Kobo Aura H2O Officially Announced

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

The connector may be a weak point, but we won't know for sure until we see one in the flesh.

It's not exactly experimental tech. Water proof cellphones all use those covers. It should be fine as long as you're using it properly.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by arspr

At least IMO the "waterproofness" is just one stupid feature. Apart from its marginal usefulness (who do really read in the water, every single device support light splashes of water even with no "official" certification)

As I mentioned before (perhaps in a different thread, I don't know), you don't need to drop a reader in the bath to damage it. If you've read in the bath before (it's a wonderful, relaxing place to read-I recommend it) then you'll know that a hot bath causes a lot of condensation. I've "ruined" several books before because after coming out of a 30 minute bath the back of the books are soaking wet from all the condensation. On an ereader the openings are all at the bottom so all of this water vapour would be rising up and going straight into the electronics of a normal ereader. It might not damage a normal reader the first time or the second time but if you tried it on a regular basis I'm pretty sure you would shorten the life of your reader. We've moved to a different place with not as nice of a bath and I have a one year old now so I don't have time for the long baths anymore but if my situation were different I would be all over this reader.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by arspr

Am I the only one that is surprised about the title of this thread? Don't you see anything strange? H-twenty?

You need glasses. That H2O <-- Letter O, not the number zero.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Well, no, my point was that a lot of people might actually find it useful. I know of at least four people who will not take their ereader to the pool. They may or may not even float in said pool, but they won't take it near water. My mom has a friend who won't use her Kindle at all because she goes on a lot of cruises...and reads by the pool. She goes on cruises and takes five or six books which kind of defeats the whole idea!

And no one says you have to read by water to get use out of this e-reader. It's not like it's a "water only" device!

I've been on a number of cruises and I've seen iPads, Android tablets, Kindles, nooks, Kobos, Sony, and other electronic devices. Many people sit by the pool with their device. I've sat by the pool with my 650 (T1 on the upcoming cruise). I've never hear (or read) about anyone's device getting damaged by getting wet near the pool.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You need glasses. That H2O <-- Letter O, not the number zero.

No, the thread title is a zero. Copy it to a text editor and type a zero next to it to see.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by davidfor

No, the thread title is a zero. Copy it to a text editor and type a zero next to it to see.

Then I think it's time to lynch tnforpaul45.

[Sharkus]

Originally Posted by Rand Brittain

What's the build quality like? It seems like the H20 has the rubbery back similar to the Aura, which is something I regretted not having on the Aura HD.

The back of my Aura is a) white, and b) smooth plastic. The H2O's back does not feel the same as the Aura, and I would say it's the rubbery like feel described (first word that pops into my head is neoprene, then wetsuit, then Jaws ). It could well be that these differences on my devices are, as mentioned earlier, because they aren't the final hardware.

If I have time I may wander over to a store and have a feel of the shipping Aura and Aura HD to compare.

[JSWolf]

It doesn't matter how the back feels as you should not be able to feel the back as the H2O should be in a cover where you will feel the cover and not the back of the H2O.

I've said this a number of times "A Reader without a cover is a Reader waiting to get broken" and I've read about too many people breaking their Readers without using a cover. So go ahead, prove me right and break your H2O by not using a cover.

[GeoffR]

Being able to use the ereader without a cover is important to some of us. I keep my Glo in a hard case when transporting it so it doesn't get damaged, but I always take it out of the case for reading.

It is a complete mystery to me why Kobo use high quality plastic for their budget readers like the Touch and Glo, but low quality plastic for their premium readers like the Aura HD and H2O.

Edit: If the case on the H2O was made from the rubbery type of plastic used on the Glo then that would be a bigger attraction to me than the Carta screen or waterproofing.

[Ryzir]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So go ahead, prove me right and break your H2O by not using a cover.

I've had 5 ereaders since 2007 and have never used a cover with any of them. None have ever sustained any damage. I hate covers they just make the readers bulky and awkward to hold. I do put them in a case when I am not using them.

So the texture of the reader is important to some of us. The biggest reason I didn't get an Aura HD was the casing (style and material).

[Josieb1]

Actually I completely forgot about the cover

That would potentially be ruined if you dropped the aura into Water, but I'd risk that to be able to use a reader near water without worrying.

I still want one, but I do want to see if in a store first.

[rdjack21]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

As I mentioned before (perhaps in a different thread, I don't know), you don't need to drop a reader in the bath to damage it. If you've read in the bath before (it's a wonderful, relaxing place to read-I recommend it) then you'll know that a hot bath causes a lot of condensation. I've "ruined" several books before because after coming out of a 30 minute bath the back of the books are soaking wet from all the condensation. On an ereader the openings are all at the bottom so all of this water vapour would be rising up and going straight into the electronics of a normal ereader. It might not damage a normal reader the first time or the second time but if you tried it on a regular basis I'm pretty sure you would shorten the life of your reader. We've moved to a different place with not as nice of a bath and I have a one year old now so I don't have time for the long baths anymore but if my situation were different I would be all over this reader.

I agree and I really hope this reader will hold up to condensation because I want to read while sitting in the hot tub at the gym. I've seen people with Kindles, phones and tablets as it is but I don't want to try with my tablet but come 9/1 I think I will be doing the preorder thing primarily due to the water resistance of this device.

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by arspr

Am I the only one that is surprised about the title of this thread? Don't you see anything strange? H-twenty?

As a chemist, and a typo catcher, I feel ashamed for not seeing this one. Of course, I could also blame my font It's fixed now.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

She goes on cruises and takes five or six books which kind of defeats the whole idea!

Goodness! five or six books wouldn't last me the first three days of a cruise!

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've said this a number of times "A Reader without a cover is a Reader waiting to get broken"

Which is why I'm waiting for one without a glass backplane.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I am simply surprised that Kobo would make a device with such marginal appeal. But I don't think it is ridiculous that anyone would want one.

I dunno, aside from how appealing or not waterproofing is on an ereader, it's a unique selling point for Kobo. In a competitive market with not a lot to choose between devices, that has got to be a plus for Kobo, no?