Kobo to release e-reader with 6″ screen and lighting with RGB LEDs next week

Kobo will release its Kobo Clara HD on June 5 in the Benelux for 130 euros. The pixel density is higher than Kobo’s current 6″ e-reader and the color temperature of the lighting is adjustable, just like on more expensive models.

The Carta e-ink screen has a resolution of 1448×1072 pixels and therefore a pixel density of 300ppi. That is comparable to other HD e-readers from Amazon or Kobo, for example. The resolution is higher than that of Kobo’s current 6″ model, the Aura Edition 2, which costs about 120 euros and has 1024×768 pixels.

The screen of the new Kobo Clara HD has adjustable brightness lighting and uses the so-called ComfortLight Pro backlight. It combines white LEDs with RGB LEDs and therefore the color temperature can be adjusted to reduce the amount of blue light, for example. That should prevent disruption of sleep. The adjustable color temperature lighting was previously only available in the higher end Kobo Aura ONE and Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2.

The Kobo Clara HD measures 159.6 × 110 × 8.35 millimeters and weighs 166 grams. This makes it the smallest, lightest and thinnest Kobo e-reader according to the manufacturer. The 6″ model that the manufacturer has had in its range for some time now weighs 180 grams and is 8.5 mm thick.

For connections to the outside, there is Wi-Fi and a micro-USB connection. The new model is equipped with 8GB of internal memory and according to Kobo, the Clara HD is able to turn pages 100ms faster than previous models from Kobo.