Kobo eReader
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| Manufacturer | Kobo Inc. |
|---|---|
| Release date |
Kobo eReader Wireless: 10 May 2010 Kobo eReader Touch: 23 May 2011 Kobo Glo: 6 September 2012 Kobo Mini: 6 September 2012 Kobo Aura HD: 17 April 2013 Kobo Aura: 27 August 2013 Kobo Aura H2O: 1 October 2014 Kobo Glo HD: 1 May 2015 Kobo Touch 2.0: 8 September 2015 |
| Introductory price |
Kobo eReader Wireless US$199 Kobo eReader Touch: $129 Kobo Glo: $129 Kobo Mini: $79 Kobo Aura HD: $169 Kobo Aura: $149 Kobo Aura H2O: $179 Kobo Glo HD: $129 Kobo Touch 2.0: $61 |
| Operating system | Kobo Firmware |
| CPU |
Kobo eReader Touch: 800MHz Freescale i.MX507 Kobo Glo: 1GHz Kobo Mini: 800MHZ Freescale i.MX507 Kobo Aura HD: 1GHz Freescale i.MX507 Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Glo HD: 1GHz |
| Storage |
Kobo eReader Wireless 1 GB of memory (or around 1,000 books) plus up to 32 GB SD card Kobo eReader Touch, Kobo Glo: 2 GB of memory (1,500 books) plus up to 32 GB microSD card Kobo Mini: 2 GB of memory (1,500 books) Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Glo HD: 4 GB of memory (3,000 books) plus up to 32 GB microSD card |
| Display |
Kobo eReader Wireless, Kobo eReader Touch, Kobo Glo, Kobo Aura: 6" E Ink Kobo Mini: 5" E Ink Kobo Aura HD: 6.8" E Ink |
| Input |
Kobo eReader Wireless: Four directional d-pad Kobo eReader Touch, Kobo Glo, Kobo Mini, Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Aura: Touchscreen |
| Connectivity |
USB Bluetooth (original) Wi-Fi (new models) |
| Power | Internal li-ion rechargeable battery |
| Dimensions |
Kobo eReader Wireless: 184 × 120 × 10 mm (7.2 × 4.7 × 0.4 in) Kobo eReader Touch: 165 × 114 × 10 mm (6.5 × 4.5 × 0.4 in) Kobo Glo, Kobo Glo HD: 114 x 157 x 10 mm (4.5 x 6.2 x 0.4 in) Kobo Mini: 102 x 133 x 10 mm (4 x 5.2 x 0.4 in) Kobo Aura HD: 175.7 x 128.3 x 11.7 mm (6.91 x 5.05 x 0.46 in) Kobo Aura: 150 x 114 x 8.1 mm (5.9 x 5.6 x 0.3 in) Kobo Aura H2O: 179 x 129 x 9.7 mm |
| Weight |
Kobo eReader Wireless 221 g (7.80 oz) Kobo eReader Touch 200 g (7.05 oz) Kobo Glo: 185 g (6.5 oz) Kobo Mini: 134 g (4.73 oz) Kobo Aura HD: 240 g (8.5 oz) Kobo Aura: 174 g (6.1 oz) Kobo Aura H2O: 233 g (8.22 oz) Kobo Glo HD: 180 g (6.3 oz) |
| Website |
store |
The Kobo eReader is an e-reader produced by Toronto-based Kobo Inc. The company's name is an anagram of "book". The original version was released in May 2010 and was marketed as a minimalist alternative to the more expensive e-book readers available at the time. Like most e-readers, the Kobo uses an electronic ink screen.[1] The LCD tablet versions were released between 2011 to 2013.[2]
E Ink devices
Current
Common attributes
All Kobo e-readers share a unique pagination system giving users the option to count and reference pages separately within each chapter as opposed to the book as a whole, although the latter is user selectable as an alternative. All Kobo readers require connection to the Internet during the initial setup phase and will not work until it has connected to Kobo's servers. Kobo e-readers support viewing EPUB, Adobe PDF, plain text, HTML, and unprotected Mobipocket (mobi, prc) e-books.
