Kobo Aura H2O - First Impressions - Page 28

cct1 · 11-23-2014, 07:15 PM

It is a little slower than the Voyage but not enough to make it an issue at all, at least for me. The more I use the H20 the more I like it--I haven't touched the Voyage in a week. Probably should have returned it, but it's so small in a sleeve it's good for out and about. But the size of the H20 screen is IMHO perfect, and the screen color/evenness it an order of magnitude better than the Voyage to my worn eyes.

So glad I bit the bullet and bought it after being underwhelmed by the Voyage.

Lemons · 11-24-2014, 10:22 PM

Just got my H20 in but awaiting for the case still, my first impression was not the best with software. I managed to get a few book's onto the device through Calibre, but it kept giving the 'Failure to communicate with the device' error even after did a System restore.

Once I managed to get a book loaded, the screen was quite perfect, only a few pinholes I could notice, The font and screen was better than I expected it to be, but when I tried to adjust the font, it froze up on me a few time's before I got it working right, then froze up again as I switched pages although after reading for a hour after those it did not happen again, until I tried to put it to sleep. The screen is perfect however so I'm not sure if those can be fixed via software, much better than the Aura that had a few issues. I was also afraid it would be to large to carry around but it is the perfect size, it is slower than Kindle's but the screen size makes up for that in highlighting

ElWorm · 11-25-2014, 08:50 AM

I have had my H2O a couple of weeks, now. The first few days I was reading epubs side-loaded to the Kobo with Calibre. I had no complaints with the quality of the display but I was very disappointed with the slowness of the page turning. Luckily, I read another thread here talking about using Calibre to convert files to the kepub format, and I installed the kepub addon to Calibre and that took care of the slow page turning. The kepub conversion also added the header and footer, which I like.
Now my only complaint is that, occaisonally, when I touch the screen to turn the page, nothing will happen. When I touch it again, it advances two pages and I have to go back one page. I do not know if this is a problem with the formatting of my Calibre converted books or a problem with the Kobo software.
I also have the Kobo Sleep Cover. I went ahead and ordered this because I could not find any other options. Now I know of a few other covers, thanks to another thread here. At first I was unimpressed with this cover. It is beginning to grow on me the more I use it, though. I like the wake/sleep action and I like the look, feel, and fit of the cover. It does not provide any cushioning to protect from accidental drops, though, and it is incredibly over priced for what it is. I found it rather odd that there was a warning on the packaging that the cover is not waterproof.

Stingo · 11-25-2014, 10:17 AM

It seems that quite a few people tried Kobo for the first time with the H2O. Amazon helped the new sale of Kobo readers by failing to provide a product that addressed the desire of at least some consumers. I'd love to see stats on this.
I tried the Voyage and, while I thought it was a very nice device, it simply did not address my wants the way the H2O did. I love the H2O screen and find it more pleasing to the eye than the Voyage screen. I also love and use the pocket integration every day. And having a huge library of books available on the SD Card is like walking with a library at your disposal. I opted for kepubs early on so I've never had a slow page turning issue although the Voyage is certainly snappier. However, altogether I am pleased to have made the switch and I'm reading more than ever.

filmo · 11-25-2014, 10:17 AM

Double page turns is old Kobo touch reader bug that should been killed long ago. I never experienced this bug maybe because it is somehow related to renaming epubs to kepubs.

mconh · 11-25-2014, 11:06 AM

"Now my only complaint is that, occaisonally, when I touch the screen to turn the page, nothing will happen. When I touch it again, it advances two pages and I have to go back one page. I do not know if this is a problem with the formatting of my Calibre converted books or a problem with the Kobo software"

I have found that the only way to eliminate the double page turns is to only Swipe instead of Tap for the page turns. You still get the odd "dead swipe" but not the double page turn on the second swipe. This applies to my Touch, Glo, AuraHD and AuraH20, which all have the problem.

cct1 · 11-26-2014, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stingo

It seems that quite a few people tried Kobo for the first time with the H2O. Amazon helped the new sale of Kobo readers by failing to provide a product that addressed the desire of at least some consumers. I'd love to see stats on this.
.

This fits me perfectly. I bought the Voyage first, with the intent of it becoming my go to reader, and was disappointed out of the box. Bought the H20 and it fits what I wanted much better than the Voyage.

Halk · 11-26-2014, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cct1

It is a little slower than the Voyage but not enough to make it an issue at all, at least for me. The more I use the H20 the more I like it--I haven't touched the Voyage in a week. Probably should have returned it, but it's so small in a sleeve it's good for out and about. But the size of the H20 screen is IMHO perfect, and the screen color/evenness it an order of magnitude better than the Voyage to my worn eyes.

So glad I bit the bullet and bought it after being underwhelmed by the Voyage.

