Onyx M92 - Are you happy with the Build Quality?! Possible reason for defect screens

[gamba66]

Hello guys,

After doing tons of research on big screen ebookreaders for school- and technical books I finally bought an Onyx M92 in black and at first I was quite happy with it, especially the software is on it is great!

Now after having spend some time reading with it there are some things I noticed, which aren't so good:

1. The resolution doesn't seem to be sufficient enough for reading magazines in full page view(without zooming into every paragraph) This is of course subjective and I could live with it!

2. The build quality isn't really that good! The case has alot of small gaps. See below

I noticed the inner plastic frame has a slight gap or slot between itselve and the actual E-ink Display. The problem with this is that small debris or dust grains can easily come between the frame and the E-Ink Display and very slight pressure on the Frame can cause the Display to be destroyed! This happens because the grains apply pressure on a very small area.

If you look around a little bit, the biggest defect seems to be a broken display, and alot of these people only had the M92 for a few months or don't even know why their display broke because they didn't actually drop it and took care of it.

Here are some examples for defect displays where the Owners can't explain how it happened:

M92 Screen broken..

M92 Screen doesn't work

E-Ink Readers pissing me off

Now there are alot more users who have reported a broken screen and here are only 3 examples, if you look in the threads you often see people describing similiar situations (when they cant explain how the screen broke) If you search a bit more you will find a total of about 10 or more people who had broken screens, just that they dont explain often how it happened!

I thought about some solutions but haven't applied any. I am also thinking about sending the reader back.

Some solutions could be taping the inner frame to the display with normal tape (messy solution) or even glueing it (warranty fail!)

What do you guys think I should do? There is still the Hanvon E920 which has a higher resolution, a capacitive touchscreen but weighs more, has a worse software and needs to be imported from china.

Thanks in advance!

[rkomar]

The screens can break if you twist the device, and that can happen much less noticeably than something actually smashing into the display. It's not easy building a light case that can withstand a twisting torque, so I think it's best to not leave the device in a situation where it can be twisted. I wouldn't be worried about grains of dust getting into cracks and putting pressure on the glass.

[gamba66]

@rkomar,

What you mention seems very plausible too, but I wouldn't say that this makes the possibility of dirt grains in the inner frame destroying the display less plausible.

As a matter of fact, it does even sound alot worse what you mention, since its even harder to protect the screen then. And all of this possibilities come back to bad build quality And what good is a mobile device you cant even carry around in your backpack (even if its in a cover)

[rkomar]

Most of engineering involves coming up with compromises. They absolutely could come up with a design that would be very hard to break, but chances are you wouldn't be able to hold it up for very long in your hands. Stopping a flat structure from twisting is very difficult. You pretty much have to add bracing in the third dimension, making it thicker. Better would be to get the displays made from flexible plastic, and then be able to use cases that can be thin and flimsy, and therefor light and easy to hold. As far as the current glass displays go, I think the cases they have designed are very good at offering both protection and useability, but they can't be perfect at both things.

P.S. Having some looseness between the display and case is probably a good thing. It allows the case to flex a bit without transferring the stress immediately to the display.

[Booxtor]

Hi,
I wouldn't be worried about grains of dust getting into the really small gap between glass and frame either. We are selling M92 and have to deal with those broken screens from time to time. Last year we had to repair 26 broken screens (of some thousand sold devices). This year I had to deal with just 6 cases. It seems that either onyx has improved the protection of screen or users became more careful or both.

In most cases user have reported their fault. But even in the cases they didn't, in our lab we could see how the accident could happen and what caused the breakage. It was NEVER sand or dust in the gap! Also it is almost impossible to twist the device because of large metal sheet behind the screen.

Please do not glue it to the frame - the screen in the frame has to have a little free play to avoid tensions.

[gamba66]

thank you, maybe I was just a bit paranoid! actually the software is really nice such as the low weight and the overall design! I guess materials such as the ipad uses would make the device super heavy

[joblack]

For E-Book Reader there is one rule. Don't put your shopping stuff in the same backpack slot as your e-book reader. I had broken several Kindle 3 and 4 with that method.

For over a year I was careful and nothing happened. The Onyx M92 is still in one piece. I suppose most of the broken screen issues came from misuse and vertical side pressure onto the screen.

