Tablets have, pretty much, beat out ebook readers when it comes to supporting people’s reading habits. There remains, of course, a good-sized market for e-paper readers, which is why companies like Amazon and Kobo still put them out. The latter’s newest, the Kobo Aura One, aims for some of that tablet crowd by integrating a larger display, allowing for larger fonts, wider text spacing, and better layouts for comic book formats.
Instead of the usual 6-inch screen that’s been the standard for ebook readers, the new device comes with 7.8-inch display. While that’s still not big enough to display a textbook page at proper sizes, it should make it more suitable for the task, apart from making it a lot more viable for reading comic books (Kobo supports CBR and CBZ).
The Kobo Aura One uses a Carta E-Ink touchscreen with a 300-ppi screen density, so this should be as paper-like as it gets. It’s waterproof with an IPX8 rating, so you can do your reading in the bath tub, in the poolside, and even in the middle of the rain without any worries. Despite the larger size, it’s still light, weighing just 8.11 ounces, so you can keep reading for hours on end without tiring out your hands.
Features include 8GB of onboard storage (good for 6,000 books), a circadian light system that adjusts front lighting to reduce blue light exposure at night, and built-in Wi-Fi. It comes with an onboard battery good for a full month of reading on a full charge.
Slated to drop August 30, the Kobo Aura One is priced at $229.99.