Kobo Aura H2O / Kindle Voyage

mgmueller · 11-08-2014, 10:11 PM

There have been lots of discussions, many members seem to consider the screen of H2O being "warmer".
I'd the interested, to see that in a poll.

My personal answers:
I clearly prefer Voyage, but it could be a bit bigger.
H2O is too bulky for me.
I don't mind the yellowish hue on H2O much, but I slightly prefer the "colder" white of Voyage.
I by far prefer the Amazon ecosystem.
I might make use of H2O being waterproof from time to time (bathtub = steam, beach), but it's probably not that much of a deal.
I love the 3G on Voyage. I didn't put this as an option in the poll, though. Most don't seem to care much and even I wouldn't eliminate any reader from my list for not having 3G. Still I find this a great marketing tool of Amazon.
I don't care much about SD expansion. I'd buy an 8GB (internal memory) model in an instant. Or I'd consider SD expansion, if there would be some kind of file management on the reader.
Kobo's solution of filling internal memory and then placing the rest on the SD card is a bit scarce in my opinion. I'd like to decide myself, what goes where.
The page turn buttons on Voyage work fine, but so far I don't make much use of it. And quite frankly, I'm not quite sure about them. I mainly read in the dark in bed. Do I even find the page turn buttons then without fumbling around?
I'm using nook Glowlight as well, but in my personal book nooks probably won't play any role anymore. I'm not a fan of Samsung, so the nook tablets probably won't be an option (didn't like nook HD and HD+ much either). Build quality, with the exception of the great nook classic, never was the best and I hate their webstore. Why can I buy from Amazon and Kobo without problems, but from B&N only via VPN? There still are some hardware manufactures, Pocketbook for example, without a bookstore. But personally I don't care much about those, I want to have the ecosystem as well. So Kobo and Amazon in the moment seem to be the only viable contestants...

meeera · 11-08-2014, 10:39 PM

I've answered the poll, but to me these are, on the whole, relatively side concerns - it's the Kobo firmware that attracts me the most.

pidgeon92 · 11-08-2014, 10:49 PM

I have an Aura HD, and don't particularly care for the firmware.

It's all a matter of preference.

mgmueller · 11-08-2014, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

I've answered the poll, but to me these are, on the whole, relatively side concerns - it's the Kobo firmware that attracts me the most.

Is there any difference in the firmware between H2O and Aura HD (or the other Kobo models)?

GeoffR · 11-08-2014, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Is there any difference in the firmware between H2O and Aura HD (or the other Kobo models)?

I think there are only very minor differences: the H2O has some firmware options enabled to deal with detecting water on the screen, and to turn the light completely off without using a hardware button.

nathany · 11-13-2014, 02:01 AM

I prefer the Kobo because it's available in Canada. ^_^

Pocket is nice too.

I buy DRM free books direct from publishers so Amazon's ecosystem isn't so important to me. If Amazon sold books without DRM I would still buy some from them, and if they released the 100+ books I've bought for them without DRM, I'd be a very happy customer. How many years has it been since iTunes Music went DRM-free?

I wasn't happy with the PW1 screen and cold lighting. I use Flux on my laptop which gives warmer color in the evening. Plenty of studies have been done, not sure why Amazon can figure out that they should progressively dim the screen but still use blue light. I havent seen the Voyage screen yet, and I won't buy one without seeing it in person.

HarryT · 11-13-2014, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nathany

If Amazon sold books without DRM I would still buy some from them

Amazon do sell books without DRM; it's the publisher's choice whether or not a book sold at Amazon has DRM.

mgmueller · 11-13-2014, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nathany

...Plenty of studies have been done, not sure why Amazon can figure out that they should progressively dim the screen but still use blue light. I havent seen the Voyage screen yet, and I won't buy one without seeing it in person.

Kindle Voyage has a night mode.
Firs of all, you can activate auto brightness.
And then you additionally can activate the night mode. This, when reading at night, slowly dims down your screen. I don't actively perceive this, but that's probably the whole idea behind it: Dimming down without any intrusion or user interaction.

treadlightly · 11-13-2014, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nathany

I prefer the Kobo because it's available in Canada. ^_^

Yep. I swore I would never buy a kindle again when they didn't release the PW in Canada at the same time as the UK. Five months after the US release was a slap in the face.

This has worked out fine for me as I much prefer epub and think the H2O screen is perfect.

