Kobo eReader
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Kobo Aura, Kobo's current flagship e-book reader
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| Manufacturer | Kobo Inc. |
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| 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 |
| Introductory price | Kobo eReader Wireless $199 Kobo eReader Touch: $129 Kobo Glo: $129 Kobo Mini: $79 Kobo Aura HD: $169 Kobo Aura: $149 |
| 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: 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, Kobo Aura: 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 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: 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) |
| 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) |
| Website | www |
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. As of March 2010[update], Indigo Books & Music owned 58% of Kobo Inc.;[1] the Japanese conglomerate Rakuten bought control of Kobo in January 2012.[2] Like most e-book readers, the Kobo uses an electronic ink screen.[1] The LCD tablet versions have been released between 2011 to 2013.[3]
Contents
E-ink devices[edit]
Current[edit]
Common Attributes[edit]
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 "phoned home".
Kobo Touch[edit]
The Kobo Touch is the current baseline model, released in June 2011.[4] It introduced an infrared touch-screen 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 Wi-Fi capability, and reduced size and weight.[5]
Kobo Glo[edit]
The Kobo Glo is an ebook reader produced by Kobo Inc. It is a front-lit, touch-based E Ink reader.[6] The Kobo Glo supports most ebook standards, including EPUB. It has a 6-inch capacitive touchscreen, 1024×768 resolution, 213 ppi, 6.53 oz, 2 GB of storage, and supports microSD.[7] It was released on September 6, 2012.
Kobo Aura[edit]
A device 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.[8][9] It was released in September 2013.[3]
Kobo Aura HD[edit]
A limited-edition device with a 6.8-inch e-ink display, with a high resolution of 1440×1080 with 265 ppi.[10] It is 8.47 oz and a microSD expansion slot. Other improvements compared to the Kobo Touch include a built-in "ComfortLight" light, a faster processor (1 GHz), twice the onboard storage (4 GB) and a claimed twice the battery life (estimated at 2 months). It supports EPUB, Adobe PDF, plain text, HTML, and unprotected Mobipocket (mobi, prc). It was released on April 25, 2013.
Kobo Aura H2O[edit]
The Aura H2O is the first waterproof e-reader and has an upgraded version of the Aura HD's 6.8-inch e-ink Carta display with a resolution of 1440×1080 with 265 ppi.[11] It contains the same processor, onboard storage, and software as the Aura HD, with dust/waterproofing, certified to be immersed for up to 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of water with port cover closed.[12] It was released on October 1, 2014, weighs 8.22 oz and has a microSD expansion slot.
Discontinued[edit]
Kobo eReader[edit]
Kobo Inc. announced its first eReader on 24 March 2010 at the CTIA show.[13] It was officially released on 1 May 2010.[14] 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.,[15] a Taiwan based company with factories in Taiwan and China.[16]
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.[17] Its pricing strategy in Australia was similarly aggressive where it was available for A$199, again A$100 less than the Kindle.[18] Borders Australia said that they hoped to sell high volumes of the Kobo to drive up sales at their e-content store.[18]
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.[17]
In December 2010, the original Kobo's feature set was updated with a firmware update to more closely match the Wifi model.[19]
Kobo Wi-Fi[edit]
A new model with Wi-Fi capability was launched 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.[20] Other improvements included a longer battery life and a built-in dictionary.[21]
As with the original model, the Wi-Fi model came pre-loaded with 100 public domain books.[20]
Kobo Mini[edit]
The Kobo Mini is advertised as smaller and lighter than standard eBook readers. It was released on September 6, 2012.
Tablet devices[edit]
Current[edit]
Kobo Arc[edit]
The Kobo Arc is a 7" colour tablet announced 6 September 2012. Originally shipped with Android 4.0, "Ice Cream Sandwich" it was updated to Android 4.1.1 in March 2013.
In August 2013, Kobo announced it would release 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[edit]
Kobo Vox[edit]
The Kobo Vox is a 7" tablet running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It was announced 19 October 2011.
[edit]
Global[edit]
Canada[edit]
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[edit]
As of spring 2012, Kobo had 50% of the market share in France.[25]
Other countries[edit]
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[edit]
In October 2012 Kobo Inc. acquired the digital publishing platform Aquafadas to increase the content available on its e-reader devices.[26]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d Nowak, Peter (24 March 2010), "Indigo targets Amazon with Kobo e-reader", News (CA: CBC).
- ^ "Rakuten Completes Acquisition of Kobo". CA: TechFinance. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ^ a b Haselton, Todd (2013-09-28). "Kobo Arc 7, Arc 10HD and Aura Hands-On". TechnoBuffalo. TechnoBuffalo LLC. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Hamblen, Matt (25 March 2010), "Kobo announces $149 e-reader to be sold by Borders", Computerworld.
- ^ "Homegrown Kobo hits the shelves", The Globe and Mail (review), 29 April 2010.
- ^ "Kobo model N416", OET Exhibits List, FCC.
- ^ About (company information), Netronix.
- ^ a b "Kobo eReader Review" (video review). C net. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ a b Bhatt, Neerav (13 May 2010). "Borders to sell Kobo e-Book reader for A$ 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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b "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)
- ^ a b 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[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kobo eReader. |
- Official website
- Kobo labs (reader source code repository), Git hub.
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