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Instead of buying a separate e-reader, plenty of people just use their tablets to read. Kobo's new Arc series aims to make that a more attractive option with a new shuddup-and-leave-me-alone Reading Mode.
Kobo's three new tablets run Android Jelly Bean (4.2.2) and range from the low-end Arc 7, with a 1024 x 600 screen and 8 GB of storage, to the high-resolution Arc 7HD and 10HD, with 7-inch 1920 x 1200 and 10-inch 2560 x 1600 screens, respectively. Respectable tablet screens, for sure, but it's the Reading Mode that Kobo really wants you to notice.
The feature turns off all notifications from email, apps, and social media. It also optimizes the screen brightness and adjusts battery consumption. The latter can extend battery life from hours to days, according to Kobo. The Reading Mode can even be set to automatically turn itself on when you start reading. Manual mode is available too, if you're waiting for an important tweet.
Like the Kobo Aura, the new tablets feature integration with read-it-while-not-at-work service Pocket. See an article you like? Save it to Pocket, and you can read it later on your Kobo device without interruptions from pesky emails.
The $150 7-inch Arc 7 includes a microSD slot and a 0.3-megapixel, front-facing camera. The 7HD is the same, but comes in 16 GB ($200) and 32 GB ($250) flavors and bumps the megapixel count to 1.3. The larger 10-inch Arc 10HD will cost $400 with 16 GB of storage. All of the new tablets are available for pre-order now, and will be available Oct. 16.
