No, not scanners of the infamous head exploding type. Think more X-Ray scanners, and the many tales you’ve heard about them wiping film and damaging electronics. Could they be killing Kindles as well?
It sounds a little farfetched, and I’ve got to say from the outset that my own Kindle’s made it through numerous airport scanners with no obvious signs of, say, devastating explosions or anything of the sort. That would tend to stand out, especially in an airport.
The UK Telegraph reports on the problem of multiple Kindles not surviving the trip through the little scanning machine. It doesn’t appear a problem of the classic the-X-rays-are-gonna-kill-my-gear type. At least not obviously; the report quotes Professor Daping Chu, Chairman of the University of Cambridge centre for Advanced Photonics, stating that
I don’t think the radiation used in an airport scanner would ever be strong enough to damage an electronic ink display. But you can get a build up of static inside these machines, caused by the rubber belt rubbing. If that charge were to pass through a Kindle, it’s conceivable that it could damage the screen.”
The good news is that it appears that, unofficially at least, Amazon may be replacing Kindles damaged by airport scanners. The bad news? If Professor Chu is correct and it’s a buildup of static, then anything electronic that passes through a scanner could be affected by the same kind of zapping. [Telegraph via Geekosystem]
Image:jimmiehomeschoolmom
light487
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 4:00 PMIs there anything to suggest that having it turned off or on has any effect? My kindle is my favourite piece of tech these days..
cayal
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 4:06 PMPut my kindle through numerous scanners when I went Overseas and had/have no issues with it.
Mr Odd
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 4:49 PMThat kindle has a cracked screen.
I repair computers for a major IT vendor and I see those kind cracks all the time at schools. My guess would be its been twisted/bent too much. If it was an impact on the LCD you see a black/grey spot with lines coming out from it.
Jarod
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 6:35 PMYeah looks like Physical damage. Probably happened at the airport. Just a coincidence in timing.
Alex Kidman
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 6:56 PMGuys, it’s just a generic photo of a damaged Kindle, not one specific to the story.
Mark
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 7:31 PMI call BS. Poorly packed luggage. Kindle broken. Scanner blamed. Need to do a story on Airport Scanners destroy bottles of liquid.Anytime I pack some in my carry on luggage in mysteriously disappears – I think it gets vaporised by the scanner!
kindle lover
Monday, November 21, 2011 at 7:45 PMMy wife and I love our new Kindle Fire. It’s lightweight, easy to use and has a great interface. We have had no issues with airport scanners. The first thing I recommend anyone with a new Kindle do is install the nook app. We got our instructions from http://www.kindlemad.com through google.
It basically unlocks all the Android marketplace apps and unlocks the device. I am one very happy Kindle owner!
ed
Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at 7:08 AMi put my kobo through an airport scanner and a few weeks later the screen looked like the pic above. kobo sent me a replacement all the way from vancouver (i live in australia) and asked to put my defective kobo in the box and ship it back at their expense. wonderful service
Just This Guy ...
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 3:42 PMThe image is a cracked screen.
Fixing laptops, I see them all the time. This is the first time
I’ve heard someone trying to blame Xrays though.
They use much the same fabrication as an LCD display.
X-rays simply cannot provide enough physical force to crack glass.
Well, not outside of a Sci Fi movie at any rate.
That particular unit has been subjected to physical pressure.
Bad baggage packing / handling. Nothing more.
Just This Guy ...
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 3:47 PMJust spotted Alex’s note about that just being a generic damaged Kindle pic.
Kinda pointless using a pic from an irrelevant story though.
Bit like saying X-RAY KILLS KINDLES as a headline.
Sorry Alex, nothing personal mate, but the story and supplied image should really be relevant to each other. Pic is pointless otherwise innit!
Be better to use a non damaged one for those who don’t know what one looks like rather than a misleading image in the first place.
Kindle lover
Friday, March 23, 2012 at 6:57 PMI think this blog post might have merit. My Kindle, which I love dearly, just got ‘line disease’ (as per the photo attached to this blog). Amazon have been amazing in replacing it, but I want to know why it did it. I’ve never had an issue before and it has always been looked after. I’ve just done four trips in planes while on holiday. I asked the Amazon rep if it could have been the cabin pressure… didn’t even consider it could have been the X-ray, but it may well have been. I’ve been reading up on all this since my Kindle went kaput and someone else said there’s got line disease just before getting on a plane (and so they would have just been through a scanner). Suffice to say, I won’t be taking my new Kindle through an airport again.