[Mono]

I would add that mine M92 fell from 2 meters (7 feet) on the floor and nothing happened to the screen. The impact was not for sure very soft as the frame has visible signs... The reader was in cover and I had probably good luck. :-)

[davidjoseph1]

I found a hairline crack in my new m92 last night, apparently caused by me holding the frame tightly one fourth of the case length below the joystick. Happily, Amazon is processing the return promptly. (But I had my M90 for 22 months and it never cracked.)

[Mono]

Mine M92 is 18 months old. No problem, so far. Despite its deep fall.

And from what Booxstor wrote less than 1% of users had problem with display and most of them broke it themselves. So, I guess only cca 1 of thousand displays breaks without known cause. It still does not mean part of it is not caused by users.

One in thousand is IMO good result. Better than good.

[mSSM]

I am (ab)using my M92 since January 2012. I take care that I don't put anything heavy on it or that I drop it from a height of 1m. But honestly, I am not being particularly careful with it.

It is in my backpack most of the time, right next to my laptop. It has travelled to the Carribean, to Fiji, and numerous times around Europe. I used it at the beach with a temperature of 35°C, and during winter at -20°C (it gets pretty cold around here). I had sand and water spilled on it, and yes, I also dropped it once or twice.

The device has not broken so far and there is no sign of material wear or anything.

So I honestly have to say: I don't know how people get the screen of their device to break. Either it's due to terrible luck, or in these cases people are not particularly honest about how they treat their device.

[Kirith]

I use the M92 for 16 months and did not drop it (but dipped into the water the edge of). No cracks or damage. All of the buttons are working properly. build quality me very satisfied! I am pleased!
Other than that I am the administrator still 7 pieces and 13 pieces M92M M90. Within 3 years of my project ("Onyx at school") was 5 of broken screens. Each time as the owner of the book itself. No damage to the buttons, plug USB rickety only one.
I'm happy with the build quality and M90 M92!

Я пользуюсь М92 уже 16 месяцев и не ронял его (а в воду краем окунал). Нет трещин и поломок. Все кнопки работают исправно. качество сборки меня очень устраивает! Я доволен!
Кроме этого я администратор еще 7 штук M92M и 13 штук М90. За 3 года моего проекта ("Onyx в школе") было 5 разбитых экранов. Каждый раз по виде владельца самой книги. Повреждений кнопок нет, разъём USB расшатался только один.
Я доволен качеством сборки М90 и М92!

[iampiti]

Well, the screen of my M92 broke, but I have to acknowledge it was my fault: It dropped from a shelf at around 1.5m from the floor.
Now I have a very expensive paperweight . It's my fault but it's hard to be without ereader.
Since the repair is so expensive I'll probably wait until a refreshed big screen ereader is available (please hurry up, Onyx :P)

[colin_t]

I had an M92 for a little over a year and the screen cracked. I haven't returned it or sent it for repair because of the cost of shipping and the new screen. Given that broken screens aren't covered by the warranty I don't think it's right to assess the build quality on the number of devices being returned - I really liked the device but it still doesn't make sense to me to pay out another $200 and other people could be in the same situation.

My screen damage occurred when the device was sitting on my desk in its case. I didn't use it for a week or so and I'm guessing in that time some books or papers were placed on the case and the weight was enough to crack the screen. My view is that it's the case that is substandard not the actual M92. The front flap has raised padding which presses against the screen and transmits any pressure directly onto the most fragile part of the device.

If I do get the screen repaired I'll definitely buy a better case and not use the one it came with

[Mono]

Originally Posted by colin_t

I had an M92 for a little over a year and the screen cracked. I haven't returned it or sent it for repair because of the cost of shipping and the new screen. Given that broken screens aren't covered by the warranty I don't think it's right to assess the build quality on the number of devices being returned - I really liked the device but it still doesn't make sense to me to pay out another $200 and other people could be in the same situation.

I am not aware that broken screen is not covered by warranty. But of course, it is hard, close to impossible, to prove that it was not user fault.... The law purist might correct me that seller must proove that user broke the screen. So, I guess everything depends on the approach of the seller.

If I understood well what Booxstor wrote, they considered SOME cases screen defects as warranty case. But I might understand him wrongly...

I agree with you that number of screen failures might be higher than it seems from repair statistics. Todays consumer electronics seems to have failure numbers one in hundred or even worse. So, anything below that is good.

I carry M92 in a bag and so far no problems. Maybe I am lucky, or some units are more fragile and some less. I use the cover that comes with reader. But you are right that better cover might provide higher protection.