Things continue to heat up in the ebook reader front, with more companies showing off sweet-looking products. One device likely to make a strong play this year is the Kobo WiFi Touch Edition, a touchscreen e-ink e-reader that comes in at a very competitive price point.
At first glance, it looks more like a tablet than an e-reader, with its lack of physical controls (just one large home button). Well, it isn’t. Instead, it’s a full-fledged ebook device with the latest-generation Pearl e-ink screen, similar to the 3rd-generation Kindle.
The Kobo Touch Edition measures 6.5 x 4.5 x 0.39 inches and weighs 7.05 ounces. A Freescale i.MX508 applications processor commands the action, with your favorite books thrown up on the 6-inch, 16-grayscale display. Touch controls are facilitated by the Neonode zForce infrared technology, the same one used by Sony in their touchscreen e-readers.
Other details include WiFi connectivity (b/g/n), 1GB of onboard storage, microSD card expansion (up to 32GB) and a rechargeable battery (which lasts up to two weeks of use). It supports both ePub and PDF files (with Adobe DRM), as well as multiple languages. There’s no web browser, though, so it’s strictly reading-focused.
Slated for a June release, the Kobo WiFi Touch Edition is available for pre-order now, priced at $129.99. It comes in four colors — lilac, blue, silver and black.