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Kobo goes for the top of the line with 10-inch Arc 10HD tablet, we go hands-on (video)
Love the Kobo ecosystem, but hoping for a tablet that's a little... higher end than what the Arc line currently offers? Boy have we got some news for you. The company introduced a grand total of three new tablets at today's event in New York City, and here's the crown jewel, the 10-inch Arc 10HD. Compared to the offerings we've seen from other e-reader makers, this thing really is a beast. It's also a pretty nice piece of hardware with a solid build. The front of the slate is all screen, plus a glossy, flush bezel that also houses the device's one webcam, a 1.3-megapixel offering that can also shoot 720p. On the top of the fairly thin and light device, you'll find Kobo's standard red power button. On the right side is a volume rocker and along the left is a headphone jack, micro-HDMI and micro USB ports. On the back are two speaker grills, which didn't put out enough power to be heard over the event's music. There's also some subtle angular design language borrowed from the Aura HD on the sides of the otherwise flat soft touch back.
Kobo unveils three reading-focused Arc tablets
We suspect that Kobo won't be too thrilled about us mentioning the Vox tablet in the introduction to its latest product announcement. All companies have their share of misfires, but that one left us seriously questioning whether the e-reader manufacturer really belonged in the tablet space in the first place. The company set things right with the Kobo Arc, scrapping the Vox line and starting anew. At the end end of the day, however, that seven-inch device left us wondering precisely what void the slate intended to fill in a market overrun with budget tablets. The company thinks it has the answer this time around, building a tablet aimed specifically at its user base of hardcore readers. In fact, the company is so confident in that potential space that it's created not one but three new devices to cater to that need. It's certainly not something Amazon's Fire line has sought to address, with devices that are more interested in the broader multimedia experience. And while Barnes & Noble has put some effort into reading on its Nook Tablet line, the future of those devices are in question. Kobo would no doubt be among the first to admit that, for those truly hardcore readers out there, a tablet just can't match the experience of a devoted E Ink device, but the company has taken some great pains here to offer the best possible experience on this class of device. For starters, that means limiting distractions -- a refreshing move in a world of infinite displays, we'll admit. CEO Michael Serbinis suggested that (aside from the fact that tablets are less forgiving on the eye than e-readers), the reason people aren't reading as much on the devices is due in part to the many other things (movies, music, web browsing, et cetera) we can be doing on them.
