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Kobo Aura One review: A big-screen waterproof e-reader with access to your local library

It's hard to beat Amazon's e-readers, but Kobo's latest has at least four features that Kindle devices do not have.

David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
Expertise Mobile accessories and portable audio, including headphones, earbuds and speakers Credentials
  • Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
David Carnoy
5 min read

Instead of going small with its new top-of-the-line e-reader , Kobo, now owned by online retailer Rakuten, has gone big. The Aura One ($230 in the US, £190 in the UK and AU$350 in Australia) sports a 7.8-inch e-ink display that's significantly larger than the 6-inch e-ink displays found on all of Amazon's Kindle e-readers.

7.8

Kobo Aura One

The Good

The Kobo Aura One sports a 7.8-inch e-ink display that's significantly larger than the 6-inch e-ink displays found on all of Amazon's Kindle e-readers, it's waterproof, has an integrated light and built-in support for Overdrive library book loans.

The Bad

Fairly pricey, may be a little too large for some people's hands and Kobo's content ecosystem can't match Amazon's.

The Bottom Line

The Kobo Aura One may not make you want to ditch your Kindle, but it does have some differentiating features that make it worth considering if you are in search of a non-Amazon e-reader.

Even with that bigger screen, at 230 grams or 8.1 ounces, this Aura is thinner and a touch lighter than the earlier Aura H20, which has a 6.8-inch screen. Bottom line: You're getting more screen without adding any weight.

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The Aura One compared to the Kindle Paperwhite.

Sarah Tew/CNET

I personally prefer the smaller form factor of the current Kindle line, and the svelte (but pricey) Kindle Oasis in particular. Some people like to bump up the font size, however, and a larger screen allows you to display more lines of text. While it's a little hard to get your whole hand around this newer Kobo e-reader, it's designed to be held in one hand. Plus, the back of the device has a rubberized, textured finish that makes it a little easier to grip.

Like the Aura H20, this e-reader is waterproof, though it doesn't float. Its got a higher IPX8 rating, which means it can be submerged in up to two meters of water for up to 60 minutes (the Aura H20 is rated to be submerged in up one meter for 30 minutes). Currently, no Kindle is water-resistant, although Barnes & Noble's Nook GlowLight Plus is.

Other upgrades include an ultra-high 1,872x1,404 resolution, 300-pixels per inch display, 8GB of onboard storage instead of the typical 4GB and an improved integrated lighting system that allows you to adjust not only brightness but color temperature (basically, a "day" and "night" mode).

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The slim Aura only weighs 230 grams or 8.1 ounces.

Sarah Tew/CNET

As you'd expect from a Kobo e-reader, you can shop for e-books in the integrated Kobo store (Kobo also has apps for iOS , Android, Windows, BlackBerry 10 devices, Mac and Windows PCs). But in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, you can also check out library e-books via the OverDrive app, which Kobo's parent company scooped up last year, directly from the Aura One's screen. (Yes, you can also get these free library books on Kindle and Nook devices, but it's a bit more of a convoluted process that involves using a second device.)

Adding your free Overdrive account (and local participating library card number) to the device is simple, and it's great to have access to a giant list of free (or, at least, taxpayer-supported) books. But for reasons unknown, a handful of books we tried (such as "The Whites" by Richard Price and "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke) didn't show up in the Kobo's search results, even though both were available as Overdrive loans from our local library when viewed through a standard web browser.

Other supported formats include EPUB, PDF and MOBI, as well as various image file formats, HTML and comic book file formats. Using a Micro-USB cable, I connected the Aura One up to a Windows PC and dragged and dropped a few DRM-free (no copy protection) EPUB and PDF files to the e-reader without a problem. They then appeared in my books section on the e-reader after I disconnected the device from the computer (you can do this with a Mac as well).

Kobo also has desktop software that allows you to manage your e-books and shop in the Kobo store from your computer (using your computer makes it easy to manage a large number of e-books more easily).

Overall, I found the Aura One to be a perfectly good e-reader. Except for the waterproofing, there's nothing that jumps out and wows you, but the text appears sharp on the screen and the user interface is pretty straightforward and easy enough to navigate. The device occasionally tells you that a software update is available, so Kobo is making small improvements over time.

I did notice that the screen flashes about every six pages to clear ghosting residue you get from e-ink. Some devices flash far less often and I didn't find a setting that would enable you to adjust the flashing. It doesn't bother some people, but some readers don't like it when their screen flashes so frequently.

Kobo says the Aura One can go up a month between charges, but the battery drained after about a day with the Wi-Fi activated, despite the fact that the reader was set to automatically "sleep" after 15 minutes of inactivity. I then set it to fully power off after 30 minutes, and had better luck.

At $230/£190/AU$350, the Aura One is fairly pricey, but that seems to be a trend these days in the e-reader market. As these dedicated e-ink reading devices become niche products, higher-end models are being geared to avid readers willing to pay extra for special features.

The value proposition here is that you're getting a so-called "open" e-reader that has a large, crisp e-ink display and is safe to use in the bathtub or the pool. I liked it, but didn't feel an urge to swap it for the Kindle Voyage, which costs less. But if I lived in a wet place or somewhere where I didn't have access to Amazon or the Kindle Store, I'd give it some consideration. It's a solid e-reader that can handle a quick dip now and then.

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The device is fully waterproof and has a textured back.

Sarah Tew/CNET
  • Price: $230 (US), £190, AU$350, CA$249, €229
  • Display: 7.8-inch Carta E Ink HD touchscreen with an ultra-high resolution of 1,872 x 1,404, 300ppi
  • Device size: 195.1mm x 138.5mm x 6.9mm, weight: 230g
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Micro-USB
  • Processor: i.MX6 Solo Lite Freescale, 1 GHz
  • Light: Fully adjustable built-in ComfortLight Pro technology. Auto-adjusting color temperature and brightness
  • Waterproof: HZO Protection meets IPX8 rating. Waterproof for up to 60 minutes in up to two meters of water.
  • Storage: 8GB (stores more than 6,000 e-books)
  • Battery: Up to 1 month, depending on usage
  • Content: More than 5 million titles in books, comics and kids' titles. Library access via OverDrive (Canada, US, UK, Australia and New Zealand only)
  • TypeGenius: 11 fonts in over 50 sizes, plus sharpness and lighting settings
  • Kobo Picks: Personal recommendations based on your reading habits.
  • Advanced Reading: Highlighting, dictionary, notes and bookmarks.
  • Stats and awards: Learn more about yourself as a reader and track your progress through books with reading stats. Enjoy spontaneous reading awards just for reading.
  • Sharing: Share your favorite passages, quotes and books to your Facebook timeline
  • Supported file formats: EPUB, EPUB3, PDF and MOBI for e-books; JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP and TIFF for images; TXT, HTML, XHTML and RTF for text; CBZ and CBR for comic books
  • Languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish

Kobo Aura One (pictures)

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7.8

Kobo Aura One

Score Breakdown

Design 7Ecosystem 8Features 8Performance 8