Kindle Voyage vs Kobo Aura H2O

[cct1]

Based on what exactly?

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by cct1

Based on what exactly?

please don't feed them.

[uppon2]

Hello everybody. This is my first post; actually this is my first time even visiting this forum. I currently have an ereader that you are all obviously jealous about , the iriver Story (original, not WiFi and not HD) See here for the specifics. Now all the jokes are behind us, I am looking at either the Kindle Voyage or the Kobo Aura H20 as a replacement.

Please excuse my ignorance but can somebody like-minded please confirm my
assumption: (hypothetically speaking) Kindle is like Apple and Kobo is like Android or at least Microsoft? - I am an Android user and can not stand the limitations of iOS. After a little bit of research, it seems that Kindle falls on the other side of my liking in some respects.

After viewing many, somewhat bias articles and YouTube videos , I can see valid reasons as to buy either of these devices, though I only want to purchase one.

When I purchased my iRiver Story (back before the brand name was changed from iRiver-to-iriver, there were very few choices which supported multiple formats, SD card expansion and simple drop and drag commands to the root of device. Thankfully due to the Linux base, the Story was the best choice for me at that time (2009).

There are many things I love and loathe about the Story. I will list some of the particulars, in order of least/most annoying:

+ Wide file support and simple file transferring (regardless of format)
+ Open source software (kind of)
+ Speaker/3.5mm support for music and audio books.
+ Dedicated hardware page buttons (though, I haven't used touchscreen page turn)

- Slow. I mean REAL SLOW!
- Complex navigation
- Lack of WiFi and what comes with it
- Lack of touchscreen
- Build quality and design
- Disgusting GUI and rudimentary options and menus
- PDF files were sometimes impossible to navigate


Now, I understand that both of the devices I am looking at, fail to cover everything I liked about the Story, especially the speaker, but both are obviously superior. I guess my main questions are as follows:

1. Will I get annoyed by Kindle (even after jailbreak)
2. Is the H20 touch screen good enough for page turns or is it limited
3. Which has better "homebrew/development" support
4. Are there any disadvantages with the extra screen real estate on the H20 for reading purposes, ignoring device dimensions as that does not bother me.
5. Judging by my write up, do you have a device you would recommend

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by uppon2

Now, I understand that both of the devices I am looking at, fail to cover everything I liked about the Story, especially the speaker, but both are obviously superior. I guess my main questions are as follows:

1. Will I get annoyed by Kindle (even after jailbreak)
2. Is the H20 touch screen good enough for page turns or is it limited
3. Which has better "homebrew/development" support
4. Are there any disadvantages with the extra screen real estate on the H20 for reading purposes, ignoring device dimensions as that does not bother me.
5. Judging by my write up, do you have a device you would recommend

1. You might not be able to jailbreak. Amazon is plugging the holes. Depends what firmware version comes installed as to if you can jailbreak or not. You might get annoyed by a Kindle if you don't jailbreak. Few options, very fixed layout (can't decrease the margins or line height). The H2O has patches to customize it's settings and it's very easy to do and works well.

2. Yes, the touch on the Kobo is IR and works well.

3. Depends on the firmware for the Kindle. For the H20, take a look in the Kobo Developers Forum and see if what you want in terms of homebrew exists.

4. There are no disadvantages to the extra screen space. You might be able to read with a smaller font. But even with the same size font as you'd use on a Voyage, you get more text on screen. And with reasonable settings, the more text is noticeable

5. I would go with the H2O unless you have some real reason to go with a Voyage. From what I've been reading on MR, the H2O's light is more consistent then that of the Voyage.

[uppon2]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

1. You might not be able to jailbreak. Amazon is plugging the holes. Depends what firmware version comes installed as to if you can jailbreak or not. You might get annoyed by a Kindle if you don't jailbreak. Few options, very fixed layout (can't decrease the margins or line height). The H2O has patches to customize it's settings and it's very easy to do and works well.

2. Yes, the touch on the Kobo is IR and works well.

3. Depends on the firmware for the Kindle. For the H20, take a look in the Kobo Developers Forum and see if what you want in terms of homebrew exists.

4. There are no disadvantages to the extra screen space. You might be able to read with a smaller font. But even with the same size font as you'd use on a Voyage, you get more text on screen. And with reasonable settings, the more text is noticeable

5. I would go with the H2O unless you have some real reason to go with a Voyage. From what I've been reading on MR, the H2O's light is more consistent then that of the Voyage.

