The Kobo Arc 10 HD is the first 10 inch tablet that Kobo has released. One of the benefits of such a large and high-resolution display is the way it can handle complex PDF documents. Today, we test one that has a series of images and text. We document what type of experience you can expect with the Kobo and if its right e-reader for you, if PDF’s are important.
One of the things that were evident in the 10 HD is that it actually does not ship with a built in PDF viewer or a mainstream one like Adobe Reader. Instead, you have to use the default Office app, that really does not give PDF files justice. You will want to download one with versatility like Repligo Reader.
Overall, the Arc 10 has high resolution and a large screen area to read PDF Files. Sometimes you will encounter aspect ratio problems, that will give you a series of black negative space on the top and bottom of the document. This will insure you will always have to pinch and zoom to find that optimal viewing perspective or remain perpetually zoomed in.
Now lets talk digital magazines. Kobo has opened up a new magazine section in their store that was launched in November 2013. There is only about a hundred listed in the store and most are from American publishers. Overall, magazines look great on the large screen but suffer from the same aspect ratio problems as PDF files do. In the end, the user interface leaves a lot to be desired. There is no way to change the size of the font, search or make any kind of annotations.
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.
