Skip to main content

Kobo Nia Replaces the Aura 2 as Kobo’s Entry-Level eReader

Remember 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 launch.

Yes, the Nia is Kobo’s new budget model. It is replacing the four-year-old Aura 2, and in fact it has virtually the same specs as that older ereader. Just about the only differences are that the Nia has twice the storage (8GB vs 4GB), is a tiny bit thicker, and has the power button in a different location. (All of these changes were the result of the Nia being a Tolino Page 2 clone.)

The Nia has essentially the same internal hardware as Kobo’s other models, and runs the same software. It supports a widevariety of formats, including library ebooks distributed through OverDrive.

Retail is $99 in the US, $129 in Canada, and 99 euros in Europe.

Pre-orders will be available on 15 July, and the device will be available in stores and online as of 21 July in Canada, the US, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Specs

  • CPU: 1GHz Freescale i.MX 6ULL
  • RAM: 256MB
  • Screen: 6” Carta E-ink, 1024 x 758 resolution (212 ppi)
  • Frontlight: white
  • Touchscreen: capacitive
  • Dimensions: 112.4 x 159.3 x 9.2 mm
  • Weight: 172 grams

Similar Articles


Comments


tired July 15, 2020 um 9:08 am

I’m pleased this that they priced this correctly. If they sold it at only $10 less than the Carta just like what happened with the Aura 2 and the Glo HD that would have been a mistake.

I’m expecting this model to be better than the Aura 2 because specs are misleading. My biggest problem with the Aura 2 is that the touch screen was miscalibrated and it became hugely frustrating. I went through three different models and decided that it must be defective by design. I’ve seen multiple reviews on Walmart that echo my problem.

The thing is that the touch screen is fine on the Clara, Forma and the Libra so I expect that the Nia will have a good touch screen unlike the Aura 2. And what we have now is an entire family of Kobos all with different names (there is nothing as confusing as calling every single Kobo an Aura), sitting at good price points both relative to themselves and their competing Kindle models.


Write a Comment