Kobo’s Waterproof Aura H2O Ereader Is Heading To Australia

Kobo has announced that its latest high-end ereader, the waterproof Aura H2O, will be receiving a local launch on 5 February, 2015. The Aura H2O is waterproof to a depth of one metre for up to 30 minutes. It also comes with an anti-glare HD display, is dust-proof and provides up to two-months of battery life.

We’re pretty big fans of the Kobo line of ereaders. Unlike some ereaders we could name, they boast support for EPUB and Adobe DRM file formats which means you aren’t tied into a particular ebook ecosystem. According to Kobo, this equates to more than four million ebooks, comics, and magazines across all compatible file types.

The Aura H2O is the first model to provide a waterproof display. With a maximum depth of one metre, it should suit the majority of aquatic-based reading scenarios, including the pool and bath.

“We found that some of our customers avoided taking eReaders to the beach or reading in the bath because they were worried about water damage,” Malcolm Neil, Kobo’s director of content acquisition explained.

“In developing the Aura H2O, we wanted to break down that barrier and ensure that everyone can read anywhere.”

Other noteworthy features include a 6.8-inch e-ink HD touchscreen, inbuilt Wi-Fi, 4GB of storage, a micro SD card slot and a light-up display for nighttime reading. You also get a choice of 10 font styles, 24 font sizes and the ability to adjust font sharpness and weight.

The Kobo Aura H2O will launch in Australia with a recommended retail price of $229. This is a pretty hefty markup compared to in the US, where the same device retails for $179.99; a price difference of more than 20 per cent.


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