EEVblog #370 - Kindle Paperwhite Teardown Review - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2012, 04:25:41 pm
content: that macronix flash ship holds the pixel voltages for the e-ink grid.e-ink displays are difficult to drive , especially if you want ot do grey scale. the flash chip probably holds the correction factors for each pixel per 'shade' of greythe little 4 pin chip cold be a hall sensor...

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2012, 04:58:34 pm
content: "A single charge lasts up to eight weeks, based on half an hour of reading per day with wireless off and the light setting at 10. Our breakthrough power management technology allows you to leave the light on at all times for the best possible contrast without sacrificing battery life."This is double the life of the original Kindle they sell but only 28 hours, which gives an estimate (at 1420mAh) of 50mA. From a 3.7V cell that's about 0.19W.I doubt the original Kindle used anywhere near that much (wasn't it supposed to be in sleep mode until you flicked a page?) Perhaps they just made the battery smaller to get only 4 weeks on the cheaper Kindle.At just 14 hours for the original Kindle, it's only a little short of the Kindle Fire, which does 11 hours.What gives?

author: Dread
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2012, 05:10:16 pm
content: Loved the episode, but I really wanted to know more about the e-ink designdo you think you might teardown an older kindle so we can see more on how the display works?Thanks for another informative episode I feel like buying a Kindle right now, the display looked really great. I wonder if it could ever be done in colour or is that just totaly impossible?

author: stewartallen
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2012, 08:58:54 pm
content: There is a switch that detects when you open or close the optional covers and turns the kindle on and off. I'm guessing it's a hall effect sensor and you where activating it with the screwdrivers magnetic tip.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 15, 2012, 01:33:43 am
content: Quote from: Dread on October 14, 2012, 05:10:16 pmI doubt there would be anything physically interesting to see.All the interesting stuff would likely happen at the nano scaleDave.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2012, 01:38:00 am
content: Quote from: tom66 on October 14, 2012, 04:58:34 pmWho are they kidding? Maybe that's meant to be an average. If I'm reading something absorbing like a novel, I will be reading 3-4 hours per day. Of course I can't read 3-4 hours every day, although if there were enough absorbing novels out there, maybe I would...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 15, 2012, 01:56:35 am
content: Quote from: IanB on October 15, 2012, 01:38:00 amBingo!Dave.

author: Hypernova
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 15, 2012, 02:55:42 pm
content: Half an hour? No way for me, I tend to go cover to cover in one settings if I can, that's anywhere from six to twelve hours.

author: deathbydesign
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 15, 2012, 08:58:06 pm
content: Quote from: Hypernova on October 15, 2012, 02:55:42 pmWow! I envy that you have that time to read in a day! You'd still have no problems with the Kindle's charge then. The Kindle's battery can last for 8 weeks if you read half an hour a day, which means approximately 28 hours of reading on a single charge. That means you could read for 12 hours straight and still have 16 hours left to spare!

author: batterypowerguy
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 15, 2012, 09:07:05 pm
content: The i2c bus is actually probably smbus for a fuel gauge/battery protection, seems like its smart enough to throw a repair error if its not getting an ack from the fuel gauge. Someone needs to take one of these batteries apart, I would love to see it, I wonder whos cells they are using? hopefully a brand name like BAK.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2012, 10:18:06 pm
content: Cell origin Japan, so likely Sony.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 16, 2012, 02:05:25 am
content: the displays are made by e-ink.http://www.eink.com/display_products.htmlthere is even a full color one.the driver applies a high voltage to attract or repel the pigment particles. a single cell is essentially a capacitor and you 'store' a charge.depending on positive or negative the pixel turns black or white. the storing is 'analog' meaning you have grayscale capability. there is compensation needed depending on adjacent cell charge and the display controller takes care of that.controllers traditionally used to by ricoh but that division was sold to seiko/epson. Dialog semiconductor makes the high voltage controller while the 'brains' are made by epson , marvell and others.you can buy sample kits of displays. they want 50$ and will send you 5 display. they have a few simple ones like a bargraph and some alphanumerical displays avaialble.the only problem is : these are all polyimide film based and have no on board electronics. you are supposed to hot-melt the edge strip on a pcb containing the controller... good luck on that one. and the controllers are hard to get.

