Kobo, the Toronto-based subsidy of Japanese conglomerate Rakuten (of Buy.com fame), has unveiled a brand new e-book reader that fans of large screens will no doubt be interested in.
The Kobo Aura One packs a sizable 7.8-inch Carta E Ink touchscreen display (1,872 x 1,404 resolution, 300 PPI) in a 6.9mm thick chassis that weighs just 230 grams. That's thinner than an iPhone 6s and only 38 grams heavier than an iPhone 6s Plus - important stats in an industry that's dominated by devices with screens in the 6-inch range
Kobo's new e-book reader also includes a handy feature - IPX8 water resistance - that allows it to be submerged in up to two meters of water for an hour (far longer than you'd ever keep it under water - at least, on purpose).
What's more, Kobo has baked in adjustable color temperature settings (either manually or automatically). When done automatically, the unit will slowly phase out blue light as the night progresses in an effort to help you fall asleep better (blue light supposedly keeps you up longer at night and is a hot topic in the gadget community right now).
Under the hood, you'll find a Solo Lite processor chugging along at 1GHz alongside 512MB of RAM. There's also 8GB of local storage that Kobo says can accommodate up to 6,000 digital books - more than enough for most readers.
The Kobo Aura One goes on sale next month in the US, the UK, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Japan and Turkey before landing in other countries later this year. Expect to pay $249 (at least, in the states) for the opportunity.