This same week Kobo has officially announced the launch of its new Aura H2O, a new eReader that comes to replace the Kobo Aura HD and that stands out above all for having the certified IP67 with which it is able to resist splashes and submersions under water for half an hour at a maximum, yes, one meter deep.
This is the first electronic book to hit the market with this feature and we couldn't resist asking ourselves the question; Was a waterproof and submersible eRreader really necessary? and try to answer it.
Before diving into trying to answer the question that gives this article its title, we are going to do a review of all features and specifications of this new Kobo Aura H2O:
- 6,8-inch e-ink touch screen, ComfortLight technology, a resolution of 1.430 x 1.080 pixels and a density of 265 dpi
- 4GB of internal storage with the possibility of expanding it using microSD cards
- Battery up to 2 months of use if used for half an hour a day
- Price of 180 euros in Europe, 140 pounds in the United Kingdom and 180 dollars in the United States and Canada
Returning to what really concerns us in this article, it is true that on many occasions we have demanded an eReader that was capable of resisting splashes to, for example, be able to take our device to the beach or the pool, but surely many among whom we included we doubt the need for an electronic book with this feature.
The fact that this new Kobo Aura H2O without a doubt and in my opinion it is totally unnecessary since I do not think that anyone dives in the bathtub or in the pool to read, but once again it can be justifiable if we consider that the advances and innovations in eReaders are essential so that manufacturers can continue to sell gadgets of this type .
This feature that allows the new Kobo eReader to submerge is a logical improvement of these devices and with which Kobo will surely sell many units and will also revolutionize the digital reading market and put other companies like Amazon in difficulties.
Now is your turn; Was a waterproof and submersible eRreader really necessary?. You can give us your opinion in the space dedicated to the comments of this article, in our forum or in one of the social networks in which we are present.
It seems like a good innovation to me, to read in the bathtub, for example, or near a pool. If you are leaning on a table and spill a glass of water, you will be safe. Indeed you are not going to go diving with him, but I do not think that is the spirit of this feature.
I can't quite understand you, your sony t2 just broke because it got wet on the beach and do you think a reader that can hold the water seems unnecessary? But if it is just the model you need, if you did not know which one to choose, I am telling you to buy this one, it is just the one you need.
Is it really necessary to write an article without a single comma (well, let's say 1 in 10 of those would be necessary), and with things like "feature"? I do not know if you write the articles from your mobile, or if you do not stop to reread what has been written before giving it to publish but, precisely in a blog that is read, it gives a regrettable image and it becomes quite difficult to read.
I have it clear, absolutely ALL mobiles, tables, ebooks, etc. They should be resistant to liquids and splashes. First, by accident, second, to take it to the beach (water, sand) or pool or simply in the bathtub. It is something that should be basic, as practically all watches are aquatic (In more or less depth) But just enough so that if it gets a little wet you don't have to throw it away.
I think the more resistant the better. Surely no one is going to immerse it in the water but if it is possible that you are reading in the park and it starts to rain and a few drops fall ... for example. The case, I think, is to innovate ... eink is not getting enough improvements to justify new models and then you have to add "cool" features.
Without a doubt it is useful! Nor do I understand this very negative title ...
And to add useful things, in addition to being waterproof, which is let's say a "nice to have", we have:
- Carta 6'8 screen (the only one on the market) with 265 di!
- Backlighting (this together with the waterproof is unique tb)
- A wonderful library of more than 4M titles.
So even if you don't read near sand or water, it is a fucking product that has no competition as of today!
I subscribe to everything said in the previous comments. It doesn't seem far-fetched to me. Moreover, if it is true that there is no other e-reader with water resistance, it seems to me an advance, but first class! What is sought with all this technology is mobility, I do not understand why we were going to rule out wet places to question the need for this innovation.
Oh, and I also agree on the issue of punctuation and spelling,
Hi all!
I will try to answer all of them in a single comment so as not to go one by one.
