This past week Kobo did a couple of things to strengthen the notion that they plan to announce new devices soon. Most notably, Kobo sent out invitations to a press event to “See What’s Next from Kobo” scheduled for Tuesday, August 27th in New York.
Most likely Kobo will unveil what appears to be a new Kobo Glo ebook reader that showed up on the FCC website last month. And if they plan on refreshing the 6″ model, why not release a new Kobo Mini as well?
The 5″ Kobo Mini seems to have done quite well for Kobo. At $79 it is a good entry model, and it often goes on sale for as low as $49. No FCC paperwork turned for a new Mini, however, so perhaps Kobo will keep it as-is for now. Adding a frontlight to it sure would be sweet, though.
It’s looking highly-likely that Kobo will announce a new tablet later this month. Their current tablet offering, the Kobo Arc, just got a drastic price cut this week. The 64GB model went down $100 from $299 to $199, and the 16GB and 32GB models got a $70 price decrease, down to $129 and $179 respectively. That’s not a bad price for a 7″ tablet with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1280 x 800 resolution screen, and Google Play access.
Technically Kobo is calling it a sale and not a price drop, but it’s obvious they are trying to unload remaining stock.
With Amazon expected to announce new Kindles very soon (possibly at the end of August), and Sony expected to announce the PRS-T3 that leaked last month, and with Barnes and Noble likely to add something new to the mix as well it’s going to be an interesting next couple of months in the ereading market.
Can’t wait!! Bring it on!
If only you could set up the Kobo without the need for a Kobo account…. Wonder if there are any good ROMs for it, like for the Nook?
Nah, it runs Linux not Android. There are a few tweaks for Kobo’s ereaders but nothing like redoing the whole system.
I am skeptical regarding all new products.
I do not think they will know more than a my rooted Nook with Cool Reader and Fora dictionary.
I just got an email from B&N regarding a price cut of the Glowlight to $99. With Amazon and Kobo rumors flying around, are there any rumors from B&N? A higher resolution model in the works maybe?
No rumors specifically, but the price-drop is certainly going to start raising some questions. I think B&N will release a new E Ink Nook or two. They said awhile back that they still plan to design and release their own E Ink ebook readers, and good thing too because the Nook is the most out-dated one of the bunch. It’s basically been almost 2 and a half years since they released a new E Ink Nook. The Nook Glow from last year was essentially exactly the same in every way as the regular Nook Touch from two Springs ago, just with a frontlight added and a little weight removed.