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Old 10-02-2014, 10:50 PM   #16
meeera
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And another head-desky review! From gizmodo au:


"Kobo Aura H2O Review: A Gorgeous, Waterproof Screen That No One Needs"

First, they dismiss the relevance or utility of a gorgeous screen, because it's "only" for reading:

Quote:
As beautiful as the Aura HD’s screen one, the H2O manages to step it up. In terms of light distribution, there’s quite a bit less grey patching near the bottom of the screen, and that lovely, LED glow sits virtually even from corner-to-corner — an impressive feat in front-lit world.

And with a resolution of 1430×1080 at 265 dpi, text looks virtually flawless. Which is great, but it’s also important to note that this is just text we’re talking about. Pristine resolution seems wholly unnecessary where e-readers are concerned. You’re not trying to achieve perfect image reproduction — you just want to be able to read the damn words on the page. And you don’t need imperceptible pixels to do that.
But the keyboard, of course, is important, for some reason, in a way that the beautiful text rendering is not:

Quote:
The keyboard is not great. It’s nitpicky, certainly, but the Kobo keyboard isn’t staggered in the way your laptop’s keyboard is or even a Paperwhite’s. Are you going to be using it a lot? Almost definitely not. But when you do, the perfectly aligned, stacked keys are just off-putting enough to be noticeable.
Because of course we spend a significant amount of our time on a Kobo keyboarding, right? Right?

(Out of interest: I've never really noticed the keyboard. It works for typing in several characters to find a book. That's all it needs to do.)

They also think that the Kobo Store is a really important issue, but mostly for very heavy readers. (Hint, folks: find Apprentice Alf. Befriend him.)

The one comparison pic with a Kindle has the Kobo with a delicate serif font and the Kindle with a hefty slab-serif.

Their conclusion:

Quote:
Sorry, Kobo. You made a beautiful thing. It’s just too bad no one needs it. It’s a commendable effort, but unfortunately for Kobo, the Kindle will be keeping its crown for the time being.
Guess who sponsors the reviews there? Dick Smith. Guess which is the only ereader Dick Smith sells? Not that that would influence the reviews, of course.

Not a single mention of the font and layout options. They don't mention opening any menus or looking at any settings. No mention of how the light is controlled. Etc. Etc. But it hasn't got 3G!!1!
Last edited by meeera; 10-02-2014 at 10:54 PM.
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Old 10-03-2014, 04:21 AM   #17
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I spotted that review too. Ironically I actually find typing on the 6 inch Aura keyboard better than the Kindle Paperwhite 2, so I can easily imagine the Aura H20 being better as the keys are bigger!
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Old 10-03-2014, 04:41 AM   #18
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Gizmodo had an awful review last year for one of the Kobo products. They seem like a pretty worthless tech site. That whole "screen that no one needs" really got my goat. Who the hell are they to decide what other people need? Stick to the product review.
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Old 10-03-2014, 11:26 AM   #19
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I'd rather read user reviews than 'professional' reviews for that exact reason Canuck_in_Japan. That one comment alone just makes me dismiss anything else they might have to say.
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Old 10-03-2014, 11:43 AM   #20
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LOL. Gizmodo only forgot perform a bend test to check if it is just as bendable as the iPhone 6 (Plus).
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Old 10-03-2014, 01:59 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan View Post
Gizmodo had an awful review last year for one of the Kobo products. They seem like a pretty worthless tech site. That whole "screen that no one needs" really got my goat. Who the hell are they to decide what other people need? Stick to the product review.
Ditto. The title itself is nothing short of abysmal penmanship. The review much more so. Every product has to cater everyone's need and be subjectively axed with the final grade. How these people get hired is a mystery.
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Old 10-04-2014, 10:52 PM   #22
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Reviews always have a bias in one direction or another. The only way to sort them out is to have an idea of your requirements for a product before you even read a review on it, so you can toss out the positives and negatives that are not applicable to focus on the things that matter.
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Old 10-05-2014, 12:54 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meeera View Post
Today in amusing H2O review comments:

http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/ereaders/kobo-aura-h20

"However, when I set all three e-readers' lights to 50 percent, the Kobo was so bright that it was distracting in a brightly lit room. In that setting, the Kindle offered the best reading experience."

Um. So? What matters is the range of the brightness, not whether the setting labelled "50%" is identical on two different devices.
You probably have no appreciation of amps that go to eleven.
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Old 10-05-2014, 01:37 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by j.p.s View Post
You probably have no appreciation of amps that go to eleven.
Yes, yes I do. (Which reminds me, I must show my kid that movie.)

I also seem to remember a different review that rated some frontlit ereader better than others because the 100% setting was the brightest. Tech bloggers really boggle my mind sometimes.
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Old 10-05-2014, 07:59 PM   #25
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Tech bloggers really boggle my mind sometimes.
Remember what they say: Those that can do, those that can't teach, the rest become reviewers.
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Old 10-05-2014, 08:34 PM   #26
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Best H2O review I have read is this German review.
http://allesebook.de/e-book-reader/k...tworten-54532/
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Old 10-05-2014, 10:35 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meeera View Post
Today in amusing H2O review comments:

http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/ereaders/kobo-aura-h20

"However, when I set all three e-readers' lights to 50 percent, the Kobo was so bright that it was distracting in a brightly lit room. In that setting, the Kindle offered the best reading experience."

Um. So? What matters is the range of the brightness, not whether the setting labelled "50%" is identical on two different devices.
If the light at 50% is "so bright that it was distracting" then why not turn it down until it is no longer distracting?

What a useless comparison.
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Old 10-06-2014, 02:06 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man View Post
If the light at 50% is "so bright that it was distracting" then why not turn it down until it is no longer distracting?

What a useless comparison.
Because that's not how lighting works! You set it to some random, arbitrary number and then you're not allowed to change it!
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Old 10-06-2014, 04:31 AM   #29
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Best H2O review I have read is this German review.
http://allesebook.de/e-book-reader/k...tworten-54532/
I agree, I've read it too but this isn't the review… the review will be published in the first week of October. Probably, this week, the second week of October.

Quote:
Wie immer können in den Kommentaren zum Artikel bzw. im Forum Fragen zum Gerät gestellt werden, die ich bis zur Fertigstellung des Testberichts bestmöglich versuche zu beantworten. Mit dem Testbericht ist in der ersten Oktoberwoche zu rechnen.
For all of you who are interested how thoroughly devices are tested you should read Onyx Boox T68 Lynx Android eBook Reader im Test (Google Translate, DE - EN).
You can pick any other 'testberichte' but I suggest to read the Boox T68 review as it addresses all weaknesses (and strengths too) of the device. Things you want to know before you (consider to) buy a device.

This review (and other sources) made me to decide not to buy the T68.
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Old 10-06-2014, 01:06 PM   #30
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Best H2O review I have read is this German review.
http://allesebook.de/e-book-reader/k...tworten-54532/
Thanks for the link. I totally missed this page until now, great reviews for readers and tablets.
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