Reality Check/Advice needed: Kindle or Kobo

[MiguelATF]

Reality check time. My 7th Kindle just FAILED.

The first 3 failures were previous generation Kindles with Keyboards.

The next two failures were the smaller Kindles but not the 'touch' model - rather, the ones with a rudimentary joystick/clicker at the bottom of the page.

Amazon actually replaced every one of them which was cool; the fact that they all failed (totally frozen screen, with no possibility of reset or total hard reboot) was definitely not cool.

Failure #6 was an earlier generation Kindle touch - basically the same as the Paperwhite but without any internal light/lighting.

When it failed, for some reason, Amazon refused to replace it (it may have been slightly out of warranty), but offered me a discount if I traded it in on a Paperwhite. For cost reasons (perhaps not the best idea), I decided to get a "Certified" Refurbished Paperwhite (supposedly as good as new, according to the friendly Amazon salesperson). That was in December 2013, slightly more than 1 year ago. Now, roughly 13 months later, the Paperwhite has FAILED.

Let me be specific - the failure involves a partially frozen screen with screen degradation. No amount of resetting - total or otherwise - or 'hard' reboots - alters this.

To be honest, I've enjoyed this Paperwhite the most of any of my kindles. But having them fail every year is getting to be a serious downer/drag/bummer/etc.

So - I'm considering getting a Kobo - specifically either an Aura HD or an Aura H2O (though I don't really need the waterproofing, but it's not much more expensive than the plain Aura).

My hesitation is that from what I can tell, Kobo's book prices seem 25 to 50 % higher than Amazon's. Second hesitation is that Kobo doesn't offer many magazine subscriptions (which are not necessary but a fun 'plus' for the kindle). Hesitation #3 has to do with the fact that after downloading Calibre and some supposedly foolproof and latest-gen DRM-strippers aka De-DRM'ers - which allow Calibre to automatically convert my Kindle (azw) format books to a more Kobo-friendly format (MOBI or EPUB), I've discovered (surprise, surprised) that the De-DRM/Calibre/Conversion process only seems to work on approx 50 % of my kindle books - and since many of them are reference books (I'm a writer by trade), it would suck to have to buy replacement versions from Kobo simply because the Amazon versions were unconvertible.

But the final and real hesitation is -

I know nothing about Kobo QC (Quality Control) or reliability.

However I do know that having 7 Kindles fail in a row, in rougly 7 years, really sucks.

But on the other hand I can't help wondering - does the newest generation Paperwhite - or the even more expensive Voyage - have a better reliability (lower failure rate) than other Kindles? Or will they be the same shoddy - and ultimately, in my case at least, unreliable quality - of my previous Kindles?

I would love some serious semi-unbiased opinions on this. I say semi-unbiased because the truth is that we are all subjective and have our own quirks and individual biases, even if we don't admit them.

So what do you all think? I'm most concerned with Reliability/Fail issues - but would love some opinons. And, yes, I release some oher posts have already explored aspects of this conundrum (Papewhite or Voyage or Kobo Aura or H2O) - but none of them addressed the perspective and concerns of a person who's had SEVEN Kindle failures in a row. (I wish someone in the top ranks of Amazon would read this post and get back to me....but I don't supposed that's likely.)

Well........? What should I do???????????

[booklover6]

the failure involves a partially frozen screen with screen degradation.

That's a broken screen. Were any of these devices in sturdy cases?

I'd recommend you get another Paperwhite, based on your comments.

[burnafterreading]

i'm a strong proponent of "buy a tablet instead" since they're generally more 'open' and priced similarly to eink readers (which are very niche and thus expensive [for what they do] devices).

if you're committed to eink type devices for their screen 'technology', then i'd tend to go for a used older $50 device rather than a new $130 device. with mishandling, either one can break just as easily as the other, and if the used one is still working great when you buy it then it is highly unlikely to break UNLESS you yourself mishandle it.

[JSWolf]

I would suggest you stick to reading from paper. It seems you are too rough on your Kindles.

[pdurrant]

It sounds like the screen broke in every one. That is, the glass backplane shattered. While one or two might be down to manufacturing fault, for all seven to break means that you're doing something to them that breaks the screen - something pressing the screen or twisting the case.

So getting a Kobo is unlikely to help you, as the same thing is likely to happen.

There are a very few eReaders that have a non-glass backplane for the E-Ink display. The Wexler Flex One was one, but is now discontinued. The EARL will be another, if it ever actually ships. Perhaps, given your track record, you should keep an eye on the availability of such devices.

