Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2, Kobo's new bet to fight against Amazon's Kindle

Kobo

Kobo continues to try to overshadow the almighty Amazon and its Kindle, which to this day continue to be the best-selling eReader on the market. For this, it continues to bet on devices with a careful design, enormous power, and some characteristics that differentiate them from the rest of electronic books on the market. The last example is the Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2, an updated and improved version of the Kobo Aura Edition 2 that the company launched on the market a few months ago.

Available worldwide offers us a more than good experience to enjoy digital reading, also offering us resistance to water that will even allow us to submerge it to two meters deep for two hours, and a new feature called ComfortLight PRO which reduces exposure to blue light so that we can read more comfortably in the dark. How could it be otherwise, we have already thoroughly tested the new Kobo device and this is our analysis of this device called to become one of the market leaders.

Design and construction

Kobo

At first glance it is not the most elegant or well-built eReader of all those we find in the market, and it is that Amazon deliberately took care of every last detail of the Kindle Oasis, and this Kobo Aura H20 (2017) does not manage to beat it. Externally it is made of a black plastic on the front and with a sticky rubber, which is very useful on a large number of occasions, allowing the device not to slip through our fingers. Of this rubber we must also say that it is not too obvious and that it can even hurt the eyes, but its great utility allows us to quickly forget almost all the negative aspects.

It is available in the always sober black color, with the only color tint on the power button, located on the back, and which is blue. At the moment Kobo has not confirmed if it will launch more colors on the market, something that many of us would surely appreciate for not always living in the seriousness of black.

Kobo

Regarding the construction we cannot fail to point out the IPX68 certification, and that in addition to allowing us to submerge it 2 meters under water for a maximum of 60 minutes, it allows you to differentiate yourself from the many electronic books available on the market. This feature will allow us to take our Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 to the beach, the pool or the bathtub, without any fear of getting wet. It is not recommended, but we can also experiment with reading underwater, something that will be tremendously difficult for anyone.

Finally, when it comes to design and manufacturing, we cannot overlook the weight of this device, which is 207 grams, which makes it one of the heaviest eReaders on the market in terms of numbers, although once we have the device in hand, it is not a burden that "bothers us" when it comes to enjoying digital reading.

Characteristics and specifications

Here we show you the Main features and specifications of the new Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2;

  • Dimensions: 129 x 172 x 8.8 mm
  • Weight: 207 grams
  • 6.8-inch Letter touchscreen with 265 dpi e-ink print quality
  • Front lighting: ComfortLigth PRO that reduces exposure to blue light for a much more comfortable night reading
  • Internal storage: 8GB where we can store more than 6.000 eBooks
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n, Micro USB
  • Battery: 1.500 mAh that ensures autonomy for weeks
  • Supported formats: 14 directly supported file formats (EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR)
  • Available languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Portuguese, Japanese and Turkish
  • Personalization: TypeGenius - 11 different font types and 50+ font styles
    Unique font thickness and sharpness settings

Without a doubt, one of the most outstanding features of this new Kobo device is its 6.8-inch screen, which allows us to enjoy books in digital format with practically the same size as books in the traditional paper format. In addition, we should also highlight the front lighting of the device, which has ComfortLight PRO technology and which reduces exposure to blue light, which in turn allows us to read in very dark situations without our eyes suffering or directly hurting us .

Our experience when reading

Today it is not too normal to find electronic books with such large screens on the market, but it is undoubtedly a great advantage to be able to enjoy digital books on a 6.8-inch screen. It is not as big as the Kobo Aura, but its size is more than enough to have a much better experience than we can have with any device with a 6-inch screen or even less.

In addition, its 256ppi resolution helps greatly to maintain the sharpness of text and images, which for example is a great advantage to enjoy graphic novels.

Kobo has not spared when it comes to offering support for different formats and in this Aura H20 Edition 2 we can enjoy eBooks in the following formats; EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR. Of course, there are also different fonts, which are a total of 11 and the different sizes that reach 50.

Everything that we have reviewed so far is of great importance, but of the new Kobo device we must highlight the great experience offered by the E Ink Carta screen, which makes digital books look very much like any book in paper format. In addition, the possibility of reading with light is more than good, thanks to the different possibilities offered by the device itself.

Kobo

We are talking about the ComfortLight PRO feature that reduces exposure to blue light and that is regulated depending on the light that is in the environment so that at all times it is very comfortable to enjoy reading. Explained in a simple way, we could say that if we read outdoors, the light will be much more intense and if we read in the dark the degree of luminosity will be reduced so that our eyes do not end up tired.

In recent times we have been lucky enough to try many eReaders, of different brands, and with features of all kinds, but without a doubt this Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 is one of the best experience has offered us when it comes to reading, ranking even ahead of some of Amazon's Kindle. Of course, if we value the device globally, putting its design at stake, it may lose a little weight, but who cares about its design if the experience when enjoying digital reading is very positive.

Video Analysis

Below we show you the analysis of this Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2017 in video;

Final assessment

This new Kobo Aura H2O Edition is difficult to leave anyone indifferent nothing more than is held between the hands. And it is that its design already attracts attention and also the materials in which it is manufactured offer us a touch that can hardly go unnoticed by anyone.

In addition, this new device combines several very interesting features, which make this Kobo Aura H2O 2017 a very interesting electronic book. We are talking about the huge screen that it offers us, the possibility of wetting it, something that is ideal for these summer days, and the speed with which we can handle ourselves through the user interface and through the different digital books that we are enjoying .

