In recent months the sector eReader has expanded thanks to the marketing of several new models (a selection of the ones we liked best in our dedicated focus). Among the many were also issued two innovative eBook reader high end: the Kobo Aura H2O and the Kindle Voyage. These are devices with several differences: size, design, interface and also some policies at the base of the two companies. Aura H2O is bulkier and a little ‘less maneuverable, but has a larger screen, is water resistant and above is more open and versatile. Voyage instead is part of the ecosystem more closed than Amazon, but it is also lighter and more compact, as well as more immediate and intuitive. Both devices offer gre at reading experience digital, but they have different targets. We see in more detail how they differ in our comparison.
Design and ergonomics: handling VS impermeability
Speaking of lines and especially footprint are the two eReader very different. The design of the Aura H2O in the front is more classic, while the Voyage because of opaque glass from processing and display flush looks more modern and pleasant . At the rear of both devices have a surface from three-dimensional shape and angular that helps a lot handling. Of course the Kindle with its weight and its smaller size is more comfortable and easy to handle the Kobo which, because of its larger display, has considerably larger. However thanks to the aforementioned body with a particular shape, the rubberized plastic that increases the grip of the frames and the right size, the newcomer in the house Kobo is more comfortable than you would expect. In any case during long reading sessions around the 50 grams of difference are felt: Voyage is more practical and less tired arms and wrists.
This is due to the excellent idea of implementing the soft-touch keys at the sides of the screen that allow pleasant experience of use, proving the excellent substitutes for the physical buttons so loved by many readers (including myself) – but less and less integrated eReader. The Aura H2O instead has no physical buttons for navigation, which I regret because in my opinion on a terminal of this size would have made a big difference. On the other hand, as the name implies, the new Kobo has a very interesting peculiarity: the impermeability. Aura H2O as it features IP67 certification , which guarantees its resistance to immersion in one meter deep up to thirty minutes with no damage, as well as the total resistance to dust. This means that you can finally bring the device in the pool, the beach, or, from personal experience, in the bathtub, and read quietly without fear of splashing water or sand grains.
Taking into hand devices communicate both a good sense of strength and solidity , although the body of magnesium and glass anti-scratching Kindle give a feeling more premium than polycarbonate rubberized adopted by Kobo, but is slightly better as friction and grip.
Display and front-lighting: two great panels
Let’s move to what is the heart of the experience of reading in an eReader: the display . Both devices feature an E-Ink Paper of excellent quality. Onboard Aura H2O we find a panel from 6.8 inches , the broadest canon 6 inches implemented on Voyage, which, however, thanks to the reduced diagonal, manages to have a higher density: 300 PPI compared with about 265 Kobo. In practical terms, however, the differences are minimal. Both players have an outstanding performance, the greater definition of the Kindle you notice slightly more when you go to view images, but it’s really a tiny difference. As for the contrast with the lighting system is better off in Kobo, and if you enable the Kindle is to win the challenge.
The system front-lighting is excellent in both terminals: the light is distributed very uniformly and allows soddisfaccene reading in the dark or in poor lighting conditions ostiche. The Kindle still achieves a more brilliance and has a yield slightly higher, while the Kobo has a diagonal of almost an inch wider, which is felt mainly by displaying rich content of images. The difference more clear in my opinion is formed by the ambient light sensor : on the Kindle and unfortunately absent on Aura H2O. This apparatus allows the Voyage to adapt automatically the front-lighting to the lighting conditions where you are: in this way you always have a nice gloss, excellent performance and a well-balanced energy expenditure.
Interface, and store formats supported
In this area begin to emerge the first major differences between Kobo and Kindle. The terminal Amazon in fact is part of a ecosystem closed but multiple simple and intuitive and Kobo is more open and reads a greater number of formats, but that its greater versatility you pay with an interface more complicated and less comfortable . If you already own tablets and smartphones, and you have no trouble juggling the various items of the operating systems of the past, then you will not find great difficulty in using the Kobo. In case you were not particularly accustomed instead to new technologies or however you were looking for a device much more straightforward and easy to understand would be better to opt for the Kindle.
This is because the system board Voyage is simpler: the focus the experience of use is concentrated in the top bar, which allows you to go home, to see the store, to go back, to search, to control the brightness and to open the settings menu. The elements in the OS instead of Kobo are located in different areas and less intuitive. The look of the home, the library and the store, in my opinion, is more attractive Aura H2O , which uses a nice display for boxes, but if I have to choose I prefer the immediacy of the Kindle . Same goes for the virtual store, much more immediate in the Voyage that last arrived home Aura.
