KOBO launches 3 new devices: Mini, Glow ereaders & Arc Tablet

[Top100EbooksRank]

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/06/k...mini-kobo-arc/

three new readers: one glowing, one mini and one slathered in Ice Cream Sandwich. The mini and glowing Gio Comfortlight will arrive in October, with the Android-based Arc arriving in November. All told, they'll range in price from $80 for the Kobo Mini to $250 for the top-end tablet. That's the short version, but if you follow past the break we've got a full rundown of the specs, along with additional photos.

Kobo Mini: 5" Cost $80

Spoiler:

Kobo Glo: 6" Cost $130

Spoiler:

Kobo Arc: 7" Tablet ($199 for 8GB and $249 for 16GB)

Spoiler:

If a 5" ereader is sellable, maybe a 5" Tablet (Kindle Fire/Nexus 5) for $139-$149 will sell too.

[nesler]

I'm still pissed at you, Kobo. But damn, the mini is sexy. And a high-res 6" display on something besides the ill-fated iRiver Story HD? Hmmm.

[David58117]

Nice..."Kobo's own proprietary glowing technology," eh?

Are we going to have to leave it in direct light for an hour in order to get it charged?

lame j/k.....

Wonder how it works..

[Terisa de morgan]

And the Mini has changing backs in different colors (you can change it as I change the cover in my clock )

[tubemonkey]

The Mini sounds enticing. This is how it compares with the Kindle 4 NT:

• Kobo Mini -- 5" display ... 5.2" x 4.0" x 0.41" ... 4.7 oz ... $80
• Kindle NT -- 6" display ... 6.5" x 4.5" x 0.34" ... 6.0 oz ... $79

[charmian]

Their glowing e-reader is at least undercutting the Nook Glowlight by ten dollars. Let's see what the Amazon pricing is, though.

These devices are destined for Canada and Japan, really. Hopefully Kobo has straightened out all the issues they were having with the Japanese software.

[owly]

Oooh!! 1024x768 resolution and 1 Ghz processor! This I MUST get.

[pata]

High resolution and embedded light?! o_O sounds awesome. I wonder if this will make it to market before the next Onyx ereader

[David Munch]

Very tempting... The Glo looks really nice!

Amazon, your turn.

[Graham]

Good to see the 5" form factor making a comeback. I really liked my old Elonex 611EB, and a lot of people adored their Sony PRS 350s.

I can't see the screen resolution reported anywhere yet. I'm assuming 800x600, but it would be nice to see an improvement there as well, to match the new 6" screens.

Graham

[beachwanderer]

Originally Posted by Graham

Good to see the 5" form factor making a comeback.

Yes. It was still living on with the 5'' Pocketbook 360 plus (new) though. Kobo will charge 79,- EUR over here for the Mini whereas the PB 360 plus is more expensive still. - Mind you: As was to be expected, Kobo ditched the micro-SD-card-slot on the Mini so you are tied to your main PC or go to their shop directly via WLAN. The PB 360 plus has WLAN and a micro-SD-card-slot, which leaves more choice in handling.

Originally Posted by Graham

I can't see the screen resolution reported anywhere yet. I'm assuming 800x600, but it would be nice to see an improvement there as well, to match the new 6" screens.
Graham

Yes, seems to be 800x600 (Thats a least what heise.de (german) says here in the table, though kobo itself isn't specific about this here. (german site).

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by David58117

Nice..."Kobo's own proprietary glowing technology," eh?

"Proprietary glowing technology"? That phrase is so vague it could refer to luminous streetwalker cyborgs.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Is this accurate? On The Kobo Glo (supposedly "the company's answer to Barnes & Noble's Nook SimpleTouch with GlowLight"): "The display's got a resolution of 1024 x 768 and can do 16 levels of gray scale."

That's far more than an answer to the STwGL.

If the KG uses an e-ink screen, you have to wonder whether the stated resolution is a mistake. There's no mention of resolution in the Kobo press release on which the Engadget article's based.

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Is this accurate? On The Kobo Glo (supposedly "the company's answer to Barnes & Noble's Nook SimpleTouch with GlowLight"): "The display's got a resolution of 1024 x 768 and can do 16 levels of gray scale."

That's far more than an answer to the STwGL.

If the KG uses an e-ink screen, you have to wonder whether the stated resolution is a mistake. There's no mention of resolution in the Kobo press release on which the Engadget article's based.

It's true. https://www.kobo.com/koboglo/techspecs/

Andrew

[spindlegirl]

The Kobo Mini looks kind of cute, but I still see they have the "recommended Reads" right up front.



I bought my Kindle last month, and aside from one list in the menu (which I have to press to see) "buy from Kindle Store", my Kindle is all about me and my (pre-existing) books.

All that aside, it looks cute, and the price is nice, and may be on my list for next spring's buys. (I am attempting over the next couple of years, to provide my other children with e-readers) It likely still would need the Kobo desktop to set it up, or have they made it easier to register the device? Logging in to ones account via wifi should do it sans desktop.