The Kobo H2O 2nd edition is very different from its ancestor, the Kobo H2O 1st edition. This new version is thinner, offers an adaptive backlighting system (a “natural light” option that uses yellow light rather than blue light) and uses new materials, which all set it apart from the previous model… But what is it worth? Our test, our opinion.
Hardware: Compact and well built.
As far as the hardware goes, we were surprised by the reader’s finesse when we got a hold of it. Its 6.8-inch screen is clearly larger than that of the 6-inch reader, which makes this e-reader better for those looking for something that can read PDF documents. The format is simple and easy to hold and convenient to carry with you. While the 8-inch Kobo Forma or Pocketbook Inkpad 3 can appear cumbersome compared to a 6-inch reader, we don’t get that same feeling with the H2O2.
This e-reader is light, thin, compact, and has a 6.8-inch Carta e-Ink screen (the most recent version available at the publication of this article) with a 1430×1080, 265 PPI resolution. While the Aura One and the Clara HD have a screen with 300PPI, you don’t notice the difference once you start using it. The reader is really crisp, whether it’s used to read a kepub document or a PDF with graphics.
The front light of this device is great. While we did notice a little bit of color at the bottom of the screen on the Aura One (which many buyers noticed, and recent comments have led us to believe that the problem still hasn’t been fixed), this is not an issue with the H2O 2nd edition. The lighting is harmonious, whether it’s in “white light” or “comfort light” mode. The color varies between nice yellow and orange tones which is a huge advantage when it comes to comfort and reading at night.
Software: It’s a Kobo!
There are no surprises when it comes to the software. The e-reader still uses Nickel, Kobo’s operating system. It’s relatively fluid and works well overall. However, we noticed two problems:
First off, reading PDFs is difficult. We can easily fix this by installing Koreader, which gives this e-reader an excellent value for money, for those who are willing to install extra software to read PDFs. For someone who reads PDFs often, a Kindle Oasis would be a better choice, given that this device’s software is way better for PDFs reading. That being said, a Kobo can open many different formats natively (epub, kepub, mobi, etc.) and is a more versatile device than Amazon’s e-readers.
However, we now run into the second biggest problem with Kobo e-readers. While it can support a variety of formats, it works noticeably better with kepub documents, especially when it comes to footnotes. If that is important to you, this is something you should take into consideration, although it isn’t too hard to convert mobi and epub files into kepub (using “calibre”, for example). Those who are looking for an e-reader for their studies or who read a lot of essays should consider this: You will need to convert any works in which you want to read the footnotes into a kepub, otherwise it won’t be comfortable.
That aside, this e-reader is nice to use, the provided dictionaries work well, even if they are not quite as nice as those you find on Kindles.
Alternative readers and modifications
While you have to “jailbreak” a Kindle if you want to install alternative software, which is a complex process that can possibly mess up the e-reader, installing outside software is very simple on Kobo e-readers, whether you’re installing an alternative program, like Koreader, which is a very good PDF reader, or tools that will allow you to organize your book collection easily. For those who want to tinker with their e-reader a little, this is a huge plus.
Bang for the buck: Its strong point!
The Kobo H2O2 costs about 180 euros, which is a great price for an e-reader that can do so many things well. Its screen size allows you to read most different file types comfortably. If you are focusing on PDF, this is a good device but probably not the best: reading our article about the best e-reader for PDF reading is recommended as there are devices that are better suited for this use case.