After countless calls and e-mails, Amazon.com finally responded to the story we broke Tuesday about a Seattle customer suing over Kindles being damaged by their protective cover.

Amazon will now replace Kindles cracked by the cover for free, instead of charging $200 and excluding this problem from warranty coverage, spokesman Andrew Herdener said.

Herdener would not comment specifically on the lawsuit, though. His statement:

We do not comment on active litigation. Nevertheless, we encourage anyone who has an issue with the cover attachment mechanism to return the cover and device for a free replacement so we can investigate further.

That won't stop the lawsuit, however:

"If they would like to resolve the matter I think the way to do it is through a court-approved process,'' said Beth Terrell, the Seattle lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of Matthew Geise.

Terrell said it's a welcome change to have Amazon fixing the devices at no charge, but the extent of the reparations isn't clear from the brief press statement.

"What I'm concerned about is it may not take care of all the class members,'' she explained. "What we want is a consistent and comprehensive resolution for everyone who has been affected by this problem and will be affected in the future."

Terrell said she's "pleased" Amazon is trying to take care of its customers.

"That's the point of the lawsuit -- the reason we have class actions, and the reasons they go through a court approval process -- to make sure there's a binding obligation to truly take care of everyone who has been damaged or will be damaged by this product."

Amazon's response may still be evolving.

A commenter below noted that they were able to get the free replacement device, but had to refer to this article to get the replacement cover.

People with Kindles with this problem who want to participate in the lawsuit can reach Terrell at kindleclassaction@tmdlegal.com. More information is also available at her firm's Web site.