Detailed Assessment of the Kobo Aura One – Insights from 2016
The Kobo Aura One stands as the pinnacle of Kobo's endeavors in the e-reader realm, a testament to their evolution since 2010. This stalwart device showcases the best of Kobo's innovation, offering a truly exceptional e-reading experience that sets it apart from other contenders.
At a Glance
Embracing a large, 7.8-inch E-Ink screen, the Aura One offers an unrivaled level of detail and clarity, making it the perfect canvas for immersing yourself in e-books or delving into intricate PDF files with ease. With a resolution of 1872 x 1404 and a pixel density of 300 PPI, this marvel boasts a crisp, high-definition display. The screen is seamlessly integrated into the bezel, providing a wider surface for navigating your digital content more comfortably.
Detailing the front-lit display, we find that it outshines other Kobo creations. Small LED lights illuminate from beneath the screen, projecting light upward to minimize any uneven distribution. The lighting system delivers consistent brightness levels, even on the lower settings, rivaled only by the Amazon Kindle Oasis. One of the unique selling points for the Aura One is its deployment of RGB lights, as opposed to white bulbs.
In an attempt to minimize the negative effects of artificial light on sleep, the Aura One offers a dedicated nighttime reading mode. Research has shown that blue light suppresses the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, more than other kinds of light, making screen-time before bed detrimental to sleep patterns. To counteract this, the Aura One's screen color can be adjusted to suit the time of day, gradually shifting to a warm orange glow as night falls. This sleep-friendly feature can be manually customized via slider bars or automatically regulated using the "automatic mode." However, a small lag may be encountered when activating this mode.
Immersive Lighting System
The Aura One holds the distinction of possessing the most LED lights among e-readers, with a total of 17 (9 white and 8 RGB) illuminating its 7.8-inch screen. This has earned it a place in the record books, even as others in the industry have failed to acknowledge the achievement.
Gratefully waterproof, the Aura One can withstand immersion in up to 2 meters of water for an hour, making it a reliable companion for beach and pool escapades. Beneath its fashionable exterior is a powerful Freescale 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM, ensuring smooth performance and swift page turns. The device houses 8GB of built-in storage, though users may find a lack of publicly available SD card options. Interestingly, the SD card is integrated into the circuit board to power the Linux operating system.
A notable design departure from Kobo's previous models is the textured rubber back, embossed with the Kobo logo on the right. This finishing provides a firm grip but attracts fingerprints with impunity. The power button, on the other hand, is positioned identically to those on Amazon Fire devices, making the transition between ecosystems smoother. The solitary port is an exposed Micro USB connector, permitting charging and file transfers.
Streamlined User Interface
The Kobo Aura One's home screen is exceptionally dynamic, evolving in response to new titles, digital bookshelves, and other activities. Users can rapidly access their preferred material without wading through multiple layers of menus or delving into their library. Underneath each book title, a numerical value representing reading progress is displayed in percentage form.
In May of 2016, OverDrive CEO Steve Potash revealed the development of a customized E-Ink app for Kobo readers. With this integration, e-books can be borrowed directly from libraries and read on the device. As of now, the Aura One is the sole Kobo-branded device to incorporate OverDrive functionality. Users must navigate to the settings menu and input their library card and four-digit pin number to enjoy this feature. The majority of titles will feature an OverDrive button, enabling seamless borrowing and reading. Within seven days, the book is returned to the library pool.
Exceptional e-Reading Experience
Kobo excels in crafting e-readers that cater to both casual and hardcore enthusiasts alike, offering a rich suite of advanced options that set it apart from competitors. Among these unique features is the ability to load custom fonts; this allows users to utilize Bookerly or Ember, two fonts specifically developed for e-readers.
In addition to preset options for adjusting line spacing, margins, or font size, Kobo offers an unparalleled degree of customization. The Aura One also excels in reading EPUB and PDF files, as well as comic book formats such as CBR and CBZ. Without further ado, it effortlessly renders EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RFT, CBZ, and CBR formats.
When reading a book, users can call upon a wealth of options to enhance their experience. In addition to typical customization features, users can long-press a word to access instant definitions and translate it into various languages like German, Italian, Japanese, and more. Adventure sports fans will appreciate this device's ability to merge selected text, images, and notes for convenient organization.
One area where the Aura One falls short is its PDF support. Any material that relies on pinch-to-zoom navigation encounters significant delays during rendering, which may deter users from utilizing the device for complex PDFs or other multimedia content. Electronic publications that primarily consist of text and images should fare well on this platform, making the Aura One particularly well-suited for e-books, comics, manga, and webcomics without excessive reliance on CSS elements.
Final Verdict
The Kobo Aura One stands as the premier e-reader currently available, boasting a sleek design, top-tier hardware, and the best front-lighting system Kobo has ever developed. Equipped with an RGB light system, it offers the ability to change the screen's color based on the reading environment and adjusted automatically over the course of the day. While the Aura One is priced higher than other models, it remains a bargain for a device that can deliver years of faithful service.
Expected to hit retail shelves in the first week of September, the Kobo Aura One will be accessible in Canada, France, the Netherlands, and the United States to commence with. Users residing outside these regions will need to await the device's wider release at the end of the year. The only drawback lies in the Limited Edition variant, which is exclusive to Japan and the United States. The Aura One's depth of features, overall quality, and innovative design cement its place at the zenith of the e-reader sphere.
Newer Models and Innovations
In the interim, newer models like the Kobo Libra Colour and Kobo Sage have emerged, showcasing significant advancements in hardware, software, and sustainability features. These devices sport features such as asymmetrical designs, color E Ink displays, improved waterproofing, and repairability, ensuring that Kobo maintains its reputation for pushing the boundaries in the e-reader market. But at its heart, the Kobo Aura One remains an outstanding example of the company's commitment to creating exemplary e-readers that offer a unique e-reading experience, unlike any other device on the market.
The Kobo Aura One, equipped with its 7.8-inch E-Ink screen and 17 LED lights, including 8 RGB, offers an immersive e-reading experience, providing exceptional clarity and detail, especially for reading e-books or intricate PDF files. This device, with its innovative technology and streamlined user interface, boasts seamless integration with reading apps like OverDrive, making it a standout gadget in the realm of e-readers.
With its advanced functionality and unique features, such as adjustable screen color for nighttime reading, customizable fonts, and support for multiple e-book formats, the Kobo Aura One epitomizes Kobo's evolution in the e-reader market since 2010. This device sets itself apart from other competitors, offering a truly exceptional e-reading experience that has earned it the title of the premier e-reader currently available.
