Kobo’s next eReader could be a model with an illuminated 6 inch, 1448 x 1072 pixel E Ink display.

An unannounced device called the Kobo Glo HD showed up recently on the website of New Zealand retailer Mighty Ape.

Update: It’s official. The Kobo Glo HD launches May 1st for $130.

kobo glo hd

Kobo already offers several eBook readers with high-res displays. The Kobo Aura HD has 1440 x 1080 pixel display, while the waterproof Aura H20 has a 1430 x 1080 pixel screen. But both of those tablets have 6.8 inch displays, while the Kobo Glo HD has a smaller 6 inch screen… which means text will be even sharper on the new model.

The new model features 300 pixels per inch, while the Aura HD and H20 pack about 265 pixels per inch. It’d probably be tough to tell the difference, but the more pixels the merrier… especially since it seems likely that the Kobo Glo HD will be cheaper than the Aura models.

Mighty Ape shows a list price of $220 for the new model, while the New Zealand store sells the Kobo Aura H20 for $300.

There’s no word on a US price or release date for the Glo HD, but Kobo currently charges $170 for the Aura HD and $180 for the Aura H20 in the States. It seems likely that the Kobo Glo HD will sell for a lower price.

Other features for the new model include 4GB of storage and up to 2 months of battery life.

Update: A user guide found on the Kobo website confirms what some observers had expected: it looks like the new model lacks a microSD card slot.

via The eBook Reader and Mobile Read

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11 replies on “Kobo Glo HD eReader with hi-def display coming soon?”

  1. 6″ is fine for reading a book, but not good for anything else, such as textbooks.

  2. I spent a few months watching for the Aura HD to be restocked, but ended up buying an H2O instead. The Aura HD seems to be a dead model, with the H2O as the replacement.

  3. They seem to have crippled the device by leaving out the microSD card slot. Fail!

  4. I want a color e-Ink reader already for comics, magazines and books with illustrations.

    1. The only one available seems to be the Ectaco, and it has some really, really unfavorable reviews.

      1. PocketBook’s Color Lux model should also still be available, although the resolution is rather poor and colours seemingly look washed out. The time for good devices that show colours has yet to come. There was also a Mirasol device in Korea, but I doubt that it is still available. It was very expensive back then and colours also looked washed out.

        1. I wonder if the relative cheapness of IPS displays has killed interest in color e-ink? I’d love an 8″ 4:3 HD color e-ink reader, but doubt there is enough of a market to make them worthwhile.

          1. The problem is technology. From what I’ve read, you need an RGB colour filter above the screen. This generally causes the display to look visibly darker and limits resolution. PocketBook’s 8 inch Color Lux model is said to use the same 1600×1200 pixel screen as their monochrome InkPad model, but due to the RGB filter, the effective resolution is brought down to 800×600, because 4 fine pixels must be clustered into one coarse one to show shades of each of the three RGB colours and black. And that’s also why the display looks generally darker, because less light of the respective colour per coarse pixel can be reflected.

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