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Lennier · 11-09-2013, 11:18 AM

Feeling the need to share my disillusionment with the Kobo Aura. I purchased one from WHSmiths about a month ago. I'd been a bit dimissive of ebooks but I was finding some of the books I wanted to read weren't available in book form and I was taken with the way the Kobo Aura looked and operated. It seemed much smoother than the other Kobos on display and I didn't want to get tied into only purchasing books from Amazon. So I took the plunge and bought one. As soon as I tested the light I was struck by the pin pricks of light - several of them - which were dotted about the screen. Seemed odd and after a bit of online research I found a few references to this problem.

I took it back the following day and was offered an exchange without any problems and they allowed me to check out the new one there and then (turning on the light). It seemed fine. Took it home and tried it again and this time noticed the pin pricks. Only a few this time and they were near the bottom of the screen and unless you set the light to its fullest setting and viewed the screen from certain angles (angles that you couldn't possibly read from!) it was fine. I was prepared to live with it but decided I'd go back to Smiths out of curiosity and ask if anyone else had had this issue. The branch manager happened to be at Kobo desk and I explained the dots, showed him the device and he looked me as if I was a bit odd. He'd never heard of such a thing and couldn't see any such spots of light but if I wanted to exchange it I had a month to do so. Feeling a bit embarrassed I said I was fine with the model I had. And that was that for a couple of weeks. I wasn't going to obsess with the light issue, I was fine with it. I even went back a week or two later and purchased a sleep cover, several books and considered myself a convert.

Then a week ago I was reading my Kobo Aura by lamp light and I was aware of what appeared to be scratches across the top of the screen. It was odd, but I'd never noticed them before but once I noticed them I kept noticing them. I'd never cleaned the screen before and no amount of cleaning with a microfibre cloth would shift them. So convinced was I that they'd never been there before that I wondered if it was the colder weather that had somehow affected the screen (bizarre theory I know).

Spent a day searching online and found mention of this pattern of scratches on an online review and then discovered this forum thread. It was a relief to find I wasn't the only one and I wasn't some mad compulsive returner of Kobo Auras. Having emailed Kobo (sending them a few photos and a link to the online review) they emailed me back to say that it appeared to be a fault and that it may need to be returned/exchanged and I should take it in to WHSmiths. Feeling better but vaguely apprehensive I went to Smiths yesterday, complete with the printout of Kobo's email. The chap manning the Kobo store looked at the email, had a look at the Kobo (naturally the scratches didn't show up under their florescent lights) and said that it could either be sent back to Kobo to take a look at it or exchanged for a new one (if the manager agreed as it was a day or two over their 1 month returns policy). To be fair the manager was fine with an exchange so I took my new Kobo Aura home. Apprehensively I turned on the light first and noticed a pin prick of light near the centre of the screen (and noticeable at a sensible reading angle). The held the screen in lamp light and sun light and yes - there were the scratches on the top part of the screen and more so than my last Kobo. So I'd swapped by last device for one that was even more distracting than the first.

Took it back this morning having decided I'd had enough of it. Perhaps I'd wait a few months and see if they sorted the screen issues and try again. I explained to the girl at the main set of tills that I wanted a refund (as the chap that had served me the previous day had said I could). The manager was called and took me to their Kobo counter where a few potential customers were loitering and when I started to explain the issue I'd had (3 Kobo readers, pin pricks, scratched screens), that there was a whole forum thread dedicated to the issue he cut me off, telling me (and I presume the potential Kobo customers behind me) that he'd sold several of them and nobody else had returned them or reported such issues and that he'd give me a refund as clearly Kobo ereaders were not the thing for me. He wanted shot of me as fast as possible.

Now I can understand that making my way through 3 of their Kobo Aura stock and invalidating them would not make me all that popular. However, I don't think I was being overly finicky to expect a £119 product to be free of such issues. I take some consolation in the fact that there are others here who had the same screen problems as myself and that I wasn't some time wasting nutter who was imaging such things (as I felt in Smiths). Not sure I'll be going into Smiths for anything any time soon.

Its a shame as I really liked the Aura.

