How durable are recent e-ink displays?

[QuantumIguana]

I really prefer reading from e-ink rather than reading from LCD. I've had a couple Kindle Keyboards (Old, I know) where the screen broke. Are newer models as prone to breakage as the Kindle Keyboard was?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I really prefer reading from e-ink rather than reading from LCD. I've had a couple Kindle Keyboards (Old, I know) where the screen broke. Are newer models as prone to breakage as the Kindle Keyboard was?

Other than the Kobo Forma and some of the larger screen devices, they still have the fragile glass substrate.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I really prefer reading from e-ink rather than reading from LCD. I've had a couple Kindle Keyboards (Old, I know) where the screen broke. Are newer models as prone to breakage as the Kindle Keyboard was?

All Kindle's are still made with screen that have the same glass substrate that your Kindle Keyboard used. If you want a Reader that has a plastic backed screen, get a Kobo Forma.

[ilovejedd]

Out of curiosity, how fragile were the old Kindles?

I had an iRiver Story HD whose glass substrate broke just from being in my purse. Meanwhile, my PRS-350 and Paperwhite 2/3 seem to hold up well to similar abuse.

My brother tossed my phone pretty hard on top of my Paperwhite 4. Thought for sure it was a goner but surprisingly, all it got was a tiny dent on the display.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Out of curiosity, how fragile were the old Kindles?

I had an iRiver Story HD whose glass substrate broke just from being in my purse. Meanwhile, my PRS-350 and Paperwhite 2/3 seem to hold up well to similar abuse.

My brother tossed my phone pretty hard on top of my Paperwhite 4. Thought for sure it was a goner but surprisingly, all it got was a tiny dent on the display.

There was an old Bookeen Reader (I forget the model) where a lot of people seemed to have a lot of unexplained screen breaks.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Out of curiosity, how fragile were the old Kindles?

I had an iRiver Story HD whose glass substrate broke just from being in my purse. Meanwhile, my PRS-350 and Paperwhite 2/3 seem to hold up well to similar abuse.

My brother tossed my phone pretty hard on top of my Paperwhite 4. Thought for sure it was a goner but surprisingly, all it got was a tiny dent on the display.

I had a kindle keyboard that fell onto a hard floor from just a couple feet up. The screen didn't survive the fall. Of course even Gorilla Glass (such as on the Kindle Fire) won't protect against everything. Last winter I slipped on the ice and took a spill. The KF struck hard ground on it's side and the underpart of the screen splintered even though the Gorilla Glass wasn't even marked.

[4691mls]

Any device I have gets dropped numerous times because I am a klutz. Covers don't always stay closed during a fall, and the cover on my Sony PRS-T3 would often pop off when I dropped the reader. None of my readers ever got broken beyond use in a fall. One developed a small eink smudge on the screen when the ereader fell off the bed and hit the corner of a nearby piece of furniture.

The worst damage to any of my ereader screens occurred when I was reading during a break at work and something fell off my desk hutch and landed on the screen of my Sony PRS-T1, creating a 1/8-inch divot in the screen. However, the reader was still usable.

[Deskisamess]

I've never had a Kindle screen fail from damage. I'm not particularly hard on my stuff, but all of my Kindles have been dropped at one time or another. One left my hand and went bouncing across a hardwood floor, but wasn't damaged. All were in covers, but not necessarily rigid types.

The one device I broke was my second iPad Air. It was in a cover that had a swivel, and as I picked it up, the side with the iPad flipped over and the weight took it right out of my hand. It fell screen down on a metal carpet strip. One little crack, that quickly spread across the whole screen.

[theducks]

My TAB2 bit the big one when it fell from the upper bunk onto a slab floor (~5')
Both my Astaks developed a small 'crater-like' visual (no surface damage) spot on the display.
My K4nt ran fine right up until it just won't boot (even with the charger on and the LED saying charged)
My Kobo Aura randomly (grey) fogs 1 or 2 pages, but clears up after a page turn.

Every one has been dropped at one time or another (but nothing like the poor TAB2). I do try and keep them in a case, but as Murph will tell, it is the time you had it out

[Richwood]

My only screen damage was to a Kindle DX. Screen destroyed when a drinking glass fell on it. My fault. Found a refurbisher on ebay who replaced the screen for me.

All my ebook readers are normally used and stored in cases which help protect the whole reader, including the screen, from impacts and other hazards. None are in origami covers as the front cover of that design looks to me to provide minimal screen protection from impact damage.

[shanghaichica]

I’ve never damaged the screen on any of my e-readers. I’ve had the Sony PRS-300, the kindle keyboard, Kindle touch, All 4 generations of the paperwhite, the voyage, the oasis 2, the kobo mini and the nook simple touch. I’ve always imagined they are quite fragile but I’ve not had any issues. They’ve all been dropped at some point but all survived. Come to think of it I’ve never smashed any of my phones or tablets.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by shanghaichica

I’ve never damaged the screen on any of my e-readers. I’ve had the Sony PRS-300, the kindle keyboard, Kindle touch, All 4 generations of the paperwhite, the voyage, the oasis 2, the kobo mini and the nook simple touch. I’ve always imagined they are quite fragile but I’ve not had any issues. They’ve all been dropped at some point but all survived. Come to think of it I’ve never smashed any of my phones or tablets.

Same here. The e-inks I have owned: Nook Wifi, Sony PRS-950, Sony PRS-350, Kindle Keyboard, Sony T-1, Sony T-2, Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Voyage, Kobo Aura ONE and Kindle Oasis 2.

I take a reader with me in my bag everywhere I go. So all of these got trucked about. All had a cover.

I have cats who regularly sit on or tromp about on readers left laying on the table or in the bed. No reader has been damaged or died before leaving my hands.

So I'd say they are all pretty durable.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[deleted]

I have had 3 e-readers: an early e-ink whose name I forget, Nook Simple, Onyx Boox M96. I also have a Yotaphone 2.
Nook simple never seemed fragile. Yotaphone 2 - the AMOLED LCD display cracked but the e-ink is fine (I think it's plastic).
Cracked the M96 twice. The 9.8" screen is too fragile - it didn't deserve to break. My impression is that a tablet like an iPad is much more durable.

However, I think smaller ereaders have a big advantage. Less surface area = less flex and less screen-estate to get cracked.

But I'm curious about the larger e-readers with plastic screens though e.g. (Sony DPT). And would like to know if more modern displays are more durable.

[deleted]

On this topic:

In terms of durability how do the plastic screens compare to glass?

Plastic e-ink screens seem to be at risk of damage by being pressed too hard. Glass cracks.

Is there a consensus about which is superior in terms of durability and longevity?

[ottischwenk]

Flexible eInk modules do not break, with glass modules it depends on the mounting base how easily they can break due to pressure.
Glass modules are heavier and a stable mounting base also weighs. The 8-inch Epos2 weighs just as much as the 7-inch Vision5