Kindle Owner concerned about my new Iliad

Zeluiz22 · 02-27-2008, 06:03 PM

I just received a 2d ed Iliad from Ereader Outfitters; I own a Kindle. The two features that impress me most over the Kindle are the screen contrast and the screen size.

I will be using the device (whichever one I keep) primarily for reading books.

The two drawbacks of the Iliad are durability and lack of connectivity.

My biggest concern about the Iliad are what appear to be numerous complaints about broken screens. If my estimates are correct, this seems to be a pervasive problem that is simply outrageous given the price of the device.

Does anyone have an estimate as to how frequent a problem this is?

carandol · 02-27-2008, 06:08 PM

AFAIK, all e-ink screens are made of glass. Could simply be that the larger the screen, the more likely it is to get broken, partly from larger target area, and partly from less structural support. I've had a couple of panes of glass balanced on my nose for the last 40 years without breakage, whereas I've lost several windows to low-flying footballs in the same time :-)

tribble · 02-28-2008, 02:47 AM

Aff all the units we sold so far, we had only one case of a broken screen with the iLiad, and that was definately selfinduced by the owner. Thats less than 1%. But you have to be careful with the screen, since it IS fragile. So better handle it with care, especially if you stuff it in a bag to carry it around.

herve · 02-28-2008, 04:20 AM

I own one of the very first iLiads, for almost two years now (wow!) and I never had any of the problems I read on this forum. Maybe a couple of PDF reader crashes but nothing more. And I hacked it a lot!

HarryT · 02-28-2008, 06:44 AM

I certainly don't think the screen is more fragile than that of any other eInk reader. All have a reasonably delicate glass substrate. Nothing "outrageous" about it.

Lazycat · 02-28-2008, 09:59 AM

Once I put my device on my lap, and my cat *jumped* on it, but it didn't break.

Oh...by the way, the cat weighed 9 pounds...

wallcraft · 02-29-2008, 10:48 PM

The "outrageous" part is not the (presumably very low) chance of a broken screen, but rather requiring the owner to pay for replacement. I can't imagine what, short of taking a sledgehammer to it, would cause Amazon not to replace a Kindle with a broken screen free of charge. Conversely, I can't image what evidence iRex would accept that a broken screen was not the owners fault (would even a video of the screen actually spontaneously cracking be enough - after all it could have been mishandled before the video started).

Perhaps this is an indication that iRex is charging too little for the iLiad. Business isn't my strong suite, but warranty returns should just be another predictable expense (which will obviously be higher if the device is made of glass). Trying to reduce this expense by blaming the customer, even when the customer is in the wrong, is counter productive in the end - particularly at the high end of the market.

HarryT · 03-01-2008, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

The "outrageous" part is not the (presumably very low) chance of a broken screen, but rather requiring the owner to pay for replacement. I can't imagine what, short of taking a sledgehammer to it, would cause Amazon not to replace a Kindle with a broken screen free of charge. Conversely, I can't image what evidence iRex would accept that a broken screen was not the owners fault (would even a video of the screen actually spontaneously cracking be enough - after all it could have been mishandled before the video started).

Perhaps this is an indication that iRex is charging too little for the iLiad. Business isn't my strong suite, but warranty returns should just be another predictable expense (which will obviously be higher if the device is made of glass). Trying to reduce this expense by blaming the customer, even when the customer is in the wrong, is counter productive in the end - particularly at the high end of the market.

Sorry to disagree, wallcraft, but I'm afraid that, IMHO, no company should be expected to pay for damage caused by the customer. Are you saying that if I buy an expensive crystal glass and drop and and break it, I should be able to send the bits of it back to the manufacturer and demand a free replacement?

To my mind, if you put an unbroken iLiad into a bag at the start of a journey, and take a broken iLiad out of the same bag at the end of the jouney, then it's clear that the damage has been caused during the course of the journey. That's extremely unfortunate for the user, but it's certainly not something I'd expect any company to repair free of charge, unless it's due to a manufacturing defect.

Many house insurance policies provide cover against accidental damage to "gadgets", even if it occurs outside the home. Might be worth the original poster checking to see if his does.

JimBob1971 · 03-03-2008, 06:21 AM

I dropped a Nokia N95 phone slap bang onto the Iliad's screen from about 3 feet about 30 mins after first opening the Iliad's box! After retrieving my heart from my mouth I was delighted to find the screen didn't have a mark on it!

