Evaluation of Kobo H2O Edition 2 - Year 2017 Revisit
Let's Take a Dip with Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2
Who needs a lifeguard when you've got the Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2? This waterproof e-reader is here to revolutionize your beach days and bath time escapades. Say goodbye to stressing over submerging your device or spilling that morning coffee all over it.
Hardware
The Kobo Aura Edition 2 sports a 6.8-inch E-Ink Carta Display with a resolution of 1430×1080 and 265 PPI. Unlike many e-readers, it employs an IR display instead of a capacitive touchscreen, giving it a distinct edge.
When it comes to lighting, Kobo knows how to keep you reading comfortably even in the dark. Their ComfortLight PRO system, which consists of nine white LEDs and eight RGB LED lights, lights up your screen without causing eyestrain during those marathon reading sessions. This innovative technology was first introduced with the Kobo Aura ONE last year. For more insights on its benefits, take a peek here.
The Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 boasts an IPX8 rating, making it waterproof for up to 60 minutes in up to 2 meters of water. This means you can read in the tub, at the beach, or even survive a coffee spill catastrophe, as sand washing off the reader won't be a problem.
Underneath the hood, you'll find a Freescale 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM, which is on par with most new Kindles. With 8GB of internal storage, there's no publicly available SD card, but it's already integrated into the circuit board, powering the device's Linux operating system. Accessing the back platting might be challenging due to its waterproof design.
Physical Design
The Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 bears a strong resemblance to the Kobo Aura One, released last year. The power button has been moved to the back, which feels more natural for turning the device on and off. Gripping it with one hand is also much easier due to the contour design pattern.
Its dimensions are 129 x 172 x 8.9 mm and it weighs 210g. You can expect a battery life of approximately one month with light usage, thanks to the 1500 mA battery.
Software
Kobo rolled out a major software update in February 2017, overhauling the entire e-Reader experience. The menu structure, navigation, shopping, and home screen were all revamped to take advantage of higher resolution displays and a greater amount of PPI.
The new experience focuses on making the e-Reader more intuitive and robust. The main home screen displays the last few titles you have opened from the library and recommends titles from the store. The store now loads faster due to the elimination of most carousels. You can launch the store right from the home screen now and make a purchase or download a sample in just two clicks.
The settings menu was moved from the top right-hand corner to the top left, making room for the WIFI, front-lit display, sync button, and search features on the top right-hand side. This improvement added more space for breadcrumbs, offering a clearer view of your browsing path.
Considerations
One downside is that you cannot borrow e-books from the public library directly on the device, as it does not have Overdrive built into it. This was a key selling point for the Kobo Aura One, so this omission might be concerning for some users.
E-Reading Experience
Kobo excels at catering to both casual and hardcore readers, offering advanced options that the competition can't match. You can easily load your own fonts, like Bookerly or Ember, which Amazon developed specifically for e-readers. The Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 supports EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RFT, CBZ, and CBR file formats.
When reading a book, you have a range of options at your disposal. In addition to font and customization options, you can long-press on a word to get an instant definition of it. If you're bilingual, you can look up the word in multiple languages, such as Japanese, Italian, German, Dutch, and many more. Long-pressing a word allows you to select a single word, sentence, or entire paragraph, which you can then highlight or add a note to.
However, the H2O's PDF experience leaves much to be desired. Anything that relies on pinching and zooming is rather slow, with larger files taking several seconds to load.
Final Thoughts
The Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 is a fantastic e-reader, but it might not be an essential upgrade if you've purchased a Kobo e-Reader in the last two years. Apart from the RGB lighting system and streamlined design, many of the new features have been implemented in recent Kobo models.
PROS
- Good resolution
- ComfortLight PRO system
- Can import your own fonts
- Features the new Kobo Homescreen right out of the box
- Waterproof
CONS
- Lacks Overdrive functionality
- Locked into the Kobo ecosystem
- No SD Card
- The Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2, with its E-Ink Carta Touchscreen display, is perfect for reading apps and e-books, offering an immersive reading experience.
- For gadget enthusiasts, this e-reader, with its advanced technology and waterproof capabilities, can be an exciting addition to their collection of devices.
- With its touchscreen and reading apps, the Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 transforms your e-reader into a versatile gadget, making it a great companion, whether you're lounging by the pool or soaking in the tub.
