Kobo, a global leader in eReading with more than 3.6 million users in over 100 countries worldwide, today announced the launch of the all-new Kobo eReader Touch Edition. With a revolutionary new touch screen experience, Kobo makes eReading easier than ever and makes it even more accessible to people around the world. Created for readers by readers, the beautiful new design provides the ultimate in reading comfort and is the most portable eReader – thin and light, it travels easily anywhere. The new device also includes Reading Life, Kobo’s social experience, that lets users earn awards just for reading.

The new Kobo eReader Touch Edition will be available for pre-order at leading retailers across North America including Indigo (www.indigo.ca), Best Buy (www.bestbuy.ca), Walmart (www.walmart.ca) and Borders (www.borders.com) for an MSRP of $129.99 USD and $139.99 CAD. The new eReader will ship in early June, in time for Father’s Day and graduation gifting, and includes a $10 Gift Card*. The new Kobo eReader Touch comes in an array of new colors and debuts with a line of stylish new accessories, making it the perfect gift.

As of today, the first generation Kobo Wi Fi goes to a new everyday low price of $99.99 USD and $109 CAD. Kobo pioneered the affordable eReader in May 2010, and now after record sales, the company is introducing its newest edition to deliver an experience that is easy and enjoyable for everyone, everywhere, now more portable and comfortable, and available in 6 languages – it’s truly the first International eReader.

Kobo’s Real Touch experience uses Neonode’s new zForce infrared touch technology to make reading on Kobo just like that of reading a real book. With the latest Pearl E Ink technology, reading on the new Kobo eReader is just like reading print on paper – it’s easy on the eyes, even in bright sunlight. The new eReader is powered by the new Freescale i.MX508 processor, a high-performance engine designed to enable fast page turning for electronic paper displays. A reading lover’s dream, the new device boasts storage of up to 30,000 books with expandable memory.

“The new Kobo eReader is a major advance for readers. We started with a simple, yet powerful idea – to bring eReading to more people in more places, and inspire people around the world to spend more time reading. At a time when technology is disrupting all media, Kobo’s focus on the importance of reading has resulted in a revolutionary new experience for readers,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO, Kobo Inc. “This is the first eReader you can put in your pocket, take with you anywhere and read for hours just like a real book, with ultimate comfort and no distraction. The new Kobo eReader is designed for people who love to read.”

Named one of the powerhouses in eReading by Time.com(1) in 2011, Kobo has experienced explosive growth since its founding in December 2009, with a catalog of more than 2.3 million books, newspapers and magazines. Purely focused on eReading, Kobo has driven many industry firsts such as support for Android, eBook gifting and its social experience – Reading Life. Kobo has customers in over 100 countries, local stores in English speaking countries and recently announced local stores in Germany, Spain, Italy, France and the Netherlands which will launch beginning this month. Kobo has become the partner of choice for leading tablet OEM’s such as Samsung and RIM, and powers book retailers in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the UK.