Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

*** UPDATE *** I will lead with the update; see below for the original, detailed review that generated the issue in the first place! It has been about a year since I went through my ordeal with the Kindle Gen 3. My problem (again as described below) is resolved, and I have put the rating back up from 1-star to 5-stars, which is what the Kindle deserves!!! But I want to leave this legacy in case anyone after me runs into the same problem. Perhaps it will help you... So (if you read the detailed story below)...what did I end up doing with (buggy/sleepy) Kindle Gen 3, replacement #3? I kept it! I gave the Gen 2 I bought off eBay to my daughter, who - even a year later - could not be happier. And I kept the (seemingly faulty) Gen 3 for myself as a potential replacement for my original Gen 1. And the problem HAS been resolved! :) How? I am not 100% sure, but it is one of two things: 1. I read a report some months ago that the inexplicable "Rip Van Winkle - I will not wake up" issue in Gen 3's was being caused by a short created when you use one of the Amazon-made cases with the metal, locking tabs that insert into the Kindle along its left side. Honestly, I found this a bit hard to believe, but I figured it worth a shot (as I wanted a better case anyway). So I got one that does not use those pins, and instead uses the elastic bands to hold the Kindle inside. BINGO! Coincidence? Pure luck? Who knows. But I *can* say that this Kindle - which was failing at least once a day - has not failed since I put it inside the new case! 2. It is certainly possible in the intervening time that Amazon uncovered a software flaw (my original assumption for the cause of this issue) and released an update. I honestly did not notice if an update arrived, and the sleepy problem disappeared at that time. So, if you are faced with a sleepy Gen3, I suggest you try: (1) installing the very latest software update, and (2) if that fails to resolve it, get a case without those metal pins that attach to the Kindle itself. Good luck and happy reading!!! ------------ ORIGINAL REVIEW -------------- Let me start off my saying two things to be very clear: 1. I LOVE Kindle in general! We now have 3 of them in our family (nice for sharing books, which IS allowed if you are all on the same account, as we are). I bought Gen 1 for myself a long time ago, and it still works beautifully! I bought Gen 2 for my wife (who resisted for a long time), and she LOVES it. Finally, I bought Gen 3 (the newest) about 2 months ago for my daughter on her birthday....and this is where problems began. So to be crystal clear: my review and the 1-star rating is ONLY for the newest (Gen 3) Kindle! Kindle as a concept and in general is 5-star in my book. But not this Gen 3! 2. Amazon customer service has been OUTSTANDING throughout the two month (and counting) ordeal. I definitely cannot fault them for what is happening, nor have I become upset with Amazon or the Kindle concept. They have been prompt, courteous, and helpful. They get a 5-star rating for service! But...as you will soon see...the problem is STILL not resolved. Read on... It is my belief that the Kindle Gen 3 (newest) has a significant design flaw, probably in the underlying software. Here again, let me be precise: The Kindle 3 ships with ver. 3.0.1 of the software. Very shortly after you first turn it on, you will get updated to ver. 3.0.2 which as of today is the highest "release" software out there. As a result of telephone troubleshooting, I have installed the very latest software (in beta) which is ver. 3.0.3. So this review applies to a Kindle Gen 3, with software 3.0.3 or older (the issue described below happened with all 3 software packages installed). I cannot speak for what happens if/when they resolve the fundamental issue I am seeing; which I suspect is in the software. I sure hope it happens soon, to remove the blemish from this otherwise outstanding product! So what is wrong...? Very simple: The unit will NOT come out of sleep state on a very regular basis. When you slide the power switch over to wake it up, it just sits there like Rip Van Winkle. No amount of sliding and waiting makes a bit of difference. The ONLY way to get control of the unit back is to do a full "reset" by holding the switch over for 15 seconds and forcing a reboot. Even then it takes 1-2 minutes to respond to this, and when it finally does awake, it goes through a full update/reset procedure that takes another 1-2 min. Oh, and when it is done, you have LOST all of your current locations in the books you are reading. Now, you can re-sync your placemarks from the server, but in my case I tend to leave the radio off (to preserve battery), and we share books at home, so syncing to the server produces very erratic results, and more time than not is useless. So then you have to crawl your way through your current book(s) again to find your place. This happens at LEAST once per day; usually after an extended (a few hours; not days) sleep state. So in a nutshell: the Kindle 3 (at least mine) does not wake consistently, and when it gets stuck (at least daily), it is a 5-minute process to get it back, plus hunt for your page again. This is, to say the least, VERY frustrating! When this first happened, I phoned Amazon and got a very helpful tech support specialist. Together we walked through how to update the software to the beta version, in hopes that would eliminate the issue. It did not; the next day it was very sleepy once again. I phoned Amazon again, and they immediately shipped me out a replacement for free, via overnight. And they sent me a free label to return the "defective" one. I was very pleased and hopeful. Sadly, literally 1 day after registering the next Kindle 3, the EXACT same symptoms appeared. Exactly. I phoned, and we did the same software update. Nope, it failed again the next day. I phoned again, and they sent me a THIRD Kindle Gen 3 (free of course, and again overnight); plus the return shipping label. I think my UPS guy is wondering about now whether I am cornering the market on these things or something! Well, you have guessed it by now...within 1 day the THIRD Kindle Gen 3 had also failed to wake-up, showing the identical symptoms. Yes, I phoned again, and we did the exact same software update...failed once again the next day. Sigh. And that is where I am today: a Kindle Gen 3 that refuses to wake up properly, and the prospect of calling Amazon and having them offer to send me a FOURTH Kindle Gen 3. Oh my. I believe electronics can have random issues and bugs, so I was not surprised with one failure. But THREE of them in a row??? No, the engineer in me (my profession) says this is more than just random bad luck; this is a serious design flaw. I have to assume some (even many) of them are working properly, or Amazon would have stopped shipping them by now; but I sure have not gotten a good one in three tries! So my guess is the design flaw is much more than a tiny fraction. The chances are just too remote, IMHO. My one "ding" for customer service is I asked specifically all 3 times if there is a fundamental problem with Kindle 3, and I keep getting told: "No, this is very unusual". Well, for me 3 times in a row is more than unusual; it is a big problem. And I have since Googled the 'net on this issue, and now discover it is in fact quite widely reported in various user reviews. What am I doing now? I just bought a "refurbished/repackaged" Kindle *Gen 2* off eBay so at least my daughter would have a birthday present that works (and so far it does work beautifully!). And I am about to get on the phone again with Amazon to work out what we are going to do about this Gen 3 that is soundly sleeping right now in front of me. To wrap up: I love Kindle, and I recommend it to anyone. BUT if you buy a Gen 3, I sure hope your luck is FAR better than mine, and you get one of the units that actually comes out of sleep state. And if it does not, know that you are not alone out there! Good luck!