View Poll Results: Multiple answers possible (necessary)
I prefer the screen size of H2O	28	82.35%
I prefer the screen size of Voyage	4	11.76%
I prefer the display quality of H2O	15	44.12%
I prefer the display quality of Voyage	6	17.65%
I prefer H2O and consider Voyage's display "too cold"	11	32.35%
I prefer Voyage and consider H2O's display "too warm"	2	5.88%
I prefer the Kobo ecosystem	7	20.59%
I prefer the Kindle ecosystem	11	32.35%
I value H2O being waterproof	20	58.82%
I value the page turn buttons on Voyage	14	41.18%
I value the auto brightness on Voyage	5	14.71%
SD expansion is relevant for me	13	38.24%
Side loading content is relevant for me	26	76.47%
Pocket on Kobo is relevant for me	7	20.59%
I prefer the form factor (size, bulk, weight, design, ...) of H2O	10	29.41%
I prefer the form factor (size, bulk, weight, design, ...) of Voyage	11	32.35%
Over all, I prefer H2O	23	67.65%
Over all, I prefer Voyage	5	14.71%
Basically, Kobo And Amazon are the only 2 manufacturers that are relevant	11	32.35%
There are alternatives to Kobo and Amazon	9	26.47%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 34. You may not vote on this poll

11-08-2014, 10:11 PM	#1
mgmueller Member Retired Posts: 3,308 Karma: 13024950 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Augsburg (near Munich), Germany Device: 26 Readers, 44 Tablets	Kobo Aura H2O / Kindle Voyage There have been lots of discussions, many members seem to consider the screen of H2O being "warmer". I'd the interested, to see that in a poll. My personal answers: I clearly prefer Voyage, but it could be a bit bigger. H2O is too bulky for me. I don't mind the yellowish hue on H2O much, but I slightly prefer the "colder" white of Voyage. I by far prefer the Amazon ecosystem. I might make use of H2O being waterproof from time to time (bathtub = steam, beach), but it's probably not that much of a deal. I love the 3G on Voyage. I didn't put this as an option in the poll, though. Most don't seem to care much and even I wouldn't eliminate any reader from my list for not having 3G. Still I find this a great marketing tool of Amazon. I don't care much about SD expansion. I'd buy an 8GB (internal memory) model in an instant. Or I'd consider SD expansion, if there would be some kind of file management on the reader. Kobo's solution of filling internal memory and then placing the rest on the SD card is a bit scarce in my opinion. I'd like to decide myself, what goes where. The page turn buttons on Voyage work fine, but so far I don't make much use of it. And quite frankly, I'm not quite sure about them. I mainly read in the dark in bed. Do I even find the page turn buttons then without fumbling around? I'm using nook Glowlight as well, but in my personal book nooks probably won't play any role anymore. I'm not a fan of Samsung, so the nook tablets probably won't be an option (didn't like nook HD and HD+ much either). Build quality, with the exception of the great nook classic, never was the best and I hate their webstore. Why can I buy from Amazon and Kobo without problems, but from B&N only via VPN? There still are some hardware manufactures, Pocketbook for example, without a bookstore. But personally I don't care much about those, I want to have the ecosystem as well. So Kobo and Amazon in the moment seem to be the only viable contestants... Last edited by mgmueller; 11-08-2014 at 10:34 PM.

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11-08-2014, 10:39 PM	#2
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,670 Karma: 66420972 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	I've answered the poll, but to me these are, on the whole, relatively side concerns - it's the Kobo firmware that attracts me the most.

11-08-2014, 10:49 PM	#3
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	I have an Aura HD, and don't particularly care for the firmware. It's all a matter of preference.

11-13-2014, 02:01 AM	#6
nathany Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 108 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Canada Device: Kobo h2o	I prefer the Kobo because it's available in Canada. ^_^ Pocket is nice too. I buy DRM free books direct from publishers so Amazon's ecosystem isn't so important to me. If Amazon sold books without DRM I would still buy some from them, and if they released the 100+ books I've bought for them without DRM, I'd be a very happy customer. How many years has it been since iTunes Music went DRM-free? I wasn't happy with the PW1 screen and cold lighting. I use Flux on my laptop which gives warmer color in the evening. Plenty of studies have been done, not sure why Amazon can figure out that they should progressively dim the screen but still use blue light. I havent seen the Voyage screen yet, and I won't buy one without seeing it in person.

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