ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The DuRobo Krono is a smartphone-sized ePaper pill, accessible for $280.
- The Android-based Krono is supposed to be a distraction-free machine for studying, note-taking, and productiveness.
- Following a profitable Kickstarter marketing campaign, the Krono is now accessible for preorder, with transport scheduled for the top of January.
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As an avid guide lover, I am a sucker for an amazing e-reader. However the issue is that many of those units are means too restricted to develop into a companion machine. That is why I cherished the TCL Nxtpaper pill a lot. There’s one other machine, nevertheless: the brand new DuRobo Krono is right here to deal with that pill’s downfall: it is a pocket e-reader and productiveness machine that’s lastly accessible for buy.
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Admittedly, I’m biased. I have been utilizing a prototype of the DuRobo Krono for a few months, and it is executed what no e-reader has earlier than: it is the one one which has changed my Kindle whereas touring. As an grownup, I’ve by no means traveled with out my Kindle as a result of I like having the ability to learn on the aircraft and earlier than mattress. I might learn on my telephone with the Kindle app, however the eye-friendly ePaper show hits the spot like no different machine.
DuRobo markets the Krono as a “focus hub,” providing extra functionalities than a Kindle, however much less digital litter than a smartphone. The DuRobo Krono is small and light-weight sufficient to make a compelling Kindle substitute, and its added options carry it excessive.
Describing the DuRobo Krono as a easy e-reader is a serious injustice. It is an e-paper Android pill that works as a smartphone-sized productiveness machine. Its lengthy battery life and Android-based OS make it extra dependable than your common e-reader, with out being as cumbersome or heavy as even a Kindle.
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I’ve sung praises for the TCL Nxtpaper 11 pill for fairly a while, and the one disadvantage I’ve discovered with that’s that it is just too giant and heavy to learn comfortably in mattress after I maintain it up. The Kindle is far smaller, however the extra compact DuRobo Krono is lighter than all of them, weighing 6.13 ounces — about the identical as my husband’s iPhone 13.
“Krono was created for thinkers and creators who crave psychological readability,” a DuRoBo spokesperson lately stated concerning the machine. “By combining considerate design, open software program, and clever help, we’re giving individuals a brand new sort of digital area—one which helps them focus, mirror, and create with out distractions.”
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The Krono encompasses a built-in AI assistant that permits straightforward observe recording by merely urgent a button, which then transcribes and summarizes the notes for you — a function that has turned out to be fairly handy for me as a author.
I exploit the Spark function to dictate to the Krono and share ideas and story concepts. The machine then transcribes the knowledge, which I can entry as wanted or use the built-in AI to generate a abstract. The DuRobo Krono additionally encompasses a built-in AI assistant known as Libby AI, which may be accessed from the house display screen by double-pressing the Sensible Dial.
Libby AI can reply to prompts much like these of different in style AI assistants, together with ChatGPT. It may additionally generate summaries, present information updates, and show you how to create outlines.
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A 6.1-inch Carta 1200 HD show helps 300 ppi and shade temperature changes, and is flanked by a rotating dial on the left and a wake button on the fitting. You may rotate the Sensible Dial to regulate the show’s brightness or long-press it to shortly file a voice observe.
The battery life is excellent, particularly when the Krono is used largely for studying. It has a 3,950mAh battery, which is about midrange amongst smartphones. But the Krono is so environment friendly that I can go weeks with out charging it. Throughout my week at CES, I used the DuRobo Krono nightly to learn and take notes with the AI assistant, and after six days of use, the battery solely consumed a couple of third of its capability.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
In my expertise, the Durobo Krono is good for professionals, readers, or people in search of a largely distraction-free machine that’s light-weight and slim sufficient to slot in a pocket. It is a good match for customers preferring studying books, articles, and even PDFs with out telephone glare or pesky notifications.
The DuRobo Krono options 128GB of storage, permitting it to deal with a variety of paperwork, apps, voice recordings, and books. It is now commercially accessible, with a preorder worth of $280, and orders are transport in late January 2026.
