The Box
Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 2:39 pm
So, today UPS left me A Box ...
... and inside The Box was Packaging ...
... and protected by all the Packaging, inside The Box ...
... was ...
====================
It's a replacement charger cable for my Nook Color -
The thing is Very Flimsy - the end that connects to the tablet looks like a standard MicroUSB connector, and you can, in fact, use a standard MicroUSB to charge the Nook Color (slowly) and transfer files.
But the one you get with the tablet has a proprietary connector that adds functions to the standard connector; it contains a small circuit board that detects when it's connected to a Nook and switches in a fast-charge circuit that (in conjunction with the Nook standard wall wart that can throw 1.9 amps) charges it twice as fast as it can be charged with a standard connector.
So far, so good.
But the connector shell is made of two pieces of plastic that are ultrasonically welded together, and the weld is flimsy as hell. So, if you put the slightest upward or downward force on the cable (or on the connector directly) the weld will crack.
And, in addition, when that happens, the force may also be transferred to the connector's connection to the PCB.
Which means that the cable will fail.
And this is so common, apparently (it happened to me - and i superglued the shell back together a couple times, but eventually the connector failed and Helen bought a Nook Color for herself for Christmas and its cable failed already) that, if your Nook is in warranty (a year), all you have to do is call B&N Customer Service, tell them it happened, and give them the serial number ... and three to five business days later, a new one arrives.
Great that they're acknowledging that it's their fault ... bad that the problem exists at all.
... and inside The Box was Packaging ...
... and protected by all the Packaging, inside The Box ...
... was ...
====================
It's a replacement charger cable for my Nook Color -
The thing is Very Flimsy - the end that connects to the tablet looks like a standard MicroUSB connector, and you can, in fact, use a standard MicroUSB to charge the Nook Color (slowly) and transfer files.
But the one you get with the tablet has a proprietary connector that adds functions to the standard connector; it contains a small circuit board that detects when it's connected to a Nook and switches in a fast-charge circuit that (in conjunction with the Nook standard wall wart that can throw 1.9 amps) charges it twice as fast as it can be charged with a standard connector.
So far, so good.
But the connector shell is made of two pieces of plastic that are ultrasonically welded together, and the weld is flimsy as hell. So, if you put the slightest upward or downward force on the cable (or on the connector directly) the weld will crack.
And, in addition, when that happens, the force may also be transferred to the connector's connection to the PCB.
Which means that the cable will fail.
And this is so common, apparently (it happened to me - and i superglued the shell back together a couple times, but eventually the connector failed and Helen bought a Nook Color for herself for Christmas and its cable failed already) that, if your Nook is in warranty (a year), all you have to do is call B&N Customer Service, tell them it happened, and give them the serial number ... and three to five business days later, a new one arrives.
Great that they're acknowledging that it's their fault ... bad that the problem exists at all.