I was a little underwhelmed by the speed, but since I changed the book I'm reading into kepub it does go much faster.

cct1 · 11-26-2014, 11:02 AM

I've only used Kindle books converted to Kepub. I only tried Epub once and it formatted weird so I've stuck with Kepub, which I've never had an issue with. If Epub is slower, it's just one more reason to stick with Kepub.

ElWorm · 11-26-2014, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mconh

I have found that the only way to eliminate the double page turns is to only Swipe instead of Tap for the page turns. You still get the odd "dead swipe" but not the double page turn on the second swipe. This applies to my Touch, Glo, AuraHD and AuraH20, which all have the problem.

I've been trying this method out, seems to be working pretty well. At first I was using long swipes but started experimenting with shorter swipes, just swiping a couple of centimeters or half an inch, still working. Only only one failed page turn but then the next swipe advanced it just a single page. Thanks very much for the tip.

cct1 · 11-26-2014, 12:32 PM

Funny thing is the Voyage haptic buttons would work great on the H20 with it's wider bezel. It doesn't work well on the Voyage (for me) with by ham hands.

ElWorm · 11-26-2014, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cct1

Funny thing is the Voyage haptic buttons would work great on the H20 with it's wider bezel. It doesn't work well on the Voyage (for me) with by ham hands.

I was a little leary of getting the H2O because of this. Up until now, all my ereaders have had buttons, this is my first touch screen. Well, that's not entirely true, the Rocket Ereader had a stylus ready touch screen, but it used buttons for page turns. I really do prefer the buttons for page turning, but the touch screen is nice for using the menu, dictionary and high-lighting.
In the end, being waterproof and more side-loading friendly made me decide upon the H2O.

cct1 · 11-26-2014, 02:15 PM

I agree with that. The H20's screen size/color is what does it for me, and trumps everything else.

My perfect ereader? The Kobo H20 Screen size, side buttons, Amazon's ecosystem (calibre is great but direct downloads would be even better), Kobo's font weighting and left side lighting swipe, Voyage's speed, dictionary and vocabularly builder, Voyage's lightness. But at the end of the day, the Kobo screen looks so much better to my eye that I can't put it down. Even though there are things I like on the Voyage better than the Kobo, the Kobo is so good I wouldn't be in an hurry to replace it even if the perfect ereader was available.

judith009 · 11-26-2014, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cct1

I agree with that. The H20's screen size/color is what does it for me, and trumps everything else.

My perfect ereader? The Kobo H20 Screen size, side buttons, Amazon's ecosystem (calibre is great but direct downloads would be even better), Kobo's font weighting and left side lighting swipe, Voyage's speed, dictionary and vocabularly builder, Voyage's lightness. But at the end of the day, the Kobo screen looks so much better to my eye that I can't put it down. Even though there are things I like on the Voyage better than the Kobo, the Kobo is so good I wouldn't be in an hurry to replace it even if the perfect ereader was available.

I completely agree with everything you said.

I also miss "Send to Email" on the Kindle, as well as the ability to sync reading progress on sideloaded books. But the H2O makes up for everything with the beautiful screen.

ElWorm · 11-29-2014, 10:18 AM

Okay, maybe I was the only one having trouble reseating the waterproof port cover, but if not, here is an easy way to do it:

With the Kobo facing screen side up and the port cover side facing you, push the right hand edge of the port cover in first, then slide your thumb or finger to the left. This method is really easy on my unit. Before I discovered this, I was trying to bow it in the middle and inserting both edges at once or starting on the left side where the cover is attached to the reader.
Either way is not extremely difficult, but I just find the right to left method so much quicker and easier.

11-25-2014, 08:50 AM	#408
ElWorm Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 45000 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo H2O, Paperwhite 3, Oasis 2, Pocketbook HD, Glowlight Plus	I have had my H2O a couple of weeks, now. The first few days I was reading epubs side-loaded to the Kobo with Calibre. I had no complaints with the quality of the display but I was very disappointed with the slowness of the page turning. Luckily, I read another thread here talking about using Calibre to convert files to the kepub format, and I installed the kepub addon to Calibre and that took care of the slow page turning. The kepub conversion also added the header and footer, which I like. Now my only complaint is that, occaisonally, when I touch the screen to turn the page, nothing will happen. When I touch it again, it advances two pages and I have to go back one page. I do not know if this is a problem with the formatting of my Calibre converted books or a problem with the Kobo software. I also have the Kobo Sleep Cover. I went ahead and ordered this because I could not find any other options. Now I know of a few other covers, thanks to another thread here. At first I was unimpressed with this cover. It is beginning to grow on me the more I use it, though. I like the wake/sleep action and I like the look, feel, and fit of the cover. It does not provide any cushioning to protect from accidental drops, though, and it is incredibly over priced for what it is. I found it rather odd that there was a warning on the packaging that the cover is not waterproof. Last edited by ElWorm; 11-25-2014 at 08:57 AM.

