Amazon Kindle 3

What keeps people attached to this device is the keyboard and the feel of the hardware itself: owners describe it as a real piece of kit compared to later models, and it still functions as a basic ereader for anyone who just wants to read. For some, the novelty of a dedicated reading device has worn off entirely into routine: it is simply the thing they read library loans and classics on.

The adjustment owners describe is less about the device wearing out and more about the world moving on around it. One owner lost WiFi support when their router stopped supporting the Kindle's older wireless standard, turning a working device into e-waste through no fault of the hardware itself.

The core build holds up well according to owners: units bought around 2010 to 2011 are still functioning over a decade later, and even secondhand units bought later tend to still work in some form. The parts that fail are the battery and the screen, both of which owners have replaced or say could use replacing.

The battery is the recurring weak point in the smaller sample of comments about it: one owner didn't realize the battery was user-replaceable and threw out a working unit once it died, while another found a secondhand unit's battery barely held a charge. Screens have also cracked and needed aftermarket replacement, with mixed luck finding good parts on the secondhand market. This battery theme only has three accounts behind it, so it's not enough to call a firm verdict, but what's there points the same direction.