![]() ![]() Thankfully, the Arc 10HD performs solidly. But let's be honest for a minute: No one's plunking down $400 for a tablet that does just that. In fact, if all you're planning on doing with the thing is reading books and the occasional magazine or comic, the device probably has more horsepower than you'll ever need. Reading tablet or no, Kobo hasn't skimped on the internals. It'll do in a pinch for short video-watching stints, but if you want to listen to music or sit through a full movie, we'd strongly suggest a Bluetooth speaker or a pair of headphones. It's the same deal as with other tablets: tinny sound that gets progressively more distorted as you crank up the volume. Though we did notice some issues with the color balance, which tended to make some of the brighter colors look a bit oversaturated.Īside from changing the speaker placement, the Kobo team doesn't seem to have given much thought to audio quality. Turns out it's pretty good for watching movies, as well. That all works out to a screen density of 300 pixels per inch, which should be more than enough to read just about anything, including glossy magazines. It's also the same resolution as the Note 10.1. The Arc 10HD has a lovely 2,560 x 1,600 display - that's the same resolution as the HDX 8.9, spread out across 10.1 inches. That said, Kobo's offering is nothing to sneeze at. We'll be honest: It's hard looking at most displays after spending some serious time getting to know the Kindle Fire HDX. It's worth a reminder, though, that such quality will cost you $400 - the same price as the new Galaxy Tab 3 10.1. And it's true, no one's going to mistake this for an Ainovo any time soon. Kobo's dumped the ol' plastic bezels for a contiguous piece of glass, a design choice that puts the product more in line with the company's higher-end Aura e-readers. For starters, the 10-inch slate looks a good deal nicer than last year's model. With the Arc 10HD, the company wants to prove it can do a lot better than serviceable. The device was hardly a game-changer, but if nothing else, it proved that the company is capable of building a perfectly serviceable Android tablet. And while we weren't too bullish about the company's future in the tablet space, the original Arc managed to change our minds. It's something you might get were you to force someone to create a tablet against their will: uninspired, clunky and incredibly unnecessary. The company's first Android tablet was an epic misfire. However, its objectionable design flaws sabotage its chances at being as good as its competition.Someone over at Kobo loses a few years off his life each time we mention the Vox. The Kobo Arc 10 HD provides a visually immersive tablet experience that puts reading at the forefront without ditching the perks of full Android capabilities. It also includes a Google Play store - something the Kindle Fires miss out on - a pretty sharp screen, and good performance. Passionate readers who want a tablet worthy of ditching their library card for may find the Kobo Arc 10 HD an attractive compromise between an e-reader and tablet, but the $329 Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is a better value that offers useful reading resources and fast performance inside of an impressively light tablet.įor bookworms on a budget, the Barnes & Noble Nook HD+ starts at only $149 and offers heaps of features. With top tablets boasting thin and lightweight designs for the same price or less, the Kobo Arc 10 HD's flawed build is an inadmissible offense. Which one of these does not belong? Josh Miller/CNETĬomfort is integral to a pleasant reading experience and the Kobo Arc 10 HD's soft faceted back can't save it from the discomfort caused by its heaviness and pointed corners. ![]() Deviceġ.7GHz Dual-core Samsung Exynos 5 Dual (5250) No matter what's on the screen, the display looks bright and vibrantly saturated, comparable to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 edition), and the impressive range of colors begs to be used for something more than the simple black text of a book. It boasts a Google Nexus 10-matching 300 ppi, but falls short of the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9's super-sharp 323 ppi display. One of the Kobo Arc 10 HD's most impressive features is its sharp and bright 2,560x1,600-pixel resolution screen. HD videos are almost as sharp as the Arc 10 HD's corners.
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