Kobo Aura H2O
The Aura H₂0, released on 1 October 2014, is the first commercial waterproof e-reader and has an upgraded version of the Aura HD's 6.8-inch E Ink Carta touchscreen display with a resolution of 1440×1080 with 265 ppi.[3] While its screen is improved over the Aura HD, it contains the same processor, on-board storage, and software as the Aura HD, and has dust/waterproofing - certified to be immersed for up to 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of water with its port cover closed.[4]
Kobo Glo HD
The Kobo Glo HD, released on 1 May 2015, is an e-reader with an E Ink Carta screen and is the successor to 2012's Glo; it has six-inch screen in a resolution of 1,448×1,072 pixels, or 300 ppi, matching the resolution of the Kindle Voyage.
Kobo Touch 2.0
The Kobo Touch 2.0 was released on 8 September 2015, as an entry level e-reader.[5] The E Ink Pearl 6-inch display with a resolution of 800×600 and 167 ppi. The exterior is similar in appearance to the Kobo Glo HD and it has a 1 GHz Freescale i.MX6 Solo Lite Processor and 4 GB of internal memory.
Discontinued
Kobo eReader
Kobo Inc. announced its first e-reader on 24 March 2010, at the CTIA show.[6] It was officially released on 1 May 2010.[7] It had expandable memory, holding an additional 4 GB via an SD slot and limited wireless connectivity via Bluetooth to select Blackberry wireless devices. It was available in black or white and came preloaded with 100 public domain books.[1] It was manufactured by Netronix Inc.,[8] a Taiwan based company with factories in Taiwan and China.[9]
The pricing strategy of the original Kobo, at USD$149, was to rival the Amazon Kindle, which was USD$110 more expensive.[1] However, in June 2010, just after the Kobo was released, Amazon dropped the price of the Kindle to USD$189.[10] Its pricing strategy in Australia was similarly aggressive where it was available for A$199, again A$100 less than the Kindle.[11] Borders Australia said that they hoped to sell high volumes of the Kobo to drive up sales at their e-content store.[11]
The original Kobo received a mediocre review from CNET, which said that, while the Kobo was compact, lightweight and affordable, the lack of Wi-Fi or 3G made it outdated, especially when there were similarly priced eReaders available with those features.[10]
In December 2010, the original Kobo's feature set was updated with a firmware update to more closely match the Wifi model.[12]
Kobo Wi-Fi
A new model with Wi-Fi capability was released on 15 October 2010. It included an improved processor, screen, and new colour choices (porcelain/metallic silver, porcelain/pearlized lilac, and onyx). The SD expansion had been improved to claim a capacity for up to 10,000 books with a 32GB SD card.[13] Other improvements included a longer battery life and a built-in dictionary.[14]
As with the original model, the Wi-Fi model came pre-loaded with 100 public domain books.[13]
Kobo Touch
The Kobo Touch was released in June 2011.[15] It introduced an infrared 6-inch touchscreen interface. Other improvements compared to the Kobo Wi-Fi included an E Ink Pearl screen, a faster processor capable of smooth PDF panning, 802.11n capability, and reduced size and weight.[16]
Kobo Glo
The Kobo Glo is an e-reader released on 6 September 2012. It is a front-lit, touch-based E Ink reader.[17] The Kobo Glo supports most ebook standards, including EPUB. It has a 6-inch touchscreen, 1024×768 resolution, 213 ppi, 6.53 oz, 2 GB of storage, and supports microSD.[18]
Kobo Mini
The Kobo Mini is smaller, 5-inch, and lighter than standard ebook readers and was released on 6 September 2012. It has 2GB internal storage and Wi-Fi. The 5" E Ink Vizplex screen has a resolution of 800x600 with 200 ppi.
Kobo Aura
The Kobo Aura is the baseline e-reader with a 6-inch E Ink ClarityScreen display with 1024×758 resolution, 16-level grey scale and a built-in LED front-light. It has 4 GB of storage, weighs 173g (6.1 oz), has 2 months of battery life, a Freescale i.MX507 1 GHz processor, and a microSD expansion slot.[19][20] It was released in September 2013.[2]
Kobo Aura HD
The Aura HD was a limited-edition device, released on 25 April 2013, with a 6.8-inch E Ink display, with a high resolution of 1440×1080 with 265 ppi.[21] It is 8.47 oz and a microSD expansion slot. Other improvements compared to the Kobo Touch include a built-in "ComfortLight" LED light, a faster processor (1 GHz), twice the onboard storage (4 GB) and a claimed twice the battery life (estimated at 2 months).
Tablet devices
Current
Kobo Arc
The Kobo Arc is a 7" color Android tablet announced 6 September 2012.