First of all, we don't write our articles from our mobile or tablet, I do it from my computer at home and I usually spend a lot of time on them, but we are human and we make mistakes for whatever reason. This text is very badly punctuated and also has a couple of not too serious spelling mistakes, I apologize to all of you for that.
When I referred to this improvement of the eReaders I was referring to whether it is really necessary in the aspect that, perhaps other improvements could be introduced before this one, perhaps I did not know how to explain well or the idea was not grasped.
Days ago my eReader broke down on the beach precisely because it was not waterproof, but this does not mean that it seems to me that it really needs to be waterproof. I go to the beach a couple of times every year and that I ran out of eReader was bad luck, but as I said, I do not see this improvement necessary.
It seems that as I said that the possibility that an eReader is waterproof does not seem interesting to me, I am absolutely right, not at all, I accept opinions and even thanks to many of your comments I can come to understand that it is waterproof.
Finally, I want to thank you for participating in this article and although you do not agree with my opinion and the text is not the most immaculate in the world, I have convinced you to participate in this debate, which I am very happy about.
Greetings to all!
I agree that better ones are necessary, for example one that says which virtual page you are on because touching the screen wrong sometimes makes you lose time and continuity at a time that is generally the worst to stop reading something we like . But if I find it interesting that it is submersible or waterproof. I love sitting in the pool or bathtub and would love to be calm in the event of an accident and / or splashing.
Villamandos, your questions we answer, hahaha. Although almost everyone who answers finds the submersible function quite useful, we are left alone and your wet erader has screwed up. The truth is that at the hardware level I have very few requests to make to current readers. More battery life would be one, the more things put less hard, frontlight, android. Eink in color, and a little more, if it is true that for reader 10 you have to make a rehash of readers, that is, there is no brand that has a reader 10 or they are close to achieving it. And actually almost all I would ask of them is firmware upgrades.
Answering your rephrased question, a waterproof eink was really necessary when other hardware options could have gotten in, the answer is still exactly the same, if I find it useful enough.
Let's take several examples. You are in the pool, a child comes and plugs you in with a water gun, or they splash water wetting a child and the water falls on your reader.
You carry your reader in your backpack, it starts to rain heavily, it's Autumn-Winter-Spring.
Obviously, taking off the news from the newscast, nobody is going to read underwater, but that the thing resists getting wet is very useful, and not only to go to the beach but for many unforeseen events that would leave your reader fried. That you can live without it, yes, and without the frontlight, but that both the frontlight and the submersible are a good option is undoubtedly. It is clear that if you never take the reader out of the house, then you probably won't need it, the same as if you always read during the day you don't need frontlight, or if you don't take notes or use the dictionary, you have plenty of touch. But not because of the use that you give the reader, I think it can be said that the touch is not enough or the frontlight or the submersible. If you can say in my case I have enough, although note that if your sony had been submersible it would not have broken: P, therefore you did not have enough function, it would have been good for you and now you would not have to buy another reader.
I ask you the question, what would you put into the readers' hardware before the submersible? Because in your article, with a reformulated question, you discard the submersible but do not say that it seems more important to put in first.
Lili, what you are proposing is firmware not hardware. Anyway, what you request I do not understand very well. Readers continue on the page you read on. They usually have the bookmark function to be able to return to a certain point in the book if you go from page to page. Now if I understand you, it would be a function that realizes that you have turned the page by mistake? ... that requires a very advanced AI, something that does not exist in ereader or in anything. I think that the kindles do have the function of the highest page read that they synchronize with the "güeb" but if you happen to advance pages and do not save a bookmark or with those.
And why not a reader to test, incidentally, ray? Totally unnecessary
The submersible reader if I think it is a good idea, although I am in favor of the normal physical books of all my life, the submersible e-book if I would buy it ... I will buy it, since what happens, you get into the tub hot water you want to read .. with normal you can, but that does not take away the possibility of dropping it, or you go to the pool and splash splash, a single drop of water can seriously spoil the physical book depending on where that drop falls (I take good care of my books) .. now in the tub if that worse, I would love to read with total peace of mind near the water, it is not that I am going to dive with the e-book, but it is useful, it is.