How many people have issues with their H2O? Is it manageable?

[ElWorm]

When I first started using my Kobo H2O, I had many freezes, at least once or twice per book. I would tap the screen to turn a page and the page would not turn, I would tap it a couple more times, then I would try to go the other direction or bring up the menu and nothing would happen. If I put it to sleep and woke it up it would jump several pages and be working fine.

However, for the last month or so, I've not had any problems at all. I used to think my freezes were due to my reading sideloaded books. Now I think, and I do not know if this is true or not, that there is a learning curve to the art of touching the screen correctly.

The bottom line is I am quite happy with my Kobo. And like others have said, it really depends on how you plan to use your ereader. When it was time to upgrade my old Generation 4 Kindle, I opted for the Kobo H2O over a new Kindle because it was waterproof and I sideload almost all my books.

[HarryT]

I had a significant problem with the touchscreen on my Kobo H2O; so much so, in fact, that I sold it. It was extremely inaccurate compared to other devices I've owned such as Kindle. So inaccurate that it was virtually impossible to select a small hyperlink, such as the link for a footnote. I'd have to attempt to tap it a dozen times (turning the page each time) before finally hitting the exact point required to activate it.

[treadlightly]

I read side-loaded epubs 4-5 hours/day and have never had a freeze with my H2O. I have had it since it was released. The only issue I have ever had is page-turning back instead of forward. That would be solved if Kobo removed "Page Back" from the tap zones.

[Anak]

Originally Posted by pickyaxe

Well, my point is there are few Kobo reviews compared to Kindles.

Probably true, I've not seen that many reviews. And most weren't actually reviews.
They were either biased (towards Kindle on American tech sites) or not based on a hands-on experience (trade shows) or were comparing apples and oranges (the H2O was often found heavy [233 g] compared to Kindle Voyage [180 g] of PaperWhite [(206 g] but without explaining the extra weight of the H2O is screen size related.).

Kobo readers are good hardware products. Kobo is not very good at solving bugs. You should consider your Kobo reader as-is. If lucky, a few bugs might get solved along the way (and hopefully won't repear).
Kobo readers are better than Onyx readers, on both hardware and (I never thought I would write this) firmware.

[arspr]

As one of the people with "freezing" issues I have to say in Kobo defense that it was just a defective unit. Kobo software is pretty stable. I didn't get any troubles in my HD till it died and I don't get any issues in my brand new H2Os...

Quite a different thing is how many stupid "quirks" Kobo software has (like flattened ToC, broken IMG support in latest releases, no page break support, no widows and orphans support,...) But when my HD died I played a little with a Kindle and it also had its own weirdness package...

[tshering]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

, but recovery on the H2O is tricky if something goes wrong.

It seems to be less tricky than we initially thought, cf. this post.

[ottdmk]

I don't have a H2O but I have the Aura HD, its immediate predecessor. Absolutely love the thing. Haven't had any problems except for a firmware bug that has made reading some PDFs on it almost impossible. However, that was never my primary use for the device.

I've read any number of side-loaded books without issues. I've read any number of books purchased from Kobo, again without issue. The majority of my side-loads have been library books furnished by Overdrive, and I've never had a problem.

In addition my dealings with Kobo customer service have all been resolved in a timely fashion to my satisfaction.

If you're leaning towards a H2O, I encourage you to buy one. It's what I'll buy if my HD ever bites the dust.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pickyaxe

I'd prefer if the H2O shaved those bezels and if the screen was flush (the Kobo Aura is a real beauty) but it's not that important in the grand scheme of things and the dustproofing is cool.

A flush bezel and IR touch would be fun to implement. The dust and water proofing is nice. I no longer worry when I run out to the car about a few drops hitting my Kobo.

[mr_nihilism]

I have experienced exactly one freeze-up with my H2O in the time that I've owned it, which is day one when it came out. Side loading with Caliber or purchasing from Kobo using WiFi has been hassle-free.

The screen is awesome. The lighting is awesome. Highlighting is a bit of a chore and the English dictionary kinda sucks, but for me it's no big deal as it isn't frequently used.

[mr_nihilism]

Originally Posted by DNSB

A flush bezel and IR touch would be fun to implement. The dust and water proofing is nice. I no longer worry when I run out to the car about a few drops hitting my Kobo.

In my case it was snow. I opened the door and big fat fluffy snowflakes landed on the screen. Negative perspiration. It can handle it.

[sparklemotion]

No issues here. I'm super happy with mine. I would highly recommend an H20 to anyone.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One thing to remember is that very few of those without issues are going to be posting on-line. They're happily reading.

Hmmm... the only freezes I've seen have been rather rare and mostly when I am highlighting in a sideloaded epub. I've haven't seen over heating issues but then this area is not noted for heat. Lots of rain but not that much heat.

For me, the main item is to make sure that any sideloaded epubs are standards compliant. Use Flightcrew/Sigil and/or epubcheck before sideloading your ebooks. I've had commercial epubs including a fair number of library loans that had issues and when checked into, had oddities such as stuffing the entire ebook into a single file, styles that are not permitted in epubs though they are part of the CSS spec, graphics that have no size control so on a Touch they overflow the screen and on a Aura HD/H2O, they are tucked in the upper left of the screen, etc. The publishers are getting better at being compliant and the majority of commercial epubs are now pretty decent but you still find a lot of the older epubs that have not been re-edited.

Most of the other issues I've seen have been self-inflicted so I can't complain that they are Kobo's fault. Alternate readers, menuing software, etc. are fun to play with but tend to cause issues.

I disagree with using FlightCrew to validate. It misses way too much to be useable. Use epubcheck or Calibre's validator.

I have seen a lot of ePub that have been updated. I've gone back to some of the shops I have eBooks at and downloaded all of them again and a lot were updated. I did this when my Fictionwise eBooks were moved to B&N and again when my Sony eBooks were moved to Kobo.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by DNSB

One thing to remember is that very few of those without issues are going to be posting on-line. They're happily reading.

Most of the other issues I've seen have been self-inflicted so I can't complain that they are Kobo's fault. Alternate readers, menuing software, etc. are fun to play with but tend to cause issues.

That is exactly the opposite of my experience, once installed they are very reliable, with no issues, in terms of their basic ebook reading performance. The only "issues" I have seen raised relate to newly added functions, often in response to user suggestions (some from these MR forums). Because they deliberately remain in "development", any issues (even trivial ones) are quickly addressed by the development teams. In fact for the most part the level of development for these projects has reached the point where almost all the "issues" raised deal with personnal preference rather that a functional problem.

There is no process that is so fail safe that no one can find a way to have problems with it. Even if it takes some a few tries, they can be installed and made to provide just the reading experience wanted.

Luck;
Ken

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by pickyaxe

I'm thinking of buying the H2O, but since it's replacing a device that has many frustrating problems (Onyx T68), I'm a little concerned when I read about people having freezes and what not.

How often do freezes happen? Is the device problematic when used outside (heat causing device hangs)? Any other issues you had to deal with?

Since I'm importing the device getting it fixed with Kobo is a big headache.

I have over 5012 books and counting and there are no issues with my H20/ Works perfectly and flawlessly.

regards

Jack

[pugs466]

Originally Posted by pickyaxe

I'm thinking of buying the H2O, but since it's replacing a device that has many frustrating problems (Onyx T68), I'm a little concerned when I read about people having freezes and what not.

How often do freezes happen? Is the device problematic when used outside (heat causing device hangs)? Any other issues you had to deal with?

Since I'm importing the device getting it fixed with Kobo is a big headache.

Go ahead and order one, its an awesome device. I had mine for four month and have no problems with it. Solid device.