If, like in school, they asked me to give a final grade to this new Kobo Aura H2O Edition, it would be very high, bordering on the outstanding, although to achieve this you need to improve in some aspects something that Kobo will surely achieve with its next devices. This new device is a serious competitor to Amazon's Kindle, and few e-books come close to achieving an A global rating.

Price and Availability

This new Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 is already on sale worldwide, through the official Kobo website and in some of the most important technology stores. Its price is not exactly reduced, looking at 179,99 euros, but we must not forget that we are facing an electronic book with some of the most outstanding characteristics.

You can buy the new Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2 HERE and also through the physical stores of FNAC, fnac.es y kobo.com

What do you think of this new Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2?. Tell us your opinion in the space reserved for comments on this entry, in our forum or through one of the social networks in which we are present and where we are eager to hear your opinion about it.

Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2
  • Editor's rating
  • 4.5 star rating
179.99
  • 80%

  • Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2
  • Review of:
  • Posted on:
  • Last modification:
  • Screen
    Publisher: 95%
  • Portability (size / weight)
    Publisher: 85%
  • Storage
    Publisher: 90%
  • Battery Life
    Publisher: 95%
  • Lighting design
    Publisher: 95%
  • Supported Formats
    Publisher: 95%
  • Connectivity
    Publisher: 90%
  • Price
    Publisher: 80%
  • Usability
    Publisher: 95%
  • Ecosystem
    Publisher: 90%


6 comments, leave yours

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  1.   Javi said

    Thanks for the Villamandos review. The truth is that I have always been curious about the Kobo. I am attracted to the larger screens of this model and the Aura One. I also think that the "night" light is a great success that Amazon is taking time to copy.
    Of course, the design of the Kindle Oasis has me in love. I think it is ideal for reading lying down (as I usually do) and it is also very light.
    Anyway, I'm sticking with my second-generation Kindle Paperwhite until I see real improvements. An improvement would be, for example, incorporating solar charging or improving the screen. Have you noticed how dark EInk displays look without the built-in light? he still has to improve the technology a lot ... I don't know if he can.

    One question… how about the Kobo dictionaries? I see in the video that it tells you that you don't have any installed. In my kindle the Spanish and English dictionaries and the translation option were incorporated. Quite a hoot.

    1.    Villamandos said

      Very good Javi!

      The design of this Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2017 is not its best feature, but honestly if it offers us this screen or the night light, who wants a better design?

      Regarding the improvements, unfortunately we have been waiting a long time for the solar charge, but in this device I do believe that there are important improvements in the screen especially and in the light that it offers us to read in situations of total darkness.

      I totally agree with what you say about the EInk screens. If it weren't for the lights built into the screen, it would be difficult to fully enjoy digital reading.

      Honestly, I can't answer the question about the dictionaries, because I didn't install one and it's not something I usually use too much. What's more, it is rare that the eReader is connected to the WiFi network and what I often do is pull my mobile to check something.

      A greeting!

  2.   Andres Majorcan said

    Thanks for the analysis.

    I have the Kobo Aura One and this H2O looks the same but one inch less. If so, I recommend it 100 × 100, I am delighted with mine. The ComfortLight is luxurious and, if you are not interested at some point, you can deactivate and adjust the light as you want and also turn it off to save battery. The only thing that perhaps improves this H2O to the Aura One is the page turning speed that I have seen in the video, the Aura One is not that fast but it is not bad either.

    When I finally decided to buy an e-reader I was hesitating between the previous H2O or the Aura One and I think it is worth paying a little more if you want a large screen like the 7,8 ″ One. Apart from that I caught mine on sale for € 201 in that store that they are not stupid.

    All the best

    1.    Villamandos said

      Thanks to you Andrés for participating!

      It is true that the differences between the original H2O and this one are not many, but for example the one that your account of the page turn is noticeable, and the water resistance has also been incorporated, which is interesting.

      Like you, I would recommend a Kobo today and I think always for the most varied reasons.

      A greeting!

  3.   Sebas said

    Very good and thank you for this quality test!
    It seems to me that this model will be the one that will be the most successful because it has the same characteristics (except for the screen size) as Aura ONE and for € 50 less. I have the Aura ONE and sometimes it comes out a bit big when I'm not at home.

    A few comments and responses:
    - Dictionaries: there are about 20 integrated dictionaries and translators, just download them, it's very simple.
    - I think it's outrageous that such a serious blog can compare the € 2 Aura H179O to the € 289 Kindle Oasis. It would be like comparing a € 500 Grundig TV with an 800 Samsung, or rather, a 15000 Seat with a 24000 Audi. They cannot be compared !!! If you want to make a fair comparison, you have to go with the Kindle Voyage, and there, there is much less to say ...
    - What I lack most here are some comments about the catalog, which in the end is the most important thing for me that I read a lot and read a lot in English. It is the reason that made me switch from bq to Kobo, and it seems that no one has a broader catalog than kobo (they publish more than 5 million, and I have never seen such high figures with Amazon). If you can give some info on this and the shopping experience, that would be great.
    - Regarding the improvements compared to the previous model, it is above all the Comfortlight PRO (natural light), because the previous one was already waterproof.

    Thank you!
    Sebas

  4.   Ana said

    Hello. I am thinking of buying a Kobo as my Bq has broken.
    But I wanted to know something that is very important to me, does it let you pass books that you already have downloaded? I don't want to risk buying it if it only lets you buy books from its app. Thanks