Kobo Aura H2O - First Impressions

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by mr_nihilism

Personally, I think the headers and footers would be fine if Kobo did just reduce the amount of space it takes up. One or two extra lines of space could be easily freed up for reading on that lovely real estate.

Well, there is always the Kobo Patcher if you want to customise the Footer size.

[BookAdmin]

The biggest problem about kobo is the catalog of books available (at least in France). Regarding the design, it's a matter of taste I think.

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Well, there is always the Kobo Patcher if you want to customise the Footer size.

Exactly. What wasted space?

[vandafc]

Originally Posted by John F

Has 3.9.0 fixed the full page bug(s) present in 3.8.0.

Don't know, I'm still using the 3.8.0 on my kobo glo ...

[icallaci]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

Exactly. What wasted space?

Is that a picture of an unpatched H20? If so, I will be a happy camper. The wasted space on my Aura HD is the only reason I patch, so if that's a picture of an H20 out of the box, yippee!

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by icallaci

Is that a picture of an unpatched H20? If so, I will be a happy camper. The wasted space on my Aura HD is the only reason I patch, so if that's a picture of an H20 out of the box, yippee!

That's a photo of a patched H2O running 3.8.0.

[mr_nihilism]

Well since I had to take a shower anyways, I decided to give it a test drive. Not much to say. It works, but when the screen is thoroughly wet the touch detection suffers a little bit. It's still very usable though.

When drying off it's difficult to get underneath the bezel.

[robertpolson]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

That's a photo of a patched H2O running 3.8.0.

For those of use who are new to Kobo, can you please share the link to the Patch and the new firmware?

Thanks.

[booklover6]

This post has links to 3.8.0, which is the latest available.

This post has the patch and instructions.

It's important to read all pertinent info and make sure you use the right files for your device.

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by robertpolson

For those of use who are new to Kobo, can you please share the link to the Patch and the new firmware?

Thanks.

The instructions to download and install the latest firmware are here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185660

I downloaded the 3.8.0 version for Mark 5 hardware for the H2O.

The instructions for patching are found here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=245204

I used the default footer values for the Aura HD. I might go back and make the font of the footer smaller.

[icallaci]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

That's a photo of a patched H2O running 3.8.0.

Oh, well, no big deal, I guess. Thanks. Patching is just an extra step I'd rather not do.

[Snowbird34287]

I got my Aura H2O yesterday and so far, I really like it. I don't do annotations so no complaints there. The print is VERY clear. One thing that people have not commented on yet (I think) is the "Comfort Light". I love the way it works. You just have to swipe up or down along the left edge of the screen to change the brightness. Very easy to use!!! I know the Kindle Voyage has automatic brightness but I don't trust those things. The iPad has that too and I keep changing it because it is sometimes too bright or too dark for my liking. All in all, I love the new H2O.
Just waiting for the Calibre patch to transfer more books.

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

Exactly. What wasted space?

It really is a matter of taste. The screen shot you included (above in the actual post) is typical of the reason I love eReaders. I'm unable to read that page without making each line into a research project, a slow and exhausting effort that makes getting the meaning difficult.

I mean no criticism of your page setup. The image is typical of the way many paper books are printed and probably serves many or most of the public well, but it's impenetrable to some of us.

The ability of eReaders in general to set up the page so I can read it easily is why I've started reading in the years since decent eInk readers came available. The Auras do this far better than any others that I've found.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

Exactly. What wasted space?

That looks very nice!

[treadlightly]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

It really is a matter of taste. The screen shot you included (above in the actual post) is typical of the reason I love eReaders. I'm unable to read that page without making each line into a research project, a slow and exhausting effort that makes getting the meaning difficult.

I mean no criticism of your page setup. The image is typical of the way many paper books are printed and probably serves many or most of the public well, but it's impenetrable to some of us.

The ability of eReaders in general to set up the page so I can read it easily is why I've started reading in the years since decent eInk readers came available. The Auras do this far better than any others that I've found.

Oh definitely, everyone should be able to set up their page exactly as they wish, I completely agree with you. My point was only that it *is* possible to have almost no wasted space on the screen.