HarryT · 03-03-2008, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimBob1971

I dropped a Nokia N95 phone slap bang onto the Iliad's screen from about 3 feet about 30 mins after first opening the Iliad's box! After retrieving my heart from my mouth I was delighted to find the screen didn't have a mark on it!

The screen is hard plastic, and quite difficult to scratch. The delicate part is the glass substrate (the actual "eInk" part) which lies under the plastic. If a shock gets transmitted through to that, it can quite easily fracture. That's what you've got to be wary of.

carandol · 03-03-2008, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimBob1971

I dropped a Nokia N95 phone slap bang onto the Iliad's screen from about 3 feet about 30 mins after first opening the Iliad's box! After retrieving my heart from my mouth I was delighted to find the screen didn't have a mark on it!

Phew! And I hope you put your heart somewhere safe -- I believe they're quite fragile too!

Ununoctien · 03-03-2008, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimBob1971

I dropped a Nokia N95 phone slap bang onto the Iliad's screen from about 3 feet about 30 mins after first opening the Iliad's box! After retrieving my heart from my mouth I was delighted to find the screen didn't have a mark on it!

I have got a Bookeen Gen 3. I bought for my device a 3M anti reflection foil. It's a good protection solution, in my opinion: 3M Vikuiti

02-27-2008, 06:03 PM	#1
Zeluiz22 Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Kindle & Iliad	Kindle Owner concerned about my new Iliad I just received a 2d ed Iliad from Ereader Outfitters; I own a Kindle. The two features that impress me most over the Kindle are the screen contrast and the screen size. I will be using the device (whichever one I keep) primarily for reading books. The two drawbacks of the Iliad are durability and lack of connectivity. My biggest concern about the Iliad are what appear to be numerous complaints about broken screens. If my estimates are correct, this seems to be a pervasive problem that is simply outrageous given the price of the device. Does anyone have an estimate as to how frequent a problem this is? Last edited by Zeluiz22; 02-27-2008 at 06:33 PM.

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02-27-2008, 06:08 PM	#2
carandol Evangelist Posts: 423 Karma: 2153430 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: BeBook	AFAIK, all e-ink screens are made of glass. Could simply be that the larger the screen, the more likely it is to get broken, partly from larger target area, and partly from less structural support. I've had a couple of panes of glass balanced on my nose for the last 40 years without breakage, whereas I've lost several windows to low-flying footballs in the same time :-)

02-28-2008, 02:47 AM	#3
tribble iLiad Maniac Posts: 1,382 Karma: 2369 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany Device: Bookeen Opus (i love that thing) and iPad (what an irony)	Aff all the units we sold so far, we had only one case of a broken screen with the iLiad, and that was definately selfinduced by the owner. Thats less than 1%. But you have to be careful with the screen, since it IS fragile. So better handle it with care, especially if you stuff it in a bag to carry it around.

02-28-2008, 04:20 AM	#4
herve Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Paris Device: TungstenC / hopefully iLi	I own one of the very first iLiads, for almost two years now (wow!) and I never had any of the problems I read on this forum. Maybe a couple of PDF reader crashes but nothing more. And I hacked it a lot!

02-28-2008, 06:44 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I certainly don't think the screen is more fragile than that of any other eInk reader. All have a reasonably delicate glass substrate. Nothing "outrageous" about it.

02-28-2008, 09:59 AM	#6
Lazycat Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: iLiad 2nd Edition	Once I put my device on my lap, and my cat jumped on it, but it didn't break. Oh...by the way, the cat weighed 9 pounds...

02-29-2008, 10:48 PM	#7
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	The "outrageous" part is not the (presumably very low) chance of a broken screen, but rather requiring the owner to pay for replacement. I can't imagine what, short of taking a sledgehammer to it, would cause Amazon not to replace a Kindle with a broken screen free of charge. Conversely, I can't image what evidence iRex would accept that a broken screen was not the owners fault (would even a video of the screen actually spontaneously cracking be enough - after all it could have been mishandled before the video started). Perhaps this is an indication that iRex is charging too little for the iLiad. Business isn't my strong suite, but warranty returns should just be another predictable expense (which will obviously be higher if the device is made of glass). Trying to reduce this expense by blaming the customer, even when the customer is in the wrong, is counter productive in the end - particularly at the high end of the market.

03-03-2008, 06:21 AM	#9
JimBob1971 Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Iliad v2	I dropped a Nokia N95 phone slap bang onto the Iliad's screen from about 3 feet about 30 mins after first opening the Iliad's box! After retrieving my heart from my mouth I was delighted to find the screen didn't have a mark on it!

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