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Kobo Forma is a Kindle Oasis Clone, Will Ship on 16 October

It seems Kobo wasn’t too happy at the absolute secrecy surrounding its new ereader, so it decided to fix that situation by leaking a product render of its next ereader.

A short while ago Kobo Spain tweeted a graphic that showed a new ereader named the Kobo Forma. They quickly deleted their tweet, but not before several people snagged copies:

The Kobo Forma would appear to be the unnamed Kobo device that cleared the FCC in August.

We know almost nothing about that ereader beside the fact it had Wifi but not Bluetooth, and that the FCC unit had a 1.2Ah battery, but now it looks like it will have a one-handed design similar to that of the Kindle Oasis.

We’ll know more in a couple weeks.

I for one can’t wait to see it; I love the idea when Amazon tried it, but never found the original Oasis appealing (and Amazon wouldn’t send me an Oasis 2 review unit, so I can’t say much about it). But now Kobo is going to give it a try, and it’s like Christmas is coming early this year.

Stay tuned.

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Comments


Steve H. September 28, 2018 um 3:14 pm

Looks good…very thin back, looks to have smaller battery than the Oasis 2…battery issues?? Looks to be very lightweight.
Page buttons are starting to become essential on premium devices.
One sided design being adopted?


DaveMich September 28, 2018 um 4:00 pm

A quick look at that picture tells you it’s more versatile than the Oasis. You can hold it left or right handed with the buttons on that hand’s side, AND you can hold it either-handed with the buttons on the bottom, making for easier hand-to-hand switching. I like it.

Steve H. September 28, 2018 um 4:02 pm

Same as Oasis

tired September 30, 2018 um 11:45 am

The Oasis does that as well.


Suzanne September 28, 2018 um 4:11 pm

Could this be an updated Mini with page turn buttons? I don’t think they have showed landscape view on any of their previous device advertisements.

Nate Hoffelder September 28, 2018 um 5:18 pm

I think it’s too big to be a mini


Steve H. September 28, 2018 um 4:14 pm

My guess..7.8″


John Stanton September 28, 2018 um 4:25 pm

At the mention of the Mini, which I loved, Kobo stopped supporting it. No more Kobo doorstops for me. I love my 3 Paperwhites!
I am happy to see you writing about readers again!


xavier basora September 28, 2018 um 8:53 pm

Nate,
No Bluetooth? Well what readers wwnt to project an audio book to a speaker or listen to one on the commute?
In any case, wait a few more days and all will be revealed

Patrick Cassidy September 30, 2018 um 12:05 am

Stopped supporting the Mini? Do you mean STOPPED updating it? We have 3 Minis We’re still using in our household…


Glen Kelly September 29, 2018 um 1:57 am

I post this in MobileRead but …
————-
I don’t have the time to do this accurately but we should be able to determine the size of the screen from the image.

The key is the size of the mini USB plug which is fairly clear shown in the image, that is a known size with a mm or 2, from that someone should be able to determine the size of the screen roughly enough to say whether it is a mini, 6″, 7″ or 7.8″ screen.

On my monitor the mini usb port in the image is 4mm and the screen length in the image is 85mm.

On my Kobo Aura the real mini usb port is roughly 7.5mm.

7.5/4 is 1.875. 1.875 * 85mm is 159.4mm.

So my guess is the length of the screen is roughly 160mm which will make is a 7.8 inch display.

Can anyone get a more accurate estimate?

EDIT: Of course all of this depends upon that actually being a mini usb port, I could be wrong.

tired September 30, 2018 um 11:51 am

I am impressed and convinced. Since the Aura One is the only device to not be refreshed yet it would also make sense from another angle. I just hope that they eliminate the gap between the screen and the edge of the device (debris gets stuck in there).


trekk September 29, 2018 um 5:54 am

The Oasis 2 has the smaller battery, Steve. Oasis 2 –> 1.000 mAh, Kobo Forma –> 1.200 mAh


Patrick Cassidy September 30, 2018 um 12:06 am

I hope the landscape mode supports two column view…


tired September 30, 2018 um 12:06 pm

For long reading sessions I find the Aura One to be too heavy. This looks like it could be heavier.

Also the power button is exactly where it should not be positioned. It would be very easy to trigger it while holding the reader or hitting a page turn button or even leaning in to touch the screen. I have never ever seen such bad power button placement.

And this design honestly surprises me. Certainly Amazon would have patented their Oasis design. They would have very good grounds to sue Kobo over this copy.

I own the Oasis 2 and I like it, but the tapering of the device to one side is very uncomfortable for me and I must use a cover that flattens out the back. If Kobo copies that too and their cover doesn’t smooth out the back I will not buy it (because I won’t be able to hold it).


Syn September 30, 2018 um 10:43 pm

I love my Oasis 2 even if I am still tired of still buying black and white ebook readers 10 years after they came out. Where’s the color already??

Back on track, the Kobo looks very nice.


Olivia October 2, 2018 um 10:28 am

There it is:

https://gl.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-forma


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