Seriously--I think someone sat on it or otherwise crushed it. There is a 2-inch square spot in the upper right corner of the screen that has a kind of faded starburst marking on it, and that part of the screen does not display text.
Has anyone had any luck (PLEASE tell me stories with happy endings) in sending their Kindle in for repair? There's no way I can afford to replace it.
OK, updating my own post with the happy ending. Since this happened within a year of purchase, it was covered under warranty. Amazon replaced the machine, free, and even shipped the new one out overnight, also free. I was worried I might have to wait several weeks, since the wait time on new units is that long now, but it turns out that they keep a separate stock just for replacement purposes. Sweet!
Has anyone had any luck (PLEASE tell me stories with happy endings) in sending their Kindle in for repair? There's no way I can afford to replace it.