Kindle 3 diagonal hairline crack in bezel - replacement, same thing!

[just_jeepin]

My K3 developed a hairline crack in the lower left screen bezel. I called Amazon and they sent me a replacement. Luckily the replacement didn't have it. Although I should probably check my wife's K3 for it.

[koland]

I had a complete break in the keyboard area of my original K3 (below the letter G, down to next letter). I didn't worry about it (never would have seen it, if I had a skin on it), but eventually had to send it in because it kept rebooting after the last update (in case or not, even just laying on the counter being ignored).

[Atilla]

Just noticed hairline cracks both left and right bottom corners.
Amazon representative said that this is not a common problem and only occurs if I dropped it.

But at the end he agreed to send me a replacement.

Fingers crossed.

[JeremyR]

Well, realistically, how many people don't drop their handheld things at least once or twice? Good engineering would take that into account...

But I've got them.

[just_jeepin]

I had never dropped my K3 and it had the crack. They replaced mine and just last week replaced my wife's for the same problem.

Sounds to me like a manufacturing defect (that the plastic bezel is too thin in that spot).

[Atilla]

I got my replacement from Amazon.

The left corner is ok but the right corner has a hint of a molding defect visible under high magnifying glass. It is not a crack yet but I suspect it will develop in to one.

[manuk86]

Originally Posted by FF2

The cracks seem to occur at the lower corners of the screen/bezel junction. There is obviously some defect. Whether there is some pressure point in that area or the mold-form did not provide adequate strain relief at those 90 degree cut-outs, the cracks propagate from those areas. Also, having not read of similar issues with the white case, there may be something inherent in the composition of the graphite case's plastic or coloring agent that allows the cracking to occur.

I have read that some folks have opted to not get a replacement (refurbished unit) but to at least report the issue and note it on their account, so if it gets worse, they can follow up near the end of their warranty period.

I just get my Kindle 3 and found the tiny crack, I only haved since 1 month and want to know how to report the issue and note in my account since I can't find those options in my Amazon's account. Thanks

[foghat]

My original one developed the crack and now my replacement has developed the same crack, albeit on the opposite corner. Doesn't seem to get any worse, I don't think I am going to worry about it again. Though getting a partial refund (as the OP was offered), may be worth pursuing.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by manuk86

I just get my Kindle 3 and found the tiny crack, I only haved since 1 month and want to know how to report the issue and note in my account since I can't find those options in my Amazon's account. Thanks

It may be set up differently if you are not in the United States, but in the U.S. you can:

• Go to Amazon's website
• Click on "Your account" (in the upper right corner)
• Scroll down to "Digital Content" and click on "Manage Your Kindle"
• Once signed into the Kindle page, in the upper right you will see "Kindle Help." One of the drop-down menu items there is "Contact Us." Select that.
• On the next page, you can either click on "Contact Kindle Support" to send an email or request a call-back or call them directly.

From that page:

Inside the United States:

You can reach us by phone directly and toll-free by clicking the "Contact Us" button in the right-hand column of the Kindle Support pages. Leave your number, and we'll call you right back. U.S. direct toll-free number is 1-866-321-8851.

Selected Countries and U.S. Territories (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, and Virgin Islands):

You can reach us by phone directly and toll free by clicking the "Contact Us" button in the right-hand column of our Kindle Support pages. Leave your number, and we'll call you right back. Direct number is 1-206-266-0927.

All Other Countries:

Direct number: 1-206-266-0927.

[Atilla]

This is clearly a design flaw. There seems to a tiny space under the bottom corners of the bezel.

Which makes it flex when holding. If they made the corners rounded, this would make the bezel more crack resistant under flexing.

[Rowdy]

To me the cure of the crack is simple.. I am no engineer or designer but anytime you have a 90 degree parting line (this may be not the correct term) this is where the stresses will be concentrated. In my opinion rounding the corners of the display would dissipate the stress and go a long way to correct that problem. The buttons and controls in other places are rounded and it looks to me that the real-estate lost to the display would be minimal. This is my second Kindle. One had cracked but this one not yet. I saw no negative effects from the crack other than my puzzlement in perhaps a design flaw easily fixed. By the way I am happy as a clam with my kindle. I travel the world frequently in my job and the 3g wifi allows me to connect in so many countries. The web browser is clunky and not all that easy to use but for limited use its super great. Thank you for providing such a capable device for a reasonable price.