Help! Mysterious Broken Screen!!

[xharekx33]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Tribble's "under 1%" figure is a hard fact, not a guess.

you obviously know nothing of how real world statistics are made. Counting people who replied to a internet survey means basically nothing.

The only numbers with any significance would come directly from Bookeen, and they arent gonna release them because they could most probably hurt their sales.

What's clear is that if a device can break without the users knowing how it happened, during normal use, for a large enough number of users, a problem clearly exists.

[HarryT]

Tribble - have you sold sufficient Gen3s for your failure figures to be statistically reliable, do you believe?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by xharekx33

you obviously know nothing of how real world statistics are made. Counting people who replied to a internet survey means basically nothing.

I'm sorry - who's talking about "internet surveys"? Tribble's figures are not a "survey" - they are the number of customers who have contacted him to report that the machine they bought from him is faulty. In European countries one initially contacts the retailer to report faults with a product, so this is a reliable datum.

I have a degree in mathematics, by the way; I'm well aware of the reliability (or otherwise) of statistics.

[tribble]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Tribble - have you sold sufficient Gen3s for your failure figures to be statistically reliable, do you believe?

Well, thats not for me to decide. I can just say, that i sold several hundred devices and that we had less than 1 percent of screen breakages. We had a few other defects (about 2%) with defective SD cards and buttns and controller failures.

I have no knowledge about the quotes that Bookeen has on the overall production.

[HarryT]

Thanks, Tribble. If you've sold several hundred, I reckon that your reliability figures are pretty trustworthy. You're certainly in a far better position to judge the number of problems that occur than anyone else here. Many thanks for your feedback.

[HappyMartin]

Is the figure of 14 from this thread the total number of breakages reported or just the mysterious ones. By mysterious I mean breakages where people do not recall or do not believe they caused the break. I just ask because I reported a break but it was not very mysterious.

Reason I ask is I do subject my reader to some abuse and plan on another trip like the one that broke my wife's reader. I would like to know what is going on here.

[Gerry]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

Is the figure of 14 from this thread the total number of breakages reported or just the mysterious ones. By mysterious I mean breakages where people do not recall or do not believe they caused the break. I just ask because I reported a break but it was not very mysterious.

The number of breaks I counted in this thread was 19, not 14. 14 was the number of mysterious breaks I found in a quick count of other cybook threads.

Yes, I did include you in the 19 because you said that you don't think anything struck the screen, but that you have a theory that many breaks are caused by flexing. (Your message is copied below) If you don't think anything struck the screen isn't it just a bit mysterious?:

"My wifes Gen3 broke. It was in the cubbyhole (glove compartment for some of us) and we were doing a difficult drive in the desert. I don't think anything struck the screen to cause the break. It is just a theory but I think a lot of these breaks are caused by flexing."

By the way, I emailed support@bookeen over the weekend from a yahoo account, but no reply yet. If I don't hear from them tomorrow I will use another account to see if they respond. I really miss my cybook!

-Gerry

[HappyMartin]

I was not so clear I think. The Cybook was jammed into a cubbyhole during a 6 Km drive down to the Orange river. The route is called the Road to Hell and it was aptly named. It took us 6 hours the next day to retrace our route and a lot of damage was done to the vehicles. People in the cars picked up bruises from the battering they took. Some people walked most of the way as the road was narrow with dangerous drop offs. Temperatures were in the mid 40's. I dont think the damage done to the reader was mysterious under those conditions. The reader was in its cover but I think, I cannot be sure, that it was flexed or twisted.

I am not saying that there are no mysterious breaks but I am saying our break was not terribly surprising. I am interested in find out what is behind these breaks as we own 2 readers. My gut feel is still that the plastic housing is too flimsy to support the thin glass substrate and prevent flexing.

[Gerry]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

I am not saying that there are no mysterious breaks but I am saying our break was not terribly surprising. I am interested in find out what is behind these breaks as we own 2 readers. My gut feel is still that the plastic housing is too flimsy to support the thin glass substrate and prevent flexing.

Wow. That sounds like quite a drive! If people and vehicles ended up damaged I agree that a broken Cybook is not a surprise.