11-09-2013, 11:18 AM	#552
Lennier Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 110 Join Date: Nov 2013 Device: None	Disillusioned Feeling the need to share my disillusionment with the Kobo Aura. I purchased one from WHSmiths about a month ago. I'd been a bit dimissive of ebooks but I was finding some of the books I wanted to read weren't available in book form and I was taken with the way the Kobo Aura looked and operated. It seemed much smoother than the other Kobos on display and I didn't want to get tied into only purchasing books from Amazon. So I took the plunge and bought one. As soon as I tested the light I was struck by the pin pricks of light - several of them - which were dotted about the screen. Seemed odd and after a bit of online research I found a few references to this problem. I took it back the following day and was offered an exchange without any problems and they allowed me to check out the new one there and then (turning on the light). It seemed fine. Took it home and tried it again and this time noticed the pin pricks. Only a few this time and they were near the bottom of the screen and unless you set the light to its fullest setting and viewed the screen from certain angles (angles that you couldn't possibly read from!) it was fine. I was prepared to live with it but decided I'd go back to Smiths out of curiosity and ask if anyone else had had this issue. The branch manager happened to be at Kobo desk and I explained the dots, showed him the device and he looked me as if I was a bit odd. He'd never heard of such a thing and couldn't see any such spots of light but if I wanted to exchange it I had a month to do so. Feeling a bit embarrassed I said I was fine with the model I had. And that was that for a couple of weeks. I wasn't going to obsess with the light issue, I was fine with it. I even went back a week or two later and purchased a sleep cover, several books and considered myself a convert. Then a week ago I was reading my Kobo Aura by lamp light and I was aware of what appeared to be scratches across the top of the screen. It was odd, but I'd never noticed them before but once I noticed them I kept noticing them. I'd never cleaned the screen before and no amount of cleaning with a microfibre cloth would shift them. So convinced was I that they'd never been there before that I wondered if it was the colder weather that had somehow affected the screen (bizarre theory I know). Spent a day searching online and found mention of this pattern of scratches on an online review and then discovered this forum thread. It was a relief to find I wasn't the only one and I wasn't some mad compulsive returner of Kobo Auras. Having emailed Kobo (sending them a few photos and a link to the online review) they emailed me back to say that it appeared to be a fault and that it may need to be returned/exchanged and I should take it in to WHSmiths. Feeling better but vaguely apprehensive I went to Smiths yesterday, complete with the printout of Kobo's email. The chap manning the Kobo store looked at the email, had a look at the Kobo (naturally the scratches didn't show up under their florescent lights) and said that it could either be sent back to Kobo to take a look at it or exchanged for a new one (if the manager agreed as it was a day or two over their 1 month returns policy). To be fair the manager was fine with an exchange so I took my new Kobo Aura home. Apprehensively I turned on the light first and noticed a pin prick of light near the centre of the screen (and noticeable at a sensible reading angle). The held the screen in lamp light and sun light and yes - there were the scratches on the top part of the screen and more so than my last Kobo. So I'd swapped by last device for one that was even more distracting than the first. Took it back this morning having decided I'd had enough of it. Perhaps I'd wait a few months and see if they sorted the screen issues and try again. I explained to the girl at the main set of tills that I wanted a refund (as the chap that had served me the previous day had said I could). The manager was called and took me to their Kobo counter where a few potential customers were loitering and when I started to explain the issue I'd had (3 Kobo readers, pin pricks, scratched screens), that there was a whole forum thread dedicated to the issue he cut me off, telling me (and I presume the potential Kobo customers behind me) that he'd sold several of them and nobody else had returned them or reported such issues and that he'd give me a refund as clearly Kobo ereaders were not the thing for me. He wanted shot of me as fast as possible. Now I can understand that making my way through 3 of their Kobo Aura stock and invalidating them would not make me all that popular. However, I don't think I was being overly finicky to expect a £119 product to be free of such issues. I take some consolation in the fact that there are others here who had the same screen problems as myself and that I wasn't some time wasting nutter who was imaging such things (as I felt in Smiths). Not sure I'll be going into Smiths for anything any time soon. Its a shame as I really liked the Aura.