batterySo what happens when the batteries in your old e-book reader won’t work–and you still want to read titles in the now-obsolete format? Oh, the pleasures of the Tower of eBabel.

Ellen Hage, however, a TeleRead contributor, has been kind enough compile a list of places to go for replacement batteries. Her letter, slightly edited, follows. Thanks, Ellen! I hope you’ll give us an updated version a few months from now.

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Per your request here are my Favorite Sites for getting replacement parts. Most of these places I have gleaned from the various Yahoo Forums. I can’t remember who posted them, so I’ll give a widespread credit shout out.

Rocket eBook (Original)

Alltronics. The battery is listed as Palm/Handheld Computer Type Battery Pack. The caveat is that these batteries don’t always work since I believe they were salvaged. I have bought maybe 5 and one would not hold a charge. Otherwise at $5.95 it is worth a try. Since the battery comes attached to the whole back cover of the REB and stylus, many people may find that useful. The site also sells the Rocket e-book motherboard for $4.95 (listed un Computer motherboards). I have had excellent luck with these. I received one that had 48Mb of memory. What you get is the luck of the draw as far as memory. At one time they had the displays and I was able to build my own REB. Finally, under “computer miscellaneous,” the site sells the original leather case for the REB for only $2.95. The guy that owns the shop is great and was really helpful when I called with questions.

Gemstar

Fox International Electronics. This Page has almost everything needed for the REB1100, REB 1200 GEB1150, and GEB2150 to include AC Adapter, USB cables, stylus, and of course batteries. They are listed in the electronics sections with the subheading of Gemstar and RCA/GE. Prices are reasonable and have fallen a bit since my last visit. For instance the REB1200 battery used to be approx $69, but is now $49.

Ebookman

At one time, someone sold replacement parts, such as the capacitor and USB cables. His web site is still up and has his contact info, but no listings. I will try to contact him again and see what’s up. He’s a great guy with very reasonable prices. Otherwise the only other place I know of is Ectaco. Their accessories include a replacement cradle USB and serial), original leather case, AC adapter, and USB laptop cable. Prices aren’t cheap though.

Finally a great place for hard to find screen protectors is Strong Engineering.They have protectors for the Ebookman, Godspeed/Hiebook, Alphasmart Dana, Original REB, and just about every PDA there is. Since they give dimensions, you can get protectors that will fir your device even though yours may not be listed. I find the prices well worth it.

The Hiebook

From eBible, you can buy the battery Hiebook as well as other accessories. The site lists the accessories for use with Godspeed’s eBible which essentially is the rebranded Hiebook.

6 COMMENTS

  1. David – You commented upon the recent tablet-ECS H70 and saw how similar it was to the Origami…my question is how far down the line are these OEM people from ‘adding’ e-ink to their product? Is this possible? Is it difficult and expensive? I find the Irex rather expensive if I am just going to read ebooks but then the small tablets would have all of the conversion programs on it as needed. TIA JB

  2. […] Where to get batteries for your old e-book reader TeleRead posted an article a while back that is probably of interest to many of our readers. Especially if you need a replacement battery for an older e-book reader model, and aren’t ready to jump on one of the more expensive new generation e-ink readers. "So what happens when the batteries in your old e-book reader won

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