Gift the Kobo Aura H2O, not the Kindle Voyage (Credit: Amazon, Kobo)
I am a bit of an e-reader packrat, or at least my wife thinks so. My collection includes the Sony e-readers, Nooks, Kindles and Kobos. While early-generation Kobo e-readers could be iffy in terms of quality, with the release of the excellent Kobo Aura, the company successfully transitioned to high quality devices that delivered a premium experience. And the follow-up Kobo Aura H2O is one of the best e-readers on the market for e-book lovers.
If you were going to buy someone a Kindle Voyage as a gift, you should consider the Kobo Aura H2O instead. Here’s why.
Killer Advantage: Kobo Aura H2O is Waterproof and Dustproof
Amazon likes to show product shots of people sitting on the beach or by the pool, relaxing while reading an e-book on their Kindle.
However, in reality, you’d be nuts to do that. One splash from a wave, one cannonball dive too close to your deck chair, one spilled Mai Tai, or one careless kick of sand and the Kindle Voyage is likely to be toast.
The best place to read is the riskiest place to use the Kindle (Credit: Amazon)
The Kobo Aura H2O, on the other hand, is IP67 certified waterproof and dust proof. That means it can survive up to 30 minutes submerged in 3.6-feet of water. Splashes, rain and the gust of sand-filled wind? Not a problem. I actually submerged the review unit in a sink and it not only was fine, but it kept working, even under water.
Kobo Auro H2O not only survives splashes and rain, it can be submerged (Credit: Brad Moon)
The Kobo Aura H2O is perfect for the hardcore reader. The person who wants to read while on vacation, sitting by their pool or even in the bath tub. The kind of reader who doesn’t want to scramble to put their book safely way just because they get caught in a bit of rain while waiting for the bus. You could stuff the Kindle Voyage in a protective case, but that’s ugly and anything that covers the display inevitable detracts from the reading experience. Or you could pay the third party company to waterproof the device, but you’ll pay dearly for that upgrade.
Kobo Aura H2O Delivers the Flagship Reading Experience
You aren’t really giving up much by going with the Kobo Aura H2O instead of the Kindle Voyage, although the H2O is priced $ 20 less (actually, at time of publication, Kobo had knocked it down to $ 40 difference).
Browse Forbes’ eBook library here.
The Kobo’s display is slightly lower resolution –265 ppi instead of 300 ppi– and I find it’s not quite the "white" as the Kindle’s. However, the Kobo’s display is larger, at 6.8-inches. I find it’s plenty sharp, the extra size is appreciated (without adding bulk) and Kobo tops the Kindle when it comes to e-book customization (24 font sizes to eight, plus 11 font styles and additional customization options).
The Kobo H2O also lacks the Kindle Voyage’s bezel-mounted page turning buttons, relying purely on touch-screen page flips.
Otherwise the two e-readers are pretty evenly matched. Both offer excellent side-lighting solutions, Wi-Fi connection (although 3G is an option exclusive to the Voyage), long battery life, 4GB of storage and the ability to borrow e-books from public libraries.
The Amazon Question…
If you’re shopping for someone who is an Amazon fan, the Kindle Voyage is tough to beat, especially if they already own a library of Kindle e-books or they’re an Amazon Prime member..
Not locked into Amazon? Kobo’s online e-bookstore carry over 5 million titles. I can’t recall ever looking for the book that I couldn’t find. Unlike the Kindle, the Kobo Aura H2O is also compatible with e-books purchased from Google Play’s e-bookstore, also boasting over 5 million titles. In other words, someone with the Kobo is not going to suffer from the lack of available content.
And while Kobo started out as a small, Canadian company, since 2011 it has been owned by Japan’s e-commerce giant Rakuten (often described as the Japanese Amazon) –it’s not going anywhere.
Converting Kindle e-books to a format that can be read using the Kobo e-reader is easy enough to do, although technically not legal in most countries. Unless they’re up to that challenge, if the person you’re shopping for has invested in the collection of Kindle titles, the Kobo e-reader probably isn’t the best bet.
Kobo Aura H2O is perfectly at home on the beach or by the pool (Credit: Kobo)
Otherwise, the Kobo Aura H2O is the hardcore reader’s e-reader.
E-books look great and it offers unmatched reading customization options, the hardware is attractive and affordable, the selection of e-books is world-class and most importantly is someone who loves reading, it can be used literally anywhere. That includes the places where so many people enjoy extended reading sessions –at the beach, by the pool or soaking in the hot bath. You can’t do that (without risking damage) with the Kindle Voyage, so that’s why you should consider giving the gift of a Kobo Aura H2O instead.
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