Aspire One -- Screen Crack? Anyone else?

I have had my aspire one less than two months. I have transported it to and from work for use during lunch. I feel like I've been pretty careful with it. It has not been stepped on, dropped, slammed, or any other sort of hard shock. Additionally, I've been very careful during use, far more so than with my older laptops and my work computers.

Today I went to fire it up and 2/3 of my display is shot. When it is on, there is what appears to be a crack in the LCD panel, forming what looks like a slightly curved right triangle with the left side of the screen, stretching from about an inch and a half up to a inch and a half across the bottom. When I turn it off, no crack is readily apparent.

Of course, when I call Acer, I'm told it is my fault, and it will be $200 to repair.

My question is this. Is it possible that the Aspire One fails under normal transportation conditions? The display does not appear to sit flush with the keyboard, nor does it appear to have cushioning at all four corners. In examining it, it appears like a little bit of stress along the center of the hinge line might be enough to push the display inward. Like I said, I've put far more stress on other laptops, and never had a failure. I even had a Dell that was failing in a big way that I decided to demolish with a hammer and it took a lot of effort to crack the screen in the manner in which mine is currently broken. Adding to my suspicion that perhaps they aren't very durable is that there is currently no extended warranty listed for the Aspire One that covers accidents.

Assuming I cannot get Acer to fix it without paying $200, is $200 unreasonable?

I'm more than a little upset because I bought this primarily for its portability. My wife also got one, and we're past the point where we can return it and get a more durable one.

 

My non-scientific opinion is that it's a bit of a grey area. You can vaguely fault Acer for not designing a sturdier unit, but ultimately you can't expect this small lightweight netbook to be as robust as a heavier larger machine. As for $200, I think you'd be better off buying a replacement screen yourself and installing it (there's even a touchscreen kit if you are feeling a bit more adventurous), or else put the $200 towards another netbook.

 

But what is odd to me is that it would seem a smaller screen and the more compact form factor and lighter weight of the Aspire One would actually be more durable than a 16 inch laptop.

 

I've given my notebooks some pretty decent knocks/drops and never had a problem. The AAO just feels flimsy to me, it must be the lack of weight. I think some other users have reported dropping their AAOs and seeing no adverse effects though.

 

Is it possible that your AA1 was exposed to extreme hot or cold? I had a LCD display on a laptop break all by it self after leaving it in the car one night by mistake when it was getting down to the low 20's. I know of other people that had the same thing happen in the summer time when it's very hot. Just a thought.

 

DO this just replace the screen !
buy a replacement screen and become a Magician and do the work !
its way cheaper then sending it to ACER