Hints have been circulating for over a month now that Kobo would launch an ereader this spring, and it looks like they just came true.

Update: the Kobo Glo HD launched on Tuesday, 7 April.

Numerous retail sites in New Zealand and Australia have leaked details about the Kobo Glo HD, Kobo’s next ereader. Sporting a 6″ E-ink Carta screen, the Glo HD is built to be a competitor to the Kindle Voyage.

According to the NZ retail site Mighty Apes, this device is set to ship in New Zealand on 1 May 2015, and carry a local price of $219 NZD. Another source puts the Australian price at $149 AUD.

An earlier rumor said the US price would be $149, or about $50 less than the Kindle Voyage. I have no information on a US launch, but I would expect the Glo HD to ship in the rest of the world by the end of the month.

We actually know very few details at this time; in fact, I haven’t even gotten an invite to the launch event. But the leaked listings do tell us that the Glo HD will have the same 6″ screen as the Kindle Voyage, pack in both a frontlight and touchscreen, and ship with 4GB of internal storage.

Curiously, there’s no mention of a microSD card slot. While it’s possible that this detail was left out, there’s also a chance that the Glo HD doesn’t have a card slot at all.

Kobo Glo HD Specs

6” Carta E Ink HD touchscreen

1448×1072 resolution

300 ppi

Built in ComfortLight

Battery life of up to 2 months

4 GB on-board memory

This is a thin report, I know, but I can flesh it out with a few more details. After googling the model number (N437-KU-BK-K-EP), we know that the Glo HD will have an optional sleepcover.

I also discovered that Kobo leaked the FCC ID (NOIKBN437). Kobo hasn’t filed the FCC report yet, but what with all of the details and the video I am certain that they’re going to do so in short order.

The Glo HD is one of two ereaders which we expect Kobo to launch this spring. The other model, codenamed Pika, is going to be a budget model with a screen resolution of 800 x 600, and a touchscreen but no frontlight.

The latest rumor said that both models would launch by Easter. That hasn’t happened, but I do expect a launch this week.

If this works out the way I expect, Kobo will carry 3 ereader models. At the high end we’ll have the Aura H2O, which will have a 6.8″ screen and be priced to compete with the Kindle Voyage. The new Kobo Glo HD will be priced to compete with the Kindle Paperwhite, while Pika is Kobo’s equivalent of the $79 Kindle.

MobileRead

Thanks, David!