I was checking out Kobo’s website today to see if they have anything new going on and I happened to notice that the Kobo Aura has received what appears to be a permanent price drop down to $99.
The deal is even better over on the Chapters.Indigo website. They also have the Kobo Aura for $99, and through July 19th it comes with a free $10 Kobo gift card to spend on ebooks.
When the Kobo Aura was first released back in Fall 2013, it sold for $149. Then somewhere along the line Kobo dropped the price to $139.
When the new Kobo Glo HD got released a couple months ago, Kobo started running sales on the Kobo Aura for $99, and now it looks like that’s where the price is going to stay.
That makes sense given the fact that the Glo HD costs $129, considering it has an upgraded 300 ppi screen.
I’m kind of surprised that Kobo hasn’t released an upgraded Kobo Aura that uses a 300 ppi E Ink screen.
The Kobo Aura was the very first E Ink ebook reader to feature a flush glass screen. Then the Kindle Voyage came along and copied the idea. Kobo could fire back by giving the Aura a 300 ppi upgrade and undercutting the Voyage’s price by $40-$50.
But so far there has been no indication or rumors to suggest that that is going to happen. The only speculation about an upcoming Kobo device involves a new entry-level Kobo Touch 2.0. Kobo has pretty much let the cat out of the bag on that one themselves.
I wonder what Kobo plans to do with the Aura. It doesn’t really fit in their lineup now that the Glo HD has a better screen. Are they going to eventually discontinue it? Or do they have a newer model in line to take over its spot soon?
On the official Kobo website there is “Coming soon” label placed on Kobo Aura page. Does it mean they plan to update classic Aura as well?
It’s hard telling with Kobo. Their website displays differently by region so who knows. It doesn’t say that on the US page when I view it, just that the price dropped to $99.