Kobo Releases Kobo Glo E-Reader
Kobo Releases Kobo Glo E-Reader
GlowLight VS. ComfortLight
Kobo just released its first e-reader, Kobo Glo and it seems that its challenging Barnes and Noble’s Nook Simple Touch. If the Nook’s integrated light feature is referred by the company as the GlowLight, Kobo termed its Kobo Glo’s own integrated light as the “ComfortLight”.
Better Lighting Technology
Kobo will be released in stores this October with a selling price of $129.99. The new e-reader would have a higher 1024 by 768 display resolution and it would come as a 7 inch e-ink display that is also a touchscreen. Kobo claims that the Kobo Glo would be able to display sharper images and texts with display screen.
The e-reader will also adopt a similar front-lighting technology used by Nook. This technology allows the even distribution of light across the screen of the device. Kobo Glo will also use a very thin layer of film on the screen that provides the device help in uniformly dispersing the light
Michael Serbinis, the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) announced that Kobo has been working with another company, that was not named, for a year for the lightning technology that will be used on the Kobo Glo. He also explained that their lighting solution is different from their competition. The screen of the Kobo Glo would be illuminated from the bottom part instead of being sourced with a light coming from the top of the device. This is turn would project the LED lights as coming from the bottom moving to the top instead of coming from the top going to the bottom of the unit’s screen.
First E-Reader with XGA Display
The company CEO also said that Kobo Glo would be the pioneering e-reader in terms of having the XGA display. When it was pointed out to Serbinis that iRiver released the Story e-reader last year with a 1024 by 768 display resolution, he emphasized that the technology they used with the Kobo Glo is brand new. He just didn’t explain the new technology further and said “it’s just off the line”.
By October, it would be known if Kobo’s confidence on the Kobo Glo being superior than the Nook is true.
Kobo Glo Features
At the launch, it was also announced that the Kobo Glo’s UI (user interface) is a redesign plus they added optimized fonts to work well with the higher screen resolution of the e-reader. The e-reader would also include their own applications Kobo Pick and Reading Life. Kobo Pick is an app feature that gives e-readers recommendations on what else to read based on their reading preferences and the feedback the e-reader has provided on a particular e-read. Reading Life on the other hand, would feature the Kobo company’s social reads. With the Kobo Glo, the owner also gets 2GB of board memory and 1GB of that can be used as a storage. Aside from that, the e-reader has an expansion memory slot just in case the user would need more space for more e-books.
Storage and Battery Life Compared to Nooks
It is also worth to note that the Kobo Glo is only 6.52 ounces in weight which is almost half an ounce less than Nook which has a weight of 6.95 ounces. All around, the Kobo Glo is smaller by a fraction. The company also claims that the e-reader’s battery can last 55 hours with the device light on non-stop while it can take a month before the battery dies when the light is turned off and the Wi-Fi connection is on. Nook’s battery is said to last two months with the Wi-Fi on and the light turned off.
E-readers are hoping that the Kobo Glo’s software would function as close as possible to being seamless. If not, it could at least follow the path its predecessor’s software took. When Kobo Touch was released, the interface and the software were not as user-friendly as they should be but the upgrades implemented on the firmware improve the functionality of the Touch as time passed. Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s Nook had the same issue but the firmware updates released by this companies improved their e-readers’ functionalities at a shorter span of time compared to the Touch’s which took a lot of tweaking over time.
Rumored New E-Reader Releases
There are news that Amazon would be announcing a new Kindle this September. It is rumored to be called the PaperWhite. This Kindle would have a built-in light and hopefully, it would have a similar specification with that of Kobo Glo and Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight. If that happens, it could be the greatest e-reader battle you would ever see.
Other Kobo Products Launched
Along with the Kobo Glo, the company also announced the release of the Kobo Mini. This is another e-reader with a 5-inch touchscreen. It will be sold at a price of $79.99. Aside from e-readers, the company would soon be offering the Arc. Kobo announced that Arc would be a next-generation tablet that would come with a 7-inch screen.
2012-09-06 04:23:03
Source: http://www.emate-econtent.org/general/kobo-releases-kobo-glo-e-reader/
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