Kobo Aura One takes on the Kindle with a huge screen and water resistance
In Sep. 2014, Canada's Kobo was the first company to launch a waterproof e-reader, the Kobo Aura H2O. Now, the company has followed that up with the Kobo Aura One, which also doesn't mind getting wet, but has a larger screen encased in a thin and elegant body.
The Kobo Aura One has a 7.8-inch screen -- larger than its predecessor's 6.8-inch display, as well as Kindle Voyage/Oasis 6-inch screens. With a resolution of 300dpi (that's 1872x1404 pixels at that screen size), it's set to be the best-looking e-ink screen out there.
Despite its size, the Kobo Aura One manages to stay quite slim still with 195.2x138.5x6.9mm dimensions and a weight of 230g. Other specs are up to par: 8GB of memory, Kobo's ComfortLight PRO front lighting technology, which optimizes the reading experience depending on the time of day, Wi-Fi, a Micro USB slot and a claimed one month of battery life.
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And yes, it's waterproof, up to IPX8 standards, meaning you can basically toss it into water with no fear.
Those who have never considered an e-reader that's not the Kindle should note some of the other advantages of not being locked in Amazon's ecosystem -- Kobo Aura One supports 14 file formats, including EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT, RTF, JPG, GIF and PNG files. And, unlike Amazon's cheapest Kindles, there's no advertising. So what's missing? Well, you don't get Amazon's Kindle store, but Kobo does have its own e-book store, accessible over Wi-Fi, which offers more than 5 million titles. The range of accessories is also smaller, but Kobo does offer several covers and cases for its devices.
This leaves us with the price. Kobo Aura One is at the top of Kobo's e-reader lineup, and at $229, it's doesn't come cheap -- it costs 30 bucks more than the Kindle Voyage and 60 bucks less than the Kindle Oasis. The Kobo Aura One will be available for pre-order on Aug. 30 from Kobo's website.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
