0.225" (53 x 33 x 5.7 mm)
$11.95, not in stock but backorders are allowed.
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/339

I will certainly want to replace mine when it is needed rather than getting a new reader (with features I like less) or using an external battery pack.

What folks see in the newer touch screen wireless readers is beyond me because I live & work in a rural area & none of that internet stuff does me a whisker of good.
Not only that - my EZ Reader is perfect just as it is & needs nothing right now.

I'm a pretty firm believer that the customer should decide when to replace a device, not the vendor (or engineers) so their attitude over batteries is disappointing to say the least. At least within reason. By that I mean that 20 years is probably unreasonably long, yet 3 years is unreasonably short.

Now I suppose that it doesn't have to be the vendor that supplies the replacement components, but it would be nice if they did. That's especially true for batteries that have a short lifespan, and because rechargable batteries seems to be a bit of a black art. (I'm a physicist damn it, not a chemical engineer. I would hate to see how confusing it is for someone who pursued interests outside of the sciences.)

[dragon77]

3 years is a conservative estimate for when the battery will hold 80% of its original full capacity, which is far from being useless. It could very well still be able to operate at 50% capacity after 10 years, and that's not bad considering that still means at least several days between charges.

Unless you have a faulty battery to begin with it really should be many years before it's an issue. Other components of the device will probably fail before the battery becomes useless.

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by nogle

There is a (subtle) difference between planned obsolescence and mean time to failure.

Mean time to failure - your Kobo battery will last on average for x charges.

Planned obsolescence - Kobo is introducing a new eBook format that will not be supported on readers produced prior to XX/YY/ZZZZ

Would one not also consider lack of further support to be planned obsolescence? I mean Kobo are still selling the wifi model but no further updates/bug fixes have been seen in a LONG time, well before the Kobo touch was released.

Anyway I dislike consumerism. Why can't one buy an ereader with a replaceable battery? My Astak has one (though can't buy a battery anywhere for it).

If someone released a Pearl e-ink reader, page turn buttons and replaceable battery with a SD slot (not micro) I'm buying.

[winsomnia]

Originally Posted by Solicitous

If someone released a Pearl e-ink reader, page turn buttons and replaceable battery with a SD slot (not micro) I'm buying.

Yes. Also, add e-pub compatible to that list and it's darn near perfect for me.

[frankieGom]

Originally Posted by Tony1988

One thing I like about the sony ereaders is they have a case that is screwed shut. So its easy to open and replace the battery. Unfortunately the current kobo, and nook are a little harder to get into.

If you don't cut your nails too short the Kobo Touch can easily be opened with bare hands!

Originally Posted by Solicitous

Anyway I dislike consumerism. Why can't one buy an ereader with a replaceable battery? My Astak has one (though can't buy a battery anywhere for it).

You can pry the back off of the Touch (and Vox) and the battery is plugged into the circuit board. The main problem is finding a suitable replacement since very little seems to be standardized any more.

[smallhagrid]

...My Astak has one (though can't buy a battery anywhere for it).

As it happens, I just learned the EZ Readers take 2 different (and quite cheap/common) Nokia phone batteries as exact & perfect replacements.
Since I have a Nokia phone I bought that was defective I looked in it and presto - it had the stronger of the 2 choices, so in it went and I can also use the dead phone as an external charger if needed; it's kinda neat !

Regarding the Kobo's need, I bet if I opened mine up I could figure out how to get a matching cellular battery wired in there; might need a smidgin of soldering to do it though...

[lkings]

Originally Posted by chas0039

I was looking into Kobo as a viable reader and when I asked questions about battery replacement, I was told there is no option for this and Kobo will not replace the battery. She said that you are expected to throw it away and buy a new one every 3 years.

I guess you could just figure it is like a set of tires, but even Amazon will replace your Kindle battery for $60. Maybe I am getting old, but the idea of so many battery powered gadgets with a 3 year life until it is trashed just seems wrong.

I got my Kobo Desktop for Christmas last year & its stopped working, I think its the battery- thats less than a year. As it was a gift, I don't know for sure where it was bought, nor do I have a receipt, neither does the person who gave it to me.