About ready for a class action lawsuit

[afear43]

Ok I am sick to death over this proprietary "charging system" for nook color...wanna know how many usb charging cords I've had to buy since August of 2011?  I'm on my 8th one.  Withing the first week of getting my nook color the cord broke right at that little piece that plugs into the nook.(I'm not very Tech savvy)The nook was a gift to me and was unfortunately bought at Staples,( I'll never buy anything there again either, but thats a different story.) I've yet to get a cord that last longer than 3-4 weeks at most. This current one I purchased about 2 weeks before Christmas  and guess what? It's broken , suprise surprise. As much as I love my Nook, I'm about ready to sell it and try the Kindle...

Anyone else having these issues?

[risirisi62]

LOVE MY NOOK COLOR!! HATE THE CHARGING CORD!!!! IN ONE YEAR'S TIME I'VE HAD TO REPLACE THIS CORD 5 OR 6 SIX TIMES!!!! MY WARRANTY IS RUNNING OUT AND I'M READY TO THROW THIS THING IN THE GARBAGE AND BUY A KINDLE FIRE!!! THE NOOK COLOR IS WONDERFUL, THE CHARGING CORD IS GARBAGE!!! EACH TIME I CALL FOR A REPLACEMENT CORD, I HAVE TO WAIT 3-5 DAYS FOR THE CORD TO BE SENT TO ME. THAT MEANS I GO DAYS NOT BEING ABLE TO CHARGE MY NOOK AND READ!  BARNES AND NOBLES IS A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR COMPANY AND THEY CAN'T SEEM TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM.

[j-andersonjma]

afear43 & risirisi62  you both have experienced an amazing number of charging cord failures!  This has been a topic in these forums but I do not recall anyone having anywhere near your failure experience.  Can you report any idea as to why your charging cords "break" or fail? 

[daenas]

Mine has broke as well-same spot.  I've just taped mine w/ electrical tape around the bottom part of it where it broke, then it later broke on the top near the "n" light-I scotch taped it so I would still be able to see the light when it changes color.  You're not alone believe me.  The cord has been a very sore spot for many.  I live in the desert southwest where we get sun 360 days of the year and anything plastic out in the sun doesn't last long, turns brittle and breaks.  This cord reminds me of the same.  My guess is the "n" light bakes the plastic (cheap at that) then it turns brittle and falls apart.  It's amazing someone hasn't shocked the heck out of themselves by it and sued B&N.  There should be a recall on the cord and a new one designed.

[bklvr896]

I've had my Nook Color for about 6 months now and I'm on the original cord with no signs of wear/tear or imminent breakage.  Not sure why you would be having so much trouble.  But one question, do read while it's plugged in?  The charging port is in a really bad location for trying to read while the device is plugged in, it's very easy to start bending while reading.

[daenas]

I can't speak for the others, but I don't use my NC while it's charging, period.  I lay it flat on my desk after plugging it in.  When I spoke to customer service about the plastic housing around the micro-usb plug breaking they admitted they'd been having issues w/ it.  And I've read posts about the same thing from other users.  I got my replacement, but I'm still using the old one until it can't be used any longer.

[bklvr896]

Not that I don't think there's an issue with cord, but also remember that people posting here are not a representative sample of owners.  People generally don't come to message boards simply to say, "hey my product is working perfectly no problems."  In fact, probably less than 10% of all owners actually visit a message board.  Again, I agree that there's a design issue, I just wonder about the magnitude.

[daenas]

That still doesn't negate the amount of people who have posted or responded to posts in regards to the issues with the power cord.  Nor doesn't it change the design flaw and obvious safety hazard with the power cord.  There's been enough complaints and warranty exchanges that the phone customer service rep that I spoke with was aware of the issue.  Some NC users even had the other side of the charge (the wall plug in) heat up and melt.  Just ONE complaint of those should warrant a safety issue recall.  So, really doesn't matter HOW many, a few complaints is enough to redisgn the plug.  A customer's safety shouldn't be a sloppy issue with a company as big as B&N.

[klcreaderKC]

my cord actually melted where it plugs into the nook. Have heard from quite a few friends who have had this issue also. Definitely think its time for a recall and change to the cord, it is dangerous.

[afear43]

I haven't the faintest idea how or why I got so "unlucky" with these things.  Maybe my entire area got a big batch of extra defective cords. What I know also is that I've got to travel farther away from my home to even find a store that has any of these in stock...from what I hear the stores sell out of these very quickly.  I wonder why?  I have an original nook, I used it very heavily before I recieved my nook color and never once did I have a problem with the charging system on that device.

[officereader]

This is my 2nd Nook(had 1st generation also) and don't have any complaints. Just someone said previously, the power cord isn't flexible enuf to handle it and charge at the same time.

[julestrik]

I have replaced 1 charger, about a week after I bought my nook color, and that was a year ago. I actually was shocked by the charger, it was the piece that plugs into the nook, it had separated and I was stupidly moving it around to get it to work, while it was plugged in, do be careful when trying something like this. Anyway, b&n replaced nook, cord and all. Since then I have been very carful about how I unplugging nook. Now with the update I do read while it's plugged in I just read in horizontal view. Also, I have an extra cord for just in case. I have had this cord for 1 yr and it is showing signs of trouble again. I do wonder why b & n have not addressed the issue with the power cord because this has been a reoccurring theme in many of these messages.

[KATPOR]

I haven't had this problem or at least not yet, but I think a Gomadic Nook  tip would probably work with one of their USB cords plugged into the B&N wall charger.  I've bought the tip, but haven't tried this out yet.  Gomadic supplies interchangeable "proprietary" ends for for a variety of chargers, USB cables, etc.  Using Gomadic tips I can charge my iPhone 4, my Creative Zen, my husband's Sony Ericksson cell phone with one charging device and by simply changing the tips.

Good luck!

[LadyTessie]

I'm always sad to hear about folks who've had a problem with the power cable. I've had my NC for coming up on a year soon. I purchased an extra cable to keep at the office. Neither that one nor the original that came with the NC have broken or caused any problems for me. I do, however, sort of tip it up a tiny bit when plugging into the NC. Wish it was the same for all NC & NT owners.

Terry

[baltoreader]

OK, so Barnes & Noble has to have a proprietary charging cable.  Which means that when my cat ate mine, I went to a B&N store to buy a new one.  And WTF!  They were out of them.  So I had to order one online. God knows when it will get here.

Barnes & Noble, that is no fair.  You are the only source of these cables that are absolutely required to use a Nook Color.  If you are having manufacturing problems, let us use generic cables that are easily obtained.  Wonder why business is bad?  Treat your customers right!!!

[geertm]

@baltoreader

You can use any USB cable and USB-port/charger to charge your NC. It will just take longer (some 8 hours to fully charge), and you cannot use the NC while charging.

[bklvr896]

This post made me laugh and made me sad.  First, it made me sad because we live in such a litigious society.  Everyone want to take someone to court.

It made me laugh because class action suits take so long for anything to happen, you'll probably be on your 5 tablet/ereader device, your NookColor will be in a landfill or recyled somewhere, before anything is resolved.