Kobo announced its new e-reader, the Aura One, on Wednesday. It is the latest installment in the e-readers Aura series, following the Aura HD and Aura H2O.
The Aura One features a Carta E Ink touchscreen display with an 1872×1404 pixel resolution, giving a 300ppi pixel density. It comes with 8 GB of internal storage and 512 MB of RAM, running with a 1 gHz processor.
The Kobo e-reader comes with a Micro USB connector and supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n.
Normally the e-readers on the market, like Amazon’s Kindle, are about 6 inches, and while the Aura One is a bit bigger, with 7.8 inches, it does not weight that much, it only weights 230 g making it even lighter than many of the smartphones today.
Kobo made the Aura One almost completely waterproof
The device comes with an IPX8 rating, which means it can survive a 2 meters water dip and stay there for about an hour before frying.
Some people find some tablets difficult to hold, especially big ones. That is why the company made the back of the e-reader with a unique textured material so that users can carry the Aura One with ease.
The Aura One only has one button, so costumers will have to use the touchscreen to control it. They can tap the right or left side of the display to turn pages or press the top of the screen to open the menu. The user can look up the definition of any word, select text or make a note by just pressing and holding.
The Aura One comes with its ComfortLight Pro display, a technology that uses RGB bulbs instead of the white ones usually used. The idea is taking it easy on the eyes at the moment of reading at night. Also, It has a light sensor that allows the user to read in darkness. The sensor changes the color temperature of the display based on the illumination of the room.
It will be available for the U.S. and the U.K starting September 6th, while for Canada is going to be launched the 30th of this month. Its price tag will be around $230.
The Aura Edition is the wallet-friendly option
Besides the Aura One, Kobo will also launch a smaller and cheaper device called the Kobo Aura Edition 2. It features a 6-inch Carta E Ink touchscreen display with a 1024×768 pixel resolution, giving a 212ppi pixel density.
Just like the Aura One, the Aura Edition 2 will be launched on September 6 in the U.S. and the U.K, but it has no price yet.
Source: Kobo