![]() |
#61 |
Member Retired
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 3,183
Karma: 11721895
Join Date: Nov 2010
Device: Nook STR (rooted) & Sony T2
|
Judging by these forums and any other reports on the net, anecdotal evidence suggests that Kobo screens are stable.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#62 |
eBook Enthusiast
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383099
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
Agreed. I do note that the OP said that he'd had three Auras fail, not three broken screens. As far as we know, only one of them has had a broken screen.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#63 |
Guru
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 710
Karma: 2483502
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: Kobo Aura
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#64 |
GranPohbah-Fezzes r cool!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 1,056
Karma: 3151024
Join Date: Jul 2010
Device: Nook STRs, Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo
|
"But this time the Aura HD was simply left in the sun for a while and when my wife came back, the screen was covered with lines. Nobody had been around it."
My only problem with statements like the above is, if no one was around it, how do you know no one/nothing was around it? Considering that people have alluded to the possibility that their cats or other pets stepping/landing on the screen may have broken it, it obviously doesn't necessarily require a human presence to deliver enough force in a small enough area to cause damage directly to the screen.(damned pelicans and flying monkeys!) Further, from the look of the image posted, there are multiple stress cracks parallel to the same diagonal which does make one wonder... Frankly, an hour or so in the sun on a fairly sunny day could easily exceed the unpowered storage specs for the device, so who is to say? Flat black plastic absorbs a lot of solar radiation. I try to keep all my devices in cases and cool when they aren't in my hot, not so little, hands. Five or six years ago, on a fairly warm spring day travelling on an interstate facing head on into the sun, I was running Google Maps on a cell phone in a windshield mount -the phone got so warm between charging and being in the sun that I had to roll the window down and hold it outside at 55-60mph for a bit periodically to cool it. The phone was jet black and admittedly always got a little warm charging, but in this case was hot enough that the charging cycle was being interrupted. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#65 |
Wizard
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 3,108
Karma: 60231510
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Australia
Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Oasis, Huwei Ascend Mate 7
|
I recently had my H2O replaced due to a broken screen. The device was kept in the original Kobo cover I purchased with it and was treated very gently. So far as I am aware it was never dropped or treated roughly. Kobo Customer Care are, by default, appalling. From what I can see their default response is to exchange a number of emails with different trouble-shooting instructions, then ask for a picture of the screen and finally deny it is covered by warranty. I think this is usually accepted by most people, many of whom no doubt can't be bothered. However, if you do persist, the service is much better after that. They do listen and sometimes will agree to replace the device. I do have sympathy for their position. I have no doubt that many people do try to claim under warranty when they have dropped or mistreated the device. In my own case, this did not happen, at least not to my knowledge, and I was concerned that the screen seemed to have failed under normal use. However, since there have been few other complaints, objectively I cannot rule out that something I did may have caused the failure. Kobo was good enough to give me the benefit of the doubt in my circumstances, and I in turn extend them the same courtesy. I do not believe there is a general problem with the H2O. It is a beautiful device. I am a little worried by the fact that the screen appears to have become damaged during normal use, but the lack of a large number of complaints seems to suggest that either I was unlucky or that I unknowingly stressed my H2O beyond its tolerances.
I have a number of Kindle's, none of which have suffered from screen damage. I do fear that the Kobo may be a bit more delicate than a Kindle, and note some comments from these forums about the device "flexing". I will not only be keeping the new H2O in its cover, but will also try to be alert to flexing. I may even consider acquiring a case which keeps the device more rigid than the Kobo cover. I love the H2O. It is a fantastic device. I do not think there are general problems with the design or build standard, but I do think we all need to bear in mind the need to treat it gently and I think avoid not only dropping it but so far as possible flexing it and of course leaving it in the sun. Keep it in a rigid case, and treat it with care. If you do drop or mistreat it, please don't try to claim under warranty. And if the screen is damaged and you are really convinced you have not caused it, persevere with Customer Care. And finally, if you do have screen problems not caused by you, please do post your experience on these forums. As I said, I do not believe there is a general problem but am not now quite as ready to dismiss complaints such as those in this thread completely. Last edited by darryl; 04-22-2015 at 09:07 PM. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#66 | |
Nameless Being
|
Quote:
Likewise, I don't really place any value on people making claims about the build quality. They tend to fall into the heft is better and rigidity is better camps. Neither is an actual judgement based upon failure rates nor objective (and quantifiable) tests. They are just subjective claims about how a device feels. Of course, I don't blame people for doing that. How many people want to spend loads of cash on devices to perform proper tests? All that I can say is that, based upon personal experience, Kobos seem to be sufficiently durable for their intended use. It would be nice if they were more durable, but that isn't going to happen until readers ship with screens that don't have a glass substrate. Last edited by BWinmill; 04-22-2015 at 10:18 PM. Reason: glass != plastic |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#67 |
Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 21
Karma: 51868
Join Date: Jan 2015
Device: Kobo - Mini, Glo, Glo HD
|
I broke My Aura HD after 20 months, but I'm pretty sure it was my fault. I'm disappointed, but I've learned a lesson and will be more careful in the future. I am likely to buy a Glo HD as a replacement.
