Glo Bright Pixel(s)

[Breid]

Bought my Kobo Glo this evening and happy to report there are no bright pixels on it. The shadows on the bottom are slightly annoying - keep resisting the urge to try to wipe them away - but I will probably no longer notice them by this time tomorrow.

[Uschiekid]

some people who opened boxes in the store to check for bright spots, might not have actually been seeing defective devices.

i left my protective screen sticker on until yesterday, and i occasionally saw bright pixels but if i peeled up the sticker in that corner, they disappeared, so it seems if the smallest amount of dust was caught under the sticker when brand new, it will appear to have such pixels before the sticker gets taken off.

of course peeling up and putting back the sticker just made more dust get caught, which is why i finally decided it was stupid to leave it on or buy one to protect the screen, since it would be impossible to put on without something getting caught (well for me it would anyway).

now that the protective sticker is gone no sign of bright pixels.

i wonder how many perfectly fine devices were rejected by customers who were worried about bright pixels.

[RobertJSawyer]

I bought a Kobo Glo yesterday at Future Shop (Canada). It had a bright pixel in the lower left (and, yes, I'd removed the protective shipping film). I took it back and exchange it for another unit; this new one doesn't have the problem.

My guess: there's a non-glare coating on the screen that actually also dims the light; it's also the coating that gives the papery feel to the screen (a very different textue than what the screen has on the Touch). Pinprick defects in that coating -- possibly caused by dust when the coating was sprayed on, leaving a tiny spot with no coating -- allow the light to shine through at full intensity. It IS a real problem, it IS noticeable, and I'm glad I took mine back and got a replacement.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Kobo Glo.

[Haesslich]

I'm always suspicious of 'me too' responses when it comes to issues. While there are always launch problems (see the Paperwhite), I always seem to see people deciding to jump on the bashing bandwagon to look like they're part of 'the majority'. I do suspect that some of the people who had bright spots on their screens were in two camps: people who got first batch units that shipped with flaws in the matte coating of the screen that caused the bright spots, and those who left the screen sticker on, or something similar, and who saw the dust under the sticker or screen protector and decided the whole unit was defective. Aka 'user error'.

Overall, the Glo seems to have fewer hardware issues than the Paperwhite. Now FIRMWARE problems, on the other hand... those are definitely real, and an ongoing issue that Kobo has to handle (which has been present since the original Kobo, IIRC). At least Kobo does their best to stay on top of those problems and release regular updates, unlike Amazon who updates maybe once a year (or to plug an opening used to jailbreak a Kindle).

Still, the Glo's a step forward in performance - the keyboard and menus don't lag the way the Kobo WiFi and Kobo Touch did (which was why I originally went with a Kindle Keyboard and a Kindle Touch), and the extra screen resolution helps with graphics. Now they just have to fix the firmware and the freezing and reboot issues people are reporting when navigating menus or loading books.

[datalossfs]

my brand new Kobo Glo from WH Smiths has the tiniest bright dot on the top middle edge of the screen when the light is on, it's a dust particle that's been trapped in the upper layer (The screen refreshes fine underneath it) but it's a place that unless your looking for it your not see it (I only noticed it in the settings menu due to the gray border under the menu) It's less than 1mm and not going to bother me in day to day use.

[vancouver]

Own a Kobo Glo for about 10 days. Removed the sticker on the first day. Did not notice any issues on the screen first days, while my kid used the device. After that uploaded some books for myself and started using it extensively. Few days ago found a bright pixel in the middle top part of the screen. A couple days later found another one on the same vertical line closer to the bottom part (above the bar). Less visible as it's position right atop the letters in the line. The first one is more annoying.

Moreover, maybe it's just me, yesterday in the evening after thorough exploration of the screen with light on in the left bottom part I noticed some sort of fogginess. No effect on the text, just uneven background. Maybe just because I used it with light on for a long period. I don't see it right now, after just switched it on again in the morning. This one is not a showstopper, still an interesting observation.

[Quexos]

No bright pixels over here either.
Though I got the shadowy thing at the bottom when using the light but it's no big deal (wondering if everybody has that shadowy thing or not)

Also I noticed how the Wifi bars at the upper left corner stay empty even though I am on my Wifi network and it works fine, I get to the Kobo book store fine and synch goes fine too, but the bars are empty (almost transparent) as if it was not picking up Wifi, anyone else got that ?

[Barneyabz]

Well just got mine today from WHSmith on line. One dead pixel. Took off screen protector and cleaned screen but definitely one dead pixel. When screen flashes black and refreshes this one pixel stays bright. Will take it into a shop on Monday and see if they will do a swap. Wonder if this is old stock or if the manufacturing defect still exists? Very annoying as one of the reasons I went for the Kobo Glo and not the paperwhite was because it seemed to have less problems and I didn't want any hassle. Hope WHSmith swap it without any problems. Any advice as to what I should say?

[murg]

It's not a new/old stock problem.

I got a Glo in Australia (presumably new stock as just released here) and it had two bright pixels.

As there is no way this should have passed QA at the factory, I'm starting to wonder if Kobo is deliberately releasing these 'defective' devices in the hopes that they don't get traded in. After all, if they do get traded in, the cost is roughly the same as if they were culled at the factory (except for shipping costs, which are fairly minor on a per-unit basis).

[Barneyabz]

Did you take yours back? Did they change it or argue? Must admit mine only has one and its tiny. Worried that i might not be able to check a replacement properly in the shop and end up with one thats worse. Not sure if I shouldn't just keep it.

[murg]

I took it back to the store, JB HiFi. They weren't interested in why I was exchanging it. They just gave me a new one.

Of course, your experience may be different.

As far as I'm concerned, the bright pixels are a manufacturing defect, and are covered by the warranty.

[Mrs_Often]

Mine is perfect


(Not to rub it in (well, maybe), but so new readers know there's also good devices about)

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by Barneyabz

Very annoying as one of the reasons I went for the Kobo Glo and not the paperwhite was because it seemed to have less problems and I didn't want any hassle. Hope WHSmith swap it without any problems. Any advice as to what I should say?

Unlucky for you but the bright pixel fault is an issue for the Glo, just as some Paperwhite's have colour blotches. You would think the bright pixel is more easy to spot in terms of quality control though?

It shouldn't be any problem for you to exchange though. Just tell them it's defective as it has a bright pixel and you want to exchange it for another one. And ask if there is a dark cupboard you can take it into to check if your replacement model is free of any defects. I'm sure I've read a post or two on here of people doing just that.

[Barneyabz]

Going to take it in to a local branch of WHSmith tomorrow. Hopefully they'll change it even though I bought it on the Internet.

[Barneyabz]

Well got it changed to day. No problem. New one seems to have no problems at all but only checked in the shop. Will double check tonight at home. Fingers crossed.

Of interest the one I returned seemed to have slightly different seals on the box and I also noticed that the back of the reader was veryslightly discoloured/worn like perhaps someone had used it. I wonder if all the returns are simply repackaged and resold on?