Andrew Heinzman
Kobo is introducing a new e-reader to compete with the entry-level Amazon Kindle. Say hello to the $100 Kobo Nia, a 6-inch backlit reader with 8GB of onboard storage and a crisp 212 ppi display. The Kobo Nia ships on July 21st, but pre-orders start today.
At $100, the Kobo Nia costs $10 more than the entry-level Kindle reader. But that $10 grants you a backlit 212 ppi display that blows the Kindle’s front-lit 147 screen into the water. The Kobo Nia also offers double the Kindle’s onboard storage, and you can use it with PDFs, EPUB files, and MOBI files without any workarounds.
That said, early reviews of the Kobo Nia aren’t inspiring. In her write-up for Wired, Adrienne So complained that Kobo Nia was a bit slow, and that its lack of Bluetooth, audiobooks, and water-resistance doesn’t make sense for the price. If you want something with a better display and more memory than the entry-level Kindle, then the $130 Kindle Paperwhite or $120 Kobo Clara HD might be a smarter investment than the new Kobo Nia.
The $100 Kobo Nia is avaliable for pre-order today and ships on July 21st. If you’re interested in Kobo’s readers, I suggest comparing the Rakuten Kobo catalog to the Amazon Kindle catalog. Both brands offer similar products at similar prices.
