Review: Kobo Glo HD eBook reader

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The Kobo Glo HD's 6” HD Carta E Ink touchscreen with a 1448 x 1072 resolution 300 pixels per inch is no gimmick, it really looks super crisp and clear. Kobo also still maintains the most even backlighting in the market which ensures great visibility in any lighting condition.

Kobo has been pushing the state of the art in e-Ink eBook reader technology and design. While rival Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite has received nominal updates and minor tweaks, the Kobo Glo HD line has progressed in a more evolutionary fashion and the Glo HD is the current pinnacle of this technology.

The big news in eBook readers is higher resolution displays with more paper-like look and feel, glare free displays that have a quick refresh rate and bring a wider viewing angle. The Kobo Glo HD, which comes to Canada on May 1, brings all these features as well as some visual and tactile refinements.

I love that the e-Ink eBook reader continues to improve and evolve despite the proliferation of larger smartphones and cheaper tablets as well as the availability of reading apps on various devices. I have a gamut of iPads, a Surface Pro 3 and a Nexus 9 tablet, all of which sport ultra-high pixel counts and which are great for reading magazines, comic books as well as watching movies and surfing the web.

Yes, these devices will do a fine job of serving as eBook readers but there's nothing better than a proper eInk device to really aid in marathon reading sessions. I find this to be specially true as my eyesight gets weaker and after using a computer display for work all day, i can't really unwind with a book on these devices.

The Kobo Glo HD's 6” HD Carta E Ink touchscreen with a 1448 x 1072 resolution 300 pixels per inch is no gimmick, it really looks super crisp and clear. Kobo also still maintains the most even backlighting in the market which ensures great visibility in any lighting condition.

Other key features are a two month battery life, the ability to customize with over 48 sizes and 11 font types and also adjust margins to a reader's preference.

For students and reader who like to highlight passages and write notes, they have the freedom to do this and there's also a built-in dictionary.

Reading with the Kobo Glo HD is a pleasure. It can easily be held in one hand, it has good grip and a rugged exterior plus it charges up pretty quickly. I enjoyed reading George R.R. Martin's Songs of Fire and Ice series of books, which I bought as a bundle years ago as well as some of my favourite science fiction classics like the Dune series and various movie scripts.

While it seems that there's very little happening in E-Ink eBook readers, Kobo has shown otherwise. The company has created the ultimate eInk reading experience for avid readers. The Kobo Glo HD has one of the best displays for pure text reading in the market today.

While the display on the Kobo Glo HD is very impressive and the closest thing to a printed page, the rest of the package is rather plain and unexciting. Perhaps this is because Kobo has, after years of experimentation in terms of sizes, colours and materials, they've settled on this form factor and fit and finish.

As with any eReader, I alwasy suggest having a look see at the range and types of eBooks available on the platform. If Kobo has what you need or are interested in, by all means do consider investing in the Kobo Glo HD, your eyes will thank you.

Rating: 4 out of 5