Re-chargers

The white cord on my charger began flaking, exposing the wiring underneath, so I ordered a new charger from Amazon. The listed cost for the charger was $19 and change. When I got it I found that the shipping charge was an additional $10. I was kinda stunned. I just thought I'd let you guys know.

if your kindle is still under warranty they'll replace the charger free of charge. :)

Thanks, dancing... I'm pretty sure my warranty has expired; and I didn't mind paying the $19.99 or whatever. But the charger only weighs a few ounces. I couldn't imagaine why it cost $10 to ship.

my charger is flaking too. for now i wrapped electrical tape over it but a new charger would probably be best. and i am pretty my kindle is out of warranty . . . how long does the warranty last? i have had mine about a year.

The warranty is one year, so check the date you bought it and call them right away if you are within it!

just checked. the order was placed aug. 2 2009. a week too late.

$10 shipping sounds like you might accidentally checked the overnight shipping option, or bought from an Amazon affiliate rather than from Amazon.com LLC. I always look carefully for the shipping charges, and best deals are often found by choosing to buy directly from Amazon.com rather than through the affiliates, once your shipping charges are calculated.

I recently obtained a spare charger and USB cord for my Kindle, and because my husband recently paid for a year of Amazon Prime, I chose two day shipping. I wasn't charged anything extra for the shipping and have put my new charger away for when/if it is needed. My original charger still looks and works like new - but as my Kindle is barely two months old, that charger should have lots of life left in it.

Without the availablity of Amazon Prime, I'd have chosen the Free supersaver shipping option... Of course, that would have required me to add a little something extra to the package to make that order total $25.00 and those orders take forever to arrive, but hey, I'd rather buy another book than pay for shipping.

When -if- I need to deal with a replacement under the warranty, I won't have to wait for the new charger to arrive, as my spare will already be in hand.

1 and 4> Just curious, have either of you kept your charger in a hot automobile for extended periods of time? Heat is usually the culprit when wire insulation starts to disintegrate.
If this happened to me I would still contact Amazon service to see what they have to say about it.

8: rbott - lol no it stays at home. usually under my table, with all my other wires. most of which are older and are not flaking away.

8 rbott - mine stays home too. Plugged into my computer. Part of that additional $10 charge was tax. I didn't realize it when I wrote my initial comment. Still, it seems a bit much for a $19 item. There were comments on the Amazon site complaining about the flaking also.

10. Ah yes... tax. Fortunately for me, I don't live in a state where Amazon is required to charge tax... but figuring tax and a shipping charge added, yeah, then I can see the extra $10. Shipping charges ARE too darned high on most things, as is any form of sales tax or VAT.

9 and 10> That is very odd, I have examined my cable very closely and see no signs of flaking.
If I were you I would still contact Amazon to complain, no matter how old it is.

#8> I just happened to note that the cable for one of my re-chargers is flaking. I don't think this is a problem with a hot car. I've got two re-chargers, one of which I use in my bedroom and the other of which I use in my car, and it's the one in my bedroom that's flaking, not the one in my car.

The one in my bedroom is the one I use on a regular basis (I only re-charge in my car when I'm on a long trip or in an emergency), and I routinely plug in my K2 every night and then take it out and put it back in my pocketbook the next day. This means I'm in-and-out with the bedroom re-charger daily, and the place where it's flaking is right behind the tip that inserts into the K2. In other words, there's daily flexing of the wire as I go in-and-out, so it's just the kind of wear-and-tear I've got to expect after having had it for well over a year.

I guess I ought to get a new one, because I really do like to have two. Seeing the shipping charge, maybe I'll just wait until I'm getting something else from Amazon so I can go over $25 and get free shipping.

I noticed Target sells the kindle now so maybe they have chargers for them as well? Something to check if you have a Target near by.

#14> the Target in my area has one. It's a more expensive Belkin though, the kind that rotates to conform to your outlet. I personally think that design is pointless, bulky, and too pricy, especially since the charger the Kindle came with is a small USB outlet charger. I'd rather get a cheaper one from Amazon only to replace it.

15. Amazon has just the USB cable for Kindle and Kindle2 available to pre-order right now. The price is $9.99 (plus tax, if applicable) and shipping, no doubt. Saw this when looking at their recommendations for me and forgot to note the URL, but I imagine you could find it under Kindle accessories if you're interested. They also carry the cable plus AC adapter set as noted above...

