e-ink tech - are the screens always so fragile?

[Hrafn]

According to this page, it seems that e-Ink is only manufacturing flexible screens in a 13.3" size currently.

[pdurrant]

They are going to be manufacturing a 6" version for the EARL. If a manufacturer wanted any size of Mobius display, I'm sure E-Ink would produce it.

[Dryhte]

Thanks for the input, all of you. I must have been singularly unlucky the last month (my elderly Touch is still alive, but mourns its younger siblings Glo and Aura...).

Anyway, I've decided on a Gecko case for the replacement Aura.

Originally Posted by Dryhte

Thanks for the input, all of you. I must have been singularly unlucky the last month (my elderly Touch is still alive, but mourns its younger siblings Glo and Aura...).

The Touch was the ereader that I owned the longest and handled the roughest. It never had a problem. I've always been left to wonder if that was a fluke, or if the device could handle rougher handling.

[Jack Torrance]

I had my K2 for 4 years and hardly a mark on it when I sold it, but I never took it out of it's case. While I do take my DXG out of the case to read, because it is some what bulky it's held up well and I've had it not quite a year.

While I cant speak for the current Kobo products I did see one a few years ago and yes it was less expensive than a similar Kindle it looked and felt cheesier.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

The Touch was the ereader that I owned the longest and handled the roughest. It never had a problem. I've always been left to wonder if that was a fluke, or if the device could handle rougher handling.

I've owned three Kobos (Wifi, Touch, Glo), two iPod touches (3, 4), and two iPad minis (1, 3) - plus a Kindle Touch that I never use. My iStuff gets rigid-back cases and either a soft pouch (iPods) or a fold-over screen cover (iPads). The Kobos go bare, except when packed for a trip - when they go into a pocket of my netbook's carrying case.

I've never had so much as a scratch on any of them, or my cellphones. The only three problems that come to mind are:

- The thin plastic over the Wifi's D-pad detached from the hard shell due to wear along that boundary. Pretty inevitable, really.
- One of the latch points for my Glo's back cover is broken, which I suspect is why it's a bit mushy in one corner. No effect on use, just a little irritating.
- Sometimes my Glo doesn't power down properly, and in that case it loses settings and/or tries to reinstall the next time I power it up. I suspect this is a power switch issue, related to the back cover problem, but I think I've figured out the workaround. (Press down while sliding, wait for cover to appear before releasing.)

Honestly, I'm more concerned about scratches than breakage, but I do treat the devices with respect. The Glo always rests facedown, and the iPad's always covered during transit. On the occasions when I take both devices out, usually in winter, they go into an inside jacket pocket with the Glo's bezel against the iPad's case. When it's warmer, my netbook satchel acts as a general gadget bag and carries all three - plus a full-size mouse and other bits.

[Dryhte]

Originally Posted by Jack Torrance

I had my K2 for 4 years and hardly a mark on it when I sold it, but I never took it out of it's case. While I do take my DXG out of the case to read, because it is some what bulky it's held up well and I've had it not quite a year.

While I cant speak for the current Kobo products I did see one a few years ago and yes it was less expensive than a similar Kindle it looked and felt cheesier.

The Aura really feels and looks like a premium product in my eyes. I really love it. The broken e-ink display was a shock

[Canuck_in_Japan]

My Kobo Aura and my (old) Aura HD are caseless and I've never had a problem. I just tossed them in my bag naked. I bought a case for my new Aura H2O however.

[Dryhte]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

My Kobo Aura and my (old) Aura HD are caseless and I've never had a problem. I just tossed them in my bag naked. I bought a case for my new Aura H2O however.

Well, a word of warning I used to think my device could handle 'normal' use, but now I'm no longer so sure

[twowheels]

3 Kindle Keyboards gifted to distant family
1 Kindle Basic gifted to my mom
3 Kindle DX for oldest son (one stolen while he was using it, one primary reader, one for the other half of his documents)
1 Kindle Keyboard for oldest son's girlfriend
2 Kindle Keyboards for younger children (starting when they were in elementary school -- one lost on train, abused such that the cover was destroyed, then returned)
1 Generic ePaper based reader for my son before giving him the Kindle
1 Kindle Keyboard for my GF
1 Kindle Paperwhite for me

13 eReaders in total that I have purchased... not a single one has ever broken. These have been taken on kayak trips where the boat flipped and everything went down the river (in a dry-bag), multi-day bicycle tours, multi-day hikes, plane rides, daily rides in backpacks & purses, stuffed in my back pocket, dropped, left in hot cars, sat on, slept on, etc... the only concession is that they are all in cases, mostly the official Amazon case.

