I took a series of trips (for both work and pleasure) and was away from my DR for about 2 months. When I came back, as expected, the battery was completely drained. I was all excited about hacking around and trying out firmware 1.7, so I plugged it in which caused the device to switch on. To my
absolute horror, I saw some strange patterns "appear" on the screen when I switched it on:
Of course the device couldn't boot up because the battery needed to be charged, so I let it be for a few hours and then hit the reset button. The device booted and ran fine, but the patterns wouldn't go away. I opened a ticket at iRex, and they got back within a few hours and informed me that the screen was broken and that the warranty would not cover it
It seems strange that the patterns "appeared" just as I switched the device on, but the patterns on the screen look like they might indeed be a fracture (in one of the inner layers, the outermost is still smooth to touch). As far as I know, no one touched the DR while I was away, and I always carried it in the "flip" carrying case before that. Maybe I mishandled it at some point without noticing, or perhaps something in the screen weakens when left unused for a long time. Its also possible that something was already cracked before, and when I switched it on the cracks became visible and remained so thereafter, for some reason. Has anyone else seen this problem?
iRex wants about $390 (US) to fix the thing, which I am reluctant to spend, especially if this is something that is likely to happen again for my lifestyle, even though I do not think I subjected the DR to any undue stress. I loved my DR while it lasted, and I am going to
sorely miss it
In case I decide to junk my DR, I'll probably put it up for not very much (the buyer can play around or pay $390 and get it fixed).