Kobo is the worst....

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Rizla

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.

Neither do I, nor did I try to imply it. Where does that even come from ? Wow, normal "conversation" on MR is getting so tedious, it is simply not agreeable anymore.

[filmo]

I would be interested in buying reader with not easily broken screen only if it didn't get scratched like cheap glasses.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

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...

While theoretically the screen size would matter, manufacturers seem to be taking this into account and reinforcing as needed.

In my opinion, Kobo may have not done this very well, as the Aura HD is definitively more crudely put together than the Kindle DXG (9.7"), which I compared it to in a post above. The Aura HD flexes and creaks, plus seems to be considerably more lax in terms of gaps and tolerances than the Kindle DXG.

I also had an 8" Iliad a long while back and never had any structural issues with it.

Many here seem happy with the Kobo Aura HD and frankly, so were I, that's why I kept buying them. There doesn't seem to be a lot of choices over 6" nowadays.

In my opinion, the Kobo Aura HD may simply not be as well constructed as other readers I have used, which may explain the bad luck I've had with mine.

But also Kobo is very unaccommodating in terms of customers service and I get the feeling that the top down attitude is they are right and the customer is wrong.

It Kobo much longer than I thought was warranted to respond to my issue (three days) and I still don't have a response to my last post to their customer service, although at this point I have given up.

Very different experience than dealing with Amazon, for instance. I am about to order a Kindle Voyage, BTW.

[frostschutz]

I've an incredibly hard time believing in screens that just break by themselves without outside influence. Maybe it got a hairline crack at some point and it just pops a while later.

Also, human memory does funny things. If you read until exhaustion and then go to sleep, you might not remember the next day that you dropped the reader or put your elbow on it before putting it on your nightstand...

You only see the damage after a screen refresh, so if you drop your reader and pick it up, it probably looks fine, but if you turn it on / flip the page the next day, bam there it goes.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by darryl

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.

My H2O does not flex, creak, or bend. It feels very sturdy. I have it ion a good case as well. I've carried it around with me quite a bit and no issues at all,

Every Reader should be kept in a good case to help protect them. I've read of too many people not using a case. I've owned six different Readers and not a single one has ever had a broken screen.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

I've an incredibly hard time believing in screens that just break by themselves without outside influence. Maybe it got a hairline crack at some point and it just pops a while later.

....

I don't necessarily disagree.

All I am saying is that the Kobo Aura HDs I have here are definitely not put together as well as the old Kindle DXG I am looking at right now.

Which is likely a contributing factor and would explain why the Kobo Aura HDs are the ONLY reader I've ever had such issues with, even though it also happens that they have been treated gentler than any other reader I've had (no rough travel in humid, cold or salty conditions, as for example my Kindles and Sonys have been subjected to).

Just as importantly, I feel that at least in my experience, the Kobo customer service is nowhere near the level of Amazon, but more akin to what I would expect from a second rate, fly-by-night company.

I cannot comment on the H2O build quality, as I haven't seen it.

[murg]

Why is there glass anyways?

Kobo went to great lengths to claim that there was no glass between the eInk and the person when they released one of their new models a few years ago (Aura HD?). They claimed there was no glass. I highlighted the fallacy of this on MR, and evertually they changed the marketing copy to remove the reference to no glass.

Which leaves the glass either as part of the eInk (eInk embedded in the glass) or behind the eInk.

I can understand embedded, but if the glass is behind the eInk screen, then can't it be replaced by the metal plate that is already there (from what I remember when I pulled my Touch apart)?

Which means

[darryl]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

My H2O does not flex, creak, or bend. It feels very sturdy. I have it ion a good case as well. I've carried it around with me quite a bit and no issues at all,

Every Reader should be kept in a good case to help protect them. I've read of too many people not using a case. I've owned six different Readers and not a single one has ever had a broken screen.

I also claim 6 readers over time with no broken screen, up until this. Believe it or not, I would be happy if I knew I had dropped it or twisted it or otherwise mistreated it. I'm 90% sure it is just bad luck or I have stressed it somehow without realising, and there is no problem, but I do have this nagging doubt and want to treat this one especially gently. You included the brand of case you were using in an earlier post, which I looked at. It seems to be a very nice case, but from what I can see it not provide any more protection or hold the H2O more rigidly than the Kobo case I have.

I love the H2O. Best ereader so far.

[disconnected]

I've never had a broken screen on any of my ereaders but I'm almost surprised that I haven't. I tend to buy multiple cases for them and to change back and forth. The cases are both the best and worst things for the safety of the ereaders.

Since the invention of molded cases I'm nervous every time I remove an ereader from a case. Some cases hold on to the ereaders for dear life, requiring a knife or a shoe horn or a dental implement to remove them. Either the case or the ereader has to bend and I'm always afraid it will be the ereader.

[meeera]

It's easy to flex an ereader if you're not paying attention. I know when I climb onto the bed with a closed paper book in my hand, it's in my grip and I lean on my hand as I climb on, my thumb putting significant pressure on the middle of the book. You can generally happily do this with an iPad without trouble, too. Do this with an ereader in your hand, and you'll break it, without you ever having dropped it or thinking that you 'mistreated' it.

[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm afraid that's a classic picture of a fractured screen substrate. It's absolutely certain that this is what's happened, although obviously I don't know how it happened. Unfortunately a fractured substrate is not covered by warranty - it's physical damage.

It isn't inherently user-caused damage though. It's very easy for a minor assembly mistake to cause a display (of any kind) to be under continuous pressure. In that state, even a tiny impact can cause it to shatter (or, for that matter, the thermal expansion of the metal structural frame).

[kacir]

Originally Posted by murg

Why is there glass anyways?
...
Which leaves the glass either as part of the eInk (eInk embedded in the glass) or behind the eInk.

I can understand embedded, but if the glass is behind the eInk screen, then can't it be replaced by the metal plate that is already there

Metal is conductive. The technology and manufacture of e-ink screens is built in such a way that the conductive layer for display electronics is made on glass substrate.
There were attempts to create an e-ink screen with a plastic substrate. They are (and have been for the last 6 years ;-) ) just behind the corner, ready to be introduced "Real Soon Now" (TM).

There were several devices:

- readius with a foldable screen - see http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...reader-is-dead - they went bankrupt

- Plastic Logic. For quite a few years they were showing the same prototype of 9" e-ink device.

- Wexler Flex One
http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...ands-on-review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsEXx2fbDi4
A seller in my country actually reported that he has the first shipment with devices and tried one. They they quietly disappeared and i couldn't find out what happened.
Wexler is a big brand in Russia selling rebranded OEM devices. Flex One was manufactured by somebody else and I knew the name of the Chinese company but I forgot and I am not going to spend 30 minutes searching.

- I am not sure about the original txtr - NOT the beagle that the one before that - the first 6" prototype they showed.

[murg]

Originally Posted by kacir

Metal is conductive. The technology and manufacture of e-ink screens is built in such a way that the conductive layer for display electronics is made on glass substrate.
There were attempts to create an e-ink screen with a plastic substrate. They are (and have been for the last 6 years ;-) ) just behind the corner, ready to be introduced "Real Soon Now" (TM).

So the glass is an integral part of the eInk screen, as received from the eInk manufacturer?

Originally Posted by murg

So the glass is an integral part of the eInk screen, as received from the eInk manufacturer?

Yes. The screen appears to be bonded to the glass and fundamental to its operation.

[murg]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Yes. The screen appears to be bonded to the glass and fundamental to its operation.

Couldn't a sheet of plastic provide the same functionality?

If I remember correctly, there is a metal plate behind the screen on the Kobos.