Kobo Arc EReader Gets Android Jelly Bean Ahead of Kindle and Nook

Only about 16 percent of all Android devices "in the wild" are running the latest version of Android, called Jelly Bean, according to Google's statistics. Most of them are the very latest smartphones, and devices like Google's Nexus smartphones and tablets, which are designed to get updates faster than other Android devices -- especially ebook readers like the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook, which are so heavily customized that they barely resemble Android.

The Kobo Arc is unusual among ebook readers, in that besides using Google Play for its app market -- which means you can read both Kindle and Nook books on it -- it's also largely based on stock Android. So just a few months after Jelly Bean was released, the update is now available for the Kobo Arc, bringing with it new features and options.

In case you haven't heard of Kobo

Since it's a (Japanese-owned) Canadian company, Kobo's ebook readers are more obscure in the States. They were widely featured in Borders book stores, but ever since the chain closed they're now only found in independent and certain Christian booksellers' stores.

The sequel to the Kobo Vox

Kobo released one color Android tablet, the Vox, in 2011, using older Android software and a slower processor. The Kobo Arc is an all-new model which was released around the same time that Jelly Bean was, in November of last year. It's much more powerful than the Vox, and is roughly on par with Google's Nexus 7 tablet, except for being designed for (and marketed to) ebook lovers and not having Bluetooth or a 3G option.

Jelly Bean's highlights

Kobo's press release spells out most of Jelly Bean's added features: A face unlock feature, a pull-down notification area which lets you act on alerts right from it, and Google Now, which is sort of like Siri. If the Kindle or Nook ever get a Jelly Bean update, many of these features may be rendered useless on them, partly because of how differently they work and partly because neither is Google certified (meaning no Google Now). Amazon and Barnes and Noble do write their own updates, however.

How to get the update

Kobo's press release just says "The update is now available to Kobo Arc customers when they next connect to Wi Fi." If it works like Android OS updates on the Nexus 7, you'll be asked to download the update and restart your device, at which point it will show an Android animation as the update's installed. The process will take a little while, and you may want to leave your Kobo plugged in while it's happening if it's low on batteries.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kobo-arc-ereader-gets-android-jelly-bean-ahead-203800016.html

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