The Kobo Sage is a premium e-reader that doubles as a digital note taking device, if you buy the Kobo stylus. It came out late last year and the key selling points are the large 8-inch display with 300 PPI. It also is one of the only readers on the market that has an E INK Carta 1200 display panel, which increases performance by 35%. It can also do a solid job at listening to audiobooks, reading books, comics and manga. If you are looking to buy this device, now is a great time. It is currently on sale on Amazon for $229, which is $30 off the regular price.
The Sage has an 8-inch screen with a resolution of 1440×1920 with a staggering 300 PPI. The screen is completely flush with the bezel and protected by a layer of glass. It has a series of white and amber LED lights which provide a nice candlelight effect when the two are blended together. Underneath the hood is a massive 1.8 GHZ quad-core processor , which is the first time Kobo has ever employed anything more than a single core. It has 32GB of storage and 512MB of RAM. You can connect up to the internet using the web-browser via WIFI 802.11 ac/b/g/n (dual band.) It has a USB-C port, so you can charge it with your PC/MAC or wall charger. It is powered by a slightly underwhelming 1,200 mAh battery, which should provide around three weeks of ebook reading and less if you listen to audiobooks. The dimensions are 160.5×181.4×7.6mm and weighs 240.8g. It is also rated IPX 8, so it can be totally submerged in fresh water for up to 60 minutes and a depth of 2 meters.
I think this is the best e-reader that Kobo has ever made and this is the first time, that I can recall, but it is on sale. If you are looking for a great e-reader that has a deep and vibrant library of content and Overdrive integration, I would buy it.
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.