Hello JSWolf. Thank you for your response. I have been leaning towards the H20 but have read some people having issues with light bleeding and pixel issues from the manufacturer; on the Aura/HD and this model. I am mainly concerned as this device is not available in Australia until Feb 2015, but I want to purchase it earlier. I would hate to have to send something overseas for something like that. I understand that buying overseas is harder for warranty, and I am prepared to take that chance for serious issues, but something that is touch and go from the manufacturer would really annoy me!

The Kindle Paperwhite 2 and the Kobo Aura HD are the only high end models in my country, though, I am uncertain if I would be happy enough with one of those.

[JSWolf]

I have the H2O and no uneven lighting or pinholes. Battery life is good too.

[uppon2]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have the H2O and no uneven lighting or pinholes. Battery life is good too.

I guess I will have to take a gamble. Chapters is telling me it will only ship via ground mail to Australia, and will arrive by February 4th (one day before it is released here). That is a very long time for shipping. I have relatives in the US so I am wondering if I should get it sent there (still only by surface) but then get it express shipped here. I wonder if the Chapters shipping ETA is grossly exaggerated!

[meeera]

I'm waiting till it hits Australia so I can do the bricks 'n' mortar thing, and check the device in-store as well as having local warranty return.

Check out the Kobo Developers' Forum for the sorts of things people are doing with the open firmware. PDF reading isn't great on the factory firmware, but there are alternative readers such as Koreader that require no jailbreak. You can also customise font/page display to your hearts' content, unlike the Kindle, and you can set up and manage your collections with Calibre.

Kobo's IR touch works just fine for page turns and menu navigation, if you keep your bezel crannies clean; can be a touch tricksy if you are doing lots of annotations and footnotes. (There is a possible fix for the small footnote target, that involves editing your book.)

No apparent disadvantages to larger screen except heavier/larger device.

[aceflor]

I have both and I like both, but they are not equal in every point. JS Wolf has not owned the Voyage, he has no experience with it, he may not even have had one in his hands, he hates Kindles so although some of his points are correct, his view is biased.

1. Will I get annoyed by Kindle (even after jailbreak)
What JSWolf said is true, it might be very difficult to jailbreak the Voyage, and it might be impossible to do so without tampering with the hardware.
2. Is the H20 touch screen good enough for page turns or is it limited
Compared to the Voyage it is subpar on this particular point. Basically, the touch function is very less accurate on the H2O than on the Voyage, which is not a great problem if you only want to turn pages (the H2O does that really well) but which is a super pain if you want to highlight or take notes. I will come back to the whole taking notes and extras point at the end of this post.
3. Which has better "homebrew/development" support.
Both have great development support here, it is just that the Voyage is tricky because Amazon closed the usual doors. The dedicated dev team here is working on it, it might take some time if they succeed at all.
4. Are there any disadvantages with the extra screen real estate on the H20 for reading purposes, ignoring device dimensions as that does not bother me.
No, if you patch the H2O then you really get more real estate. The H2O is huge compared to the Voyage, but still very handable.
5. Judging by my write up, do you have a device you would recommend
Yep, an important point I think. The Voyage handles PDFs much better than the H2O imho. I would not recommend either if all you read are PDFs, but if you have to handle some once in a while, the Voyage does it better.

The Voyage has buttons to turn pages, but you can also just touch the screen to turn pages. The light is adaptive and in my experience, both the buttons and the adaptive light work well. I have not had to adapt manually the light since a week after getting the Voyage (I got it on launch day), it has a learning curve but once you are there, it works flawlessly.

Also, dictionnaries are excellent on the Voyage, amazon uses well known dictionnaries (Oxford for English, Duden for German, Real Academia for Spanish for ex). There is a vocabulary builder as well as a new function called Word Wise which can be enabled or disabled and shows you definitions integrated in the page you are reading. The footnotes in a book pop up, which I think is brilliant, highlighting is very easy (difficult on the H2O) whichever fontsize you choose, and you can take notes quickly and export them very easily.

Last but not least, the crispiness of the fonts is better on the Voyage because of the higher resolution, and even if the difference does not strike everyone, it does strike me.

But... Some have received Voyages that have colour patches, obviously ruining the reading experience.

Me, I like both and use both. When I am reading at home for "fun", I use the H2O. When I am reading for my classes, and when I am away from home, I use the Voyage.

If you do not need the extras of the Voyage, just want to read and want more real estate, go for the H2O. If you need dictionnaries and notes, go for the Voyage.

