Waterproof eReader Aura H20 from Kobo Landing in Stores in October for $179

Tech gadgets have become such an important part of our lives that we tend to carry it with us wherever we go, sometimes even to the bathroom, where many a good smartphone or tablet has met its demise. There aren’t many tech products that come waterproof, but that’s about to change this October when you can bravely carry the waterproof Auro H2O eReader from Kobo to your bath, the beach or a pool.

Waterproof eReader Aura H20 from Kobo

The Kobo Aura H20 is a premium waterproof eReader that features a 6.8 inch no glare Carta E Ink display with 1430 x 1080 resolution and 265 ppi. Also on board is a 1 GHz processor, 4GB storage with expandable microSD card that supports up to 32GB, and a battery that can last up to two months. The device weighs about 233 grams and is available in black.

The Aura H20’s touchscreen display reads like a paper print even in sunlit areas. The ClarityScreen+ feature offers you a HD reading experience. The eReader also attempts to reduce your eyestrain with its ComfortLight feature which lets you adjust the direct lighting on the page depending on whether you’re reading in the day time or at night. You can also customize your reading experience by choosing from 10 font styles and 24 sizes and setting the desired amount of margins to create that perfect look for your page.

Its most striking feature is its waterproof and dustproof design, which takes the worry out of using it near a water body. It comes with a drying cloth, which you must use to dry the screen, should you accidentally spill water on it or drop it into your bath/pool. It is waterproofed for up to 30 minutes in 1 meter deep water with port cover closed.

The Kobo Aura H20 also lets you track your average reading speed, take down notes and annotations, create and organize your bookshelves and share your favorite passages on Facebook.

While the Amazon Kindle has been enjoying great success worldwide, Kobo eReaders are steadily gaining ground in the international market, thanks to its solid hardware. The Kobo Aura H20 is a result of a customer survey, which indicated that nearly 60% of people said that they would like to read on the beach while on vacation or in bathtubs without worrying about the consequences.

Kobo Aura H2O Tech Specs

• Waterproofing: IP certified, can be immersed for up to 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of water with port cover closed
• Display: Extra-large 6.8” Carta E Ink HD multi-touchscreen with high, tablet-grade resolution of 1430 x 1080, 265 dpi
• Size: 179 x 129 x 9.7 mm
• Weight : 233 g
• Connectivity: Wi Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Micro USB
• Processor: 1 GHz
• Light: Built-in ComfortLight technology with micro-thin coating for durability and even light distribution
• Storage: 4 GB; Option to expand up to 32 GB with a micro SD card
• Battery: Up to 2 months
• Content: Over 4 million of the best titles the world has to offer in books, comics and kids’ titles.
• Reading Life: Kobo’s exclusive reading experience. Read. Collect. Discover. Share.
• TypeGenius: 10 fonts, 24 sizes, exclusive weight and sharpness settings
• Beyond the Book : Notes, highlighting, dictionary, and bookmarks; tap highlighted words to discover related books, authors, articles, and more
• Kobo Collections: Pre-curated bundles of related authors, eBooks, and articles based around a theme
• Stats and awards: Track your progress through books with reading stats. Enjoy reading awards for reading
• Sharing: Share your favorite passages, quotes, and books to Facebook Timeline
• Games: Chess and Sudoku
• File formats: eBooks: EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, and MOBI; Images: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP and TIFF
  Text: TXT, HTML, XHTML, and RTF; Comic Books: CBZ and CBR; Supports ePub and Adobe DRM.

The Kobo Aura H20 is available for pre-order from September 1st and should make their way to the stores in Canada, the US, the UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany on October 1st.