Today Kobo officially unveiled a second generation Kobo Aura H2O ebook reader.
It’s largely the same as the previous version but it has a new design and a couple of minor upgrades (and one important downgrade).
The main difference is the new model has a ComfortLight Pro to adjust the frontlight color temperature like the larger Kobo Aura One.
It also comes with twice as much internal storage space with 8GB, but they removed the memory card slot so now none of Kobo’s ereaders have one.
The new Kobo H2O is still waterproof, of course, with an IPX8 rating, and it sports the same 6.8-inch 265 ppi E Ink screen as the previous model.
The new design is lighter and more streamlined. The overall weight is 207 grams, down from 233 grams.
Unfortunately neither the product page or the press release mention anything about OverDrive integration for free library ebooks, so it looks like they might be keeping that feature exclusive to the Aura One.
The new Kobo H2O is expected to go up for pre-order on May 15th. The release date is set for May 22nd.
It will sell for the same price as the 1st gen model, so $199 CAD and $179 USD.
Here’s more info from the press release about international release dates:
…the device will also be available as of May 22 in the US, the UK, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, and Turkey; as of June in Sweden; as of July in Australia, New Zealand, and Philippines; with Mexico and Brazil to follow later this year.
On a side note, Kobo is currently running a $20 off sale on the 1st gen Kobo Aura H2O and the Kobo Aura, taking the price down to $159 and $99 respectively. If a memory card slot is an important feature for you then you might want to get a 1st gen H2O before they are gone for good. The sale ends May 14th.
What I like about it is the fact that it is maintaining the IR Screen which compared to capacitive touchscreen, the fonts pop out more, are a tad bit inkier and black and the background screen is whiter as opposed to a beige tone you get with capacitive. Love that they implemented the new design of the Aura One and dropped the weight significantly. I always felt that the 6.8″ screen was perfect but the Original H2O just a slight bit “blocky” and on the heavier side.
I honestly didn’t expect Comfort light Pro and am pretty amazed they are adding it. We’ll see how this works out with the IR screen as the Aura One comfort light pro was a disaster when adjusted more than 40% you start getting a rainbow discoloration effect on the bottom of the screen.
External SD removal isn’t too much of a deal breaker as 8GB is plenty for most people’s needs. Also love the fact that is has a sunken bezel as flush screens tends to have uneven lighting which has plagued the Kindle Voyage and even the New Aura One. As stated I always thought the original H20 has the best screen and can;t wait to see what the new Edition 2 looks like. 265ppi is perfect and right there on par with 300ppi from all the comparisons I’ve done side by side.
This will be a day one purchase for me. Especially at such a great price. I no longer care what Amazon does, Kobo has won it for me.
Shame that they dropped the memory card slot.
But with 8GB I think this is reasonable. (my full electronic book collection (much of it are reference PDFs) clocks in at around 4.5GB, so this will store everything I have).
One of the best features of the Aura One is that comfortlight. They promote it for nighttime reading but the ability to control the temperature of the light is a far bigger deal for me and it makes a big difference; just like it probably would with this device.
FWIW, if you buy it from Indigo in Canada, the exchange rate drops the price to below $150 in the US. IMHO, my KA1 that I paid about $165 for (when the exchange rate was more favorable) is a far better value than this and even at the current rate — about $180 –it’s still a better value.
I’ve owned a lot of e-readers, including the 1st gen H2O, but the Aura One is by far the best
I also like the Aura One but iv’e had bad experiences with uneven lighting and pink screens. Basically all the issues that plagued the Voyage. After 4 exchanges I finally gave up. Chapters is a please to do business with though so that will be where I’ll be getting the new H2O.
Happy with my Aura One, but pleased to see this anyway.
The “Comfort Light” is a big deal and ultimately the reason I purchased an Aura One after years in the B&N ecosystem. Having the device automatically reduce the amount of blue light over the course of an evening’s reading is very helpful. Good to see this feature being added to other ereaders. I have not experienced any of the lighting problems mentioned by others on my Aura One, so perhaps those issues have been addressed. I don’t generally go more that 5% brightness on my device though, so I would not have experienced the rainbow mentioned at +40% brightness even if it does exist on my device.