Kobo’s newest e-reader is a blessing for bathtub book readers, it can go from bed, to bath and beyond. Photo courtesy: Highview Communications.
The newest addition to the Kobo e-reader line-up from the Toronto-based company is the Kobo Aura H2O. As you can probably guess from its name, what makes this e-reader unique is that it is waterproof. The Kobo Aura H2O can be submersed one metre underwater for up to 30 minutes (as long as the port cover is closed). This adds a whole new level of relaxation to reading in the bath, taking away the worry of dropping your reading material in the tub.
The Kobo Aura H2O features ComfortLight, which is five LED lights placed at the bottom edge of the screen and light the screen from the side. The majority of our devices, including smartphones and tablets, use a blue backlight that lights up from behind the screen and directly into your eyes that strains your eyes when staring at a screen for too long. This also makes the e-reader easy to read in a variety of different settings, from outside with no glare from the sun, or in the complete dark and comfort of your bed.
The Kobo Aura H2O has 4 GB of memory, so it can hold about 3,000 books (more than you could ever read on the 11 hour flight to Japan). If you need space for more books than that, the Aura H2O has an option for additional storage, up to 32 GB, which is equivalent to 30,000 for real book-lovers.
The e-reader gives you an estimate of how long each book will take to read, and breaks down how long each chapter should take to read, answering the indecisive question of whether you have enough time to read one more chapter before bed.
Directly on the Kobo Aura H2O, along with wifi, you have direct access to the Kobo bookstore, which contains more than 4 million eBooks, comics and magazines, from best-sellers to classics and new releases so you won’t miss out on anything (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was available the same time as it was in bookstores).
The e-reader also includes a built-in dictionary. By highlighting a word, the e-reader will find a definition for the word without taking you from the page you are reading. Although the concept is promising, the dictionary itself is not that impressive, often defining a word with the word itself.
The Kobo Aura H2O is easy to use, it only has one button to turn it on and off, and a responsive touch screen. It is a great gift for the avid reader who may not be technologically-advanced.
The e-reader is small and light, making it easy to carry around in your backpack or purse without weighing you down. The Aura H2O has a 6.8 inch screen, and the e-reader itself is 5 inches wide and 7 inches tall. It weighs 233 grams, less than an iPad mini.
For someone who is used to reading real books, the Kobo Aura H2O has features that make it easy to want to switch over to the e-reader world. Without having the weight of a book to carry around, or worrying about dropping it in the bathtub, or even wrinkling the pages with wet fingers, the Kobo Aura H2O can be quite appealing.
The Kobo Aura H2O retails at $179.99 CND, and is available in most bookstores.
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THIS ARTICLE WAS REPRINTED FROM NIKKEI VOICE’S SUMMER ISSUE. SUBSCRIBE OR DONATE TODAY TO HELP SUPPORT OUR NEWSPAPER. THE KOBO AURA H2O WILL BE ONE OF THE PRIZES FOR THE 2016 SHORT STORY CONTEST.