It should also be borne in mind that Amazon store is the most complete and rich currently available in our country. Kobo is making good progress and has an interesting catalog, but is not yet able to compete with the company’s Bezos from this point of view. Aura H2O but supports multiple formats , including TXT, HTML, XHTML, PDF, MOBI, RTF and EPUB, which is one of the most widely used by most digital stores and libraries that provide the eBook. The Kindle instead natively reads only AZW (proprietary format), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI and PRC, while HTML and DOC can be read but only after a conversion with the service documents. What does all this mean? That if you want an eReader easy and immediate and that allows you to purchase from Amazon in a rapid then the Voyage for you, but if you are more experienced users, and you think you need a more versatile then it would be best to consider Aura H2O.
Storage: Cloud VS microSD
Another issue in which the two companies will adopt a very different philosophy is that of the storage . Both devices have 4 GB of internal memory, but Kobo allows expand that memory via microSD, while Amazon no. The US company, however, offers unlimited storage space on your cloud . This means that when you buy a book or a comic book store on Amazon it is automatically loaded into the library of our account and remains stored on the servers of the company, from which we can go to download it when it is most convenient. This service comes at a crucial against: to access the cloud must be connected to the Internet, which is not always possible unless you buy the version of Voyage with 3G, which, however, has a price far higher: starts at $ 269. It should however be specified that in approximately 3 GB, the space that more or less both readers leave available to the user in the internal memory, can be loaded already several hundred books. Eye but comics and PDF rich in images, because they are among the types of large files.
Interface reading: completeness against simplicity
Even in the interface of reading and in the menu on the text files , you notice some of the differences in approach already mentioned before: Kindle is more simple and straightforward, while Kobo is often more complete and versatile, but less intuitive. While reading the text file by pressing in the center of the page in Kobo, or in the upper one in the Kindle, you access the context menu. What’s Voyage is nothing but the usual navigation bar already in the home and enriched here by a second line containing four additional options: text formatting, navigation, sharing on social and icon to set a bookmark, and a bar Navigation in the lower zone. Aura H2O instead we have the notification bar at the top that allows us to access the various controls of brightness and general settings, and everything about the settings of reading and navigation is moved down. At the bottom of the screen are icons for formatting fact, statistics reading, navigation and v arious other items enclosed in a small icon on the right.
As mentioned a few lines above the whole is less immediate but often more complete: just look at the menu text formatting to realize that the possible combinations offered by Kobo are much more than those made available by Kindle. As for the interaction with the text both players have the same opportunities: holding down a word or a portion of the text you can highlight, add notes, search the dictionary or on Wikipedia or share via their accounts on social network most famous, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Comics & PDF: some disappointment
The reading of PDF in my opinion not great on any of the two devices, meaning they both have the Pecce which I found annoying. Kobo, which thanks to the display from the diagonal wider allows you to view the contents better, unfortunately is slower and less responsive in PDF handling, especially when it comes to the large file. Kinle instead is faster navigation, but does not keep zoom settings when changing page, which however does Aura H2O.
Moving on to comics , then there are several factors to consider. The first are the supported file: the Kobo allows you to import and open archives CBR and CBZ, which are among the most popular of the category, and also manages them well enough. Reading is fairly smooth and the fact store here zoom settings, combined with the diagonal of 6.8 inches, from good satisfaction. The Voyage rather not read these formats, but has an advantage: the reading system for cartoons . Many comics that you can buy on Amazon are indeed prepared for this mode of reading, which allows all’eReader automatically zoom on various cartoons, passing from one to another with a simple tap on the screen or with the soft-touch buttons as you do for books. With this greatly enhances the reading experience and 6 inches not become a problem.
Autonomy: many hours on a single charge
On paper, the should Kobo have longer battery : according to data reported by companies on a single charge, with an average of thirty minutes of reading a day with WiFi off and lighting system at an intermediate level, Aura H2O should allow to read about two months, while Yoyage about six weeks. In practice, however, I have not encountered this difference and I think it’s due to ambient light sensor and my carelessness. Often moving from an environment where I need a brightness level up to read well, to one with a better light conditions, with Aura H2O I forget to turn down the brightness and end up wasting energy unnecessarily. With the Kindle however this does not happen, because I just set the brightness to Automatic, and leave you to think about all the software, gaining in terms of energy.
Our conclusions
To sum up, the choice is really hard: one hand we have the Kobo Aura H2O, versatile , with a diagonal and resistant to water and dust, the other the Kindle Voyage, more compact, convenient and aesthetically appealing . Both devices have a very good screen and a lighting system well done. Voyage however it has an operating system far more immediate and easy to use even for those who are beginners, and especially the store and the Amazon ecosystem, which are currently the most complete and functional category. Conversely Kobo is more suitable for those seeking a terminal versatile, open and feature-rich but not always intuitive. Find Kobo Aura H2O to 179 € for sale on Amazon, but also on Inmondadori. Kindle Voyage instead has not arrived yet officially in Italy, wanting to be found on Amazon US to $ 199. Unless, however, be prepared to spend a lot for shipping and wait for a very long time, our advice and wait for the arrival on our national store.
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