Kobo Arc vs Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7" |
Released November, 2012
Kobo Arc
- Wi-Fi
- 7"
- 1280 x 800
- 64 GB
7.8 Out of 10
by PCMag (Jan, 2013)In real world usage the Arc felt zippy and responsive, with quick app launches and fast Web browsing performance.
VS
Released September, 2012
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7"
- Wi-Fi
- 7"
- 1280 x 800
- 16 GB
7.8 Out of 10
by Wired (Sep, 2012)The new display is much nicer, a 1,280 x 800 IPS panel with a pixel density of 216 ppi.
Reader Rocket Review Our evaluation of Arc vs Fire HD 7"
Display | |
How do the screens stack up? | |
| Resolution, pixel density, Screen size and anti-glare | |
Bookstore | |
How good is the supporting ecosystem? | |
| e-bookstore size, average NYT best sellers price, NYT's top selling titles and 4 more | |
Performance | |
How responsive and how long does the e-reader last? | |
| Battery life, SunSpider and Recharge time | |
Reviews | |
How do our trusted review sites rank these products? | |
| Reviews from reviews.cnet.com and pcmag.com | |
No winner declared
Too close to call
Differences What are the advantages of each
| |||||||
| Much more storage capacity | 64 GB | vs | 12.6 GB | More than 5x more storage capacity | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supports the ePub open format | Yes | vs | No | About half of E-Readers support the ePub open format | |||
| Uses an open platform | Yes | vs | No | Somewhat common; can download ebooks from any source offering formats supported by device | |||
| Quicker recharging | 3 hours | vs | 4 hours | 25% quicker recharging; requires less time to re-charge | |||
| |||||||
| Customer loyalty program | Yes (Kindle Store) | vs | No (Kobo Books) | About half of E-Readers support customer loyalty program | |||
| Has reader-to-reader lending | Yes (Kindle Store) | vs | No (Kobo Books) | Somewhat common; e-books can be loaned to a friend for a 14 day period; each e-book can only be loaned once | |||
| Thinner | 10.3 mm | vs | 11.5 mm | More than 10% thinner ; easily slides into bags | |||
| Bigger bookstore | 4 M book (Kindle Store) | vs | 3.2 M book (Kobo Books) | Around 25% larger e-bookstore size; totalling paid & free books, this reader's bookstore offers a larger selection of reading material | |||
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Reviews Word on the street
Specifications Full list of technical specs
screen | Kobo Arc | vs | Kindle Fire HD 7" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen resolution | 1280 x 800 | 1280 x 800 | |
| Screen size | 7" | 7" | |
| Pixel density | 215 ppi | 215 ppi | |
| Built-in light | LED backlight | LED backlight | |
| Screen type | LCD | LCD | |
| Touchscreen | Capacitive | Capacitive | |
| Multitouch | Yes | Yes | |
| Flashes screen black during page turns | No | No | |
bookstore | |||
| Uses an open platform | Yes | No | |
| Bookstore | Kobo Books | Kindle Store | |
| EBookstore size | 3.2 M book | 4 M book | |
| Free content free content | 1.89 M books | 2.5 M books | |
| Customer loyalty program | No | Yes | |
| Average NYT best sellers price | $9.95 | $9.24 | |
| Number of NYT top-selling titles offered+ | 38 | 38 | |
| Reader-to-reader lending | No | Yes | |
| Cloud storage | Yes | Yes | |
| Reading apps | iOS, Android, BlackBerry, PC and Mac | iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, PC and Mac | |
| Additional electronic offerings | newspapers, magazines and comics/graphic novels | newspapers, magazines, comics/graphic novels, textbooks, audio-books and blogs | |
| Has retail store locations | No | No | |
form factor | |||
| Size | 189 x 120 x 11.5 mm | 193 x 137 x 10.3 mm | |
| Weight | 364 g | 395 g | |
| Interface | touchscreen | touchscreen | |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes | |
connectivity | Kobo Arc | vs | Kindle Fire HD 7" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input/Output port | micro-USB | micro-USB | |
| Cellular data | None | None | |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b/g/n | 802.11b/g/n | |
features | |||
| Sync across multiple devices | Yes | Yes | |
| Text to speech | Yes | Yes | |
| Directly download library e-books to device | Yes | Yes | |
| Web browser | Yes | Yes | |
| Stereo speakers | Yes | Yes | |
| Evernote integration | Yes | Yes | |
| Landscape mode | Yes | Yes | |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes | |
| Parental controls | No | Yes | |
storage | |||
| Internal storage | 64 GB | 12.6 GB | |
| Expansion slot | None | None | |
| Memory | 64 GB | 16 GB | |
 Kobo Arc  Report a correction |  Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7" Report a correction |