author: AndreasF
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 07:20:10 am
content: Quick question about the issue "PWM-control or not" for the LED brightness. In the video Dave says he sees no flicker on the camera and takes that as an indication that it is not PWM controlled.I understand that you would expect flicker from some sort of aliasing between the relatively low (sample) rate of the camera and the higher PWM frequency, but would you always expect to see flicker, regardless how high the PWM frequency is? Wouldn't the flicker eventually disappear if the PWM frequency gets higher and higher?

author: deephaven
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 08:15:48 am
content: Quote from: AndreasF on October 17, 2012, 07:20:10 amWhy not take a look with a scope? Even if the unit has been put back together, you could probably get enough pickup by wafting a scope probe near the LEDs if it was PWM.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 08:29:35 am
content: Quote from: AndreasF on October 17, 2012, 07:20:10 amYes - above a couple of hundred Hz you won't get flicker - with indoor shooting the exposure time will be comparable to the framerate so will integrate any PWM flicker. It's hard to get good current-controlled dimming, especially at low levels where part-part differences can become noticeable, and colour balance can shift, and PWM is simpler, therefore cheaper to do.

author: andersm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 10:40:12 pm
content: There's been many complaints about the Paperwhite's lighting being uneven at the bottom, withAmazon even acknowledging the issue. Since Dave said in the review that the lighting was great and even, is there variation between units, or is it only noticeable under some conditions?

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 11:21:40 pm
content: Quote from: andersm on October 17, 2012, 10:40:12 pmIt varies from device to device. There is also another issue, that prevents me from getting one - on some devices entire screen is covered by slightly colored spots, like interference patterns from thin films. Look at the customer's photos an you'll see it, looks pretty bad.

author: TheWelly888
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2012, 05:49:19 pm
content: An unfortunate Kindle customer had all her ebooks wiped off her Kindle and her Kindle bricked remotely by Amazon because she did something "illegal" with her contents. The kicker is that Amazonwon'texplain to her what she did wrong!!!http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/oct/22/amazon-wipes-customers-kindle-deletes-accountI've decided to stick with paper and my laptop!

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2012, 06:53:04 pm
content: Quote from: TheWelly888 on October 22, 2012, 05:49:19 pmAnd you know what? Nothing will happen, unless that particular victim manages to create a shitstorm on the Internet. And if she manages she only might get kind of a refund. There won't be a change in the system. And there won't be much, if any, loss of sales for Amazon, because the average user simply does not care.

author: ejeffrey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2012, 07:43:39 pm
content: The only way to fix this is to blow a hole in Amazon's 'you have no rights' click through contract. Find a jurisdiction where that isn't enforceable, and have someone sue amazon for destruction of property. Unfortunately, first sale is pretty much dead worldwide. B@W is right on, no amount of media shitstorm is going to fix the underlying problem. At worst, Amazon will just refund this woman and say "we are evaluating our procedures to hack into devices you purchased and delete your files to make sure we only do it to really bad people in the future".But until what they did is correctly identified as a crime, you can expect only more of this. But what is a crime for an ordinary person is responsible behavior for a company, at least if your corporation is big enough and your lawyers drive fancy enough cars.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2012, 09:46:06 pm
content: Quote from: ejeffrey on October 22, 2012, 07:43:39 pmDon't forget this requires deep pockets. You will have to buy the best lawyers money can buy. And in some jurisdictions you will have to buy the best judge money can buy, too.You also have to have a lot of time and patience. Just in case Amazon decides it is in their best interest to drag this out for as long as they can, to make it expensive for you, and to break your will.

author: TheWelly888
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2012, 07:44:40 am
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on October 22, 2012, 06:53:04 pmUntil Amazon comes for the average user - by which time it will be too late!I have always suspected that digital media makes it easier for the authorities and corporations to keep tabs on what people read.

author: rr100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2012, 08:17:19 pm
content: Whoa this is a nice discussion, have to return when I have a proper keyboard.In the meantime can somebody let me know if the paperwhite kindle is DIM enough to comfortably read in the dark?

author: rr100
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2012, 09:30:48 pm
content: Bump...Can somebody test the "paperwhite" kindle in pitch dark and give me some estimate if the brightness seems to go "low enough"? I have a galaxy note and while the screen is brilliant, literally, the amoled display seems to have only 24 or so levels and the lowest isn't low enough, not by a long shot.

author: fumi
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 14, 2014, 01:21:02 pm
content: Great video. I just have one question if anyone could answer it.Is there any chance of the plastic power button falling out when I open the case because the button itself only pushes onto a tactile switch. If I open the case and remove the main board, how does the plastic power button stay inside? Is it held in place by something?Kind Regards?