Aura One - Terrible Quality Control?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Probably closer to 6.

It's not the size (of your screen), it's how you use it

[matrixsoul]

I returned 4 Aura One with massive and 1 with minor light issues (cones of light and orange/green DEL). I finally bought a H2O2 that I then exchange for a good one. The first H2O2 had a pin size hole in the screen where the light would come out at max while the rest of the screen was dim.

[RobertJSawyer]

Those pin-size holes drive my crazy; I see them on a large number of Kobo units. They need to hold their manufacturer to task on these; it's unacceptable.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

Those pin-size holes drive my crazy; I see them on a large number of Kobo units. They need to hold their manufacturer to task on these; it's unacceptable.

Yeah, I have one on my Aura. But since I bought mine as a refurb for $50, I can't complain.

Luckily, mine only shows up at certain angles.

[Richwood]

My Aura one has a very slightly dim area in the lower left corner but it is not too bothersome to me. However I just ordered a 32 GB version too and now you guys are scaring me. How do they have 25% of the Canadian ebook reader market if they have such quality problems? BTW I worked as a QA engineer in Silicon Valley for 20+ years so know what lousy quality can do to the bottom line.

[Braid]

Turning pages and highlighting don't go as smoothly as on my Kindle devices, but other than that I find the quality of the controls on my Aura One to be decent.

[RobertJSawyer]

@Brad, we're talking about "quality control" -- ensuring minimal defects from the manufacturer -- not "quality of controls."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_control

All best wishes/

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Richwood

...How do they have 25% of the Canadian ebook reader market if they have such quality problems?

Their other devices aren't so prone to issues as the Aura ONE. Think of it as the Kobo Edsel. Lots of people love it, but the fact is, QC wise it's not as up to snuff as the rest of their line.

[Richwood]

Things like pinholes in the e-ink screen sound like problems from the screen manufacturer and Kobo's Chinese manufacturer is not catching them. So poor, if any, incoming inspection. Apparently Amazon's is better as I have not heard of complaints regarding that problem from Kindle owners. Just mainly uneven illumination complaints.

[JSWolf]

I believe pinholes would be in the light layer and not the eInk screen.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Richwood

Things like pinholes in the e-ink screen sound like problems from the screen manufacturer and Kobo's Chinese manufacturer is not catching them. So poor, if any, incoming inspection. Apparently Amazon's is better as I have not heard of complaints regarding that problem from Kindle owners. Just mainly uneven illumination complaints.

You might want to do a search on the Kindle forum with keyword pinhole before repeating your statement above. Not to mention on the now defunct Kindle forum on Amazon, there were quite a few complaints about pinholes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the new version of that forum does not mention pinholes.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Richwood

Things like pinholes in the e-ink screen sound like problems from the screen manufacturer and Kobo's Chinese manufacturer is not catching them. So poor, if any, incoming inspection. Apparently Amazon's is better as I have not heard of complaints regarding that problem from Kindle owners. Just mainly uneven illumination complaints.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I believe pinholes would be in the light layer and not the eInk screen.

AFAIK, in most cases, the display module, light guide and (if wanted) capacitive touch are purchased pre-assembled from eInk. I agree the company assembling the ereader should have powered on and tested the module prior to final assembly. Of course, this step would add cost both for the inspection itself and any modules rejected by inspection which may cause this step to be skimped if not skipped.

[KipPrdy]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

With electronic presents going to be used in a foreign country that is really the best way. You could also do something nice with the cash. As in put it in a small gift.

Well, given that I am Australian, it's not so much a foreign country; the rest of you people are the foreigners.

(Then again, I might be confused: look at globe and you'll see our heads are always upside down. Explains a lot.)

The idea was to send it from an Aussie store. It's just, then I'll have to go into detail exactly how it should be functioning.

Given then 3 of 5 have been defective, I'm not wild about my chances.

This reader, when not defective, so damn good it's borderline worth the hassle. I'd also like to support an alternative to Amazon/Kindle (although Kobo seems to heading more towards that way - once upon a time, there was the baked-in option of finding free books).

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I was going to make a joke about how I keep hearing that size matters, but now I'm not going to.


The ONE and the H202 both have the color shifting front light.


That I completely agree with. I think the ONE is a big black-eye to Kobo. The fact that even the new, limited edition model has the same flaws is just unforgivable. Kobo needs to shut down ONE production and get the issue fixed once and for all.

Selling their flagship product in a state where people are afraid to give it as a gift says a lot.

I appreciate that. I mean, I'm not crazy (or just cranky) to feel this way.

I really, really don't get why they don't work this out - getting QC on that backlight issue would be simple and cheap.

I'm something of an evangelist for these things... or, I was. I travel a lot and talk to a lot of people. I've been constantly recommending the Aura One, explaining that, for me and others who've tried one, it changes our reading, even turns people back into readers.

Seems like it wouldn't take much to make it worthy of the praise.

[Cinisajoy]

Oh I did not realize you were both in Australia.

[KipPrdy]

Originally Posted by DNSB

AFAIK, in most cases, the display module, light guide and (if wanted) capacitive touch are purchased pre-assembled from eInk. I agree the company assembling the ereader should have powered on and tested the module prior to final assembly. Of course, this step would add cost both for the inspection itself and any modules rejected by inspection which may cause this step to be skimped if not skipped.

But... but... but.... even if you paid Aussie wages, it would surely save money, so in a lower wage environment, it's a no-brainer.

Even more the case if it's all purchased this way - at the source, before logistics and markups, would be the time to catch these problems. It surely can't make more sense to wait until the errors are caught by the consumer purchasing retail.

Even the savings on one defective unit would save enough expense to pay the wage of the inspector for quite some time. And from what I've seen, they'd be pulling off multiples per hour.

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

@Brad, we're talking about "quality control" -- ensuring minimal defects from the manufacturer -- not "quality of controls."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_control

All best wishes/

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Their other devices aren't so prone to issues as the Aura ONE. Think of it as the Kobo Edsel. Lots of people love it, but the fact is, QC wise it's not as up to snuff as the rest of their line.

Good analogy. Really leaves me shaking my head. (Kinda reminds me of Dragon Anywhere - seems like the put a lot of work into creating an excellent product, then destroyed it with lack of bugfixes and an atrocious subscription system.)

Originally Posted by Richwood

My Aura one has a very slightly dim area in the lower left corner but it is not too bothersome to me. However I just ordered a 32 GB version too and now you guys are scaring me. How do they have 25% of the Canadian ebook reader market if they have such quality problems? BTW I worked as a QA engineer in Silicon Valley for 20+ years so know what lousy quality can do to the bottom line.

Just make sure it easy to return, and that you use it a lot during the return period.

My first one just quit - no reason, nothing unusual, just suddenly froze and nothing would unfreeze it.

Of the other four, two worked flawlessly, one has a cone of light with distracting dark areas, and on the last the light is yellow.