[robko]

Really does sound like something you're doing is causing the screens to break. That doesn't mean you're treating it roughly, but if the device gets slightly bent or twisted over time it's going to fracture the substrate. As the others above have said, no e-ink device is going to be "sturdier" unless you can identify what's causing them to break. If you want to stick with e-ink, I try a used and cheap device so it won't hurt so much when it breaks.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by robko

Really does sound like something you're doing is causing the screens to break. That doesn't mean you're treating it roughly, but if the device gets slightly bent or twisted over time it's going to fracture the substrate. As the others above have said, no e-ink device is going to be "sturdier" unless you can identify what's causing them to break. If you want to stick with e-ink, I try a used and cheap device so it won't hurt so much when it breaks.

Just curious, would an Kobo Aura or Kindle Voyage -- both (I believe) with a more "tablet style" screen be a little more sturdy?

[Anthem]

For an anecdotal counterweight: I have had 4 Kindles and not a single one of them has died or is dead to this very day! (That is NOT including the two Fire tablets, just the e-ink devices).

As the others have said, it is highly unusual for ALL of the devices to have failed in exactly the same way. A good case might remedy the problem.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Just curious, would an Kobo Aura or Kindle Voyage -- both (I believe) with a more "tablet style" screen be a little more sturdy?

I would think the opposite. The larger the glass, the easier it would seem to flex it and break one of the layers. Phones don't seem to have problems with breaking the glass layer with their smaller footprint.

I agree that the OP is doing something that breaks the screens. Either flexing it a while in a backpack or purse and without a cover, or something pressing against it that will cause the screen to break just as easily.

So no different brand will help in that instance. I have readers that are over 4 years old and work perfectly with not even a scratch on them. Invest in a good cover and remember that the device is mostly glass and even in a cover it requires some careful handling.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Just curious, would an Kobo Aura or Kindle Voyage -- both (I believe) with a more "tablet style" screen be a little more sturdy?

I haven't handled a Voyage, so I can't speak to that, but even though the H2O screen is bigger, the body of it is rather thick (much thicker than the Sony PRS-T1 that it replaced), so it seems much sturdier than the T1. The T1 always felt nice and light, but also rather fragile.

That said, I had the T1 for 3 years and didn't manage to break it. It does seem like the OP is one of the few people who might benefit from extended warranties and insurance against breakage.

[robko]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

I would think the opposite. The larger the glass, the easier it would seem to flex it and break one of the layers. Phones don't seem to have problems with breaking the glass layer with their smaller footprint.

I don't think you can compare phones and e-ink this way. The glass that's breaking inside the e-ink is literally paper thin (see teardown pics) whereas the glass surface of a phone is reasonably thick. The thickness of a phone screen is going to prevent flexing/bending generally where the e-ink is relying on the other parts of the device to keep anything from happening to it. Tablets have a screen size the same or greater than e-ink and they also don't have breakage issues from general twist/bending due to thicker glass.

[robko]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Just curious, would an Kobo Aura or Kindle Voyage -- both (I believe) with a more "tablet style" screen be a little more sturdy?

My guess would be no (I don't have either so I can't really say for sure). They have a table style APPEARANCE, but not the thicker glass screen that a tablet would have that would keep things more rigid.

[MiguelATF]

Originally Posted by booklover6

the failure involves a partially frozen screen with screen degradation.

That's a broken screen. Were any of these devices in sturdy cases?

I'd recommend you get another Paperwhite, based on your comments.

ALL of the devices were in sturdy, protective cases at the time of the failures. All had been treated carefully & respectfully - with all the usual warnings/caveats that Amazon cautions users - no liquids, no spills, never placed the Kindle atop any radiation-emitting devices, etc etc etc

And all failed.

Supposedly, there's an old adage that those who do not learn from history's mistakes are compelled to repeat them. In this case, the mistake seems to be Amazon's abysmal QC/Quality Control on a number of their Kindles.

I like them when they work.

But after 7 failures.....I'm hesitating.

Any Kobo users out there care to check in on the question of reliability?

[meeera]

They didn't "fail", the glass was broken - this doesn't happen by magic. Bending, twisting, impact.

[MiguelATF]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It sounds like the screen broke in every one. That is, the glass backplane shattered. While one or two might be down to manufacturing fault, for all seven to break means that you're doing something to them that breaks the screen - something pressing the screen or twisting the case.

So getting a Kobo is unlikely to help you, as the same thing is likely to happen.

There are a very few eReaders that have a non-glass backplane for the E-Ink display. The Wexler Flex One was one, but is now discontinued. The EARL will be another, if it ever actually ships. Perhaps, given your track record, you should keep an eye on the availability of such devices.

There were NEVER ANY signs of any kind of 'break' or breakage on the glass.

Btw I know what broken glass looks like, at least on smartphones - and on laptops. There were no visible signs of breakage in any way, on any of them.

What there was - were random patterns of screen degradation - which appeared in totally different areas of screens. Some near a corner. Some across either the bottom or the top. Some covering large portions of the screen. Others small portions.

Incidentally I have spent considerable time attempting to get someone at Amazon to give me some explanation for this - but never came close to getting any explanation at all.