Rakuten Kobo Launches Kobo Clara HD

Rakuten Kobo, a global leader in digital reading, launches the Kobo Clara HD, its newest 6” HD display with built-in ComfortLight PRO offering the best reading experience any time, day or night.

To celebrate the launch of this feature-packed eReader, Kobo® is aiming the new device directly at those booklovers who say they only read on paper. “We’ve made our devices very easy to get started with so that people can quickly and simply experience the benefits of eReading. We’re betting that for even the most loyal print-on-paper booklover, trying will be believing,” says Ramesh Mantha, Vice President, Devices, Rakuten Kobo.

What a paper reader will notice right away is the clarity of the words on the digital ink “page” as well as the ability to read comfortably even in direct sunlight due to its anti-glare display. What they might not be used to, but will come to enjoy, is adjustable font sizes to make reading easier for tired eyes, a built-in dictionary for looking up those puzzling words, and the ability to have all their books with them all the time—for fitting reading into those unexpected parts of the day, like when waiting for a friend or on the daily commute.

Kobo’s foray into extolling the virtues of digital reading is not new. Check out what past print enthusiasts had to say in this video about going digital (hint: the vast majority liked it).

Kobo Clara HD is available in black and retails for $179.95 (MSRP) in Australia at Myer, JB Hi-Fi, Angus & Robertson and Harvey Norman; $229 (MSRP) in New Zealand in-stores at Noel Leeming, JB Hi-Fi and other select retailers and online at kobo.com.

REASONS TO BELIEVE IN KOBO CLARA HD

Print-on-Paper Like Reading Experience

Kobo Clara HD offers a high-resolution, 300 ppi, HD Carta E Ink touchscreen that displays crisp-clear fonts to replicate a print on paper reading experience. The eReader is equipped with an electronic ink screen, with many benefits, including being easier on the eyes in comparison to LCD screens found in smartphones and tablets. Additionally, its anti-glare display allows for endless summer days of reading in direct sunlight.

Nighttime Reading Made Easy

For those who like to stay up past their bedtime, ComfortLight PRO reduces blue-light exposure through the course of the day, so they can read even longer without it affecting their sleep. By setting a bedtime hour, the hue of the light mimics the sun’s natural progression (from a cooler to a warmer light). Readers can also choose to manually set the light settings based on personal preference. For Kobo Clara HD, the Kobo engineering team took the lighting design even further, to replicate a colour temperature that more closely reflects natural incandescent light sources when set at the warmer end of the spectrum; this was achieved by using a warm custom designed LED (2600K).

Experts have cautioned that devices in bed, and specifically the blue light from screens, can affect sleep quality. When ComfortLight PRO was introduced with the launch of Kobo Aura ONE, it received the seal of approval from Colleen Carney, Associate Professor and Director of the Sleep and Depression Laboratory at Ryerson University, who said devices that eliminate blue light work well for those who enjoy reading before bed. Find out more from Dr. Carney here.

Comfort is in the Hand of the (Be)holder

Books can be heavy! But not with Kobo Clara HD, Kobo’s smallest, thinnest, and lightest 6” display eReader yet, measuring 157 x 111 x 8.3 mm and weighing a mere industry-leading 166g. This means booklovers heading out on their daily commute or on holiday can easily bring their entire library with them, no book left behind, thanks to its 8GB of storage (or up 6,000 eBooks).

Personalized Reading Made Breezy

As no two booklovers are alike, Kobo offers a reading experience to suit any reader’s taste.

TypeGenius™ offers customizable font options, which include exclusive weight and sharpness settings, with the choice of 11 font types and more than 40 font sizes. In addition, readers can adjust margins, highlight passages, write notes, and look up words with the built-in dictionary. With a world-class catalogue of more than 6 million titles available at Kobo.com, ranging from romance to thrillers, biographies and memoirs to business books, non-fiction to literary fiction—there are options for everyone—available directly from the device with a WiFi connection.

“Our main goal is to empower people to read more, whenever and wherever they want. With that, we challenge print-loyal booklovers, and their friends, to try digital reading for just one week. We know technology of any kind can take a moment to get used to, but we have made eReading easy, and are convinced they will find they can fit reading into even more parts of their day, whether it’s waiting for the kids at soccer practice, during the lunch break, or during their daily commute. In past discussions with print loyalists, they told us they got used to using the eReader by day two or three, and most said they would use it as a complement to their existing reading life,” says Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo.

Tamblyn continues: “We decided to include features usually reserved for more premium eReaders in our newest entry-level device, Kobo Clara HD. Our customers deserve an amazing reading experience no matter which of our eReaders they choose, and that’s what we’re here to provide. Now, these must-have features are included in all our latest entry-level, mid-level, and premium devices. And as we keep removing barriers to reading, we are excited for what’s to come in digital reading innovation.”

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