Accessories Kindle in a purse with two magnetic closures

[Sakura]

I have a purse with two magnetic closure I recently bought...before I got my Kindle. I was not sure if it was safe to put my kindle or iPhone in there or if the magnets would damage my Kindle.

[HarryT]

Magnets will do no harm whatsover to your Kindle.

[Sakura]

Thank you Harry

What about iphone or ipod ?

[pshrynk]

iPods have been known to eat Kindles. I'd keep them on their leash.

[pshrynk]

Seriously, my wife keeps her iPod in her purse with magnet closures and has not had any complaints.

[RickyMaveety]

I have several very strong magnets in my purse (kept there to test how well the Kindle, iPods, and iPhone do around magnets because I was working on a case with magnetic closures), and after several months with magnets with a combined pulling force of about 25 pounds, I've had no problems whatsoever with any of them.

Also, for what it's worth, no problems with my credit card ....

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

I have several very strong magnets in my purse (kept there to test how well the Kindle, iPods, and iPhone do around magnets because I was working on a case with magnetic closures), and after several months with magnets with a combined pulling force of about 25 pounds, I've had no problems whatsoever with any of them.

Also, for what it's worth, no problems with my credit card ....

Are these solid state iPods or hard drive versions? Magnets don't affect flash memory type storage because it isn't magnetic based.

BOb

[scotty1024]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Magnets will do no harm whatsover to your Kindle.

Wow. That's a pretty blanket statement to make there Harry especially considering you're absolutely wrong.

The term for what the magnets can do is Electro Magnetic Interference or EMI.

Magnets can and do interfere with cellphones. The Kindle has a cellphone radio in it.

While the magnets jamming the cellphone in the Kindle won't make anyone miss an important call they can raise the noise level for the radio causing it to pour on more power to reach the network clearly.

More power means a shorter time until it must be re-charged. A Kindle battery only has so many charge cycles in it before it must be replaced.

So if hauling your Kindle around next to magnets results in your Kindle needing a new battery earlier than otherwise? I call that harm Harry.

If you are worried about SAR, the impact of absorption of the radio waves on your body, having your Kindle broadcasting at a higher power level means more SAR. So magnets could lead to higher levels of absorbed radio power by your body. Not technically harm for the Kindle but if you are genetically pre-disposed to certain types of cancer you might not want that.

And of course if you were hauling your Kindle around expecting a Mobileread blog update to be delivered and it didn't come in due to EMI... well the horror can't be measured.

My background.

I've designed handheld portable computers and nursed them through FCC trials. Part of the point to those tests is to investigate EMI. Both EMI to the unit and EMI caused by the unit. During the testing you actually measure the impact of things such as magnetic fields being placed near various points of the unit.

Funny this comes up because...

The original Kindle was going to have a magnetically attached reading light until testing revealed the radio interference this caused and they nixed the magnetically attached reading light. Probably discovered during the FCC trials. :-)

My advice to friends and loved ones...

Blackberry uses magnets in their belt holsters. This is generally given as a "myth buster" when the topic of "Does a magnet impact my cellphone" comes up. However, Blackberry uses flat sheet magnets which are essentially plastic magnets. They are low power and use their large surface area to hold the holster flap closed. Also keep in mind that the Blackberries are designed knowing exactly where those magnets will be placed.

Anyway that's what I recommend: get purses etc that use flat sheet magnets. Not things that use those button sized rare earth "will hold your body weight or your money back" magnets.

Personally I prefer velcro myself and save my cancer risks up for things like bacon.

Also, EMI clears up with distance, it isn't a permanent effect. So the purse designer that carried her phone around with magnets in her purse will find her phone working quite well after taking it out of her purse. If she missed any calls due to EMI I'm sure she just chalked it up to her !@#$ cellphone carrier.

[pilotbob]

Scotty,

But all that you said, is the kindle physically harmed? When the magnets are removed the cell phone will work just fine?

BOb

[daffy4u]

But do you really think the weak little magnets used on a purse are going to cause that much trouble, especially if the Kindle is in a case?

[NavyDad6]

Originally Posted by scotty1024

The term for what the magnets can do is Electro Magnetic Interference or EMI.

Ahhh.... I don't think so...

There is no "electro" in a regular ferrous magnet. There is a magnetic field but it is not produced by an electric current. Unless you have a power outlet in your purse.

EMI describes rapidly changing electrical current causing magnetic lines of flux to rapidly change. There is no such thing in a regular ferrous magnet.

A strong ferrous magnet can affect hard drives and floppy disks due to re-arranging the polarity of the disk surface. But should have no effect on a kindle or cell phone.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Also, for what it's worth, no problems with my credit card ....

As Mythbusters demonstrated in one of episodes it takes VERY strong magnet to damage a credit card.

[KindleKat]

most people dont carry around magnets strong enough to do damage to devices like this, i wouldn't worry. unless you are carrying around rare earth magnets or something, which would be weird.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Are these solid state iPods or hard drive versions? Magnets don't affect flash memory type storage because it isn't magnetic based.

BOb

I think both of my iPods are hard drive versions ... not solid state.

Originally Posted by kacir

As Mythbusters demonstrated in one of episodes it takes VERY strong magnet to damage a credit card.

Originally Posted by KindleKat

most people dont carry around magnets strong enough to do damage to devices like this, i wouldn't worry. unless you are carrying around rare earth magnets or something, which would be weird.

Nothing weird about it. As I mentioned, I am carrying around eight rare earth magnets (size roughly 3/4 inch by 1/8 inch each), and I believe the pulling power is about 12 pounds per magnet. I thought I only had four in there, but I just checked and there are actually eight.

I put them in there purely as an experiment to see what a few rare earth magnets would do (if anything) to electronic devices and credit cards .... and the answer is .... zip, after a few months of almost constant close contact.

My background? None having to do with magnets and electronic equipment, I was just curious and when I'm curious about something, I tend to set up an experiment and find my own answer.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Magnets will do no harm whatsover to your Kindle.

But...but what if I throw one at it really, REALLY hard?