I was super psyched to receive an Amazon Kindle this holiday season, but I wasn’t so excited when I realized that it rebooted every time I turned it on and that it didn’t properly bookmark my place in a book. With the help of an Amazon sales rep today, I finally figured out the problem: the case was interfering with my Kindle’s performance.
For the past week, I’ve been enjoying my Kindle, reading The Count of Monte Cristo, but it seemed odd that it kept restarting every time I powered it on. My good friend Parker Higgins has a Kindle, too, which I had the opportunity to test out while on a trip together in Prague, prior to adding the device to my winter wish list. I didn’t notice the same problem with his device, so I immediately took note of the discrepancy.
Calling Amazon yesterday, I spoke to a helpful sales rep named Evan T. He told me that a number of customers had called in with the same complaint and that the company had discovered that it was the case at fault.
Evan directed me to take the Kindle out of its case to see how it performed over the next day. The following day, he would call me to check in.
Indeed, he called, and we diagnosed the problem promptly. Without the case, the Kindle performs perfectly.
Evan issued me a credit of $59.99 to purchase a new case on Amazon.com, which I did promptly. Of course, this time, I chose it in orange, my favorite color.
If you’re suffering from this same first world problem, read more about the refund on Bloomberg.
Update: Read here to learn why the Kindle crashes with the case, and check out some metro map Kindle screensavers made by my buddy, Parker Higgins.
Erica Swallow's Blog 
Glad you got this sorted out! When we talked about this, I didn’t want to be the one to tell you you got the busted one 🙂
In case you’re interested, there’s an explanation I found online of exactly how the case shorts it out. It answers the questions I had when you told me about the problem—namely, “Wha?!” http://connectify.blogspot.com/2010/12/why-leather-cover-crashes-kindle-3.html
Also, I made a set of screensaver images for mine that you might like. I understand, if after a helpful customer service experience you may not want to do anything that could possibly void your warranty, but in case you want to have a look: http://parkerhiggins.net/2010/12/metro-maps-kindle-screensaver/
Holy bajoly, you rock! First you provide a link to an awesome explanation… and then you have custom screensavers?! whaaaa? Thanks!
Yeah, it’s been a known problem that the Amazon Kindle cases (without the built-in light) shorts out the Kindle/ creates other problems. People have been complaining on the Amazon forums for a long time, and it’s only recently that Amazon acknowledged it, but only on the forums. The problem really should be acknoledged on the Kindle case’s product page to warn new Kindle owners…
I agree. Prior to owning the Kindle and case, I hadn’t heard any complaints of this nature. It seems like Amazon will begin to take more actions to fix the case or warn consumers, now that this complaint is getting more press and gaining traction.