Canadian eBook company Kobo has been one of Amazon’s biggest competitors in the digital book marketplace. Today it has brought a new E-reader to the table. The new Kobo Forma sports IPX8 waterproofing, an eight-inch display and a new lighter form-factor. Head below for a closer look.
Kobo took on Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite back in May with the release of its Clara HD E-reader. So today’s announcement isn’t the first time the company has debuted a product in direct competition with an existing product. This time around, Kobo is focusing on a higher-end market share. Its latest release enters with a more premium price tag and comes packed with features to back it up.
A plethora of features headline the new E-reader. Some are standard to other Kobo devices at this point, while others make their debut with Forma. Durability is one of Kobo’s focal points here, and its latest sports an eight-inch E-Ink Mobius display. This thin, flexible, plastic layer makes the device more resilient to drops, bends and other potential incidents.
Its display features a new inclusion known as the ComfortLight PRO system as well. This adjusts blue-light exposure throughout the day to offer a more natural reading experience. Forma also rocks IPX8 waterproofing, which could also be found on the Aura One. It comes equipped with 8GB of memory as well.
Another new addition to Forma is the debut of page-turn buttons. Located on the right-hand side of the device, they bring physical buttons into mix to make one-handed reading a bit easier. You’ll be able to choose between either vertical or horizontal page layouts.
At $50 more than the current top-of-the-line Kobo Aura One, all of these additions go a long way to justify the price. Kobo’s new Forma E-reader will retail for $279.99. Priced at $230 for the 8GB configuration, it looks to take on the Amazon Kindle Oasis. The two for the most part are pretty similarly featured. Though, if Kobo’s durability claims are true, it may give Amazon a run for its money.
Forma will be available for preorder come October 16th. This is Kobo’s most expensive E-reader model to date. But for those envious of the Kindle Oasis’ feature list, it will be a welcome addition to the lineup. It will officially land in stores come October 23rd in the United States alongside Canada, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Japan, and Spain.
Are all of Kobo’s new inclusions for its Forma E-reader worthy of the more-premium price tag? Be sure to let us know in the comments below or over on Twitter at @9to5Toys.
Source: Kobo
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