Ok, taking you off the list that leaves us with 18 screen breaks in this thread alone. I did include some members who knew how it broke, but thought it broke with far too little resistance. (Like albertoLP who said he "barely touched it".) I tend to think that the person who experienced the break is in a better position to know how they treated it than we are. Especially when some members here have stated that they have dropped their cybooks often, and carry them around in bags or briefcases with other items with no damage.

Also, I do agree with many of the members here who state that the reader by its very nature is meant to be used, and carried around. Isn't that one of the reasons we all use them? It is a small portable device that can be taken on trips rather than carrying a stack of books? So I think it really should stand up to reasonable usage.

The members included in the list of 18 screen breaks in this thread:
wearbog, binzer, minigrrl, mjdb, AL1432, Rixte (2), Ortep, rjnagle, jinibiza, Disconnect (2), dki, albertoLP, patatan, razza, xharekx33, gerry.

(Feel free to adjust the list)

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Gerry

Especially when some members here have stated that they have dropped their cybooks often, and carry them around in bags or briefcases with other items with no damage.

The key thing is HOW you carry it.

As Martin very rightly says, flexing of the case is what will break your screen. Carry the device with solid books in front and behind it, and you should be fine. The problems occur when you have support on one part of the device, and none on another part, so it can twist. Make sure it's firmly supported on both sides and you should be OK.

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Thanks, Tribble. If you've sold several hundred, I reckon that your reliability figures are pretty trustworthy.

I think the length of time the units have been in service should also be factored in.

If a large proportion of the several hundred were sold quite recently, it might be too soon to assess their reliability.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I think the length of time the units have been in service should also be factored in.

If a large proportion of the several hundred were sold quite recently, it might be too soon to assess their reliability.

True, but people who do break their screens generally seem to do so in the first few weeks of ownership. I guess that if the machine can survive someone's "lifestyle" for that long, it'll probably survive it more or less indefinitely.

[ErwinOtten]

Originally Posted by HarryT

True, but people who do break their screens generally seem to do so in the first few weeks of ownership. I guess that if the machine can survive someone's "lifestyle" for that long, it'll probably survive it more or less indefinitely.

Or the breaking of a screen within the first few weeks points to a percentage of badly mounted screens ........

Just stirring up the beehive or should I say ant-hill ?

[Gerry]

It looks like I may not be so lucky with a warranty repair as jayne80 in the "replaced under warranty" post. After four emails from two different email addresses I finally got a response from them today, and it is not encouraging:

"Sir, The backplane of your display is seemingly not broken. Indeed, the pictures are not very clear but we see fractures. We invite you to send us your device. Our technicians will then be able to determine the exact nature of the issue.

For your own information, defective parts are covered by the warranty. If you wish and if needed, we can propose a display replacement. If you are interested, you may provide us with your order details, we will then send you the Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) procedure to follow.

Best regards,
Bookeen Support Team"

My photos are posted this thread - post #257. I can't see any sign of broken glass or fractures when I look at the reader, so I'm still hoping that once they have it in hand it will end up a warranty repair.

-Gerry

[dki]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The key thing is HOW you carry it.

As Martin very rightly says, flexing of the case is what will break your screen. Carry the device with solid books in front and behind it, and you should be fine. The problems occur when you have support on one part of the device, and none on another part, so it can twist. Make sure it's firmly supported on both sides and you should be OK.

Frankly, I find this a bit ridiculous. I have paid quite a lot for this device to be used instead of a paperbook, not to find a reason to carry TWO hardcover books with me at all times in addition to the cybook. If the screen is too susceptible to flexing, the device should be made differently, to provide more support, or maybe a hard cover (as titanium caddy) should be advised for anybody who wishes to use the device rather than to just put it on a shelf and worship from afar. Anyhow, my definition of expected everyday use for cybook would definitely include carrying it in a bag to and from work. Cybook should be able to withstand that, if not safari trips.

Also, my Cybook broke after eight months, not a few weeks. And while it was carried around as a rule, it did not leave the house for a few weeks prior to the failure. And it is now as broken as the one participating in safari.

Dorota