My Kindle 1 does USB charging too! [hardware mod]

[shinew]

I love new gadgets like kindle 2, it makes people sell their awesome previous gen products for cheap! so I snatched a K1 for under $200 bucks few days ago and I'm loving it so far!
Before it came, I had my gadgets charging issue perfectly streamlined that I only need to bring a 1->5 USB cable when I go out to charge all my small electronics - iphone, DS, GPS, HR Monitor, heaphone amp, and my P&S camera. With another AA to USB for emergency, I was set! Then the kindle arrived, and it annoyed me so much that it broke my charging "system".

So I took the matter into my own hands and opened it up and whipped out my soldering iron, now it charges from my powered USB hub from 15-20% to full in about an hour, while I was using it with whispernet On. However, if anyone decide to do this, this is not without a drawback - since the K1's USB does not support charging, you can no longer transfer files via the USB port after the mod(easily reversible though). This is perfectly fine for me because I've only used its USB port once after it came, I've setup everything on my computer that I can easily transfer what I need wirelessly through whispernet, it's more convenient for me this way. I also have 2 backup methods: 1) emailing it to myself; 2) transfer files through SD. And if all 3 methods fail, the mod can be easily reversed by disconnecting any solder point.

It's pretty straight forward. I basically just hooked up the USB's power pins to the DC socket pins. The most difficult part is to hold the wire into position before soldering because the connecting points are very small. here are some pics




just thought i might share this. hope you enjoyed viewing k1 butt naked