The Kobo Aura One Limited Edition: A High-End E-Reader for Comic Lovers
Detailed Evaluation of the Exclusive Kobo Aura One 32GB Model
This badass e-reader, y'all! The Kobo Aura One Limited Edition is here, and it's packed with some pretty kickass features. Let's dive into why you should consider adding this gadget to your arsenal!
Where to Cop ItThis e-reader is exclusively available in two hot spots: the United States and Japan. You can cop it for around $40 more than the regular version, which hit the market in 2016. If you're a comic book or manga fan with an enormous collection, this thing's made for you!
HardwareThe Aura One Limited Edition boasts Kobo's largest E-Ink screen ever, measuring in at 7.8 inches. With a resolution of 1872 x 1404 and a crisp 300 pixels per inch, this screen is a sight to behold. And, since it's flush with the bezel, you get a wider area for turning pages, pinching, and zooming PDF files. Cool, huh?
This remarkable device also rocks a frontlite display, lit up by 9 white LED lights. It's been around for a while now, but it still allows you to read in the dark or low-light conditions. Unlike smartphones and tablets, the Aura One's front-lit display projects light evenly across the screen. And, get this: it has an additional 8 RGB LEDs for warmer lighting. That means you can make use of the Kobo Comfortlight system, which adjusts luminosity with different shades of red and orange.
To activate the front-lit display, you have three options: click the auto-button for an ambient light-sensing experience, use the manual mode and sliding bar, or... wait for it... drag your finger up or down the left side of the screen.
The comfortlight can be manually adjusted by a sliding bar or set to an automatic timer based on your chosen hour (and timezone, of course).UPDATE: You can't adjust the RGB system when reading an ebook or manga by swiping your fingers on the screen.
The Aura One Limited Edition is IPX8-certified, meaning it's completely waterproof and can handle being submerged in up to 6.5 feet of fresh water for up to an hour. That's pretty badass if you're accident-prone (or just really enjoy reading in the shower). Just remember that the screen doesn't work when it's completely submerged, and try not to get any water droplets on it, as the device might think you're interacting with the touchscreen.
Under the hood, you'll find a Freescale 1GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. No expandable storage via SD card, but who needs that candy when you've got 32GB of storage at your disposal?On the front is an ambient light sensor, a power indicator (turns blue during boot-up or charging), and a USB port for charging or transferring data. The back sports a bunch of little grooves and divots for incredible grip, making it virtually immune to fingerprints.
SoftwareThe Aura One Limited Edition is one of only two e-readers in the world with built-in Overdrive integration. To access this, head to the settings menu, enter your library card and four-digit pin number, and you're good to go. Now, you can borrow books from your local library and send them directly to your e-reader, making your reading life that much easier.
Kobo has an exclusive arrangement with Pocket, so you can push website and blog articles straight to your e-reader. To do this, simply download the Pocket browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari, sign up or log in, and start sending articles for later reading. The downloaded articles will include any links, pictures, or text but may truncate shortcode and ads. A downside: you can't change the font size, but with a giant 7.8-inch screen, it's not really necessary.
The home screen has been revamped, offering cover art, percentages of books you're currently reading, a few unread books in your library, a quickstart guide, and helpful tutorials. The library is where you'll spend most of your time, with options for sorting into listed or grid view and sorting by authors (which lists the number of titles in your library from said authors - super useful).
The Reading ExperienceKobo keeps it real by appealing to both casual and hardcore readers with advanced options. One fan-favorite feature is the ability to load your own fonts, like Bookerly or Ember (developed by Amazon with e-readers in mind).
Kobo offers plenty of preset options for changing line spacing, margins, and font size. But this e-reader takes it up a notch with adjustable font weight and configurable margins and line spacing. It supports EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RFT, CBZ, and CBR formats.
The Limited Edition also rocks a new rapid page turn engine, which works with ebooks and manga purchased from Kobo or loaded via EPUB files. Just slide your finger from the right-hand side of the screen to the center, hold it, and watch as the pages turn fast, with no ghosting and 100% clear text. There's a two-second delay from when you drag your finger to when the rapid system kicks in, but it's still pretty slick. Too bad there's no documentation on how to use this fancy new feature; perhaps Kobo is keeping it a secret for now.
Wrap UpThe Kobo Aura One Limited Edition is available exclusively online in the U.S. and Japan. It retails for $279 and has been very popular since its release a few weeks ago.
Kobo might be testing the waters with this 32GB version at a higher price, considering whether users will purchase it in large enough numbers to change their pricing strategies. If this becomes a trend, you may soon find two storage options when buying a new Kobo: the base 8GB model and a higher storage version.
The Limited Edition offers a fantastic reading experience, with built-in Overdrive, a refined Comfortlight system, and an intuitive store. Its rapid page turn engine is perfect for comic book, manga, and ebook fans. Plus, with its large 7.8-inch screen, it's even roomier than the Kindle Oasis 2. If you're ready to level up your reading game, give the Kobo Aura One Limited Edition a shot. Happy reading, y'all!
Kobo Aura One Limited Edition
rating: 4.3/5
Pros
- Giant 7.8-inch screen and flush with the bezel
- Built-in Overdrive functionality
- 32GB of storage
- Waterproof
- Rapid Page Turn engine
Cons
- PDF experience is lackluster
- No SD card
- Expensive
- Screen acts up with water droplets on it
- Comfortlight makes the screen orange.
- The Kobo Aura One Limited Edition, with its large 7.8-inch E-Ink touchscreen, serves as an excellent device for reading applications and e-books, making it a desirable gadget for tech enthusiasts.
- This high-end e-reader comes equipped with a front-lit display, allowing readers to comfortably read in low-light conditions, thanks to the adjustable Kobo Comfortlight system that can be activated using a touchscreen gesture.
- The Kobo Aura One Limited Edition offers various advanced features, including built-in OverDrive integration for borrowing books from libraries, and a refined Comfortlight system for adjusting the screen's brightness level, making it an excellent choice for avid readers.
