Kobo Aura H2O - First Impressions

[soulfuldog]

Hurrah Josieb1! Time to ditch that Aura now, I'm betting the H2O totally blows it out of the water (overall size aside!)

It feels a little celebratory like over on the Kindle forum a year or two back when the original Paperwhite was released and people were trying 5 or 6 times to get a 'good' version of it. What a relief!

It'll be interesting to see how the H2O compares to the Voyage when you get it. Right now the H20 has the edge on the PW, but while I remain to be convinced that the capacitive screen on the Kindle's can match or beat the H2O, they've done a fine job with the PW2, so who knows just how well the Voyage will match up?

[Haesslich]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

It'll be interesting to see how the H2O compares to the Voyage when you get it. Right now the H20 has the edge on the PW, but while I remain to be convinced that the capacitive screen on the Kindle's can match or beat the H2O, they've done a fine job with the PW2, so who knows just how well the Voyage will match up?

Hopefully better than the PW1 release. The screen issue threads were everywhere. I'm expecting issues will relate mostly to the bezel page turns and the ambient light sensors - everything else on the Voyage is proven technology, including the high PPI screen.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Haesslich

- everything else on the Voyage is proven technology, including the high PPI screen.

Pfft

It's got the same "edge to edge" or flat screen or whatever you call it, as the Kobo Aura, and I think, on the Aura, it impacts the contrast. It has the worst screen of all my Kobos. I can hear the Voyage owners screaming now. Unless the 300 PPI will make up for that extra layer.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by doxallday

My H2O is sublime so far; I'd bought even some protective display cover, however all I got was fury-inducing gloss which I scraped off pronto.

I have never seen the need for a screen protector on any eInk Reader. On a Reader with a frontlight, you are just putting something in the way that actually doesn't help.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Pfft

It's got the same "edge to edge" or flat screen or whatever you call it, as the Kobo Aura, and I think, on the Aura, it impacts the contrast. It has the worst screen of all my Kobos. I can hear the Voyage owners screaming now. Unless the 300 PPI will make up for that extra layer.

That would explain why the H2O is using IR touch instead of capacitance touch. That extra layer could make a noticeable difference.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That would explain why the H2O is using IR touch instead of capacitance touch. That extra layer could make a noticeable difference.

Maybe that will be a decisive factor. People will start getting them Tuesday, I think, so can't wait to hear what they say.

No matter how good the screen, the Kindle can't beat the Kobo in the things I like best about ereaders.

[desert dog]

My new H2O was just delivered minutes ago.. And I am kicking myself... for waiting so long to order this gorgeous Ereader!

The H2O is noticably brighter and sharper than the Aura HD. Set up was a breeze via wifi and all my books and info synched up quickly. Another thing I didn't like about the Aura was the back of the unit, it had a slick, plastic feel. The h2o has a more organic texture and the beveling is beautiful!

After Josie' s challenges to find an h2o that would work for her, I almost canceled my order, but wow am I glad I did not. I can't stop staring at the impressive screen, it is so clear.

This h2o is the best ereader I've seen, can't wait to compare it to the Voyage next week!

The Aura is going up for sale, the h2o is in...

[Haesslich]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Pfft

It's got the same "edge to edge" or flat screen or whatever you call it, as the Kobo Aura, and I think, on the Aura, it impacts the contrast. It has the worst screen of all my Kobos. I can hear the Voyage owners screaming now. Unless the 300 PPI will make up for that extra layer.

The PW pulled off capacitive screen tech better than the Aura did. I'm less worried about that than the bezel and ambient light sensors. Those will probably be the technologies that will cause more firmware and hardware revisions. I'm not convinced that Amazon has perfected those in their first gen product.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That would explain why the H2O is using IR touch instead of capacitance touch. That extra layer could make a noticeable difference.

I'd say it's more because capacitive screens don't work well with water on them, or underwater - the IR fares much better in such situations (as drops of water won't automatically trigger the screen).

[meeera]

Neither of those things are dead pixels. They are lightguide defects/damage and grunge stuck on the screen. There is no such thing as a bright "stuck pixel" or "dead pixel" on e-ink. It's an LCD phenomenon.

Originally Posted by arspr

Why not?

I mean, why can't the e-ink microspheres get "stuck", "broken", "fixed" or whatever? What makes them unbreakable?

I'm pretty sure this falls under "asked and answered" - but again - yes, you can have fixed dark spots on an e-ink screen. These are burst microcapsules, not stuck pixels. Bright shining spots are never burst capsules or "stuck pixels" (again, stuck pixels are an LCD phenomenon, not eink) - bright spots on frontlit eink screens are light guide/light layer issues, either manufacturing defects or physical damage.

Never did I say e-ink screens are always perfect. I said that they don't have bright stuck pixels. Words mean stuff. Going to manufacturers insisting that your eink device has a stuck pixel isn't necessarily going to be the road to success.

[Josieb1]

Originally Posted by desert dog

My new H2O was just delivered minutes ago.. And I am kicking myself... for waiting so long to order this gorgeous Ereader!

The H2O is noticably brighter and sharper than the Aura HD. Set up was a breeze via wifi and all my books and info synched up quickly. Another thing I didn't like about the Aura was the back of the unit, it had a slick, plastic feel. The h2o has a more organic texture and the beveling is beautiful!

After Josie' s challenges to find an h2o that would work for her, I almost canceled my order, but wow am I glad I did not. I can't stop staring at the impressive screen, it is so clear.

This h2o is the best ereader I've seen, can't wait to compare it to the Voyage next week!

The Aura is going up for sale, the h2o is in...

I'm so glad you got a good one

I'm tempted to sell my Aura too but on the other hand I have a soft spot for it (and four cases! ) so I'm thinking of putting all my fan fic on it so it's there if I want to read any. I've ready happily on it for a year so as much as the H20 is better I'd still read on it going forward.

[desert dog]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I'm so glad you got a good one

I'm tempted to sell my Aura too but on the other hand I have a soft spot for it (and four cases! ) so I'm thinking of putting all my fan fic on it so it's there if I want to read any. I've ready happily on it for a year so as much as the H20 is better I'd still read on it going forward.

Yes, I am very pleased. I still have 2 kobo minis and a K Glo so even if I do sell the Aura I am still deeply invested in Kobo. Since the Glo and the Minis are very portable, I read on them a lot..

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by meeera

I said that they don't have bright stuck pixels.

Bright with light no, I agree, at least as long as the lighting comes from the edges and not some kind of pixel device.

Bright as in "stuck in the white state", they do. I've seen it.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by desert dog

My new H2O was just delivered minutes ago.. And I am kicking myself... for waiting so long to order this gorgeous Ereader!

The H2O is noticably brighter and sharper than the Aura HD.

The Aura is going up for sale, the h2o is in...

You need to be clear every time you post that you are talking about the aura HD, not the Aura. They are two very different readers. Or do you have both?

[desert dog]

Originally Posted by booklover6

You need to be clear every time you post that you are talking about the aura HD, not the Aura. They are two very different readers. Or do you have both?

I have both and was able to do a side by side comparison of the hd and the h2o...

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by desert dog

I have both and was able to do a side by side comparison of the hd and the h2o...

Yes but in a couple of your messages, you specified AURA. Do you have an Aura?