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mgmueller · 10-09-2014, 01:08 PM

Got it today from Amazon Germany.

Why did I buy it?
A few years ago, I've killed 3 DECT phones while being in the bathtub (me, not the phones) for one or two hours.
I didn't drop them in the water, but obviously the steam had been enough.
I have a few waterproof sleeves, but they're not that convenient of course.
I thought about a custom made waterproof Kindle Paperwhite, but I'm not too enthusiastic about 3rd party vendors fumbling around in my gadgets.
So the Kobo Aura H2O was the obvious choice.

Kobo Aura HD vs. Kobo Aura H2O:
I'm not a fan of the design of Aura HD. It seems dated and "old school" to me.
But I actually (slightly) prefer it over Aura H2O:
The backs of both could have some better grip/texture. But the Aura HD at least has some kind of "fold" on the back, which makes it quite convenient to hold.
The back of Aura H2O is just plain and so the over all design of Aura H2O simply is a bit boring.
The display of Aura H2O seems to be a bit brighter. Aura HD is absolutely fine, but still Aura H2O even seems slightly better.
I still hate the file management. Yes, they have a Micro SD. But why can't I choose, what to put there? On a book by book basis or by genre, for example. Yes, lots of you will say "use Calibre". But I don't want to fumble around, I want to have an "out of the box" solution.
Now they simply put all the downloads into the internal storage and then, as soon as this is filled up, the rest to the Micro SD. I'd rather have my "exotic" titles, which I only touch occasionally, like comics or travel companions, on the SD card and my favorite titles in the internal memory. I could download all books in the respective order manually, but I don't want to do that for 450 books.
Why not give some download options, Kobo?

I'm not sure about the waterproof aspect.
The cover over the Micro SD and the Micro USB port seems a bit flimsy.
Well, I don't want to dive with it and for the steam in the bathroom, protection should be adequate...

My verdict for now:
Kindle Paperwhite 2 definitely remains my favorite.
Kobo Aura H2O will be my backup for critical environments, such as the bathroom while in the bathtub or while on the beach.

I really look forward to Kindle Voyage on November 4th!

10-09-2014, 01:08 PM	#1591
mgmueller Member Retired Posts: 3,308 Karma: 13024950 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Augsburg (near Munich), Germany Device: 26 Readers, 44 Tablets	Kobo Aura H2O Got it today from Amazon Germany. Why did I buy it? A few years ago, I've killed 3 DECT phones while being in the bathtub (me, not the phones) for one or two hours. I didn't drop them in the water, but obviously the steam had been enough. I have a few waterproof sleeves, but they're not that convenient of course. I thought about a custom made waterproof Kindle Paperwhite, but I'm not too enthusiastic about 3rd party vendors fumbling around in my gadgets. So the Kobo Aura H2O was the obvious choice. Kobo Aura HD vs. Kobo Aura H2O: I'm not a fan of the design of Aura HD. It seems dated and "old school" to me. But I actually (slightly) prefer it over Aura H2O: The backs of both could have some better grip/texture. But the Aura HD at least has some kind of "fold" on the back, which makes it quite convenient to hold. The back of Aura H2O is just plain and so the over all design of Aura H2O simply is a bit boring. The display of Aura H2O seems to be a bit brighter. Aura HD is absolutely fine, but still Aura H2O even seems slightly better. I still hate the file management. Yes, they have a Micro SD. But why can't I choose, what to put there? On a book by book basis or by genre, for example. Yes, lots of you will say "use Calibre". But I don't want to fumble around, I want to have an "out of the box" solution. Now they simply put all the downloads into the internal storage and then, as soon as this is filled up, the rest to the Micro SD. I'd rather have my "exotic" titles, which I only touch occasionally, like comics or travel companions, on the SD card and my favorite titles in the internal memory. I could download all books in the respective order manually, but I don't want to do that for 450 books. Why not give some download options, Kobo? I'm not sure about the waterproof aspect. The cover over the Micro SD and the Micro USB port seems a bit flimsy. Well, I don't want to dive with it and for the steam in the bathroom, protection should be adequate... My verdict for now: Kindle Paperwhite 2 definitely remains my favorite. Kobo Aura H2O will be my backup for critical environments, such as the bathroom while in the bathtub or while on the beach. I really look forward to Kindle Voyage on November 4th! Last edited by mgmueller; 10-09-2014 at 04:25 PM.