Kobo Aura H2O Officially Announced - Page 4

Joques · 08-27-2014, 08:28 AM

Wow, this is super interesting. Davidfor, I just did a full factory reset to go back to vanilla FW, then upgrade clean to 3.7. When I went to the menu, those two menu options had disappeared. I then installed Cecell3000's two finger swipe hack on top of 3.7, and they came back!

Canuck, sorry, I meant to say in the reading settings menu. I have an Aura HD.

Aplogies to everybody who'll now want to sideload 3.7 in order to get official two-finger light adjustment. That is not the case.

davidfor · 08-27-2014, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharkus

Correct, just a single power button, no explicit light button. I know that a swipe (cannot recall if it's one or two fingers though) up and down - think on the left hand side of the screen, though could be whole screen - will adjust brightness. Not sure about on / off.
Let me see what I can find out. I've not had any real hands-on with the device (it's not the area I work in here) so sorry for the vague sounding responses.

It's probably a swipe along the left edge of the screen.

BearMountainBooks · 08-27-2014, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

I was a guest at the Kobo Aura H2O launch party in Toronto (where Kobo is headquartered) this evening, and have now held the device in my hands. Beautiful machine, very similar in form to the Kobo Aura HD, which it replaces. The launch party was held poolside, with a synchronized-swimming team going in and out of the water with H2O units.

Shipping October 1; Canadian retail price of $179. Only one physical switch (power); light on/off is now done by running a finger up the far left-hand side of the screen (from 0%, or off, at the bottom to 100% at the top).

The new Carta screen does noticeably whiter whites and blacker blacks than the screen on the HD.

The micro-SD slot and micro-USB connector are on the bottom, and, to maintain the waterproof seal, there's a hatch cover that goes over them.

The multitouch screen can detect when it has numerous points of contact simultaneously; the device interprets that circumstance as it being under water, or dappled with water spots, and can show a screen message to that effect (which can be disabled).

Case is slightly smaller and thinner than on the Aura HD, but the texture of the bezel and back is pretty much the same, as is the shape of the back. The H2O will come only in black (no espresso, no white), although it's really a very deep charcoal, not a solid black.

The Kobo logo is unobtrusively done in gloss finish against the matte bezel in dark type, centered at the bottom; it looks classier than on the HD.

The unit I held had firmware 3.7.0 installed (3.5.0 is the current public firmware for the Aura and Aura HD).

Terrific device, and I'm very glad to see it'll be in stores in time for Christmas.

All best wishes.

Rob

Thanks. Awesome review!

pdurrant · 08-27-2014, 08:59 AM

The Kobo HD was tempting, the Kobo H2O more so.

But I really don't want another ereader with a fragile glass backplane. I guess I'll wait for a 2015 model with a more robust screen.

(Glass in mobile devices! It's crazy.)

Nate the great · 08-27-2014, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The Kobo HD was tempting, the Kobo H2O more so.

But I really don't want another ereader with a fragile glass backplane. I guess I'll wait for a 2015 model with a more robust screen.

(Glass in mobile devices! It's crazy.)

Yep. It would have been a good idea if Kobo/E-ink had also added Mobius. That would be worth an extra $20, at least.

Sharkus · 08-27-2014, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharkus

Correct, just a single power button, no explicit light button. I know that a swipe (cannot recall if it's one or two fingers though) up and down - think on the left hand side of the screen, though could be whole screen - will adjust brightness. Not sure about on / off.
Let me see what I can find out. I've not had any real hands-on with the device (it's not the area I work in here) so sorry for the vague sounding responses.

You can adjust the brightness down to 0% percent by 1-finger swipe down. 1-finger swipe up will increase brightness. There is also a brightness control in the top menu.

Joques · 08-27-2014, 10:35 AM

Am I going slightly mad, or does Caecilia look a little different in 3.7 than in 3.3?

ottdmk · 08-27-2014, 11:14 AM

I'm tempted to try installing 3.7 to see if the PDF performance problems I saw in 3.5 are fixed.

While I won't be upgrading any time soon, I'm glad to see another HD calibre device from Kobo. I love my HD, and when it inevitably dies I want an equivalent or better replacement available!

mr_nihilism · 08-27-2014, 11:36 AM

No textured casing on the back? Really?

