don't buy pocketbook reader

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by Kameli

If they sell it in EU they cover broken screens. It is the law. If it breaks in 6 months seller has to prove that break was caused by user or they have to replace it. Saying "screens only broke if mishandled" is not a proof and I am quite sure it is a lie. Even then they would need to prove it was mishandled by customer and not manufacturer, retailer, delivery etc.

Just out of curiosity, how would a screen break without being mishandled? And if the manufacturer, retailer or delivery company mishandle a device, wouldn't you notice that when you use the device for the first time? Why would you need 6 months?

[lp344]

Originally Posted by Kameli

If they sell it in EU they cover broken screens. It is the law. If it breaks in 6 months seller has to prove that break was caused by user or they have to replace it. Saying "screens only broke if mishandled" is not a proof and I am quite sure it is a lie. Even then they would need to prove it was mishandled by customer and not manufacturer, retailer, delivery etc.

If they refuse to cover it contact your country's customer protection agency. They will tell what to do.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cg...model=guichett

Kameli,

Warrany applies if the defect was already present when purchased.
You've got a broken screen when you are unwrapping the parcel? Good!
That's a warranty case. I don't think a broken glass (and i think it's common believe that glass doesn't break by itself, does it?) after a period of use is a warranty case ar all.

[troll05]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

Just out of curiosity, how would a screen break without being mishandled? And if the manufacturer, retailer or delivery company mishandle a device, wouldn't you notice that when you use the device for the first time? Why would you need 6 months?

+1, because there is nearly no way to build a device in a way it breaks after a longer time. Except from pressure from the outside (pet / kid / glass of water...) the only way I can imagine to crack it is a tension inside due to sloppy assembling, but this would appear in the first few days of usage, and even Pocketbook (Germany) replaced readers when this happened.

[Kameli]

Originally Posted by Sil_liS

Just out of curiosity, how would a screen break without being mishandled? And if the manufacturer, retailer or delivery company mishandle a device, wouldn't you notice that when you use the device for the first time? Why would you need 6 months?

Internal tension, impurity in glass. I believe there has been reports of micro fractures that are invisible at start that have gone worse etc.

Anyways point is that if I noticed problem within 6 months I do not need to prove problem existed when I got it. They have to prove that it did not exist. That is what EU regulations say. This really isn't at all about how it happened. It is about law that says it is covered under warranty unless they can prove I broke it.

[rpmazur]

Originally Posted by kleykenb

That said... maybe RangRang has a pet cat and she sat on the device and RangRang never noticed. I wouldn't be suprised that most of the cases where people find their eReader suddenly unresponsive with a broken screen are indeed caused by Pets simply sitting down on these devices. They tend to be slightly warm when put aside right after use. Just the type of things cats love to sit on.

somewhat -->

Or bat around. Back "in the day" when 250GB external hard drives were the craze, I had one on a coffee table backing up the data on my laptop before a re-image. Stinkin cat jumped up on the table and knock the HD off. Thing fell 2 maybe 3 feet onto a thick carpet. Yup, you guessed, the hard drive was making clicking noises....trashed the HD completely.

And to re-iterate what's been said about displays....they usually aren't covered under the standard manufacturer warranty because it's "assumed" that it's user abuse.

[Shazaaming]

i also am having problems with pocketbook's customer service. I've been trying to contact them for the last two weeks, but they don't answer their phone or return their emails. I have a pocketbook 360 plus. I thought the firmware update for the 360 was for the 360 plus since they look identical on the pocketbook page and the older version of the 360 is displayed on the first page of the support site on the american page. So I was able to load the firmware, but now it doesn't start. I have tried everything to no avail and now would like to get some help from the "experts" but it has been frustrating to say the least.
I do have a pocketbook 902 as well and am loving it. I am a little weary now to do anything with firmware updates though.
Good products, bad customer service in my opinion...So hopefully nothing will go wrong for you if you have one

[mtravellerh]

Originally Posted by Shazaaming

i also am having problems with pocketbook's customer service. I've been trying to contact them for the last two weeks, but they don't answer their phone or return their emails. I have a pocketbook 360 plus. I thought the firmware update for the 360 was for the 360 plus since they look identical on the pocketbook page and the older version of the 360 is displayed on the first page of the support site on the american page. So I was able to load the firmware, but now it doesn't start. I have tried everything to no avail and now would like to get some help from the "experts" but it has been frustrating to say the least.
I do have a pocketbook 902 as well and am loving it. I am a little weary now to do anything with firmware updates though.
Good products, bad customer service in my opinion...So hopefully nothing will go wrong for you if you have one

PM me please

[Dulin's Books]

you are trying to contact service@pocketbook-usa.com ?

