Kobo H2O Specs released

[Lynx-lynx]

Kobo has emailed out the specs of the new H2O ererader. Pics below.

Here's the pricing info:

Kobo Aura H2O’s suggested retail price is $179.99 in Canada and the US. Of course, due to market fluctuations, exchange rates, and country-specific taxes, prices may differ in other parts of the world. Your local retailer will have details on the price you can expect to pay, so check with them or visit the Where to Buy page for more information.

The waterproofing info:

Kobo Aura H2O meets IP67 certification. This means it can be fully immersed in up to 1 meter of water (just over 3 feet) for up to 30 minutes, with its port cover closed. It is also dustproof and sandproof, so you can take your Kobo Aura H2O to the beach, to the bath, or to your bed without worry.

How to dry info:

In order to get the best possible reading experience, both the Kobo Aura H2O screen and your hands should be dry. The drying cloth that is included with your Kobo Aura H2O will help you achieve this.

File formats:

EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RFT, CBZ, and CBR.

Languages

The Kobo Aura H2O is a truly international eReader. At launch, the Kobo Aura H2O will be available in English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Italian, and Portuguese. We’ll be launching more language support shortly, so stay tuned!

This info all came from the FAQs.

[PeterT]

Also see https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...95&postcount=8 from a first impressions post from the award winning Science Fiction writer (and MobileRead member) Robert J Sawyer

Or do I mean the MobileRead member (and award winning Science Fiction writer) Robert J Sawyer.

[Lynx-lynx]

I should also include the link for the General Discussion of this device.

And also the Kobo Devices sub-forum discussion.

[crich70]

Sounds good from the specs. I bet it won't be cheap though either.

[Josieb1]

I've had the 'Introducing' email from Kobo this morning saying pre ordering starts on the 1st Sept. No price though.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

129 pounds! My guess.

[Josieb1]

Google says the exchange rate is more like £142, and the official price of the Aura HD is £140 so my guess is that's maybe £150.

[Lynx-lynx]

For info, the FAQs show the price as:

Kobo Aura H2O’s suggested retail price is $179.99 in Canada and the US. Of course, due to market fluctuations, exchange rates, and country-specific taxes, prices may differ in other parts of the world. Your local retailer will have details on the price you can expect to pay, so check with them or visit the Where to Buy page for more information.

I don't know how much it'll cost in Aus or the other countries yet either.

[Anthem]

Man... $179.99 is serious money for an e-reader that is essentially only really different in being larger than the average e-reader and waterproof.

When I had my Kobo... it would have been very hard to justify purchasing this in addition to that. I'm thinking that the waterproof-ness of it and the larger size are added benefits, but otherwise this would probably replace your current e-reader for most practical purposes.

[jersysman]

Originally Posted by Anthem

Man... $179.99 is serious money for an e-reader that is essentially only really different in being larger than the average e-reader and waterproof.

When I had my Kobo... it would have been very hard to justify purchasing this in addition to that. I'm thinking that the waterproof-ness of it and the larger size are added benefits, but otherwise this would probably replace your current e-reader for most practical purposes.

I believe that is the same price as the Aura HD was retailed for, so the price isn't really that much of a shocker.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Anthem

Man... $179.99 is serious money for an e-reader that is essentially only really different in being larger than the average e-reader and waterproof.

Plus the Carta infrared screen. I can't wait to see comparisons between the HD and the H20.

[John F]

Originally Posted by jersysman

I believe that is the same price as the Aura HD was retailed for, so the price isn't really that much of a shocker.

I thought the Aura HD retailed for $169? Doing a google seems to indicate $169?

It seems like Kobo is trending up on price? The Aura was an increase, and now the H2O is an increase

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by John F

I thought the Aura HD retailed for $169? Doing a google seems to indicate $169?

It seems like Kobo is trending up on price? The Aura was an increase, and now the H2O is an increase

Yes it was introduced at $169, so the H20 is only $10 more. Both of them are PREMIUM readers. Premium can indicate several things, including price. But if one compares it to a "cheaper" reader such as the Kindle Paperwhite, not only is the PW smaller, with lower resolution, it is only $40 cheaper (w/o adds). I don't think $40 is a huge amount to pay for what you are getting with the Aura H20.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

Google says the exchange rate is more like £142, and the official price of the Aura HD is £140 so my guess is that's maybe £150.

On the compare devices page it shows up as £139 (same price as the Aura HD).


http://www.kobo.com/devices/compare#ereaders

[latepaul]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

On the compare devices page it shows up as £139 (same price as the Aura HD).


http://www.kobo.com/devices/compare#ereaders

Interesting using that page to compare the HD with the H2O one of the differences is they claim "EPUB3" as a supported format - one wonders what that means in practice.