Kindle 1 questions

[ProfCrash]

It is not WiFi, it is 3G. The K1 did not have WiFi. I believe the K3 was the first Kindle to get WiFi. In know my DX does not have any WiFi.

Yes on the indexing.

[SampleAndy]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

It is not WiFi, it is 3G. The K1 did not have WiFi. I believe the K3 was the first Kindle to get WiFi. In know my DX does not have any WiFi.

Yes on the indexing.

My mistake. You are correct about the K2; it does not have wifi either. Just for curiosity's sake... Did they have 3G back then? I think they only refer to it as wireless or Whispernet in the startup guide. ("...the wireless radio supports both fast EVDO (Evolution-Data Optimized) data networks and older 1xRTT (1 times Radio Transmission Technology) networks...")

I also found this little tidbit... "...The charge indicator light will turn off when the battery is fully charged and wiull come back on after the battery has run down a bit..." What's that old saying? Something about RTFM?

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by SampleAndy

Just for curiosity's sake... Did they have 3G back then?

Yes. The K1 and original K2 & DX all had 3G through Sprint (EVDO = 3G) and were sold in the US only. The later K2's and DX's as well as all subsequent Kindle's have had 3G through AT&T (US & International*).

*As time went on Amazon has done deals with local providers in various markets.

[ProfCrash]

They called it Whispernet but it was 3G.They had a browser that sucked in the experimental section. I think that they were concerned if they said it was 3G in the advertising people would expect a more functional browser and internet experience.

[KTamas]

Originally Posted by SampleAndy

[...]

It was kinda weird. When I first got it, the battery was DEAD, no response at all, until it had been on the charger for 5-10 minutes. I charged it for about 4 hours, registered it, and everything seemed to be fine. Installed a 16G SD card, downloaded some books and tested all the keys and buttons, and everything was working. Turned wifi OFF, and set it aside. After two days, it was deader than dead again.

[...]

It is important to point out that aside from the fact that you need to get a new battery for your K1, the Kindle 1 *does*, in fact, use the battery even when it's off. Even when you turn 3G off. I don't know why and how, but it is a fact.

Mind you, it doesn't use it a lot, but as your battery gets older, it gets more and more noticeable. My K1 still has the original battery and I can read about 2000-2500 page turns before it runs out. but that is if I use it regularly. If I let it sit for days without using, I can see it losing some charge.

(either that or it's just the battery being so old.)

[Dlewczyk]

Originally Posted by SampleAndy

It was kinda weird. When I first got it, the battery was DEAD, no response at all, until it had been on the charger for 5-10 minutes. I charged it for about 4 hours, registered it, and everything seemed to be fine. Installed a 16G SD card, downloaded some books and tested all the keys and buttons, and everything was working. Turned wifi OFF, and set it aside. After two days, it was deader than dead again.

I charged it again, and to diagnose some strange behaviors, I pulled the SD card and downloaded a couple books. Even with the wifi ON, it seems to be holding at full charge. My first thought was that it was struggling to index the books, but since I seem to have ... uh... lost the SD, I don't remember if I really loaded it down or not. (sigh) Any other thoughts on the weird battery behavior?

The Kindle 1 has issues with battery usage and SD cards. An SD card will run down the battery quickly. That might be what's going on.

[ProfCrash]

I think that is why Amazon ditched the SD cards

[SampleAndy]

Originally Posted by Dlewczyk

The Kindle 1 has issues with battery usage and SD cards. An SD card will run down the battery quickly. That might be what's going on.

I found the card yesterday. I'd copied 4-5 books I was currently interested in... and everything I had from P.G. Wodehouse. (sigh) Grand total of 49 books. It was probably indexing it's brains out, and with the SD problems...

If it IS the original battery, I think it's doing pretty well.

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

USB charging never worked well with the K1s.

Susan, was that USB in general or USB connected to a computer? What if you connected a USB cable to one of the K3 chargers? I keep forgetting to either take the K1 home or bring the charger to work.