My Voyage v Kobo H2O experience - Page 2

pghaworth · 11-02-2014, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 93terp

Full disclosure - I have not been happy or impressed with a Kindle release since the Kindle Keyboard.

That's where the issues started for me. It took three tries to get one without gaps and cracking. Each model since, that I've purchased, has had issues and required multiple returns.

That's why I sent the Voyage back. I got one replacement and it was worse. I was done. If I could find a recent Kobo to compare, I'd likely switch, but really hard to say. They took the font size I need away after the KK and don't seem to think they need to put it back. They also haven't made any improvements to the UI since the PW1. I'm starting to feel a bit like they think we're sheep... baaaaa...

guitarizt · 11-02-2014, 07:04 PM

I ordered the aura hd right when it came out, but I had to return it and get a pw1 because the aura hd had stuck pixels. I loved the aura hd otherwise. I don't like the screen on my pw1 compared to aura hd if it didn't have stuck pixels.

I've been reading all reviews and looking at all the pictures/vids of the voyage and H2O, and the H2O looks easier on my eyes even in pictures because of the yellowish background instead of whiteness of the voyage. It might be the weird screen gradient on the voyage that makes my eyes feel strained as well. Sparklemotion's review got me to order an H2O from chapters friday night. Hopefully it's here next week. Stingo's review is also reassuring.

Canuck_in_Japan · 11-02-2014, 07:35 PM

Great review! Very informative.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

stuff

Yeah I remember the original Kindle. It was huge with that ridiculous keyboard and totally low resolution and had no back light. No way am I going to buy a Kindle Voyage with all that baggage.

Ocicat · 11-02-2014, 11:25 PM

Great detailed review, many thanks!
I do prefer the 7" screen of my older Sonys, but I would buy an H20 only if Amazon sold it.

Stingo · 11-03-2014, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krazy4katz

Thanks for the review! It was very instructive. Having just upgraded from a KK to a Voyage, could I ask you to clarify what you mean about side-loaded books not being synchronized when added to folders? I have had the Voyage less than a week and haven't tried side loading any books yet.

KK, kindle synchronizes items bought through them or processed by them on the cloud. If you sideload a document it will appear on your reader and folder but will not be accessible from other kindle devices or apps. It will give you a little nag message to remind you of that.

Stingo · 11-03-2014, 08:43 AM

Thanks for the compliments on my review. Hopefully it will help a few people better to judge their options. I agree that it is ironic that the waterproof feature is not what is attracting people to the Kobo h2o but I guess it is good to have. I also agree that nothing beats Amazon customer service. That is why I plan to keep buying books through Amazon for the most part. If it wasn't for the fact that I could afford to blow 2 hundred on a device at this time I may never have tried the Kobo H2O. Now of course I'm glad that I did.

cybmole · 11-03-2014, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stingo

... It will give you a little nag message to remind you of that.

how "little" ?

where / when does the nag appear please & how easy is it to ignore, or can it be disabled

haydnfan · 11-03-2014, 08:57 AM

I really don't like this habit of conflating the screen with the light. These are two separate attributes and should be reviewed separately.

When I think of the screen, multiple attributes come to mind:

* light
* resolution
* ghosting
* contrast
* touch
* bezel shadow

Rating the screen based on the light alone is especially superficial and unhelpful to me. This is because 99% of the time I don't use the light because I own a reading lamp.

Iefmathias · 11-03-2014, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr_nihilism

Nobody seems to care about it being waterproof, but it's nice to have regardless.

Yesterday I took a bath and I filled up the bath-tube... with my H2O resting on the bottom. That's such a weird, unsettling, yet rather awesome thing to see!

pghaworth · 11-03-2014, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cybmole

how "little" ?

where / when does the nag appear please & how easy is it to ignore, or can it be disabled

It's a notification box that comes up when you add the items to a collection, maybe other times, but that's when I notice it. AFAIK you cannot turn it off. If there is a way then I don't know it. You have two options only - agree or cancel. It's not huge, maybe 2" x 1.5" +/-, but I find it annoying because it interferes with the "adding to collections" process. I am looking at other alternatives. You will see this for any item, book or whatever that you add to your Kindle that is not an Amazon recognized item.

pghaworth · 11-03-2014, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iefmathias

Yesterday I took a bath and I filled up the bath-tube... with my H2O resting on the bottom. That's such a weird, unsettling, yet rather awesome thing to see!

LOL I'm not sure I could do that. It sounds so unsettling - like drowning my child.

Rizla · 11-03-2014, 10:16 AM

I can understand some buyers are wary of buying an H2O via the net. Why aren't Kobos stocked in stores in the USA?

Kobo and Amazon's front-light tech is clearly different, and Kobo does it better. I wonder what the difference is.

Add the increased size of the H2O screen over the Voyage, and I think the H2O is the clear winner. And it's cheaper too!