But foremost, if you can, go in a shop and try to see them. I have had dozens of different e-readers, and although this forum is extremely helpful in helping us sharing our experiences, in some cases, as here particulary with the ongoing "battle" Voyage vs H2O, as both devices are excellent, it comes to tastes and needs.

PS: I actually like JSWolf. 99% of what he says is correct. I just think he is biased when it comes to Kindle.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by aceflor

2. Is the H20 touch screen good enough for page turns or is it limited
Compared to the Voyage it is subpar on this particular point. Basically, the touch function is very less accurate on the H2O than on the Voyage, which is not a great problem if you only want to turn pages (the H2O does that really well) but which is a super pain if you want to highlight or take notes.

I agree. I too had both an H2O and a Voyage, but ended up selling the H2O because I was so frustrated by the inaccurate touchscreen. As you say, it's fine for turning pages, but an exercise in frustration if you need to do anything that requires precision, such as selecting text, or activating a small hyperlink.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I agree. I too had both an H2O and a Voyage, but ended up selling the H2O because I was so frustrated by the inaccurate touchscreen. As you say, it's fine for turning pages, but an exercise in frustration if you need to do anything that requires precision, such as selecting text, or activating a small hyperlink.

What I find funny when reading about the inaccurate H20 touchscreen is that for searches of say a sentence (which I need to do if I'm reading the same book on both the H20 and the Voyage) I find the H20 so much more accurate.

Personally I hate the keyboard on the Voyage. On the H20 I rarely type a word wrong, but on the Voyage it's literally every word. Maybe my fingers are better suited to the H20 keyboard as I think it's a bit bigger.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

What I find funny when reading about the inaccurate H20 touchscreen is that for searches of say a sentence (which I need to do if I'm reading the same book on both the H20 and the Voyage) I find the H20 so much more accurate.

Personally I hate the keyboard on the Voyage. On the H20 I rarely type a word wrong, but on the Voyage it's literally every word. Maybe my fingers are better suited to the H20 keyboard as I think it's a bit bigger.

Typing is absolutely fine on the H2O - the touchscreen is accurate at the level of the size of a key on the virtual keyboard. It was things that needed finer accuracy, such as activating the hyperlink for a footnote, that I found difficult.

Perhaps not all H2Os have this issue, but mine certainly did.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Typing is absolutely fine on the H2O - the touchscreen is accurate at the level of the size of a key on the virtual keyboard. It was things that needed finer accuracy, such as activating the hyperlink for a footnote, that I found difficult.

Perhaps not all H2Os have this issue, but mine certainly did.

The books I read don't have hyper links so I doubt I'd ever see your problem. Highlights are fine I don't mind going down a bit more than I need.


It's the Voyage keyboard I really hate.

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

What I find funny when reading about the inaccurate H20 touchscreen is that for searches of say a sentence (which I need to do if I'm reading the same book on both the H20 and the Voyage) I find the H20 so much more accurate.

Personally I hate the keyboard on the Voyage. On the H20 I rarely type a word wrong, but on the Voyage it's literally every word. Maybe my fingers are better suited to the H20 keyboard as I think it's a bit bigger.

We are not talking about the keyboard or the search function Josie, we are talking about for instance highlighting a word or a sentence. Try doing this 3 or 4 times for each page you read with the H2O, in one book, and then I'd be curious to hear what you think.

Harry and I need e-readers for our classes, I know he does a lot of highlighting but I don't know if he comments them, I need to comment mine A LOT, and export those comments, and all my classbooks have tons of footnotes too. In this perspective, the Voyage beats the H2O hands down. I could never recommend the H2O if you are going to need it for classes.

I have no problems at all with the Voyage Keyboard, but I have small fingers.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by aceflor

We are not talking about the keyboard or the search function Josie, we are talking about for instance highlighting a word or a sentence. Try doing this 3 or 4 times for each page you read with the H2O, in one book, and then I'd be curious to hear what you think.

Harry and I need e-readers for our classes, I know he does a lot of highlighting but I don't know if he comments them, I need to comment mine A LOT, and export those comments, and all my classbooks have tons of footnotes too. In this perspective, the Voyage beats the H2O hands down. I could never recommend the H2O if you are going to need it for classes.

I have no problems at all with the Voyage Keyboard, but I have small fingers.

Yes, that's it exactly. I have quite large fingers, and footnote selection and text highlighting just work 100% reliably for me on the Voyage. They didn't on the H2O, which is a real shame, because other than that I really liked it.