How Do You Make A Repairable E-Reader

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Mobile devices have become notorious for their unrepairability, with glued-together parts and impossible-to-reach connectors. So it’s refreshing to see something new in that field from the e-book reader brand Kobo in the form of a partnership with iFixit to ensure that their new reader line can be fixed.

Naturally, we welcome any such move, not least because it disproves the notion that portable devices are impossible to make with repairability in mind. However, the linked article is especially interesting because it includes a picture of a reader, and its cover has been removed. We’re unsure whether or not this is one of the new ones, but it’s still worth looking at it with reparability eyes. Just what have they done to make it easier to repair?

The first thing which strikes us is that the screws securing the board are larger than on many devices and positioned for easy access. Then the battery connector isn’t the tiny snap-in connector we’re used to seeing on phones, but wires and an easy-to-use small two-pin plug. The digitiser and screen cables remain flexible PCB connectors, but despite finding those flip-up latches to be fragile at best, we’re guessing there’s little alternative to be found there.

We hope that these readers will be successful enough that other manufacturers may take up the idea and even that it might educate the public that such a thing is possible.

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