MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Kobo Aura H2O

93terp · 10-07-2014, 01:33 PM

I just got my H2O yesterday and have only had time to update (sideload) to FW 3.8.0 (came preloaded with 3.7.0), apply the FW patches, load my Calibre library, and a brief light comparison with my HD. Here are my initial observations so far:

BLUF (bottom line upfront)
It's a keeper!

1. The lighting is noticably brighter than the HD at the same light levels. I'd almost say about twice as bright, but I don't know of a good way to actually measure this for a true value.

2. I love the new non-sliding power button. It's a "push" button, and the power up light appears to be part of the button assembly. The button is almost darn near flush to the edge, so not sure if this will ultimately be a bad thing (more frequent opportunity for inadvertent power on/off?).

3. I miss the light button from the HD. Unless I'm missing something obvious, there's now no way to completely turn the light off & make the light icon go away. Yes, you can manually set the brightness to "0", but the light icon remains on when you do this. Related to this, but not specific to the H2O, the "Power light off" setting seems to have been removed with FW 3.8.0. I confirmed this on both the H2O and HD, both running 3.8.0.

4. The back of the H2O is much better than the HD, both in materials used and design. The front bezel is a fingerprint magnet unfortunately. I really wish Kobo would have offered the H2O in white, like they did with the HD. I guess I will be getting a skin for the H2O as I really don't like the fingerprints or the black bezel (personal preference only).

5. I thought I read somewhere that the H2O bezel was supposed to be flush with the screen, although I could be thinking of the new Kindle Voyage. My
H2O has a noticable gap between the screen & bezel, comparable to that on the HD.

Will post more observations after more time with the H2O.

10-07-2014, 01:33 PM	#121
93terp Fear The Turtle! Posts: 868 Karma: 4067244 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Margaritaville Device: KV, Kobo Forma, Kobo A1LE, KO3, K3	Initial Observations I just got my H2O yesterday and have only had time to update (sideload) to FW 3.8.0 (came preloaded with 3.7.0), apply the FW patches, load my Calibre library, and a brief light comparison with my HD. Here are my initial observations so far: BLUF (bottom line upfront) It's a keeper! 1. The lighting is noticably brighter than the HD at the same light levels. I'd almost say about twice as bright, but I don't know of a good way to actually measure this for a true value. 2. I love the new non-sliding power button. It's a "push" button, and the power up light appears to be part of the button assembly. The button is almost darn near flush to the edge, so not sure if this will ultimately be a bad thing (more frequent opportunity for inadvertent power on/off?). 3. I miss the light button from the HD. Unless I'm missing something obvious, there's now no way to completely turn the light off & make the light icon go away. Yes, you can manually set the brightness to "0", but the light icon remains on when you do this. Related to this, but not specific to the H2O, the "Power light off" setting seems to have been removed with FW 3.8.0. I confirmed this on both the H2O and HD, both running 3.8.0. 4. The back of the H2O is much better than the HD, both in materials used and design. The front bezel is a fingerprint magnet unfortunately. I really wish Kobo would have offered the H2O in white, like they did with the HD. I guess I will be getting a skin for the H2O as I really don't like the fingerprints or the black bezel (personal preference only). 5. I thought I read somewhere that the H2O bezel was supposed to be flush with the screen, although I could be thinking of the new Kindle Voyage. My H2O has a noticable gap between the screen & bezel, comparable to that on the HD. Will post more observations after more time with the H2O.