One further observation, and this is about protecting your cord.

I think, on the cord that's suffered flaking damage, that I was probably pulling the USB head out of my K2 by pulling on the cord. I really wasn't conscious of how I was doing this until a couple nights ago when I noticed, now that I'm aware of the damage to my cord.

So, be observant of how you remove the USB head from your K2.Take hold of the head itself, not the cord, and I suspect you'll have a longer cord-life.

I am using my phone's usb data cable since the kindle data cable has fallen apart. i plugged the usb part into the computer and it recognizes the kindle.

18. > You're lucky that your phone's USB data cable works with your Kindle. Mine won't... but I've not had a problem with the Kindle's original cable, and I have a tested but basically unused spare Kindle cable, so I should be okay in that area.

19: 1dragones - what kind of phone you have? mine is the samsung intensity ii

My phone is a Nokia 6350, which was free for renewing my contract with the phone company. The USB data cable didn't even come with my phone, I had to buy the darned cable.

No matter. I don't use the phone often enough to need a more expensive one. I only have it because my husband insists I need one in case of emergency.

21: 1dragones - lol don't like cell phones huh?

Not so much... but it's more that I really don't need a cell phone than that I dislike them.

than you just need a cooler phone. a smartphone - the iphone, the android x . . . . email, camera, voip, a notepad, news, gps, tons of other stuff. you will forget how you ever lived without it.

i just have the itouch, which is like the iphone lite, and it is fantastic!!!!

My Nokia does have a camera, but I never use it. I have an Olympus digital camera (actually, three of them) and even the cheapest, oldest one of my Olympuses is a better camera than the Nokia has.

I don't want anything to do with i-phone or any other smartphone or anything "extra." In fact, I've had a cell phone for about three years. Never once have I ever wanted or needed to even send a text message, let alone anything else. Don't need any of that stuff at all. My Nokia has GPS too, but that's just another gadget that I have no use for more often than not... and it's a "pay extra" feature that I don't wish to pay for.

No need to check email on my phone ever. I can do that from home or on the road if I take my laptop along. Would never use VOIP or news features... and as for notepad, I use the old fashioned methods...pencil or a ball point pen and a Moleskeine notebook, which I prefer over anything else...

So, just you believe it or not... some people don't want or need all those extra things, nor wish to pay for something they would not use. In fact, if my husband didn't insist that I carry the thing, I'd stick my cell phone in some black hole and leave it there forever...

most cell phone cameras suck. the don't actually become even half way decent you have 3.0 megapixial and a free phone won't have that. the droid x has 8 megapixial, which is decent enough for quick snap shots. The 3 megapixial isn't, I don't think.

but, see, with a smartphone you can do half the things you do on your computer on your phone. you will only need to turn on your computer for more intense stuff. not to check email or look up something quick or find something. don't know about you, everytime i need to know something, i need to turn on a computer and i find that annoying.

i have only an itouch - but it works well enough for that, as long as i have internet.

"don't know about you, everytime i need to know something, i need to turn on a computer"

Why do you ever turn your computer off??? My computers are never turned off... except when I travel. While I'm gone on vacation, I set my desktop to have a password so nobody would be able to use it without me and then I turn it off. The laptop goes where I go, so it occasionally needs to be turned off and packed into its case for travel. Otherwise, I reboot both computers every few days or sometimes just once a week, depending on my mood.

"with a smartphone you can do half the things you do on your computer on your phone. "

I don't find that appealing at all. I never want to read email or a web page on a small screen... too difficult to see. Even the biggest, most expensive smart phone has a small screen compared to my monitors. Admittedly, my desktop monitor is much better than my laptop... but hey, I'll take my laptop any day over any cell phone, smart phone or not. Oh, and I don't want to pay the exorbitant price to have internet on my phone; especially since I wouldn't use it.

To me, the perfect cell phone would have very few features... being able to make or receive telephone calls, and an address/phone book to store the numbers I'm most likely to call... probably nothing else.

My oldest Olympus and my cell phone both have 2 MP cameras. The old Olympus is usable for macro photos, the Nokia isn't... and I have two, much better Olympus cameras for other things.

