Start with a comparison with the competition. In addition to the company's 6-inch models kobo glo and kobo Touch, it is compared with Sony's PRS-350 introduced at the beginning.
| kobo mini | kobo glo | kobo Touch | Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-350) | |
| Rakuten | Rakuten | Rakuten | Sony | |
| Size (width x depth x height, thickest part) | 102 x 133 x 10mm | 114×157×10mm | 114×165×10mm | 104.6×145.4×9.2mm |
| Weight | Approx.134g | Approx.185g | Approx.185g | Approx.155g |
| Resolution/screen size | 600×800 dots/5 type | 758×1,024 dots/6 types | 600×800 dots/6 types | 600 × 800 dots/5 type |
| Display | Monochrome 16-level E Ink electronic paper | Monochrome 16-level E Ink electronic Paper | Monochrome 16-level E Ink electronic paper | Monochrome 16-level E Ink electronic paper |
| Communication method | IEEE 802.11b/g/n | IEEE 802.11b/g/n | IEEE 802.11b/g/n | - |
| Built-in storage | Approx. 2 GB (user usable area: approx. 1 GB) | Approx. 2 GB (user usable area: approx. 1 GB)< /td> | Approx. 2GB (user usable space: approx. 1GB) | Approx. 2GB (user usable space: approx. 1.4GB) |
| Memory card slot | - | microSD | microSD | - |
| Built-in Light | - | ○ | - | - |
| Battery life (Manufacturer's nominal value) | About 1 month, about 40,000 pages (Wi-Fi off) | About 1 month, about 30,000 pages (Wi-Fi off) | < td>About 1 month, about 15,000 pages (Wi-Fi off)About 2.5 weeks, about 10,000 pages | |
| E-book compatible format | EPUB, PDF (supports only PDF books sold at the company's store) | EPUB, PDF (supports only PDF books sold at the company's store) | EPUB, PDF (Only PDF books sold at the company's store are supported) | Distributed content (.mnh), XMDF, .book, EPUB, PDF, TXT |
| e-book store | kobo e-book store | kobo e-book store | kobo e-book store | Reader Store< /td> |
| Price (as of January 6, 2013) | ¥6,980 | ¥7,980 | ¥6,980 | 7,980 yen |
The screen size is one size smaller than the 5-inch, but the resolution is the same as the conventional 6-inch E Ink terminal Since it is 600×800 dots, the density is reasonably high. However, the Sony PRS-350 is also 600 x 800 dots, so it's not surprisingly high definition.
The specifications such as communication functions, built-in storage, and compatible formats are almost the same as the company's kobo glo / kobo Touch, but on the other hand, the major difference is that it does not support microSD. Only about 1GB of user-usable space can be used to store content, so it is difficult to carry a lot of content without worrying about capacity. However, reading comics on the small screen of this product is fundamentally impossible, so I had to give up from the beginning, and considering that I use it mainly for text books, even 1GB is not particularly small.
The body size is quite compact. The same 5-inch Sony PRS-350 has buttons at the bottom, so the total length is fairly long, so this product looks overwhelmingly smaller. Even if the chest pocket of a dress shirt is unreasonable, the fact that it fits perfectly in a pocket such as a coat is an advantage that a 6-inch E Ink terminal or a 7-inch tablet does not have. The weight is also about 134g, which is about 50g lighter.
As a minor difference, the reset hole that was exposed to the outside in the conventional Kobo series has moved to the inside of the main unit's rear panel, so the rear panel must be removed when resetting. It's not a big problem if there is no opportunity to reset it, but in the first week of use, the main unit froze 6 times, 3 of which I couldn't restart without using this reset hole (by the way, I searched for 3 times It hangs up on the screen) I felt quite annoyed.
Furthermore, the back panel has 15 hooks on the top, bottom, left, and right, just because there are dents in the corners to catch your nails, so it won't come off easily from a structural point of view. It seems that there are people who accidentally break it, so my honest impression is that the design is a bit unreasonable. I think it would be enough to make a reset hole in the back panel like the kobo Touch, but it's a strange specification.