DSpider · 08-27-2014, 11:51 AM

Disappointed.

http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...-the-dark-test

Bottom looks like a PW1. Don't forget, it looks much worse in person that a photo or a Youtube video (due to compression).

BearMountainBooks · 08-27-2014, 11:52 AM

I think it's super cool!!!

jersysman · 08-27-2014, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Well technically it has the Carta screen which is whiter than the current HD. Obviously not really worth upgrading for. I'm a little disappointed by the move back to infrared but I suppose that means their won't be an extra layer obscuring the screen.

Since this is more inline with the Aura HD and not the Aura, it is not a move back to infrared as the HD has always had an infrared screen.

DNSB · 08-27-2014, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Because I'm foolish I gave it a shot on my Aura HD. It seems to be restarting. I hope it converts my screen to an E-ink Carta!

Ok it seems to have worked fine on my Aura HD. But to be honest I can't see that anything has changed (except for the version #)
I didn't even get a "What's New" screen at the start up.

I did notice that when I sleep my Aura HD, I have a tiny little icon of the cover image in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Other than that, I don't see other visible changes though looking through the file system, there are quite a few of changes. I don't even see the new Bitter font that has been mentioned.

Regards,
David

frogette · 08-27-2014, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by indyglow

2. A new font 'Bitter' has been added.

Sweet! I love Bitter. It's my favorite font for when Poly doesn't cut it (eg if I really need bold characters). Now if it could be added to a new paperwhite instead of the kobo (which makes it ridiculously easy to add fonts anyway), I'd be so happy.

filmo · 08-27-2014, 04:43 PM

goodereader review wrongly states Nook pioneered front light ereader.

08-27-2014, 08:28 AM	#46
Joques Addict Posts: 294 Karma: 107414 Join Date: May 2013 Device: Kobo Glo	Wow, this is super interesting. Davidfor, I just did a full factory reset to go back to vanilla FW, then upgrade clean to 3.7. When I went to the menu, those two menu options had disappeared. I then installed Cecell3000's two finger swipe hack on top of 3.7, and they came back! Canuck, sorry, I meant to say in the reading settings menu. I have an Aura HD. Aplogies to everybody who'll now want to sideload 3.7 in order to get official two-finger light adjustment. That is not the case. Last edited by Joques; 08-27-2014 at 09:38 AM.

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08-27-2014, 08:59 AM	#49
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,035 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	The Kobo HD was tempting, the Kobo H2O more so. But I really don't want another ereader with a fragile glass backplane. I guess I'll wait for a 2015 model with a more robust screen. (Glass in mobile devices! It's crazy.)

08-27-2014, 10:35 AM	#52
Joques Addict Posts: 294 Karma: 107414 Join Date: May 2013 Device: Kobo Glo	Am I going slightly mad, or does Caecilia look a little different in 3.7 than in 3.3?

08-27-2014, 11:14 AM	#53
ottdmk Wizard Posts: 1,220 Karma: 3804496 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Libra 2, Lenovo Tab M10 FHD Plus, Lenovo Tab M9	I'm tempted to try installing 3.7 to see if the PDF performance problems I saw in 3.5 are fixed. While I won't be upgrading any time soon, I'm glad to see another HD calibre device from Kobo. I love my HD, and when it inevitably dies I want an equivalent or better replacement available!

08-27-2014, 11:36 AM	#54
mr_nihilism Always been the caretaker Posts: 479 Karma: 1406369 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Canada Device: Aura H2O, PW2	No textured casing on the back? Really?

08-27-2014, 11:51 AM	#55
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	Disappointed. http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...-the-dark-test Bottom looks like a PW1. Don't forget, it looks much worse in person that a photo or a Youtube video (due to compression).

08-27-2014, 11:52 AM	#56
BearMountainBooks Maria Schneider Posts: 3,746 Karma: 26439330 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Near Austin, Texas Device: 3g Kindle Keyboard	I think it's super cool!!!

08-27-2014, 04:43 PM	#60
filmo Wizard Posts: 1,326 Karma: 1077205 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kobo Touch, Sony T1, Kobo Mini	goodereader review wrongly states Nook pioneered front light ereader.