[chuckz]

Originally Posted by Yar-PocketBooker

Fragility of the screen pertains not only to PocketBook reader, all these screens for all kindles, sonys and nooks of the world are manufactured on the same two facilities in Asia and have the same fragility as any e-ink screen, because they are made from glass.
I always tell my customers to be very careful with readers not to break screens...

I don't want to be nasty - and I've reconciled with the fact that my screen broke - no hitting, no dropping, very careful handling.

But what you said is JUST NOT TRUE!

Nobody (including you) warned me about extreme fragility of the screen. Of course, this is not in the vendor's interest. True - all these screens (including Sony and Amazon) are fragile, but:
these devices have a much better hardware design, in terms of screen support inside of the device.
The Pocketbook 301 design is very sloppy (look at this thread

http://www.the-ebook.org/forum/viewt...tak+pocketbook

That's the statistics of broken screens according to the above:

200 PB301
110 Lbook V3
70 Sony PRS 505
30 Orsio B731
7 Sony PRS 900
3 Azbuka n516
couple of Kindles

Well, I regret having told all my friends that PB 301 is a wonderful device.

I thought if I ever decide to buy a PB again I would purchase an extended warranty - however, according to this thread it would not cover a broken screen?!
In this case, nothing I can do but give my money to Amazon.

P.S. Ironically, my husband's Kindle is alive and well even though he is not careful with electronics at all. He got even the USB cord torn somehow, while carrying it in his bag where he also throws the Kindle. The poor Kindle looks awful, but works just fine (knocking on the wood )

[JimMcLaren]

Originally Posted by chuckz

I don't want to be nasty - and I've reconciled with the fact that my screen broke - no hitting, no dropping, very careful handling.

But what you said is JUST NOT TRUE!

...

I am certainly not careful with my Pocketbook 302 and it's survived for 2 years. I'd have to disagree with your assessment.

BTW, why are you resurrecting a four month old thread and replying to a year old post? Starting a new thread would have been better.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by JimMcLaren

BTW, why are you resurrecting a four month old thread and replying to a year old post? Starting a new thread would have been better.

He did: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=159677

[chuckz]

Originally Posted by JimMcLaren

I am certainly not careful with my Pocketbook 302 and it's survived for 2 years. I'd have to disagree with your assessment.

BTW, why are you resurrecting a four month old thread and replying to a year old post? Starting a new thread would have been better.

This is not an assessment - this is an experience.
Someone will combine mine negative and your positive and make an assessment - and decide to buy or not to buy.

I added to this thread because it matches my problem perfectly, talking about the screens.
I still believe that the PB software is superior, if you want me to make an assessment. I am going to miss the dictionaries very much.
The hardware sucks though. It's just a plain fact.

And if your positive experience with 302 is the result of improvements made by the company rather that just a strike of luck - I will be the first to applaud.
However, the company representatives are silent, or are using the argument that everybody's screens suck, which is not true.

Companies who respect themselves and the customers use sturdier designs and don't give us hard time with screen replacements.

[jshzh]

I am not really happy with the firmware updates - they often introduce new bugs - but I am not sure about the design. Two days ago my 602 fell off bed with one front corner hitting the wood floor first. The device was on at that time and it was not broken - just a little scratch on the plastic.

The new Kindle and Sony haven't won me over yet. I expect my 602 to last at least for 4 years before I upgrade it. Hopefully e-book readers won't cost more than 50 $ then LOL

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by chuckz

This is not an assessment - this is an experience.
Someone will combine mine negative and your positive and make an assessment - and decide to buy or not to buy.

To buy Pocketbook readers in general, or just the 301?

And regarding the statistics on the broken screens: consider the location of the poster. It is possible that Russians are more interested in buying readers that can display Cyrillic characters, and if a kindle is broken, they probably get it fixed or replaced by amazon, not a third party tech guy.

[troll05]

As far as I know the "old" models 301/2 and 360 were not manufactured by Foxconn but another company (forgot the name), but that was changed because of quality issues especially with 301 .
As for the statistic i agree with Sil_lis. PB has ~50% market share in the Ukraine, followed by Sony and Amazon (numbers from 2/2011), so they are not really comparable to Europe or the US.