Aptly called the Kobo Touch Reader, the paperback-sized device mimics a reading habit found in physical books – the flipping of books using fingers – and creates a reading experience that threatens to end the Kindle 3’s dominance as the best eReader of 2011.

Features – Hardware and Software

The first thing that will strike you about the Kobo Touch Reader is how polished it looks compared to its predecessors. Gone are the clunky-looking navigation buttons. In place is a single button found below the display; navigations are now done mainly via the eReader’s touch interface. Trimmed on all sides,  the Kobo Touch a bit smaller and lighter (weighs 7.1 ounces only). However, the quilted back panel, which is available in four colors (black, blue, silver, and lilac), is still there.

The Kobo Touch uses the Neonode infrared system called zForce – a rather smart move by Kobo. As demonstrated by the latest generation of Sony Readers, the touchscreen technology works great – it is utterly responsive to touch or stylus input and, it doesn’t compromise or affect readability at all.

Another notable improvement is the use of eInk Pearl, the same display found on the Kindle 3 and new Sony Readers, so what you’re getting is a high contrast display with very sharp text. Courtesy of the new Freescale i.MX508 processor, overall performance and speed is hugely improved. Page turning is fast, approximating the page turn rate of physical book pages.

You also get a new search tool which, coupled with highlighting technology and virtual keyboard, makes it easy to look up words in the built-in Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. There are now 12 font sizes and two font styles available, 1GB internal memory that is expandable to 32GB via the SD card slot, image zoom function, PDF zoom up to 200%, and an impressively fast PDF scrolling.  Formats supported are PDF, ePub, and Adobe DRM.

The Bottom Line

Kobo’s ereaders had always played third (or fourth?) fiddle to the Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook. The Kobo Touch Reader has great potential of changing the order of things. Priced at $129 – that’s $10 cheaper than the Kindle WiFi and $100 + cheaper than the Sony Touch  – the Kobo Touch Reader is putting up a serious competition here.  The Kobo Touch is now available for pre-order. Shipping starts early June.

Now Kobo is striking back with sharper screen contrast, faster operating speed, built-in WiFi connectivity, and a cheaper price tag. Are they enough to keep the Kobo eReader in the eReader race? 

Features – Hardware and Software

The new Kobo is still a basic eReader and still lacks many advance features like web browser. It looks exactly like its older sibling, except that the quilted back now comes in three colors: black, metallic silver, and pearlized onyx.

It carries over a lot of the old Kobo’s features, too, including 1GB storage, SD card, Bluetooth connectivity, and support for ePub, PDF, Txt, and RTF text files. It is still 0.39 inches thick and measures 7.2 inches long and 4.7 inches wide. The addition of WiFi modem, however, has caused the device to gain a little weight; it now weighs 221 grams (7.8 ounces).

Yet the Kobo WiFi eReader does have some software enhancements. It now has a faster processor, allowing the device to have 2.5x faster page turns and operating speed than its predecessor. While it doesn’t have eInk’s new Pearl screen (its design seems to have predated the Pearl screen’s rollout), Kobo has improved the screen display’s Vizplex driver to 16 grayscales, allowing it to display sharper texts.

Now that the Kobo is wireless-enabled, users can now enjoy shopping and purchasing books directly from their device. Unfortunately, it only connects you to the Kobo Store so if you want to shop and download books from other sites, you still need to plug in to a computer with Internet connection.

Kobo books have additional features that are not available on books from other sources: dictionary and the option to left-justify texts. Magazines and periodicals are now delivered wirelessly. Battery life has been improved, too; you can now enjoy 10,000 page turns per charge (with wireless off).

The Bottom Line

The Kobo WiFi may not have the latest screen technology of the Kindle 3 or the new Sony Readers.  However, if you are looking for stable device that gives you access to library books or different eBookstores, the new Kobo device is now available for shipping. Price tag is the same as the Kindle’s, $139.

Yet Kobo also aspires to become more than just another eReader. It also wants to become an e-book service. Kobo  will be launching an ePub-focused book application that will enable   partner hardwares (such as Mac, iPhone, Blackberry, and other eReaders) to launch an eReader or an e-book store. With Kobo, therefore, you’re not restricted to any particular device. What you buy from the Kobo ebook store, you can also read on other devices.

To put it in another way, the Kobo eReader wants to build an ecosystem, not just a mere hardware.

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Features – Hardware and Software

The Kobo ebook reader comes with a simple yet clever built. The Home/Menu/Display/Back buttons are placed on the left-hand side to reduce accidental presses. The blue D-pad on the front is sized just right for the fingers. The back is covered with a quilt-patterned rubber that ensures better grip, while its skin can be customized (choices include book cloth and literary quotes). When on standby, the screen displays the book cover of your current read.

As standard now among eReaders, the Kobo eReader sports a 6-inch, sunlight-friendly eInk screen and weeks of battery life. 1GB onboard storage can hold 1000 ebooks. The device has also embraced ePub, PDF, Adobe DRM, and a slew of other file formats. Kobo has apps for iPhone, Palm Pre, Blackberry, and Android. A version for the iPad is in the works. 

With a frame measuring 120 mm x 184 mm x 10 mm, the Kobo eReader is easy to bring along anywhere. What the Kobo lacks is 3G and WiFi connection. You can access the Kobo bookstore and its 2 million titles from a web-enabled PC, then transfer the ebook to your Kobo device via USB. There’s also a Bluetooth connection for swapping files with compatible smartphones.

The Bottom Line

The Kobo eReader will retail at all Chapters-Indigo outlets in Canada and at Borders in the US this summer. The Kobo eReader is not for people whose dream device is packed with advanced or multiple features. For people looking for simple yet reliable reading companion, the Kobo eReader looks pretty nice for a device worth less than $150.

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