Amazon's leather case causes Kindle to crash - Page 2

SameOldStory · 12-23-2010, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardeegee

The issue IIRC from the original article is that the lighted case draws it's power from the Kindle's battery, thus needing metal tabs to insert into the case. The unlighted case has metal tabs that are connected-- they are painted, but the paint can rub off. If the paint has rubbed off on spots of both tabs, it can cause a short circuit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

I've seen some strange things happen that appear to have no rational cause but do in fact have a reproducible and logical cause.

K to ardeegee for top rated research.

mldavis2 · 12-23-2010, 10:21 AM

As a follow-up, I don't see any way insertion of the Kindle cover hooks could cause a cracked case unless someone had no idea how they worked and forced insertion or removal. The pictoral insert with the cover is not the best, and we all know how many people (my wife for example) never RTFM and then wonder why they can't figure things out.

I don't have a solution to the spontaneous reboot problem because I don't have it and haven't tried to analyze it. My only problem was a total freeze in sleep mode which I've overcome with my own solution mentioned elsewhere. It works for me. I like the official Kindle cover for it's protection and appearance. I'm delighted with my two K3 WiFi's and unlighted covers. I hope those who have other problems get them sorted out because it's a great product at a great price in today's market.

HarryT · 12-23-2010, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

oh it seems "tgdaily" misrepresented the issues they link to. its not hinges but metal tabs that actually insert in the body of the kindle. the idea is that in some cases the tabs are touching or coming very close to a component inside causing crashes or freezing. that I can see

The lighted cover has metal tabs too. Why would THEY not also cause such problems if that were the case? Nobody's reporting problems with lighted cases.

ebsebs · 12-23-2010, 10:45 AM

Harry,

I don't own a Kindle, but I am an electrical engineer. So here's my (educated?) guess:

The lighted cover draws power for the light through the metal tabs and runs it through some LEDs and maybe a driver circuit.
Unless there is some drastic fault with the LED or driver circuitry, it would be difficult to short out the power on the Kindle.

However, the metal tabs on the unlighted cover may be built from one solid piece of metal, with non-conductive paint on the tabs.
If that paint wears off, you've got an instant short-circuit, which could certainly crash the Kindle.

This is only my speculation based on the problem descriptions reported here.

ardeegee · 12-23-2010, 11:03 AM

The mention of the problem I had seen first turns out to have been on slashdot, not boingboing (which I figured out after much searching at boingboing to find the link again.) This is the link to their link to the story, but story linked in the link (whew) has been removed. But IN that old story (that I was having to summarize from memory) the poster had, after noticing the worn paint, hooked up a multimeter to the two tabs and found that a small current could flow between the two tabs.

http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...hes-the-Kindle

FF2 · 12-23-2010, 01:34 PM

Someone on another board dissected the case and the spine that holds the "hinge" pins. They were NOT connected but merely inserted into the plastic stiffener. My non-engineering guess is static electricity. Guessing that the LIGHTED case and light somehow draw the charge into the lighting system's circuitry and the UNlighted case does not deal as well with that issue. PURE SPECULATION.

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12-23-2010, 10:21 AM	#17
mldavis2 Coffee Nut Posts: 410 Karma: 298350 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Missouri Device: Kindle 3; K4PC; Calibre	As a follow-up, I don't see any way insertion of the Kindle cover hooks could cause a cracked case unless someone had no idea how they worked and forced insertion or removal. The pictoral insert with the cover is not the best, and we all know how many people (my wife for example) never RTFM and then wonder why they can't figure things out. I don't have a solution to the spontaneous reboot problem because I don't have it and haven't tried to analyze it. My only problem was a total freeze in sleep mode which I've overcome with my own solution mentioned elsewhere. It works for me. I like the official Kindle cover for it's protection and appearance. I'm delighted with my two K3 WiFi's and unlighted covers. I hope those who have other problems get them sorted out because it's a great product at a great price in today's market.

12-23-2010, 10:45 AM	#19
ebsebs Connoisseur Posts: 99 Karma: 49970 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Nook ST/Nook HD+	Harry, I don't own a Kindle, but I am an electrical engineer. So here's my (educated?) guess: The lighted cover draws power for the light through the metal tabs and runs it through some LEDs and maybe a driver circuit. Unless there is some drastic fault with the LED or driver circuitry, it would be difficult to short out the power on the Kindle. However, the metal tabs on the unlighted cover may be built from one solid piece of metal, with non-conductive paint on the tabs. If that paint wears off, you've got an instant short-circuit, which could certainly crash the Kindle. This is only my speculation based on the problem descriptions reported here.

12-23-2010, 11:03 AM	#20
ardeegee Maratus speciosus butt Posts: 3,292 Karma: 1162698 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-350	The mention of the problem I had seen first turns out to have been on slashdot, not boingboing (which I figured out after much searching at boingboing to find the link again.) This is the link to their link to the story, but story linked in the link (whew) has been removed. But IN that old story (that I was having to summarize from memory) the poster had, after noticing the worn paint, hooked up a multimeter to the two tabs and found that a small current could flow between the two tabs. http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...hes-the-Kindle

12-23-2010, 01:34 PM	#21
FF2 Wizard Posts: 1,105 Karma: 1025784 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: WiFi Kindle3	Someone on another board dissected the case and the spine that holds the "hinge" pins. They were NOT connected but merely inserted into the plastic stiffener. My non-engineering guess is static electricity. Guessing that the LIGHTED case and light somehow draw the charge into the lighting system's circuitry and the UNlighted case does not deal as well with that issue. PURE SPECULATION.

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