In late 2013, Kobo released a high-definition 10-inch tablet (Arc 10 HD), a high-definition seven-inch tablet (Arc 7 HD), and a low-priced seven-inch tablet, the Arc 7 for $149. These tablets are the first device to feature "Reading Mode" on the tablets, which turns off outside notifications, adjusts the back-lighting and turns off non-reading-essential processor functions to save power.[22]
Discontinued
Kobo Vox
The Kobo Vox is a 7" tablet running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It was announced 19 October 2011.
Market share
Global
Canada
The Kobo e-reading platform was the best-selling in Canada as of January 2012, with research firm Ipsos-Reid estimating that Kobo e-readers represented 46% of the Canadian market.[24]
France
As of spring 2012, Kobo had 50% of the market share in France.[25]
Other countries
In August 2013, Kobo was the second largest ebook retailer in Japan, and Forbes estimated it at 3% of the market share in the United States.[22]
Selected subsidiaries
In October 2012, Kobo Inc. acquired the digital publishing platform Aquafadas to increase the content available on its e-reader devices.[26]
See also
- Comparison of e-book readers
- Comparison of tablet computers
- Amazon Kindle
- Barnes & Noble Nook
- Sony Reader
- Calibre – open source software to manage a digital library with support of conversion between common e-book formats
References
- 1 2 3 Nowak, Peter (24 March 2010), "Indigo targets Amazon with Kobo e-reader", News (CA: CBC).
- 1 2 Haselton, Todd (2013-09-28). "Kobo Arc 7, Arc 10HD and Aura Hands-On". TechnoBuffalo. TechnoBuffalo LLC. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ↑ "Kobo crams 1.5 million pixels into its 6.8" Aura H2O e-reader". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
- ↑ "Kobo Aura H2O Technical Specs". Kobo. Retrieved 2014-10-01.
- ↑ Kobo Touch 2.0 e-Reader Review September 8, 2015.
- ↑ Hamblen, Matt (25 March 2010), "Kobo announces $149 e-reader to be sold by Borders", Computerworld.
- ↑ "Homegrown Kobo hits the shelves", The Globe and Mail (review), 29 April 2010.
- ↑ "Kobo model N416", OET Exhibits List, FCC.
- ↑ About (company information), Netronix.
- 1 2 "Kobo eReader Review" (video review). C net. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- 1 2 Bhatt, Neerav (13 May 2010). "Borders to sell Kobo e-Book reader for A$ 199". AU: iTnews. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ↑ Geier, K. "Customers with the original Kobo eReader we are happy to announce that Newspapers and Magazines Now Available!". Blog. Kobo. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- 1 2 "Features". Ereader. Kobo. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ↑ Pilato, Fabrizio (29 September 2010). "Kobo WiFi edition is cheaper, faster and sharper". Mobile Magazine. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ↑ Ridden, Paul (25 May 2011). "Kobo launches new e-Reader Touch edition". Gizmag. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
- ↑ "eReader Touch Specs". Books. Kobo. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ↑ "Welcome the New Kobo Family of Devices – An eReader for Everyone!". Toronto: Kobo. 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ↑ "Specs", Kobo Glo, Gdgt.
- ↑ "Tech specs". Aura. Kobo.
- ↑ "Kobo’s new tablets compete with Google’s Nexuses on price, specs". Ars Technica. Aug 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- ↑ "Kobo crams 1.5 million pixels into its 6.8" Aura HD e-reader". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
- 1 2 "Taking Another Look At Ebook Upstart Kobo". Forbes. 2013-08-14. Retrieved 2013-08-29.
- ↑ "Digitimes Research: 4.57 million e-book readers to be shipped globally in 4Q12". DigiTimes. 2012-11-14. Retrieved 2013-07-07.(subscription required)
- 1 2 Barbour, Mary Beth (2012-04-19). "Latest Wave of Ipsos Study Reveals Mobile Device Brands Canadian Consumers are Considering in 2012". Ipsos Reid. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ↑ Reid, Calvin (2012-04-20). "With More Funding, Kobo Steps Up". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ↑ "Kobo acquires Aquafadas". Aquafadas Blog. 10 October 2012.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kobo eReader. |
- Official website
- Kobo labs (reader source code repository), Git hub.
- Kobo API Documentation (How to develop applications that make use of Kobo's ebook catalog).
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