If you are an avid reader of our online publication, you would know we love our e-reader comparison videos. We often pit two devices against each other, with duplicate content loaded on them, to give you an idea of how they stack up. We hope you can muster the courage to see a TRIPARISON! We present the entire lineup that Kobo is actively marketing worldwide. Each one of these readers has a very distinctive look and all bring something unique to the table. In this video, we document all the details, including hardware, software, e-books, and more.
The Kobo Touch was the 2011 model that has quickly become the flagship device for opening new markets in Europe, the USA, and Japan. It features a six-inch touchscreen with e-ink technology. The Pearl screen offers a resolution of 600×800 pixels and is powered by an 800 MHz processor. It provides an exquisite reading experience, but it does suffer from some delays in certain operations.
The Kobo Mini is a five-inch touchscreen display running on an older e-Ink Visplex technology. It has the same 800 MHZ CPU as the Touch, and the resolution is identical. Make no mistake, this is a very small e-reader, and users who have had prior models that are larger might find the transition difficult. I’d recommend it to first-time buyers and people looking for a budget-friendly option, to serve as their backup or holiday e-reader.
The Kobo Glo gives you the impressive ability to read your ebooks in any environment. In the past, you needed to be in a well-lit area, and since e-Ink is not backlit like LED screens, it prevented you from reading in the dark. This new model illuminates the screen with front LEDs that shine from under the bezel. The resolution offers some of the highest in the current generation of readers, with 1025×758. It has a 1 GHZ processor, which is far superior to any of the company’s other products. This would be the one e-reader I would recommend right now for international markets.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
