Kobo, the eBook retailer recently spun off from Indigo Books & Music, today announced the launch of its own eReader device.
The Kobo eReader will come with a 6-inch eInk 8-level gray-scale display, Bluetooth, 1GB of internal memory, an SD card slot (supporting cards up to 4GB), 4 buttons (Home, Menu, Back, Display) and a d-pad for navigation, a USB port, a quilted vinyl back, and a battery that will last about 2 weeks (or 8,000 page turns). It will measure 120 by 184by 10mm and weigh 200 grams. The Kobo eReader will not come with 3G or Wi-Fi connectivity, requiring customers to purchase eBooks through their computer and then syncing them to their Kobo eReader.
The Kobo eReader will come with 100 free public domain eBooks and support for the ePub, PDF, Adobe DRM formats.
The Kobo eReader will sell for US$149 and will be available in May in Canada at Indigo stores and at Borders in the United States later this summer.
Kobo also announced that it will offer its “Powered by Kobo” software to other hardware partners. Included will be the necessary API’s, a software development kit, a mobile storefront, and custom integration options.