I have to admit, after not having a smart phone for years, getting the iphone has been great. Yes, I underutilize it, but having a pocket version of my calendar, my to do list, the weather and, most importantly, VISUAL VOICE MAIL, is great. When I travel to meetings, a quick check of my email in the middle of the day tells me if there are any issues at work that need immediate attention. And my friends seem to prefer texting me! So having a QWERTY keyboard is nice.

The camera is pretty good too. Useful for those spontaneous shots you wouldn't carry your camera for -- the "I wish I had a camera" moment. Now you do.

But I prefer to read on my kindle. ;-)

k4k

27: 1dragones - because my desktop is at home and I am not home all day. No point in leaving it on if no one is using it. Even if that weren't true, I probably still wouldn't leave it on all day because I don't use it for hours and hours on end. I don't have a laptop.

lol I do! If you don't, well . . . I don't think it is too small. And you can make font size as large as you want. I visit this site quite frequently on my itouch. Yeah, the 30 dollar extra price tag on a smartphone . . . that's why I don't actually have one yet. but someday.

As for maps . . . One time, I was in a starbucks with my boss. Atarbucks because you can sit there for hours and they don't throw you out, even if you buy nothing. We had to go somewhere. We were trying to figure out how to get there and I am trying to get internet on my itouch so I can get to google maps and failing. Than she goes, oh, I didn't think of that, and whips out her blackberry and gets directions from google. I sat there and thought, why couldn't she have done that before I spent ten frustrating minutes trying to get internet.

I dunno - I have seen 2.0 megapixical cameras. Do they really take decent photos? My phone's camera is worse of course . . . but I don't use the phone's camera. I am sure I would if it had a better camera. Well, I only use it for those times when someone bumps into the car and there is possible damage. Than bad pictures are better than no pictures.

Sure, you can make the font size larger, at the trade-off of fewer words per screen. I dislike having to click "next" (or whatever terminology they use to get you to a new screen of words) very frequently. I'm used to being able to see lots of data on one screen at a decent font size. A cell phone will never be able to do that for me.

Leaving the computer on all day - well, my husband leaves his on too, and he's not here about half the time... There's one day a week I'm not here in the morning, but 6 days a week, yes, I'm almost always here. We like the convenience of instant access and it doesn't cost much to leave them on, let the screen saver blank the screen or just turn the monitor off when you're not home.

Yes, a 2 MP camera (well, some of them, anyhow) can do decent macro shots (really close up)... and even acceptable mid-range shots.

I got a new charger from amazon. One of the ones from a third party seller. It works, but it is kind of short.

I guess not. Lol

31. > "It works, but it is kind of short."

Glad to know. I got my spare charger directly from Amazon, so the price was probably higher, but the USB cord is the same length as my original one.

I thought the amazon one was overpriced, even for a normal data cable. besides, they sent one with the kindle and the insulation fell apart. i think maybe even the new amazon data cable's insulation will flake, too, just like the one that came with it.

Third party ones cost less, but I doubt they're any better made. I'm still using my original cable with no sign of damage, but it is being carefully handled...

maybe not. but if it breaks, at least i will be out less money. lol i handled it like i handled like i held every other cable and they are all still in one piece.

@35>> "i handled it like i handled like i held every other cable and they are all still in one piece."

Are you really sure of that? How much "in and out" do you do with your other cables. I'm "in and out" with one of my K2 rechargers on a daily basis, and that's the one that's got the flaked insulation while the one I have in my car and use much less frequently is in perfectly good shape.

I've noticed that I have a tendency to remove the cable from my K2 by pulling on the cord rather than on the plastic head. Pulling on the cord is going to wear the insulation out. The reason I don't have the wear-and-tear on cables that I use with my PC or my laptop is partly that I'm not in-and-out with them as often but even more so that the cable heads are significantly larger so I have a tendency to pull them in and out by the head.

Take a look at how you're removing your cable. Be conscious that the cable head is really quite small so we have a natural tendency to grab hold of the cord rather than the head. Grab hold of the head instead.

It's a slip-up we're not even conscious of making. I wasn't even aware of it until I read the postings on this thread, noticed the wear on my own cable, and then really gave some thought to how I was causing it.

i dunno. the itouch needs to charged much more frequently than the kindle and i am usually using it - playing games or being online or instant messaging or something else - while it is being charged.