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Kobo's Glo and Mini readers on their way to Japan as the Touch gets a discount

Brian Heater
Updated ·5 min read
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Looks like Kobo's leveraging some of that Rakuten-infused love. The e-reader maker announced today that it'll be bringing its new pair of devoted readers to Japan over the next couple of months, courtesy of its parent company. The e-literati in that country can pre-order the new Kobo Glo now for ¥7,980 ($100) through Rakuten for a projected ship date of November 15th. The 5-inch Kobo Mini, meanwhile, is due to arrive in December for ¥6,980 ($87) -- the same price as the recently discounted Kobo Touch.

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KOBO GLO AND KOBO MINI EREADERS JOIN KOBO TOUCH IN JAPAN

Kobo Inc., a global leader in eReading with more than 10-million registered users, today announced the entry of two new Kobo eReaders for the Japanese market: the Kobo Glo and the Kobo Mini. The highly-rated Kobo Glo front-lit eReader is now available for pre-order at ¥7,980 through the Rakuten-Ichiba online marketplace at http://kobo.rakuten.co.jp, with a shipment date of November 15th. The Kobo Mini, the world's smallest full-featured eReader with a 5" touchscreen, will be available in December for ¥6,980. In addition, the award-winning Kobo Touch™ is now being sold at the low price of ¥6,980, which represents a ¥1,000 discount.

"The Japanese eReading market is taking off with new and exciting products coming from Kobo this gift-giving season," said Michael Serbinis, CEO, Kobo. "Kobo has been in the market for more than four months and in that time, we've listened to our customers to enhance our services and grow our catalogue by encouraging publishers to adopt digital content transformation. We're working closely with retail partners to successfully integrate the Kobo Reader, digital content, and the Kobo eBookstore into the ecosystem – to deliver an experience that is tailored to the Japanese market and consumer."

INTRODUCING THE KOBO GLO – READ COMFORTABLY DAY OR NIGHT

The front-lit Kobo Glo eReader, is the next generation in eReading. Offering one of the most innovative embedded reading lights in the market; Kobo ComfortLight technology is designed to provide a soft, relaxing, even, and adjustable experience – so people can relax and read anytime – day or night. The Kobo Glo includes a built-in SD slot to expand memory and has a durable high-resolution screen and customizable page-turning features, making it the perfect eReader for the book or comic lover. The Kobo Glo uses E Ink technology, customizable fonts and a no-glare XGA high-resolution 6" E Ink screen that is just like reading print on paper. The reader connects easily to Wi Fi allowing consumers to explore and discover recommendations in the Kobo eBookstore, and with a battery life of one month (ComfortLight on or off) people can read endlessly. The Kobo Glo eReader comes in Black or White with a selection of trendy coloured backs – Black Night, Pink Sunset, Blue Moon, Silver Star, and is available for just ¥7,980.

KOBO MINI – SMALL IS A BIG DEAL

The Kobo Mini is the world's smallest and lightest full-featured E Ink eReader available today, offering the full Kobo experience at a great value. Proving that great things come in small packages, the 5" Kobo Mini easily fits in your purse or pocket and is loaded with all of the amazing features Kobo customers have come to know and love. Just like reading print on paper, the no-glare 5" E Ink screen is easy on the eyes – even in bright sunlight. The Kobo Mini is available in Black or White. Perfect for people on-the-go, young adults, and easy for first-time readers to hold and read, the highly portable Kobo Mini holds up to 1,000 eBooks. The Kobo Mini will be available for just ¥6,980.

THE KOBO TOUCH – THE MOST NATURAL READING EXPERIENCE

The award-winning Kobo Touch, named Wired Magazine's 2012 Editor's Pick for Best eReader, is only ¥6980 through Rakuten Ichiba. The Kobo Touch includes Kobo's latest software with more ways to personalize the reading experience, get recommendations and discover new content. The device is lightweight at only 185 grams, allowing users to read books comfortably with one hand, and has the capacity to hold approximately 1,000 books - or up to 30,000 with an SD card. Japanese consumers can select any of the stylish Kobo colours including: Black, Blue, Lilac, and Silver. In addition, contemporary accessories have been designed for Japanese consumers including eReader covers, pocket sleeves and book lights – designed in style with the latest trends.

BUILD YOUR LIBRARY – WITH OVER 600 FAVOURITE MANGA TITLES
Only available on the Kobo Glo and Kobo Touch, the eReaders include a built-in SD slot that provides up to 32 GB of storage with an SD card, which can hold over 600 Manga titles or 30,000 eBooks. As the first eReading company to support the EPUB3 format designed for layouts unique to the Japanese language including vertical text and ruby characters, Kobo has fine-tuned its reading experience to deliver the best eReader available to Japanese consumers. Both the Kobo Glo and Kobo Touch eReaders offer consumers a superior E Ink platform with finely tuned fonts and improved graphics support ideal for graphic novels and Manga. Kobo offers a fully localized experience with popular Japanese content and favourite authors in local currency.

BE THE FIRST TO OWN THE NEW KOBO GLO

Both eReaders will be sold through Rakuten's online shopping mall, "Rakuten Ichiba," and "Rakuten Books", as well as other leading retailers. In addition, experiential centres are available at major bookstores, allowing customers to get a Kobo hands-on experience and to learn about the benefits of eReading.