Kobo recently announced that their new line of Kobo Arc tablets are now available in the US and Canada. The news has gone virtually unnoticed with the new iPads and Kindle Fire HDX tablets shipping at the same time.
Nevertheless, the three new Kobo tablets, including the 10-inch Kobo Arc 10HD and the 7-inch Kobo Arc 7 and Kobo Arc 7HD, are now available for purchase directly from Kobo.com for residents of the United States and Canada.
The new tablets are also available from a number of retail stores in Canada, including Indigo-Chapters, Best Buy, Future Shop, The Source, Staples, Walmart, Target, and Toys”R” Us.
According to Kobo, residents in the US will be able to visit select independent bookstores to see the tablets in person starting in mid-November.
On paper Kobo’s 7-inch tablets look pretty interesting, especially the Kobo Arc 7HD, which at $199 looks like a better buy than the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX, which costs $30 more and includes screensaver ads that cost another $15 to remove.
All three of Kobo’s new tablets run open Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and are certified with Google Play. They have Bluetooth, front-facing cameras, and HDMI ports, the last of which is lacking on the new Kindle Fire tablets.
Oddly, the cheapest model, the Kobo Arc 7 for $149, is the only one of the bunch to come with a microSD card slot. Both HD models lack that option. And considering the Kobo Arc 10HD costs $399, that seems like a pretty big oversight, especially since it only has 16GB of internal storage space, with 12.9GB usable. The Kobo Arc 7HD at least has the option for a 32GB model for $50 more.
Here’s a more complete rundown of the specs for each new Kobo tablet via Kobo.com:
Kobo Arc 7 Specs
- 7″ 1024 x 600 Display, Capacitive touchscreen
- Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system with Google Play
- 1.2 GHz MTK Quad-Core processor
- 1 GB DDR3L RAM
- Front-facing 0.3 MP camera
- Mono speaker, microphone, 3.5mm headphone jack with in-line microphone support
- 8GB internal storage
- MicroSD card slot for cards up to 32GB
- Wi Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth v4.0
- Micro USB port, Micro HDMI port
- Battery life: Up to 9 hours; Up to 20 days of standby time; 4200 mAh capacity
- Dimensions: 122 x 194 x 10.05 mm
- Weight: 360 grams
- Price: $149
- Kobo Arc 7
Kobo Arc 7HD Specs
- 7″ 1920 x 1200 Display, Capacitive touchscreen with 10-point multi-touch
- Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system with Google Play
- 1.7 GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad-Core processor
- 1 GB DDR3L RAM
- Front-facing 1.3 MP camera
- Mono speaker, microphone, 3.5mm headphone jack with in-line microphone support
- 16GB/32GB internal storage
- Wi Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth v4.0
- Micro USB port, Micro HDMI port
- Battery life: Up to 8 hours; Up to 14 days of standby time; 4200 mAh capacity
- Dimensions: 122 x 194 x 9.6 mm
- Weight: 341 grams
- Price: $199
- Kobo Arc 7HD
Kobo Arc 10HD Specs
- 10.1″ 2560 x 1600 Display, Capacitive touchscreen with 10-point multi-touch
- Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system with Google Play
- 1.8 GHz Nvidia Tegra 4 Quad-Core processor
- 2 GB DDR3L RAM
- Front-facing 1.3 MP camera
- Dual stereo speakers, microphone, universal 3.5mm headphone jack with in-line microphone support
- 16GB internal storage
- Dual Band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n with 2×2 MIMO
- Bluetooth v4.0
- Miracast support for Wifi media streaming
- Micro USB port, Micro HDMI port
- Battery life: Up to 9.5 hours; Up to 25 days of standby time; 6550 mAh capacity
- Dimensions: 253 x 172 x 9.9 mm
- Weight: 627 grams
- Price: $399
- Kobo Arc 10HD
In the US, there is no reason to get the ARC HD 7. The Nook HD7 is a better buy, has an SD card slot, and the same resolution. And it’s lighter in weight.
I agree the Nook is a better buy in some respects, especially with the microSD card slot, but the software is more customized, and the resolution is still good but it’s a bit of a step down at 1440 x 900 with 243 PPI.
So Kobo is now on the Retina Screen bandwagon,along with a bunch of others. That iPad innovation seems to be the most caught up with, and the fastest. This is amazing.
… Except for the small problem of not being able to sideload your own content without undergoing a complicated hacking process. No thanks. I chose a Kobo over the Nook HD and don’t regret it in the least.