Kobo Arc HD boasts 'uncompromised' Android, reading smarts

There are two new tablets on the table today, with Kobo outing its Arc 10HD and Arc 7HD slates.

The two tablets come running what Kobo describes as an "uncompromised" edition of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean which, we suspect, is a not-very-subtle dig at Amazon's skinned-up Kindle Fire tablets.

The Kobo Arc 10HD comes rocking a 1080p LCD screen, quad-core Tegra 4 processor, 2GB of RAM keeping things ticking along and 16GB of storage space to play with.

Two by two

There's a 1.3MP front-facing snapper capable of 720p HD video calling and Kobo reckons you can get 9.5hrs of continuous reading or video watching out of the thing if you turn the Wi-Fi off.

As for the 7-inch tablet, you're looking at the same quality 1080p screen but a Tegra 3 quad-core processor and only 1GB of DDR3L RAM.

On the plus side, the smaller Arc 7HD comes in either 16GB or 32GB versions, and it rocks the same 720p 1.3MP camera on front too. Only 8 hours of reading life to speak of though.

Both tablets offer Reading Life, which is Kobo's ebook library that helps you find new books to read, organise the ones you already own and also features Reading Mode to cut out notifications and other distractions.

If all that's got your pulse racing, you'll be pleased to hear you can buy the Arc HD tablets from today. The Kobo Arc 10HD starts from £299.99 and the Kobo Arc 7HD from £159.99.

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.