I do like the flush bezel design. Kobo hasn't used it on the H2O. Maybe they avoided the extra layer of complexity in favor of producing a flawless product. The 6" Aura had it and did have some issues compared to the glo and the Aura 6.8". And now the same with the Voyage.

pghaworth · 11-03-2014, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rizla

I do like the flush bezel design. Kobo hasn't used it on the H2O.

The flush bezel, if touch like the Voyage, presents problems for me. I prefer it like the Paperwhite and H2O. I thought I would like it, but turns out not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rizla

Kobo and Amazon's front-light tech is clearly different, and Kobo does it better. I wonder what the difference is.

Different how? Thanks.

Josieb1 · 11-03-2014, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pghaworth

It's a notification box that comes up when you add the items to a collection, maybe other times, but that's when I notice it. AFAIK you cannot turn it off. If there is a way then I don't know it. You have two options only - agree or cancel. It's not huge, maybe 2" x 1.5" +/-, but I find it annoying because it interferes with the "adding to collections" process. I am looking at other alternatives. You will see this for any item, book or whatever that you add to your Kindle that is not an Amazon recognized item.

If you sideload books, i.e via USB or calibre there is a quick way to add to a collection. I loaded 135 Christmas stories yesterday to my new PW2 (yes i'm sad) and I didn't want to email them all to Amazon so I loaded via Calibre.

I then created the collection and selected Add/Remove.
I sorted the list of books to select from by Recent.
I then selected Add all on this page from the menu button. This loads 10 books in one go (the whole page) with only 1 pop up message saying I am adding books that won't sync with the cloud.
I then swiped to the next page.
On the page with more books that I wanted in the collection I added them all then unticked the ones I didn't want.

This way I had 13 pop up messages instead of 135!

sparklemotion · 11-03-2014, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iefmathias

Yesterday I took a bath and I filled up the bath-tube... with my H2O resting on the bottom. That's such a weird, unsettling, yet rather awesome thing to see!

I'm looking forward to using mine in the bath this winter. Nothing better than a nice bubble bath and a good book!

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11-02-2014, 07:04 PM	#17
guitarizt Connoisseur Posts: 92 Karma: 999 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Reno Device: Sony PRS-T1; PW1; H2O	I ordered the aura hd right when it came out, but I had to return it and get a pw1 because the aura hd had stuck pixels. I loved the aura hd otherwise. I don't like the screen on my pw1 compared to aura hd if it didn't have stuck pixels. I've been reading all reviews and looking at all the pictures/vids of the voyage and H2O, and the H2O looks easier on my eyes even in pictures because of the yellowish background instead of whiteness of the voyage. It might be the weird screen gradient on the voyage that makes my eyes feel strained as well. Sparklemotion's review got me to order an H2O from chapters friday night. Hopefully it's here next week. Stingo's review is also reassuring.

11-02-2014, 11:25 PM	#19
Ocicat Groupie Posts: 167 Karma: 654320 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: USA-France Device: Librie,PRS900,950,K4, KT, PW1&2, KV	Great detailed review, many thanks! I do prefer the 7" screen of my older Sonys, but I would buy an H20 only if Amazon sold it.

11-03-2014, 08:43 AM	#21
Stingo Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 1334691 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Miami Device: KH2O, KPW2, KDXG, KPW1, K3, S505	Thanks for the compliments on my review. Hopefully it will help a few people better to judge their options. I agree that it is ironic that the waterproof feature is not what is attracting people to the Kobo h2o but I guess it is good to have. I also agree that nothing beats Amazon customer service. That is why I plan to keep buying books through Amazon for the most part. If it wasn't for the fact that I could afford to blow 2 hundred on a device at this time I may never have tried the Kobo H2O. Now of course I'm glad that I did.

11-03-2014, 08:57 AM	#23
haydnfan Guru Posts: 650 Karma: 5632364 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle PW 4, Oasis 2	I really don't like this habit of conflating the screen with the light. These are two separate attributes and should be reviewed separately. When I think of the screen, multiple attributes come to mind: * light * resolution * ghosting * contrast * touch * bezel shadow Rating the screen based on the light alone is especially superficial and unhelpful to me. This is because 99% of the time I don't use the light because I own a reading lamp.

11-03-2014, 10:16 AM	#27
Rizla Member Retired Posts: 3,183 Karma: 11721895 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Nook STR (rooted) & Sony T2	I can understand some buyers are wary of buying an H2O via the net. Why aren't Kobos stocked in stores in the USA? Kobo and Amazon's front-light tech is clearly different, and Kobo does it better. I wonder what the difference is. Add the increased size of the H2O screen over the Voyage, and I think the H2O is the clear winner. And it's cheaper too! I do like the flush bezel design. Kobo hasn't used it on the H2O. Maybe they avoided the extra layer of complexity in favor of producing a flawless product. The 6" Aura had it and did have some issues compared to the glo and the Aura 6.8". And now the same with the Voyage.