Kobo has updated its Kobo Aura eReader and announced the Kobo Aura ONE — an eReader designed with the help of nine of Kobo’s top customers.
“As we build new devices, we are trying to keep the reader’s entire reading life in mind – where and when do they read, how can we make things easier, how can we combine beautiful design with pushing the envelope of what technology can do. Everything we do is for the reader,” said Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo. “The insights and feedback gleaned from working closely with some of our top customers were instrumental in the design of this new device. The result is an eReader that offers our biggest, thinnest screen yet, a revolutionary light that adapts to day and night—and it’s waterproof, which means it can go virtually anywhere you do. In the end, we want to make people’s reading lives better, and with the help of our most passionate customers, we created Kobo Aura ONE to do just that.”
Check out a behind the scenes look at the process the company went through to design and create the Kobo Aura ONE.
Key features of the Kobo Aura ONE include:
7.8” HD Carta E Ink touchscreen, 1872 x 1404 resolution 300 dpi- 8 GB on-board memory, holds up to 6,000 eBooks
- ComfortLight PRO – Reduces blue-light exposure and protects your eyes for the best nighttime reading experience
- TypeGenius: 11 different fonts and over 50 font styles; exclusive font weight and sharpness settings
- 14 file formats supported natively (EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR)
- Read eBooks borrowed from Public Library
- Wi Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro USB
- up to one month battery life
- IPX8 waterproof rating (up to 60 minutes in up to 2 metres of water)
The Kobo Aura ONE will be available for pre-order on kobo.com starting August 30th for $229USD, and will be available at retail in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Japan, and Turkey on September 6th; October/November in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico; and March 2017 in Brazil.
In addition, Kobo has also announced an update to the Kobo Aura. The Kobo Aura Edition 2 includes a 6″ 1024 x 768 E ink touchscreen display, WiFi connection, 11 font types and 40 font sizes, battery life of up to 2 months, 4GB of memory, and adjustable ComfortLife. The new Kobo Aura will also be available in select countries on September 6th for $119USD, with availability in other countries at a later date.
What do you think of a 7.8″ E ink display eReader with a blue-light reducing display and an IPX8 waterproof rating? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
