At the end of 2018, Kobo released a new e-reader: The Kobo Forma. It has a similar software than the company’s other e-readers, but on this device, there are physical buttons that can be used to turn the pages, which Kobo has not used for a few years. Is this a great e-reader?
Hardware: Pretty good!
The Kobo Aura One, the last “large format” e-reader from the company, had a few problems, especially with its front-light. The Kobo Forma doesn’t have this problem as it has a great 8-inch Carta e-ink screen, with harmonious backlighting and the option to adapt the light to reduce exposure to blue light from the LEDs. Reading on this device is really comfortable, it is light yet powerful and has all the functionalities that can be expected from an eReader.
That being said, the Kobo Forma is not simply an Aura One with better lighting. Kobo has added physical buttons on the right side that allow you to change pages as well as a built-in gyroscope that lets your e-reader switch to landscape view automagically…
Is the e-reader adapted for PDFs?
The 8-inch format makes it possible to comfortably see and read PDFs on the e-reader, although we would recommend installing Koreader, which can easily be done with KFM. With this, though, you must open Koreader before opening the PDF file and organize your PDFs in a hidden folder (a folder with a name that starts with a period) so that the files aren’t indexed by Kobo’s internal software, named Nickel. Indeed, the default PDF reader provided by Kobo isn’t the best, and users who often read PDFs must either keep their PDFs separate from their other eBooks and use Koreader or choose a different model (see our article specifically about this subject).
Edit (2024): there are not better models for PDF reading, even on the second hand market, a Kobo with Koreader isn’t a possible good option anymore!
Software: It’s a Kobo!
Running on this device, we find the same operating system, Nickel, that can be found on the other Kobo devices. The system is fast, well designed, and even if it’s a little less reactive than the system that the Kindles use, it’s still very pleasant to use. The option to easily install outside software is also a plus.
Value for money: pretty good!
At just a hair less than 300 euros, this e-reader is being sold at a price that corresponds to the market’s current trends. It’s direct competitor, the PocketBook Inkpad 3, is sold for about 100 euros less. The Kobo forma has physical buttons, its default PDF reader is better… bot is it worth the 100 extra euros? The Forma’s interface is more fluid and more user friendly overall than PocketBooks’s, but once a book is actually open, the differences between the two devices become harder to see… That being said, the value for money is pretty good, since this device will open most documents : it is a versatile eReader.