08-15-2008, 11:43 AM | #1 |
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I'm going to go out on a limb here...
And state that the leather softcover case is NO protection against broken screens. After the disaster I experienced early on with my first Cybook Gen3, I found a nice case and used it. Later, when I bought my EB-100, I bought two Cybook leather softcover cases - and I used them on my Cybook Gen3 and my EB-100 RELIGIOUSLY! I relegated my Cybook to my mother who only reads for an hour or so in the evening and doesn't carry the Cybook around. The EB-100 became my *main* reading device. I carried it - in it's softcover case - everywhere I went. And I used my EB-100 for 8-10 hours per day. When carrying it, I would hold it like a book, spine of the case nestled in the valley between my fingers and thumb, thumb and fingers grasping the center of the case - just like I'd carry a similar-sized book.
And I never took it out of the case for reading; I'd just flip the cover back and cradle it in my right hand so that the navigation control fell under my thumb. Yesterday, I picked the EB-100 up with my left hand, flipped it open, pressed the on/off switch with my right and transferred it to my right hand as it booted up. When the library came up, I selected the book I wanted and adjusted my grip a bit - and the screen snapped. I was watching as it happened. I could see the cracks spring across the screen. I don't have a death-grip. In fact, I tend to hold it a bit loosely, cradling more than gripping. But clearly the constant pressure I put on it - in it's case - while carrying it around throughout the day, put enough long-term stress on it to cause the screen to break. I'm thinking that we're going to be seeing more screen breakage as other devices endure the accumulated stress from shorter-duration reading and portage. Probably won't happen for a year or so, but I think it'll happen with a higher percentage than what we've already seen. I think this is because the Netronix case is much thinner and less supportive than other designs. Only time will tell. Derek |
08-15-2008, 11:46 AM | #2 |
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Sorry to hear about your breakage, Derek.
Have to disagree with you about the case providing "no protection", I'm afraid. It's well padded and does, I think, provide pretty good protection against falls. |
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08-15-2008, 11:58 AM | #3 | |
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08-15-2008, 12:08 PM | #4 |
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Even in your photo, though, Derek, you can see that your thumb is making a large indentation in the padding. That's spreading the pressure over a much larger area of the screen (hence lower pressure per unit area) than it would be without the case, don't you think?
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08-15-2008, 12:10 PM | #5 | |
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08-15-2008, 12:13 PM | #6 |
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Time will tell, of course. I'm happy with the case myself, but obviously I might feel differently if I'd experienced broken screens as you have!
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08-15-2008, 12:53 PM | #7 |
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Is the display face real glass? Glass can be under stress from various sources (temperature changes, etc.) for long periods and then break for no apparent reason. Could this be happening to the displays? Some may be more stressed than others during manufacturing and shipping, let alone usage.
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08-15-2008, 12:59 PM | #8 |
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The outer screen is quite thick plastic. There's a very thin layer of glass under that - the screen substrate. That's what breaks.
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08-15-2008, 01:05 PM | #9 |
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What I like withthe Sony case is that it does not sit flush against the screen So when I pick up the 505 is that it has some give for me to grip it via the case. I don't know if ti was that way when it was new. It may have become that way over time using it.
Derek do you thinkt he screen cracking is due to too much pressure on the sides of the unit and not to the screen directly? If so, then the plastic really needs to be replaced with metal. |
08-15-2008, 01:09 PM | #10 |
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Nor does the Gen3's case, Jon. The case is a "sleeve" which the Gen3 slides into, with a cutout for the screen, and the outer cover folds over that, with a rigid backing, so the thickness of the sleeve material (about 2-3mm) separates the case from the screen. You have to press the case pretty hard to make the backing of the outer cover come into contact with the screen.
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08-15-2008, 01:45 PM | #11 |
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I obviously dont know the specifics behind the tech in the glass for the devices.
BUT, do you think if they made it a tempered glass that might make a difference? I know that the main difference for tempered is that it doesnt spliter, it breaks into cubes. but doesnt the process also make it stronger? either that or maybe they need to go to a slightly heavier piece of glass underneath |
08-15-2008, 01:51 PM | #12 |
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Bookeen don't make the screens - they are a standard component made by PVI in Taiwan and are identical between the Gen3, the Sony PRS-505, the Amazon Kindle, the Hanlin V3, etc etc etc. All use the same screen.
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08-15-2008, 01:55 PM | #13 | |
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08-15-2008, 03:06 PM | #14 | |
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08-15-2008, 03:15 PM | #15 |
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Now that I have a Kindle - and I really need to update my profile - I'm definitely agreeing with this. The sides of my Cybook case were never 100% - flush, I guess, is the word I want to use. There's a tiny separation, it's not a single unit. Everything on the Kindle is much tighter and the plastic is sturdier and less fragile.
I do love the slimness of the Cybook, as well as the overall simplicity of the look. But while I'm not glad mine broke, I'm glad I opted to go for a Kindle to replace it. |