I have been lurking for a while and have read alot in the past 5-6 weeks.

I am sold on every part of the iLiad BUT I am very concerned with something.

Being the father of 4 children under the age of 10, I am concerned with the durability of the screen.

In the forums there are several complaints about the screen being very weak or breaking very easily.

Now my kids are not animals :D They have never broken any of my PDA, cell phone, or laptop screens, but from what I am reading, it seems that the eink screens are a lot more fragile then that.

Am I reading into something more then I should?

Is it just the iLiad device and not the others that have this issue?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

The iLiads screen is definately more fragile that a PDAs or cell phones. And it is more fragile than a laptops, since you position it differently. Or when have you last placed something on you laptop screen by accident?

It has a glass based layer inside, so caution is advised. But its not THAT easily broken. I assume most breakages were due to unlucky circumstances or mishandling. You tend to handle the iLiad like a book, since you can read on it like one.

So basically, its not a childs toy. If you drop it, it will break. If you trap the screen between your cellphone and your hand while carrying both around, you risk breaking the screen. But even my 9 year old niece can handle the iLiad properly, once told, what to take care of.

That sounds fair. I understand the laptop analogy....but you are also talking to someone who has 3 tablets :D

So my kids are used to seeing a folding screen (ie. flat)

Another question I have is about .cbr support.

I love to read comic books from my age (70's and 80's) that people have made into cbr and pdf's. I know that pdf's are supports...what about cbr files?

Thanks AGAIN!

OH BTW I am sort of a tinker....has anyone thought of adapting a cover screen by slicing the cover of another case and sliding in a thin piece of sheet metal or hard plastic to protect the cover while storing?

The iliad comes with a bag that has what feels like a stiff plastic sheet sewn into it and that provides some protection. I also bought the folio cover and it also has a reinforced cover.