Pre-empting what is expected to be a major announcement by rival Amazon.com, Toronto-based Kobo, now owned by Rakuten, stealthily launched a new line of eBook Readers. The first models since last year's tablet/eReader hybrid the Kobo Vox, the new models represent an entire range of products including a new coloured tablet and what they note is the world's smallest eReader. Hit jump for the full lineup.
“Our focus has remained firmly on delivering a superior experience for book lovers around the world,” CEO Michael Serbinis said in a canned statement. “With 11,000 booksellers and leading retail partners across five continents, we are bringing the new Kobo Family to book lovers everywhere. The new Kobo Family provides more choice for book lovers and a superior ereading and content discovery experience.”
Kobo Glo — Read comfortably, day or night. (Only $129.99 USD)
We’ve all been there, completely engrossed in a good book while the daylight hours fade. The Kobo Glo and its ComfortLight technology is perfect for any booklover who wants to keep the pages turning 24/7. And with ultra-fast page turns and highly responsive touch interactivity, nighttime reading becomes a dream. Get this 6” E Ink eReader in a selection of colours including, Pink Sunset, Blue Moon, Silver Star, and Black Night.Kobo Mini — Kobo Mini – Small is a big deal! (Only $79.99 USD) Meet the Kobo Mini, the world’s smallest and lightest full-featured eReader. Measuring in at just 5” and a stealth 134 grams, this E Ink eReader proves that great things come in small packages—loaded with all the great features Kobo customers have come to know and love, including storage to carry up to 1,000 eBooks, an unmatched E Ink touch screen giving readers crisp and clear text, and customizable font options.
Kobo Arc — Reads you like a book. (Starting at $199.99 USD for 8G and $249.99 USD for 16G)
The Kobo Arc is designed to reflect your personal experiences by discovering preferences, tastes, and passions for a variety of content. With the revolutionary new interface called Tapestries, finding new videos, movies, eBooks, webpages and more has never been easier. Just “Pin” things you like and the Kobo Arc learns to bring you more of what you love! And with a stunning 7” 16-million colour display, the stuff you love never looked so good. The Kobo Arc is a powerful tablet, with a 1.5 GHz dual core processor, that delivers a rich multimedia experience— including a front-facing camera to easily Skype your favourite people to tell them about the latest new read! Powered by Android 4.0, the Kobo Arc also has access to over 600,000 apps through Google Play giving you the ultimate customizable experience.
The new Kobo e-readers will be sold at many U.S. retailers, including Target, Staples, Best Buy, and Sears. They are usually sold in Canada through Indigo bookstores as well.
Source: Venturebeat