The life and death of a tablet
After three years of flawless operation, the battery in my tablet finally died. For the past month, it hasn’t been holding a charge very well, and now it is completely dead. I love the tablet, and it’s still in perfect condition, aside from the battery.
A replacement battery is $50, and I have to install it. Not a big deal, it’s not a hard task (assuming I can remove the back cover without breaking it). Unfortunately, many of the reviews for the battery say the new one only lasted a few weeks, then died. I suppose in our “everything is now disposable” world, I am going to have to buy a new tablet. That, or stop reading. Yes, it’s new tablet time.
On the subject of replacing rechargeable batteries, I would like to caution everyone about the dangers of poorly made lithium-ion batteries. This applies not just to e-readers, but to cell phones, laptop computers, etc. If not properly engineered and properly manufactured, lithium-ion batteries are firebombs waiting to go off. Do you recall all the reports of a certain smart phone that kept exploding and burning several months ago? That is what happens when lithium-ion batteries are not charged properly. Even if the charging circuit is properly engineer and manufactured, defects in the battery itself can lead to over-charging and explosion. I don’t recommend replacing the rechargeable battery in any devices with anything other than a replacement from the device’s original manufacturer. I also do not recommend recharging ANY rechargeable device unsupervised. This includes recharging it overnight while you are sleeping. I’ll plug my phone/tablet in to recharge at a time and place where I can be in the same room the entire time it is plugged in. If I have to leave the room, I unplug it.
And now, back to the “disposability” of modern electronic devices. I have to wonder if the rebounding popularity of print books is due, in part, to this trend. Are people growing tired of buying a new e-reader every couple of years because the battery won’t charge anymore? Have manufacturers designed themselves out of a market? I can remember when electronic devices had a removable cover where the battery could easily be accessed and changed. When was the last time you had a cell phone with a removable battery? I remember years ago, taking my first smart phone into the Sprint Store and buying a new battery for it. The phone had cost me something like $400, and the new battery was $27. Pop the back cover off, pull out the old battery, pop in the new one, and snap the cover back on. Done. $27 and my phone was like-new for another two years. My last two or three phones have had the batteries built in.
I enjoy e-books. I like that I can read on my tablet. Then, while waiting at the doctor’s office I can open the book on my phone and pick up where I left off. At lunchtime, I can launch the reader program on my computer and do the same. However, I still love print books, and I collect hardcover books by my favorite authors.
Will tablet and e-reader manufactures go back to having replaceable batteries? Will they stick with the “Battery? Pffft. You should replace your reader every two years, anyway” paradigm? Time will tell. In the meantime, I’m off to the store to pick out a new tablet. I’ll stop at the bookstore on my way home to grab a few new print books, too.
A replacement battery is $50, and I have to install it. Not a big deal, it’s not a hard task (assuming I can remove the back cover without breaking it). Unfortunately, many of the reviews for the battery say the new one only lasted a few weeks, then died. I suppose in our “everything is now disposable” world, I am going to have to buy a new tablet. That, or stop reading. Yes, it’s new tablet time.
On the subject of replacing rechargeable batteries, I would like to caution everyone about the dangers of poorly made lithium-ion batteries. This applies not just to e-readers, but to cell phones, laptop computers, etc. If not properly engineered and properly manufactured, lithium-ion batteries are firebombs waiting to go off. Do you recall all the reports of a certain smart phone that kept exploding and burning several months ago? That is what happens when lithium-ion batteries are not charged properly. Even if the charging circuit is properly engineer and manufactured, defects in the battery itself can lead to over-charging and explosion. I don’t recommend replacing the rechargeable battery in any devices with anything other than a replacement from the device’s original manufacturer. I also do not recommend recharging ANY rechargeable device unsupervised. This includes recharging it overnight while you are sleeping. I’ll plug my phone/tablet in to recharge at a time and place where I can be in the same room the entire time it is plugged in. If I have to leave the room, I unplug it.
And now, back to the “disposability” of modern electronic devices. I have to wonder if the rebounding popularity of print books is due, in part, to this trend. Are people growing tired of buying a new e-reader every couple of years because the battery won’t charge anymore? Have manufacturers designed themselves out of a market? I can remember when electronic devices had a removable cover where the battery could easily be accessed and changed. When was the last time you had a cell phone with a removable battery? I remember years ago, taking my first smart phone into the Sprint Store and buying a new battery for it. The phone had cost me something like $400, and the new battery was $27. Pop the back cover off, pull out the old battery, pop in the new one, and snap the cover back on. Done. $27 and my phone was like-new for another two years. My last two or three phones have had the batteries built in.
I enjoy e-books. I like that I can read on my tablet. Then, while waiting at the doctor’s office I can open the book on my phone and pick up where I left off. At lunchtime, I can launch the reader program on my computer and do the same. However, I still love print books, and I collect hardcover books by my favorite authors.
Will tablet and e-reader manufactures go back to having replaceable batteries? Will they stick with the “Battery? Pffft. You should replace your reader every two years, anyway” paradigm? Time will tell. In the meantime, I’m off to the store to pick out a new tablet. I’ll stop at the bookstore on my way home to grab a few new print books, too.
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