Why don't E-readers have a Replaceable Battery

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by barryem

It's true that there are good reasons for not putting replaceable batteries in phones but there are also good reasons for doing it. It can be done. Not doing it was a choice manufacturers made. We bought the phones anyway so it's hard to see it as a bad choice from their perspective.

This.
It's a lot like DRM discussions: the suppliers have their reasons and while some object vehemently, the paying customers by and large don't care. And if their choices don't cost them measurable losses, the supplier will stick with their decision.

The only significant negative I've seen companies experience from their quest for thinness is the class action lawsuit over Apple's "butterfly" keyboard.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-a...-idUSKBN1Y629A

Consumers seem quite comfortable with the trade-off.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Planned obsolescence? I think it's silly to accept that phones that cost in the range of $600 to $1200 will have to be replaced in a couple years because a battery wears down...

Such phones don't have to be replaced when the battery wears down. Most, if not all, have replaceable batteries and is an easy job for a repair center. Generally they are designed so that the front panel comes off with the adhesive being softened, the panel is then glued down again after battery replacement.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

With that kind of battery life, I personally don't see the need for user replaceable batteries.

Conversely, I just replaced my work phone last week because the battery life had become so poor it required charging multiple times per day, and I replaced my last tablet because the battery had deteriorated to the point that it was overheating the device and shutting it down. If both had replaceable batteries, I would still have them.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem is we don't have a choice. Right now, there's no current Reader that has a user replaceable battery and no smartphone that has a user replaceable battery.

Doesn't that suggest to you that consumers as a whole don't see this as an important feature? If it was, someone would be offering it.
Compare this to Samsung trying to remove the SD card slot from their phones, and having to row back from that decision based on customer demand.
Replaceable batteries and 3.5mm jacks are clearly not seen as important to the general user base, unlike SD cards.
We both disagree, you on the battery front and me on the 3.5mm jack front, but we are in the minority.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Not all cell phones have replaceable batteries. So the real question is why not? Planned obsolescence? I think it's silly to accept that phones that cost in the range of $600 to $1200 will have to be replaced in a couple years because a battery wears down.

There was one Sony that had a user replaceable battery, the PRS-900.

And the 900 was a POS. It was like reading with a mirror. The touch layer was awful. It made the screen fuzzy and very reflective.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rcentros

On the other hand, my wife is constantly charging her iPhone 7 Plus. And it's only a couple years old.

That could be down to the fact that iOS 13 is a battery killer. iOS 12 ran rather well. iOS 13, bah!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

Such phones don't have to be replaced when the battery wears down. Most, if not all, have replaceable batteries and is an easy job for a repair center. Generally they are designed so that the front panel comes off with the adhesive being softened, the panel is then glued down again after battery replacement.

But where are you going to find a repair center for the more obscure devices? Where would you find a repair shop to replace the battery in a Tolino or Pocketbook or Kobo or even an Oasis 3?

[Greg Anos]

There is currently a music player that has both an micro SD lot and uses a AAA replaceable battery.

Low end MP3 and WAV only, but $23 USD.

https://www.amazon.com/AGPTEK-Suppor...5630717&sr=8-3

[Junket]

$9 on alibaba (bulk, wholesale price).

edit. looked a little harder and found $2.20 @ 5,000 pcs

[jago25_98]

I still think it's weird. Walkie Talkies had hot swap batteries. Now we have to use an external battery pack. Through what sleight of hand did that happen? Somewhere along the line we switched to glued in batteries. If I have a choice I'd choose the hot swappable battery... but I don't.
You can get some devices that still take AA batteries. Those are great for charging externally and swapping instantly.

How DIY'able are devices with 3D displays? Can AA batteries replace onboard batteries?

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by barryem

I think everything should have replaceable batteries. It oughta' be a law!
Barry

I couldn't agree more. I refuse to buy any phone that doesn't have a replaceable battery, right now I've got the LG G5. I've never had a phone that didn't need the battery replaced after a few years (usual problem is swelling), and as expensive as decent smart phones are now, I tend to keep mine for 4-5 years minimum.

I don't mind having to take apart my readers to replace a battery, but so far, I haven't had to, even on my oldest Sony 350 readers, they still seem to hold a charge ok. But I agree there also, there should be a way to replace your battery on any device.

It's just a marketing tactic to force you to buy a new phone or reader instead of just a $15 battery.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But where are you going to find a repair center for the more obscure devices? Where would you find a repair shop to replace the battery in a Tolino or Pocketbook or Kobo or even an Oasis 3?

I have no idea, however my post specifically stated phones in response to the poster I quoted who also specifically stated phones (and there are certainly plenty of places that do battery replacements for phones even in my remote neck of the woods). No claim made about ereaders.

On the ereader front it has got to the stage around here that there have been so few new ones sold for so long now that it would be a surprise if there was to be much business to be conducted having anything whatsoever to do with any of them let alone replacing their batteries. Is pretty much all phones, tablets, and to a lesser extent pbooks I see being used now, no doubt there are still some ereaders in use but I don't recall seeing anyone using one for a long time.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

On the ereader front it has got to the stage around here that there have been so few new ones sold for so long now that it would be a surprise if there was to be much business to be conducted having anything whatsoever to do with any of them let alone replacing their batteries. Is pretty much all phones, tablets, and to a lesser extent pbooks I see being used now, no doubt there are still some ereaders in use but I don't recall seeing anyone using one for a long time.

eReaders are still selling in substantial numbers, otherwise we wouldn't be seeing new ones regularly. Kindles even go out of stock for a short period at a time. New sales are declining, year to year, but that says nothing about the installed base. Or the number of active users.

Unlike phones, eink readers don't typically get replaced until they break.
And over time they have been getting better and more reliable than early models.

The same thing has been happening with tablets: they do what they need to do as well as they ever did so sales have leveled off and are declining slowly. People have little reason to upgrade until the hardware fails, which isn't often. It not that less people are using them but that the market is close to saturation.

Check this:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/peak-i...come-and-gone/

Apple got past the "peak ipad" by introducing the larger ipad pro and lowering the price of the smaller models.

Amazon and Kobo don't really have that option since the market for bigger readers is tiny so their solution has been to upgrade the low end and add a premium model. It boosts their bottom line but ereaders are single function devices so premium models don't offer much in the way of compelling upsell attraction.

So yes, eink sales are declining but the user base is probably still growing. Just slower.
Understandable given the durability of the gadgets and the decline of BPH ebook sales because of the pricing.

As for seeing users out in the wild, don't forget ereaders tend to be used for entertainment reading. At home.

Phones when used for reading are used for opportunistic reading, here and there, mostly outside the house. Tablets can be used for more than reading so while ereaders are sold for reading, tablets are bought for many different uses. Both will outsell ereaders but don't necessarily displace them. Many people have both, or all three.

[cfrizz]

I made sure to buy Samsungs that had replaceable batteries, but Samsung isn't making any new phones with replaceable batteries which is a shame. I will keep these until they die, then consider what I get next. So long as they keep making the batteries for my Samsung Note 2, Grand Prime, & S5 I'll keep buying the batteries and replacing them.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So the iPhone might have been thicker. But yes, Apple could have designed it to have a user replaceable battery. And given that today (IMHO), the iPhones are too thin, having them be thicker to support a user replaceable battery would be a good thing. I really dislike my iPhone 6s when it's not in it's case. And I know I would dislike any newer iPhone that's even thinner when not in a case to make it thicker.

I've never been able to understand super-thin cell phone designs that are so fragile they require protective cases anyhow. And it's not just Apple.