Doing some early gift recon for the avid reader on your eventual Christmas list? In that case you may want to take a look at the new additions to Kobo’s family of e-book readers.
This Tuesday Kobo releases the Aura Edition 2 and the Aura One, bringing the size of its current selection to three unique models.
The Kobo Aura Edition 2 becomes the new baby of the family, essentially an introductory model that includes all the bells and whistles you used to have to pay extra for. The Aura E2 comes with a six-inch, glare resistant E-carta screen (the smallest in the current line) that has a resolution not quite as good as the now defunct Kobo Glo 2 but better than the Kobo Touch 2.0. It also includes a customizable comfort light (the light is now a common feature on all the models) and 4GB of internal memory (enough storage for up to 3,000 books). The battery life will remain the same as previous models, allowing up to two months of use on a healthy charge (the life of the battery depends on how much you use the light, though the average user will easily get several weeks out of a single charge).
Taking a page out of Microsoft’s book, Kobo named their new big kid on the block the Aura One. Coming with a 7.8 inch glare resistant screen, not only is the One the largest model in Kobo’s current line but also the most water-resistant (it can be immersed in up to six feet of water). It boasts 8 GB of internal memory (that’s up to six thousand books for anyone interested in the math) but as a result of the larger screen and resolution (the Aura One has a resolution of 300 ppi to the Edition 2’s 212) the battery life will be half that of the Edition 2 (no longer than a month).
Both models are compatible with 14 different formats of ebooks (including E-PUB, E-PUB 3, PDF and MOBI) and both can connect to the Kobo bookstore through wi-fi. And speaking of the Kobo bookstore, it now boasts a library of five million titles along with thousands of magazine and newspaper subscriptions for tablet customers. Each model will also have it’s own line of new customized case (unfortunately previous cases will not be compatible).
The Kobo Aura Edition 2 will retail for 129.99 while the One will set you back 249.99 (plus applicable taxes). The Kobo Aura H20 (retailing for 199.99) will stick around as the middle child. The new models will be available on Kobo’s website but if you prefer brick and mortar stores they’ll be exclusive to Indigo and Chapters stores until October.
Photo www.kobobooks.com
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