[SchrodingersCat]

Mercedes's Kindle: dark screen
Mercedes's Second Kindle: dark screen
Mercedes's Third Kindle: dark screen
Mercedes's Fourth Kindle: ABOUT FRICKIN' TIME!

So it took until the 4th unit before I got one that was satisfactory. I can tilt it away from the light and it appears as bright as I would expect. Also, the black is actually darker than on the grey units (although it could just appear darker because of the lighter background, but either way it really pops). The edge of the letters even appears smoother. Overall, I am finally satisfied with this unit.

So there it is, folks. It's not that the entire stock is poor quality, just 3/4 of the units. So be persistent. Each time, they were very helpful about replacing it with no problems, which is what I love about Amazon.

The poor thing even sat in my mailbox for I don't know how long, because I don't usually check the mail on the weekends but I had to clear snow off the mailbox so I figured I'd check, which means it had been there at least since yesterday. -20C (-4 F for you 'merkin folks).

I have a conspiracy theory: They QC the units and put them into different piles. They send the worst out as the first units. Some people don't know what to expect, so they don't complain. Those who do get units from the 2nd pile and so forth. It also took me 3 or 4 (can't remember) units of the K3 to get one where the power button didn't stick. By the 4th unit, perhaps you get the "cream of the crop" so that they can quit wasting money on postage. Like I said, it's just a theory...