One thing that most people don’t know is the fact that the 1 year warranties that come with Kindles, Kobos, Nooks and other ereaders don’t cover cracked screens.
In most cases if the screen cracks on your E Ink ereader, even if it’s within the warranty period, you’re out of luck.
There are some exceptions, like the Kindle for Kids that comes with a 2-year worry-free guarantee.
Or if you buy a separate warranty like the ones from SquareTrade that cover accidental damages.
But the standard warranties that come with most ereaders do not cover cracked screens, not unless it arrived damaged.
Sometimes Amazon will offer a discount on a newer model if you break your Kindle’s screen, but that’s not always the case.
The worst part about the lack of warranty coverage is E Ink screens are known for being more fragile than most other types of screens, and once they’re cracked they don’t function properly so you can’t try to ignore the crack like on a phone or tablet.
Most E Ink screens use a glass back layer that is very thin and easy to break.
That’s why plastic-based E Ink screens like on the 13.3-inch Sony DPT-RP1 are a much more durable option, but unfortunately E Ink still doesn’t make most ereader screens that way.
If you have an E Ink ereader it’s always a good idea to keep it secured in a cover to protect the screen when not in use. Putting a Kindle or other ereader in a bag without a cover is a good way to get a cracked screen, so beware since that’s not covered by the warranty.
Personally, I was less than thrilled with the Fire HD 7 which had a plastic screen and a *really* awful feel whenever I swiped it. I’m thinking that an e-ink plastic screen would be just as unappealing.
In my 7 (or so) years of experience with e-readers, my Ink-Book has been the only victim of a cracked screen and I had it in a case when it happened. Put it down (gently), picked it up the next day and it was cracked. Since I’m the only one here, it seemed to have occurred on its own.
You pay your money, you take your chances. Guess I’d feel more strongly if it happened to my Aura One LE but I *stil* don’t think it would be worth having a plastic screen.
You should check out a Sony DPT-RP1 if you get a chance. It’s on a different level. The Aura One is like the first Kindle compared to it. Ever since reviewing the Sony I think a smaller version of it would be a game-changer. Also, plastic-based screens look and feel (aside from a massive weight difference) the same as a regular E Ink screen without a glass front like on the Paperwhite. The plastic part is referring to the backplane. The front of E Ink screens are already made of plastic. The E Ink microcapsules get applied to a plastic film that can be laminated onto different materials.
I would buy a smaller version of the Sony e-reader immediately. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear Sony’s going to reconsider their decision to get out of the consumer e-reader market.
Unlike others, I don’t see the 10-13″ e-reader market going “mainstream” any time soon. If there was a real market for devices that size Amazon wouldn’t have killed the DX (twice.).
I have cracked 2 iPads, 2 smart phones, but never an E Ink or laptop screen.
Yes, but what if there is no physical damage to the screen but is damaged internally, i.e you see fuzzy lines, large black blots on the screen? I got into an argument with the dealer I bought my ereader from. He claimed it was not his fault if the screen looked damaged. It could have been me that did it, despite no evidence of physical damage to the screen!
The first Nook Touch I had developed a weird black spot on the screen that wouldn’t go away. They gave me a replacement for that but they wouldn’t have if the screen was cracked.
We don’t know yet why they don’t make little screens whith plastic substrate. Maybe planned obsolescence?
At least we’ll soon have 10,3″ screens
That’s what happens when a company has no competition. They could’ve had smaller flexible screens on the market over a half decade ago if they really wanted to, but now they’re too busy wasting time with gimmicky crap like E Ink dresses that nobody cares about. Over the past several years they seem to spend most of their time trying to break into new markets instead of improving the products in the markets they already have.