I do think that the larger screens are more fragile, and the Aura HD and H2O are probably more likely to fail. I personally don't think a larger screen adds much value, and what I would really like is an updated Mini with a Carta display and a little zippier performance. If I could only keep one ereader, the Mini would be it. It is always in my shirt pocket when I leave the house! |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#68 | |
Wizard
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 3,108
Karma: 60231510
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Australia
Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Oasis, Huwei Ascend Mate 7
|
Quote:
|
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#69 |
Wizard
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 1,047
Karma: 203682
Join Date: Oct 2009
Device: Libre 2
|
On the other hand, the H20 feels so much more solid than my old Touch. The case on the Touch would creak and flex (started doing it the first time after I took the back off - maybe my fault but still). The H20 is very solid feeling.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#70 | |
Member Retired
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 3,183
Karma: 11721895
Join Date: Nov 2010
Device: Nook STR (rooted) & Sony T2
|
Quote:
On another point, I had a Sony 650 that died at 14 months because the power-switch failed. It would have cost $150 to repair. I decided it wasn't worth buying new at high-price for quality, because it just don't exist in e-readers. Saying that, I've crumbled and ordered a Glo HD. Touch wood ![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#71 |
Wizard
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 3,108
Karma: 60231510
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Australia
Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Kindle Oasis, Huwei Ascend Mate 7
|
@Rizla. Thanks for your post. My current thinking is that there is no manufacturing or design flaw, though like you I cannot entirely dismiss the possibility. I do wonder if the H2O and the HD, with their 6.8 inch screens, are not quite as robust as, say, a Kindle, and perhaps may be more prone to screen breakage through flexing. I am, as mentioned, considering whether I should try to get a more rigid cover to minimise such flexing, though the more I look at the Kobo cover the more it seems to be sufficient. I don't know that I could get a more rigid case without going to a metal one! If this H2O fails without an obvious reason I will be drawing the only logical conclusion.
The Glo HD appears to be excellent value for money. I wish you luck with it, though there are so many happy Kobo users I really don't expect you to have problems. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#72 |
Linux User
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 2,282
Karma: 6123806
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Heidelberg, Germany
Device: none
|
There are also 8" screens and people manage to use them without breaking them, so 6" or 6.8" should not matter that much. In the end, they're all extremely fragile... too bad the flexible/unbreakable screen never made it...
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#73 |
Wizard
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 3,472
Karma: 48036360
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: where the sun lives, or so they say
Device: Pocketbook Era, Pocketbook Inkpad 4, Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Scribe
|
This. You can have an e-reader protected at all time with a good cover, and yet one trip in a small backpack can damage it very easily. And I don't mean hiking, I just mean walking quietly in a city with a small backpack and your reader in it. Someone a while ago in one thread mentionned packing his/her reader in packaging bubble film every time it went in the backpack. Not such a crazy idea.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#74 |
Wizard
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 1,326
Karma: 1077205
Join Date: Jun 2011
Device: Kobo Touch, Sony T1, Kobo Mini
|
You can buy hard shell water proof cases for tablets and phones. Pelican makes expensive version and local Walmart has cheaper version. Easy to make a wood storage box with hinged lid for your reader with cover. Any of these options is better than bare reader or reader with cover.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#75 |
Member Retired
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 3,183
Karma: 11721895
Join Date: Nov 2010
Device: Nook STR (rooted) & Sony T2
|
People have placed them by their bedside at night (fully functional and in the case) and woken up with a broken screen. I have owned many e-readers and have had no problems. Conclusion? Buggered if I know. I don't think those people are liars.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Glo Which Kobo Glo color is the worst fingerprint magnet? | pda_junkie | Kobo Reader | 30 | 04-13-2013 01:56 PM |
Worst Book | hard-boiled pat | Reading Recommendations | 157 | 08-22-2012 04:40 PM |
Do NOT buy from Kobo - worst company ever | Marcy | Kobo Tablets | 41 | 05-04-2012 09:15 PM |
Which is the worst US Airline | markbot | Lounge | 22 | 02-09-2012 09:18 PM |
Kobo Touch review: 'flawed (at best) or nightmarish (at worst)' | RockdaMan | News | 31 | 06-20-2011 03:47 AM |