Kobo Forma, Canada, Review, Buy, Sale, Cover

Kobo Forma

Kobo Forma e-reader is a sleek, light, premium e-reader with a user-friendly interface. Kobo Forma uses an 8-inch E-ink touch screen – it is an e-reader with one of the biggest screen on the Canadian market (most e-readers in Canada have 6-inch screens).

Kobo Forma is Rakuten’s answer to Amazon’s best e-reader Kindle Oasis. These two e-readers are very similar, they have the same resolution of 300 pixels per inch, and both are waterproof. The Forma is slightly larger, by about 3/4″ in height and width, and is slightly thicker.

One of the great characteristics of Kobo Forma is that it includes a gyroscope in the handle, enabling the display to automatically orient itself in the right direction regardless of how you hold it. The screen automatically displays text correctly in landscape or portrait mode regardless of how you grab it.

Kobo Forma comes with a built-in adjustable front light system (ComfortLightPRO). That means that you can read in direct sunlight with the anti-glare screen, or complete darkness. You can set the brightness by swiping up or down on the touchscreen.

Dimensions of Kobo Forma are: 160 x 177.7 x 8.5 mm (6.29 x 6.97 x 0 .33 inches.) 

Weigh of Kobo Forma is 197 g (6.95 ounces).

Kobo Forma Canada

The Kobo Forma was originally available in Canada only in an 8GB model, but now is available in two versions:

You can store a few hundreds of books in the Forma e-reader with 8GB of memory storage. Most of the users will be completely satisfied with 8GB memory storage. Forma e-book reader cannot play audiobooks – audiobooks require much more space than fiction text books.

When you buy Forma e-reader in Canada the following items are included in the package:

Kobo Forma Sale

Kobo Forma price in Canada is $30 lower than the price of Kindle Oasis.

Price of the Forma e-reader in Canada depends on the size of storage space (8GB or 32GB):

If you occasionally read e-books on an e-reader, you probably do not want to spend $ 299 to buy Forma. There are a few other models in the Kobo line of e-readers with built-in front light – some models cost less than half the price of the Forma.

On the other hand, if you are spending a lot of time reading e-books and looking for the ultimate reading experience, then you should buy Forma. Reading on Forma will minimize eye strain and fatigue regardless of ambient lighting.

Kobo Forma sale doesn’t happen very often. Kobo never announces the sale of reading devices ahead of time. Deals on Kobo e-readers in the past few years were good, so we expect the trend to continue.

Kobo sale doesn’t happen simultaneously in all stores that sell Kobo e-readers. Kobo e-reader could be on sale in one store while the other stores offer no discount. For example, Forma e-reader could be $20-$30 cheaper on Kobo online store than in Chapters or Walmart retail stores and vice versa. If possible, before buying Kobo e-reader take some time to check prices from different vendors.

Best Kobo ereader

We have compared all six Kobo models currently (2024) available in Canada:

Our conclusion: Elipsa is the best Kobo ereader.

Elipsa ereader is not only the best ereader from the Kobo family– it is one of the best e-reader in the world in 2024. The competitors to Kobo’s Elipsa are Kindle Scribe and Kindle Oasis from Amazon.

Kobo Elipsa ereader currently delivers the best experience available for reading an e book.

Kobo Forma review

This is a short Kobo Forma review – main characteristics and features.

Display

Forma reader has HD (high definition ) screen 1,920 x 1,440 or 300 PPI (pixels per inch).

The e-ink Carta screen and resolution of 300 PPI really take reading on Forma to a new level in terms of screen clarity and font resolution. The touch screen is very responsive to taps and presses. E ink screen is pretty easy on the eyes and continues to be a better solution for reading plain text on the page than a tablet’s screen, especially in daylight and sunshine.

Front light

Forma ebook reader has a front-lit display so you will be able to read in low-light conditions or complete darkness. The frontlight is a layer above the display that lights up and bounces light off it to illuminate the page. The Forma ereader has a color-changing backlight like recent Kobo models – you can manually slide from blue to yellow, or have it change automatically throughout the day.

The Forma lights the screen with a smooth, even glow, with a slider control that allows you to fine-tune how bright you need the screen. That means you can read e-books on Forma without bothering your sleeping partner and with minimum eye strain.

A front light system consists of 11 cold LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and 10 warm LEDs that illuminate the screen in dark environments. Forma has a Natural Light feature that automatically adjusts the light’s temperature based on the time of day. Natural Light settings bring in more orange light that is easier on the eyes than white light with a blue tone. At the same time, the blue light is minimized. You can customize this bedtime setting to let Forma when to start with orange light in the evening. You can adjust this color-changing front light manually as well.

Ergonomic Design

Forma’s ergonomics are excellent. It has a grip area down one side that contains paging buttons. This design is similar to Kindle Oasis; however, the Forma raises the grip slightly more than Oasis. This ergonomic design feature makes the Forma much more comfortable to hold than the Oasis.

The Forma is larger and heavier than the Oasis, but not by much, and can be held easily in either hand.

The Forma is bigger, and a little bit heavier device than Kindle Oasis, but can be held comfortably in either hand.

Waterproof

Forma e-reader can survive 60 minutes in water.

Battery life

Forma ebook reader comes with 1200 mAH rechargeable battery and you can get up to a month of battery life – it depends on individual usage.

In Kobo Users Guide they recommend charging the battery of your Kobo e-reader with a micro USB cable. This cable is included in the package when you buy Forma e-reader in Canada. Before using your Kobo e-reader for the first time, you should charge it for four hours.

You can also charge Forma e-reader with a wall adapter. It can be any wall adapter with output voltage 5V and current 500 mA and micro USB connector. When travelling to a country with an electrical system different than in Canada, be sure you have the proper converter for wall adapter before connecting Kobo e-reader.

You can continue reading while your Kobo ebook reader charges. You can see the battery’s charge icon in the top right corner of the Kobo e-book reader.

OverDrive integration

Forma has on-device integration with the OverDrive library system. This feature allows users to link his OverDrive account, select the library, and borrow and download e-books directly from the Forma device. OverDrive is the system used by most public libraries, and it has a big base of users who prefer to borrow books and support their local libraries instead of purchasing them. Rakuten is a parent company of OverDrive and Kobo Canada.

Kobo Forma SleepCover

Kobo Forma case protects the device from scratches and accidental drops.

Canadian Kobo website offers only one Kobo Forma cover in two different colors: black and plum. The name of this cover is Forma SleepCover because when you open the cover, the Forma automatically wakes up and goes back to sleep mode when you close it. In addition, you can flip the front cover into a stand and enjoy hands-free reading in either landscape or portrait orientation. This is a custom-made cover for Forma ereader. Only Forma ereader fits in it since the other e-readers come in smaller sizes. Forma is an e-reader with the biggest screen size (8 inches) in Canada. The cover is made from PU leather. The price of this Forma cover is 59.99 Canadian dollars.

In Canada, Forma is available only in black color. You may wish to buy one of the colorful Forma cases to customize your Kobo. Besides the Kobo website, there are only a few places that offer covers for Kobo Forma. Amazon Canada offers a few different covers for Forma at a much lower price than cover from the Kobo website. Some of those cases and covers do not have Auto Wake and Sleep function, and you can’t flip them into a stand mode, but they have a much better price.

Updated: January 10, 2024