hmm kindle build quality - Page 2

Histerius · 04-11-2011, 05:47 PM

No problems with mine, built as a rock.

TestType · 04-12-2011, 07:25 PM

Mine has a slight, almost inaudible creak on the right hand side near the page turn buttons. I can feel the back goes back and forth slightly and it annoys me as I'm very picky about details. Also the page buttons on the right side definitely feel a bit on the flimsy side, they have a very different feel than the left buttons. I'm guessing the right buttons will be the first things to fail on my kindle if it came to that.

Based on those two things I can tell the quality control isn't great and it makes the Kindle feel a little cheap and flimsy. It marred my impression of the thing which I'm otherwise very happy with as my other complaints are related to Amazon's kindle store and ebooks in general. There is something definitely off with the right side of the Kindle in general, something about the way it's designed to be put together.

I won't be sending it back however because of two things.
1. My Kindle was bought in the US and brought to my country by a friend so I paid no customs or VAT. If I were to receive a replacement I would need to pay 60.5% of the unit's worth + postage to my government (10% customs, 25,5% VAT, 25% "vare" tax), or around $116.

2. The replacements are refurbished models and there is no guarantee that the issue you had with your original isn't also in the replacement based on posts I've read, or it could have other quality issues. Also, I don't like knowing my stuff has been previously opened and handled, I guess I'm OCD like that.

ywen · 04-12-2011, 10:28 PM

I took the Kindle back to Target in exchange for another and the back cover feels much more solid now.. let's see how long this thing holds up.

Why can't the K3 be built like them Texas Instrument graphing calcs? Those were solid.

TLActor · 04-13-2011, 02:53 AM

Good call on exchanging it. I had a similar problem with mine. Though it only annoyed me, I was worried about he integrity of the Kindle long term. I called Amazon and they said it shouldn't be doing that - they immediatly offered to send out a new one.

I even went to a Target & Best Buy and played with their display models. I figured if the heavily used ones didn't make a sound as the case adhered and unadhered to the screen, then my gently used one shouldn't either. And, of course, theirs were fine.

Good luck with your new one and let us know how it goes!

Wickedkitten · 04-15-2011, 09:23 AM

You should be fine. I've managed to drop mine down a flight of stairs, had the back of it pop open and all I had to do was pop it shut. It's a lot more robust than it looks.

bwaldron · 04-15-2011, 02:24 PM

The K3 build quality doesn't seem to be as good as previous models, IMO. On the other hand, it's still decent and the price is dramatically lower.

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04-11-2011, 05:47 PM	#16
Histerius Zealot Posts: 126 Karma: 7922 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Zagreb, Croatia Device: Kindle 3 - Galaxy Tab 10.1	No problems with mine, built as a rock.

04-12-2011, 07:25 PM	#17
TestType Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Iceland Device: Kindle 3	Mine has a slight, almost inaudible creak on the right hand side near the page turn buttons. I can feel the back goes back and forth slightly and it annoys me as I'm very picky about details. Also the page buttons on the right side definitely feel a bit on the flimsy side, they have a very different feel than the left buttons. I'm guessing the right buttons will be the first things to fail on my kindle if it came to that. Based on those two things I can tell the quality control isn't great and it makes the Kindle feel a little cheap and flimsy. It marred my impression of the thing which I'm otherwise very happy with as my other complaints are related to Amazon's kindle store and ebooks in general. There is something definitely off with the right side of the Kindle in general, something about the way it's designed to be put together. I won't be sending it back however because of two things. 1. My Kindle was bought in the US and brought to my country by a friend so I paid no customs or VAT. If I were to receive a replacement I would need to pay 60.5% of the unit's worth + postage to my government (10% customs, 25,5% VAT, 25% "vare" tax), or around $116. 2. The replacements are refurbished models and there is no guarantee that the issue you had with your original isn't also in the replacement based on posts I've read, or it could have other quality issues. Also, I don't like knowing my stuff has been previously opened and handled, I guess I'm OCD like that.

04-12-2011, 10:28 PM	#18
ywen Member Posts: 14 Karma: 126 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: kindle 3 3g	I took the Kindle back to Target in exchange for another and the back cover feels much more solid now.. let's see how long this thing holds up. Why can't the K3 be built like them Texas Instrument graphing calcs? Those were solid.

04-13-2011, 02:53 AM	#19
TLActor Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: HTC Evo, K3	Good call on exchanging it. I had a similar problem with mine. Though it only annoyed me, I was worried about he integrity of the Kindle long term. I called Amazon and they said it shouldn't be doing that - they immediatly offered to send out a new one. I even went to a Target & Best Buy and played with their display models. I figured if the heavily used ones didn't make a sound as the case adhered and unadhered to the screen, then my gently used one shouldn't either. And, of course, theirs were fine. Good luck with your new one and let us know how it goes!

04-15-2011, 09:23 AM	#20
Wickedkitten Member Posts: 24 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: iPad Pro	You should be fine. I've managed to drop mine down a flight of stairs, had the back of it pop open and all I had to do was pop it shut. It's a lot more robust than it looks.

04-15-2011, 02:24 PM	#21
bwaldron Wizard Posts: 1,230 Karma: 543210 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gatlinburg, Tennessee Device: Kindles: Paperwhite Signature Ed., Oasis 2, Voyage	The K3 build quality doesn't seem to be as good as previous models, IMO. On the other hand, it's still decent and the price is dramatically lower.

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