Not much is going on in the eReader space, but there is a company that continues to make devices as well as Amazon and it goes by the name Kobo.
Well, actually, the manufacturer is Rakuten, a name you might know from the movie and TV streaming service, but the brand goes by the name Kobo and has a line of e-reading products.
Its latest high-end eReader goes by the name Kobo Forma, and with a feature set and cost similar to the Amazon Kindle Oasis (XNUMX), it has a lot to impress us, as the Oasis offers one of the best reading experiences anywhere. can have.
Kobo Forma price and release date
You can buy the Kobo Forma now from the official Rakuten site, as well as from a selection of other retailers in the UK and Australia. As of February XNUMX, Kobo Forma is no longer available in the US through Rakuten.
Starting cost is set at $XNUMX / $XNUMX / AU$XNUMX, which we think is pretty high since you can get an all-metal Amazon Kindle Oasis from $XNUMX / $XNUMX / AU$XNUMX and is often on sale for less as well.
Design and display
The Kobo Forma has an eight-inch screen with three hundred pixels per inch. It's about the size of your average paperback, with a brilliant clarity that makes it a joy to read.
If you're looking for a smaller screen, you'll want the Kobo Clara HD, which has a six-inch screen.
The Kobo Forma is light enough to hold in one hand, with a cut-out effect on the back to help you hold it. One edge of the eReader is slightly bent, making it a bit awkward to hold at first.
As with the strange design of Amazon's Kindle Oasis, it's something we get used to pretty quickly.
By the end of our book, we knew exactly how to hold the eReader in our hand. That said, it's not the most attractive device to hold, and it doesn't quite have the same premium feel as the Kindle Oasis.
It seems more in line with the new Kindle Paperwhite, which is a somewhat cheaper product.
On the edge where you'll hold the device, you'll find two large buttons for page navigation, which we found easier to use than the touchscreen. The touchscreen itself was about as fast as you'd expect from an e-reader and quite responsive, but we found the buttons a bit simpler than swiping the screen.
The screen here is E Ink, so everything you read is going to be in black and white, but the image is clear enough for your average book. It may be less ideal for those who want to read graphic novels or comics.
It's worth noting that the Kobo Forma is also waterproof, so you can read it in the bathroom or on the beach without worrying about damaging it with a splash of water.
reading experience
The Kobo Forma may not have an all-metal design, but it's comfortable to hold when reading, and you'll find the screen clear enough to comfortably read a variety of books.
Buttons on the frame of the device let you quickly turn the pages. The eReader will also automatically adjust to fit the landscape or portrait orientation.
Sometimes you may need to tack it multiple times, but occasionally it will trigger. You can disable this feature if you also find it irritating.
The brightness is quite easy to change with just a few taps on the device screen, and it's especially bright when you hit the XNUMX% mark.
One of our favorite features is a natural light idea that makes it easier on your eyes by removing blue light that can keep your brain awake at night. You can enable this mode automatically for dark reading locations or you can enable it manually.
Alternatively, you can choose a particular time for this feature to be activated on your site.
Kobo Forma: price comparison
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