Kobo Nia is a Tolino Page 2 Clone
It turns out Kobo’s new ereader is not as new as I had hoped.
I was just reading over on MobileRead that Staples Canada has put the Kobo Nia’s product page online two days early. The new ereader is reportedly going to sell for $129 in Canada (which is really weird given that the Kindle Paperwhite has much better specs and costs $119 CDN).
Meet the Kobo Nia, aka the Tolino Page 2:
I hadn’t mentioned this before, but it had previously been speculated on MobileRead that the Kobo Nia would be a Tolino Page 2 clone. I didn’t take that speculation seriously (I was hoping for something cool) but I will give credit where it is due.
As you can see if you compare the photo gallery at the end of this post with the Tolino Page 2 gallery, the two devices really do have the same hardware. This move makes a certain amount of sense given that Kobo is the hardware partner for Tolino.
The Tolino Page 2 (Kobo Nia) has a 6″ Carta E-ink screen with a capacitive touchscreen and a frontlight. It runs on a 1GHz single-core CPU with 512MB RAM and 8GB internal storage. It has Wifi but not BT, measures 9.1mm thin, and weighs 179 grams.
The Kobo Nia is a replacement for Kobo’s current entry-level ereader, the Aura 2. I do not know when it will be available, but I am expecting it to be announced on Tuesday of this week.
What do you think?
Comments
Void June 22, 2020 um 6:35 pm
I was hoping for an update to the Forma.
Susan June 22, 2020 um 8:02 pm
I know it is a six inch screen but is it smaller than the Clara or larger in regards to bezel and height?
rcentros June 24, 2020 um 2:10 pm
Slightly larger and and slightly heavier than the Clara.
Clara – 110.2 x 156.4 x 8.35 mm – 166 g
Nia – 112.5 x 159.8 x 9.1 mm – 179 g
Susan June 25, 2020 um 7:50 am
Thank you! I really wish Kobo would bring back the Mini.
James Seger June 24, 2020 um 4:27 pm
With their front lights, Carta screens and 8GB drives, entry level readers like the Nia or the basic Kindle are becoming good enough for most readers. I wonder if there will be a point where the basic models eat into the sales of the Claras and Paperwhites?
Susan June 25, 2020 um 5:24 pm
I have the basic Kindle in white and really like it. Just wish it had the adjustable warm light and inverted mode.
Kobo Nia Replaces the Aura 2 as Kobo's Entry-Level eReader | The Digital Reader July 15, 2020 um 12:02 am
[…] how I shared all the relevant info on the Kobo Nia about three weeks ago? Alas, that didn’t really leave me much to say about today’s […]