Kobo announces larger ereader “Aura ONE” – great for night time readers

Smartphone manufacturers have been talking about “blue-light reduction” for a year or so now to give people a better sleep, so it makes sense that an ereader would have the same technology given the number of people who read before bed.  Kobo’s new Aura ONE introduces this into its largest device the Aura ONE.

Available in Australia for $349.99 in October, it’s thin and light (195.1 x 138.5 x 6.9 mm; 226g) with quite a large screen to body ratio meaning more words on the page and fewer page turns.

It’s basically the size of a hardcover, but feels more like a softcover in weight.

The Aura ONE features the largest premium e-ink display on the market (7.8 inches), and it wasn’t designed just by a bunch of Kobo engineers – Kobo actually got customers to help in the process.

Working with a team of their top customers, the Kobo design team set about to build a device that would fit more words onto a page, use lighting technology to reduce the impact on people’s sleep and a new interface for customised book recommendations.

“Getting the right amount of sleep is extremely important, and is just as valuable to your health as a balanced diet and daily exercise routine”, says Colleen Carney, Associate Professor and Director of the Sleep and Depression Laboratory at Ryerson University. “A lot of people find it hard to wind-down at the end of the day, and falling asleep with a racing mind doesn’t make it easy. Doing something relaxing like meditation, yoga or reading for 20 minutes before hitting the pillow can help, but we’ve all heard that reading on an electronic device can hinder a restful night’s sleep due to the activating effects of blue spectrum light. We require red spectrum light to stimulate melatonin, a hormone that regulates our body clock. This device pays attention to the timing of blue and red spectrum light to protect sleep quality.”

And in what seems like a throwaway line – it’s also waterproof, so no matter where you love to read, you’re covered.

WiFi on board connects you to the book store, while the battery will last you around 2 months at a time.  4GB of on-board storage should allow you to carry around 3,000 books if you so choose!