Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The bigger format is welcome. It adds some to the physical size and weight, but for these mature eyes, I think the trade off is positive. I often read laying on my side and really like that the view flips so I can tent the device laying on either side. I’m a bit mixed about the bump out. I’m leaning to like the totally flat design of my prior Kindles, but think I’ll get used to it. The touch screen is noticeably better, but it could hardly be worse and is still not as reliable or responsive as one would expect. The format of the pass code entry is noticeably bigger and helps to avoid entry errors. This charging cord is too short to charge while reading. This is a huge disappointment as it looks like to buy a 6’ cord is pretty expensive. A comment the a prior iteration of this post references finding cheap 6’ Cords. Perhaps. But I suspect Amazon chose a cheap manufacturing option and will soon be in a fix with this battery. Other reviewers were annoyed that this does not use a USB-C. I travel a lot so cutting down on device clutter is important. Right now my iPad and laptop have the new USB-c and I’m sure my next phone will, too. But I’ll still need an older usb for other rechargeables like ear pods, flashlight and speaker. THE KILL FACTOR: battery lasts about 4 days with modest use as opposed to ‘several weeks’ as advertised. This is replacing a well used Voyage that had very good battery life. It looses 2-3% while turned off for a few hours. I tried 3 times to return it in the normal way. It seemed like I was able to return for replacement, but I never got a shipping label. Finally talked to a tech who said someone would call to ask me some questions. I gather they are trying to determine if this is an isolated problem (I notice several other battery life complaints) or a bigger problem with the battery design or a batch of batteries. They did promise a replacement in 4 days, which is pretty poor since I’m a prime member. One would also think they’d be very responsive as this may be a really big problem, but apparently they are not very anxious to please. UPDATE: A replacement was received 5 days ago. It came essentially in a "brown bag," so I was a bit suspicious that it is not new. But trying to be optimistic and really wanting this new Kindle to be a keeper, I reasoned that if it was a repaired one, perhaps it works. In first couple of days, the battery life dropped like a rock. Three days ago, I recharged and started a new book. When I quit reading sometime after midnight today, I was 56% through the book and there was 30% power. I checked at 8:30am (after no usage for several hours) and the battery had dropped to 23%. I just checked again at 4:45pm after no usage and the battery shows 21%. What are the odds that I get 2 lemons? Seem pretty low to me. I read some of Amazon's remarks to complaints about the reader taking extra time when new to index and load books, it needing to be restarted, etc. I do not recall this happening previously, so I am suspicious about this explanation. Also, a basic of product design is to warn of dangers and how to avoid them. If usage is not intuitive, the manufacturer should instruct. One way or the other, it seems like Amazon has failed with at least some of this model. But I'm going to recharge and give it a chance. At this point I am very discouraged and really suspect about the battery design and the reviews that say they love this new Kindle. The 2nd Kindle was returned due to almost identical abysmal battery performance. I keep checking back, hoping that there has been a recall or fix on this. As a voracious reader, I’d love to have the warm light feature. Likewise, I found several other features attractive. It appears, for many, battery life remains a significant problem and Amazon remains silent. 3rd UPDATE My original purchases were in 2019. I’d dearly love to buy this reader mainly due to the warm screen capability and the flipable page which I really liked for reading laying on different sides in bed. So here it is Christmas 2021 and I’ve just reviewed many reviews, especially as they pertain to battery life and customer service. Representation of battery life vs user experience vary wildly. It’s hard to believe so many would negatively misrepresent battery life. But most of us have heard stories about ringer reviews.So I’m believing battery life is still poor and over represented. I also noticed some users reported after only a day’s ownership. Really? Others outright say battery life is misrepresented. I noted Numerous reports of returned readers being replaced with refurbished readers with no improvement and that A will not replace a second time. So, if you really only use a reader 30 minutes a day, this all may be ok with you. But if that’s the case, I’d suggest you don’t need a high end reader. BUYER BEWARE. Don’t just count the stars. Read lots of reviews before buying this lemon. I’d suggest throwing out the ones that are silent about battery life or say it’s great.