Rakuten Kobo Inc. has reportedly announced two e-readers, the USD 180 Libra 2, an update to the company’s Libra line, and the USD 260 Kobo Sage, which is the latest top-end device of Kobo.
Both devices maintain the asymmetrical design that was popularized by the Oasis e-reader of Amazon, provide E Ink Carta 1200 screens with features like ComfortLight Pro, which adapts the screen brightness and the color based on the time of the day, along with Bluetooth support for wireless headphones, although they can only play the Kobo audiobooks.
The Sage is the larger of the two and also works as an e-note device. It is compatible with the Kobo Stylus, which is sold separately for USD 40. It lets users create handwritten notes on PDFs and eBooks that can be converted to plain text. With an E Ink display of 8 inches (1440 x 1920), this makes the Sage smaller than the company’s dedicated e-note slate, the 10.3 inch-Elipsa. Sage is also more affordable than Elipsa, which is priced at USD 399.
The Sage also functions with the new USD 80 PowerCover of Kobo, which automatically wakes as well as sleeps the device during open and close, includes an integrated battery to expand the battery life, and has a place to keep the stylus. The Sage has a quad-core processor with a core clock of 1.8 GHz, 32GB of non-expandable storage, and a USB-C connection. It is also rated IPX8, which means it is able to survive in 2 meters of water for up to 60 minutes of submersion.
Meanwhile, the Libra 2, is Kobo Libra H20’s updated version, maintaining the IPX8 waterproof design of the previous version but dropping the ‘H20’ moniker. The Libra 2 has a display of 7 inches (1264 x 1680) that is apparently faster than its predecessor. It also has USB-C, a 1 GHz processor, and 32GB of non-expandable storage. It is not compatible with Kobo’s new PowerCover but does support Kobo’s SleepCover.
Both the devices have been made available for pre-order and will ship starting October 19.
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