Not a SINGLE mishap except for the one snatched in broad daylight while in use at a cafe and one where somebody riffled through my backpack when I left it on the train and somebody yaked and twisted at the cover, messing up the attachment holes and breaking the metal tabs, before giving up, apparently deciding that it wasn't a fancy tablet.

I sometimes wonder how people manage to break multiple readers.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by twowheels

I sometimes wonder how people manage to break multiple readers.

Yeah, so do I, sometimes. From 2007, I have owned a Cybook Gen3, a Bebook One (Hanlin V3 OEM), 2 Kindle DXGs (one left on the train, I still have the replacement), a Kobo Aura HD (still have it) and 2 Aura H2Os (the first got nicked after less than two weeks by someone who also thought it was a tablet, I guess).

No screen problems with any of them. The only one that broke was the Cybook; after a year or so the internal flash gave up the ghost, prompting the purchase of the Bebook.

[Dryhte]

Originally Posted by twowheels

I sometimes wonder how people manage to break multiple readers.

Well, as I said, I still wonder how I managed to break 2 in 1 month time... which prompted me to ask if they are really that fragile. (mind you, the second was not in a case; a case would probably have protected it from some of the shock; the first one though, if it got a bump it was one that didn't register with me... and it was in a case)

[kacir]

I have had several e-ink readers in the past.

The first one was Sony PRS-500 . Built like a tank in metal casing, with a default case directly from Sony, attached to a built-in clip on the back of the device. I was very careful with that one, because it was irreplaceable - brought from USA by a friend. At the time they were sold exclusively in USA for $350. So it was always used in a case and transported in an armored box. As far as I know it is still functioning, just with a very weak battery and washed-out screen. I do not know whether the screen was that bad [when compared to modern ones] from the start or whether it deteriorated. Mind you, I purchased this PRS 500 in 2006.

The next was PocketBook 360. I never used a case for that one. It was only 5" and had a plastic lid that clipped over the display, or to the back of the device during reading. I can't understand why other manufacturers (not even PocketBook anymore!) do not feature such a lid. The cost would be trivial when manufactured in big series together with the reader. I have had it since 2009 and I have passed it on to a friend. The electronic driving the display is dying, I think, because sometimes it displays thin horizontal lines across the display, but it survived many years without damage and I carried it everywhere, usually unprotected in my pocket.

There were a few other readers after that, all of them live happily with their new owners.

Fast forward to my latest one. PocketBook 623 Touch Lux. I do not use cover, I have a small transport box from a thin plywood laminated with glass fabric.
In recent month it clattered to the floor several times without a cover and as a result the bezel is falling apart. It looks like the fragile glass screen is holding it together ;-). I am in process of making a sturdy cover for it so it can survive a bit longer.

[faithbw]

I think it just comes down to luck. My very first eReader was a Nook classic. I did a lot of research, including here at MR, before buying and I made sure to buy a nice sturdy, case along with the Nook. I was very gentle with the Nook but a couple of days later, the glass substrate broke. I still don't know what I did to break it. Other eReaders I owned have been sturdy. One, a Sony 350, went half way around the world with me with no problems. I have two Kindles. One is a Kindle 4 and the other is a Paperwhite 2. The Kindle 4 I kept in a dollar store sleeve for at least a month before I got a case for it. I put it in my purse and it never suffered a scratch. I've only had the PW a week but so far it's fine.

I try to treat my eReaders carefully and keep them in a case but I also know that sometimes things happen, no matter how careful we are.

[Barbara1955]

2 nooks, 3 Kindle keyboards, 2 touch kindles, several elcheepo tablets, 2 fire hd Amazon Phone.... ONLY 1 that had a screen Broke.... that was from my son putting his knee on it when it was laying on my bed! He got on the bed to fix the window didn't see the K3 NONE are in cases!