Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Kobo’s brilliant Pocket partnership makes the Aura more than just another e-reader

K. T. Bradford
By
digimarc harper collins ebooks piracy protection kobo aura ereader press image
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The new e-reader and tablets Kobo announced this week all look like fine devices worthy of your attention, but they’re not breaking any new ground. The real game-changer is actually Kobo’s partnership with Pocket (formerly Read It Later), now allowing Aura owners to seamlessly save Web content for consumption on their e-readers. By bringing Pocket’s service to the Aura, Kobo just made its e-reader way more relevant. And since other e-reader makers have a history of copying what Kobo does, it gives me hope that we’ll see more deals like this across all platforms.

Partnering with Pocket proves that Kobo understands what readers want, and is willing to give it to them. Every e-book company wants customers to stick with its platforms, stores and devices, but few are willing to do what it takes to make those devices the center of a person’s entire reading experience (if it doesn’t involve getting more of your money, anyway). Some say that’s what tablets are for – and until this week that was true.

Recommended Videos

I, like millions of others, use Pocket every day. I read long-form articles and short fiction from the Web on my commute, and during my down time. I love my e-reader and wish that I could use it for this purpose. Until now that wasn’t possible. Now I’m actually considering the Kobo Aura just so that I can keep all my reading material in one place. I doubt that I’m the only one.

Related

Pocket is one of the most popular services for saving Web content for later reading and viewing. Unlike other popular apps with similar functionality, Pocket works smoothly across different platforms and browsers, and syncs reliably once you add something new. It strips away everything but the core text and an image, so that you can concentrate on reading. According to Kobo, Pocket users read the equivalent of three books’ worth of content from the Web each month. Up until now, they’ve had to do so on tablet, smartphone, and computer screens.

Now any text articles saved to a Pocket account will sync to the new Kobo Aura e-reader in the Articles section of the Library. Just as with the iOS and Android apps, any time the Aura is online it will pull down new content so the articles are there whenever you’re ready to read. And if you delete or archive a post, it goes away. It’s the same experience, just with a better-for-your-eyes screen.

Before Pocket got big, Instapaper was among the top services for saving posts and articles from the Web. People flocked to it because the service gave users the ability to send what they saved to the Kindle automatically via WhisperSync. Instapaper also generated an EPUB version for Nooks, Sony Readers, and other such e-readers, but there was no way to send it automatically or over the air. The Kindle thing wasn’t official, it just took advantage of the send via email function, and was so popular that over 600,000 people used it even after the iPhone and iPad apps came out.

Despite Instapaper’s popularity and even Amazon’s Send To Kindle extension for Chrome, the idea of giving customers an easy way to save and sync Web articles to e-reading devices seems to have not occurred to major players like B&N and Sony. And Amazon’s efforts are half-baked at best. This is maddening for many reasons, the main one being: this should not be hard. The Nook Simple Touch (both versions) run on Android. Pocket has an Android app. Would it be so hard to modify that app for the Nook? Clearly not, since the company did it for Kobo. One could ask the same of Sony and Amazon.

Digital reading isn’t just about e-books, anymore. It never really was. The success of Instapaper, Pocket, and other similar services proves that what readers care about is content. They’re not so picky about where the content comes from, but they do care deeply about how they consume it. Smart e-reader makers would do well to take note of this and to realize that making a tablet just isn’t enough. After all, tablets didn’t kill e-readers, despite all the predictions that they would. Any voracious reader could have told you why: E-Ink screens still offer a superior experience. And now Pocket is part of that experience.

So, how long do you think will it be before B&N, Amazon, and Sony start cuddling up to the competition?

Editors' Recommendations

K. T. Bradford
K. T. Bradford
Former Digital Trends Contributor
K. T Bradford is a lover of gadgets and all things geek. Prior to writing for Digital Trends she cut her teeth on tech…
Best Samsung Galaxy S22 deals: Save big on unlocked models
The back of the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22 Plus.

For a couple of years now the Samsung Galaxy S22 has made for some of the best phone deals you can shop. This includes both the Galaxy S22 and its big brother in the lineup, the Samsung Galaxy S22+. These phones have been out for a little while now, and they’re getting more and more difficult to find brand new. We’ve managed to find a few deals available on both the Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy S22+, however, and there are several ways to save on refurbished models out there. We’ve rounded up all of the best Samsung Galaxy S22 deals taking place at a number of different retailers, so read onward for all of the details on how to save.
Samsung Galaxy S22 deals at Samsung

Samsung isn’t currently carrying very many older models of the Samsung Galaxy S phone. You’ll find some newer models like the recently released Samsung Galaxy S24 there, but if you’re looking for something from the S22 model lineup all you’ll find is a Galaxy S22 renewed model. It’s offering some great savings, however, as you can claim it for just $679 with up to $300 in trade-in savings.

Read more
Best Apple Watch deals: Series 9 and Ultra 2 discounted
Someone wearing an Apple Watch Ultra 2, showing the Modular Ultra watch face.

The Apple Watch has become one of the best smartwatches on the market. And while Apple deals are traditionally somewhat difficult to come by, the Apple Watch has always been a good Apple product to turn to for some savings. That’s certainly the case right now, as some of the best smartwatch deals are on various Apple Watch models, and several models are offering substantial savings. From the Apple Watch Ultra 2 to older Apple Watch models that come in at relatively low prices, we’ve tracked down all of the best Apple Watch deals taking place right now. Read onward and you’ll find plenty of details on how to save, as well as some information on which Apple Watch may best suit your needs.
Best Apple Watch SE deals

The first-generation Apple Watch SE, which was released in 2020, and the second-generation Apple Watch SE, which was rolled out in 2022, are the most affordable ways of getting an Apple Watch. They don't give up too much in order to keep costs low compared to their more expensive peers though. The Apple Watch SE 2, in particular, still provides comprehensive fitness tracking features, a comfortable fit, and excellent software as it can be updated to Apple's latest watchOS 10.

Read more
Best Samsung tablet deals: Discounted tablets as low as $184
Recent apps view on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.

Samsung makes a huge lineup of quality yet affordable tablets, many of them in competition to be among the best tablets, and many more often found among the best tablet deals. With a wide set of prices ranging from budget to premium, a Samsung tablet makes a great investment for almost anyone who enjoys the touchscreen form factor. There are quite a few Samsung tablet deals worth shopping right now, and we’ve done the heavy lifting of tracking down the best. Among them you’ll find discounts on the likes of the budget tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite and the high-end tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab S9. So whichever end of the tablet spectrum you fall on, or if you land anywhere in between, read onward for more details on the best Samsung tablet deals available right now.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 -- $184, was $230

If you need a bigger screen, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is another solid budget option. It is 10.5 inches and runs a much better 1920 x 1200 resolution, which also makes it a better option for watching content. It does have a much smaller capacity at 32GB, although you can always expand it with a MicroSD, so it's not a dealbreaker. That said, the 3GB of RAM is very much within the limits of what's going to give you a smoother experience, but it's the sort of compromise you deal with when going for a larger screen at a budget price.

Read more