Kobo Aura H2O vs Inkpad 2

[kamil3214]

Hi!
I am new in e reader's world. I want to buy my first device and I hesitate between two devices: Kobo Aura H2O and Pocketbook Inkpad 2. I will use it mainly for reading manga. Both devices are the same price. Carrying bigger device is no big deal for me. I have two questions I want to ask. Screen quality is most important for me. Does really Kobo have much better contrast and overall quality. I want my manga to look the best possible and to change pages fast and smooth. I have heard that Kobo is a lot better in these aspects. I think about Inkpad 2 because of larger screen and physical buttons. There is also another diffrence about these devices I want to ask about. Kobo has got backlight and Inkpad has frontlight. I will read most of the time in darkness so it is very important to me. I believe that backlight provides better visability and evenly light but what about stress put on eyes? I read a lot on my phone and I sometimes feel that my eyes are tired so if I am going to buy special device for reading I want it to be as easy as possible on my eyes. Is backlight in e reader less stressful for sight than reading on phone with minimal brightness in darkness? Is frontlight in pocketbook easier on eyes than backlight in Kobo? Will I feel noticable difference beetween them? Which one would you choose?

P.S.
Sorry for my grammar.

[HarryT]

No eInk device has a backlight for the very simple reason that eInk screens are opaque. All illuminated eInk devices are frontlit.

[kamil3214]

In the reviews of Kobo H20 it was named backlight for example: 'as using the backlight drains the battery rather quickly.' and this misinformed me. In reviews of Inkpad was something like that: 'PocketBook InkPad 2 – the premium E Ink e-reader with 8-inch screen and frontlight.'. So there is no difference between them in this way? What about other differences like screen technology and page changing speed? Are they noticably diffrent in these areas during normal usage?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by kamil3214

In the reviews of Kobo H20 it was named backlight for example: 'as using the backlight drains the battery rather quickly.' and this misinformed me. In reviews of Inkpad was something like that: 'PocketBook InkPad 2 – the premium E Ink e-reader with 8-inch screen and frontlight.'. So there is no difference between them in this way? What about other differences like screen technology and page changing speed? Are they noticably diffrent in these areas during normal usage?

Both are using a front light. One has a Carta screen (H2O) which has a higher contrast. The InkPadis using a Pearl screen. As to the speeds, I cannot say as I've never tried the InkPad 2. Maybe there's a video review on Youtube comparing the two.

[robko]

If price is not a concern I would look at the Kobo Aura 1 over the H2O for the screen size for manga.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by kamil3214

In the reviews of Kobo H20 it was named backlight for example: 'as using the backlight drains the battery rather quickly.' and this misinformed me. In reviews of Inkpad was something like that: 'PocketBook InkPad 2 – the premium E Ink e-reader with 8-inch screen and frontlight.'. So there is no difference between them in this way?

Some people don't know the difference between backlight and frontlight. And as the majority of phones and tablets have a backlight, they simply use that term with an e-ink ereader as well. And I don't even think that it's bad, as when I read the term frontlight for the first time, I pictured a clip-on light...

[HarryT]

It only matters when it leads to confusion, as was the case here. As you say, a light is a light...

[meeera]

I've found reviews that assert that an eink reader has a 'backlight' to generally be ignorable wholesale. If the reviewer can't even get the basic features right, why should I listen to their opinions on how the device operates?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by meeera

I've found reviews that assert that an eink reader has a 'backlight' to generally be ignorable wholesale. If the reviewer can't even get the basic features right, why should I listen to their opinions on how the device operates?

I often call it a backlight (ok, I don't write reviews, but still). I still think that "frontlight" implies a device you put on the reader that will be external and lights up the screen from the front.

And it still comes from the screen, be it from a layer behind the "display" layer or on top of that "display" layer. For the majority of non-technical people it's identical: light comes from the screen and you don't need an external source of light.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I often call it a backlight (ok, I don't write reviews, but still). I still think that "frontlight" implies a device you put on the reader that will be external and lights up the screen from the front.

And it still comes from the screen, be it from a layer behind the "display" layer or on top of that "display" layer. For the majority of non-technical people it's identical: light comes from the screen and you don't need an external source of light.

What's wrong with saying "light", then? "Light" is accurate. "Lit screen" is accurate. "Frontlight" is accurate. "Backlight" is just plain wrong.

[HarryT]

I think that "backlight" is just a word that's entered our vocabularies when talking about the screens of electronic devices. Few people stop to think any more about what the word actually means.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by meeera

What's wrong with saying "light", then? "Light" is accurate. "Lit screen" is accurate. "Frontlight" is accurate. "Backlight" is just plain wrong.

If I would tell my grandmother it had a light, she would probably not know what I meant, while if I said it had a backlight, she would know exactly, as she also has an Ipad. (she's of the generation that would call my tablet an Ipad as well, even though it's a Windows 10 Professional tablet from Dell).

But we're getting off-topic.

[ZodWallop]

For reading comics/manga I recommend a tablet over any e-ink device. Manga is black and white, so an e-ink should display it just fine. But file size may be a problem. You can't fit very many on a device that doesn't have an SD card slot. Also, the screen on an e-ink device is notably slower.

Kobo doesn't do well displaying PDFs. I'm not sure it will be any better at handling a large-ish, image-heavy manga file. I have no experience with Inkbook, but all e-ink screens are going to have similar problems if you need to zoom in on a panel for instance. E-ink devices earn their long battery life by being under-powered.

I know you said reading on a phone too long hurts your eyes. An e-ink device may be exactly what you need. But just be aware of the limitations that exist.

[kamil3214]

Thank you for yours replies. I think I will go for Kobo Aura H2O because I don't have to zoom while reading on 5' phone so 6.8' should be ideal for me. Kobo seems to have better quality screen and waterproof is nice future to have.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I think that "backlight" is just a word that's entered our vocabularies when talking about the screens of electronic devices. Few people stop to think any more about what the word actually means.

Yes, it is similar to backslash. People really don't seem to know which way it goes.

Dale