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11-23-2014, 07:15 PM	#406
cct1 Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 81904 Join Date: Sep 2014 Device: multiple	It is a little slower than the Voyage but not enough to make it an issue at all, at least for me. The more I use the H20 the more I like it--I haven't touched the Voyage in a week. Probably should have returned it, but it's so small in a sleeve it's good for out and about. But the size of the H20 screen is IMHO perfect, and the screen color/evenness it an order of magnitude better than the Voyage to my worn eyes. So glad I bit the bullet and bought it after being underwhelmed by the Voyage.

11-24-2014, 10:22 PM	#407
Lemons Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2014 Device: None	Just got my H20 in but awaiting for the case still, my first impression was not the best with software. I managed to get a few book's onto the device through Calibre, but it kept giving the 'Failure to communicate with the device' error even after did a System restore. Once I managed to get a book loaded, the screen was quite perfect, only a few pinholes I could notice, The font and screen was better than I expected it to be, but when I tried to adjust the font, it froze up on me a few time's before I got it working right, then froze up again as I switched pages although after reading for a hour after those it did not happen again, until I tried to put it to sleep. The screen is perfect however so I'm not sure if those can be fixed via software, much better than the Aura that had a few issues. I was also afraid it would be to large to carry around but it is the perfect size, it is slower than Kindle's but the screen size makes up for that in highlighting

11-25-2014, 10:17 AM	#409
Stingo Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 1334691 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Miami Device: KH2O, KPW2, KDXG, KPW1, K3, S505	It seems that quite a few people tried Kobo for the first time with the H2O. Amazon helped the new sale of Kobo readers by failing to provide a product that addressed the desire of at least some consumers. I'd love to see stats on this. I tried the Voyage and, while I thought it was a very nice device, it simply did not address my wants the way the H2O did. I love the H2O screen and find it more pleasing to the eye than the Voyage screen. I also love and use the pocket integration every day. And having a huge library of books available on the SD Card is like walking with a library at your disposal. I opted for kepubs early on so I've never had a slow page turning issue although the Voyage is certainly snappier. However, altogether I am pleased to have made the switch and I'm reading more than ever.

11-25-2014, 10:17 AM	#410
filmo Wizard Posts: 1,326 Karma: 1077205 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kobo Touch, Sony T1, Kobo Mini	Double page turns is old Kobo touch reader bug that should been killed long ago. I never experienced this bug maybe because it is somehow related to renaming epubs to kepubs.

11-25-2014, 11:06 AM	#411
mconh Connoisseur Posts: 68 Karma: 112688 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Cambridge Ontario Device: Kobo Touch, Glo, AuraHD, AuraH20	"Now my only complaint is that, occaisonally, when I touch the screen to turn the page, nothing will happen. When I touch it again, it advances two pages and I have to go back one page. I do not know if this is a problem with the formatting of my Calibre converted books or a problem with the Kobo software" I have found that the only way to eliminate the double page turns is to only Swipe instead of Tap for the page turns. You still get the odd "dead swipe" but not the double page turn on the second swipe. This applies to my Touch, Glo, AuraHD and AuraH20, which all have the problem.

11-26-2014, 11:02 AM	#414
cct1 Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 81904 Join Date: Sep 2014 Device: multiple	I've only used Kindle books converted to Kepub. I only tried Epub once and it formatted weird so I've stuck with Kepub, which I've never had an issue with. If Epub is slower, it's just one more reason to stick with Kepub.

11-26-2014, 12:32 PM	#416
cct1 Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 81904 Join Date: Sep 2014 Device: multiple	Funny thing is the Voyage haptic buttons would work great on the H20 with it's wider bezel. It doesn't work well on the Voyage (for me) with by ham hands.

11-26-2014, 02:15 PM	#418
cct1 Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 81904 Join Date: Sep 2014 Device: multiple	I agree with that. The H20's screen size/color is what does it for me, and trumps everything else. My perfect ereader? The Kobo H20 Screen size, side buttons, Amazon's ecosystem (calibre is great but direct downloads would be even better), Kobo's font weighting and left side lighting swipe, Voyage's speed, dictionary and vocabularly builder, Voyage's lightness. But at the end of the day, the Kobo screen looks so much better to my eye that I can't put it down. Even though there are things I like on the Voyage better than the Kobo, the Kobo is so good I wouldn't be in an hurry to replace it even if the perfect ereader was available.

11-29-2014, 10:18 AM	#420
ElWorm Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 45000 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kobo H2O, Paperwhite 3, Oasis 2, Pocketbook HD, Glowlight Plus	Okay, maybe I was the only one having trouble reseating the waterproof port cover, but if not, here is an easy way to do it: With the Kobo facing screen side up and the port cover side facing you, push the right hand edge of the port cover in first, then slide your thumb or finger to the left. This method is really easy on my unit. Before I discovered this, I was trying to bow it in the middle and inserting both edges at once or starting on the left side where the cover is attached to the reader. Either way is not extremely difficult, but I just find the right to left method so much quicker and easier.

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