Kobo Arc

Excellent quality screen ; HDMI out ; Decent price ; Very stylish

Wi-Fi doesn't come on when woken from sleep mode ; Very heavy ; No external storage ; Back-casing easily scratched

This is a high-end tablet that is competitively priced. It stylish, powerful and cheaper than the iPad Air. Wi-Fi and weight issues are drawbacks, but they don't mar the overall experience. The Kobo Arc 10HD is definitely value for money.

Access to Google means plenty of freedom, tough display means it's drop resistant, Kobo hasn't tinkered too offensively with Android

Speakers suffer from vibration and distortion, Tapestries adds little, some problems with responsiveness, no Bluetooth

There's a lot going for the Kobo Arc. It's well built and designed, even if it's not the prettiest tablet around. It's powerful enough for most too, although there are faster devices out there that give a more-polished performance. Importantly, though,...

Good value

Limited storage space

The Kobo Arc 10HD is a very good tablet. It’s certainly not the best — it’s a little heavy compared to the competition, its edges make it uncomfortable to hold for long periods and its relative lack of storage may prove an issue for some. That said, it...

The Kobo Arc features good gaming performance and useful e-reader features.

The Arc’s boxy build gives it an antiquated feel, it ships with an older OS, and its Tapestries feature can be buggy.

The Kobo Arc is a fine tablet that simply doesn't offer enough compelling reasons to seriously consider it.

A powerful tablet that plays two parts, and it does both of them well. The price is great, the tablet is great and powerful, and the reading experience brings enough features that it leaves you wishing you had gone down this route earlier. What holds...

Front-facing speakers; headphone jack on right-hand side; gorgeous screen; tapestries feature

Uninspiring design; no SD card support; no HDMI port; some video apps not supported; laggy keyboard

Speedy performance, Tapestries feature, cheap

Uninspiring design, lack of cloud storage, no iPlayer support

The Kobo Arc is a decent addition to the 7in tablet stable, with its nippy performance and some unique and useful features, although lacking the branding power of its rivals.

Sharp display. Ample processing power.

Heavy. Questionable Android skin.

Conclusions I respect Kobo's continued efforts to create an ideal Android tablet, and the company has made definite strides since the ill-fated Vox . The Arc 10HD has power to spare, but it's too big and heavy and the aggressive Android skin does all...

Bright and crisp display. Solid design. Google Play access. Front-facing speakers.

Some questionable Android modifications. Highly reflective screen. Mediocre battery life.

(Next page: Performance, Android, and Conclusions)