[alizarin]

As someone who bought a KA1 despite owning a bunch of other ereaders (including an Oasis, multiple generation PWs, even a 2nd gen Kindle that still works) as well as a bunch of tablets I read from (ranging from a 7" android to a 10.1 inch Dell Venue 10 7040, but no iDevices) IMO the most appealing feature of the KA1 is the size:weight ratio. I love the increase in screen real estate compared to the oasis, and it is a joy to hold for extended reading sessions compared to tablets.

The ability to change font size on a slider rather than in stepped increments is a significant advantage when compared to Kindle devices, although your Aura H20 can do that too (this is my first kobo device so I oohed-and-aahed over the feature for quite a while). Another surprising pro of the KA1 is the integration with Pocket reader which is actually well done.

I have some issues with my KA1 too. The natural lighting is uneven and there's a big green blotchy area in one corner of the screen when the rest is orange, which is very visible at low lighting levels and distracts me (I haven't got used to it yet!). IMO Kobo firmware is significantly more buggy compared to Kindle - I have noticed 3 "bugs" which will hopefully be fixed some time in the future: [1] the battery intermittently discharges in an unacceptable way, despite my applying a bunch of workarounds that the folks in this forum kindly suggested, [2] sometimes the auto lighting feature acts like it is demonically possessed - even if I turn it off it incrementally changes light levels when I am reading, which can be irritating, [3] I love how sometimes when I pick up the sleeping KA1 it automatically switches from "sleep" to "on" mode (is there an accelerometer inside?) but the effect is inconsistent and only happens some of the time.

There are also 2 things I have noticed with the hardware - [1] the LED lighting isn't completely even, but that is to be expected, and [2] the KA1s fit and finish isn't on par with the Oasis (the tolerances for screen positioning aren't as tight as I would like them to be, for example, and at night there's a small amount of light leak from the USB port) but these are minor and cosmetic and in no way detract from the user experience.

I have also seen on this forum how the light levels of different units can be *very* different when comparing tone and brightness at equivalent slider levels, which is telling about Kobo QC.

But all that being said, over the last few weeks since I got my KA1 I have ended up using it more than my Oasis, which is equally telling. IMO the key advantage of the KA1 is its screen size, which makes reading so much more enjoyable. You may not need to upgrade from your Aura H2O for any other reason but this.

I just got an email from Kobo customer service that they will be shipping me a replacement in the next week or two - knowing kobo, to be more accurate make that "a variable amount of time seeded by a random number generator". If the replacement has better orange tone when natural lighting is on (think Trump, not Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) then IMO the KA1 is a keeper despite all the issues I have detailed above, and my kids decide who wants my Oasis. But if the replacement hardware is just as QC-challenged as my original KA1, I think I am going to return them both and wait for Kobo to fix their LEDs before buying another one.

Hope this helps, even though its a long-winded response from someone who owns no Kobo other than the KA1...