Kobo Arc Receives Jelly Bean Update

Canadian eReader manufacturer Kobo yesterday released a new firmware update for its seven-inch Kobo Arc tablet, bringing the device to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. This update brings a lot to the Arc in terms of features and performance optimizations. The update will be delivered to Arc users over the air the next time they connect to a Wi-Fi network.

Performance enhancements on the Arc are thanks to Jelly Bean's "Project Butter," which allows a device's CPU and GPU to work in harmony, forcing 60 frames per second rendering on sufficient hardware. This means an overall smoother experience while navigating the OS.

In terms of features, the Arc now has access to Google Now, which offers personalized information based on a user's location, time of day and calendar. For example, Google Now can help find restaurants nearby, tell you what traffic will be like on the way to work, or when the next train is coming. Google Now also ties in with the Arc's new Google Search enhancements, including advanced voice search and a cleaner user interface, while optimized voice recognition further supports this.

Otherwise, the Arc now has richer notifications, allowing users to expand and collapse notifications to see more or less information. Finally, having Jelly Bean means the Arc now supports Face Unlock.

"Kobo Arc is the perfect tablet for people who love consuming books, movies, and surfing the web," said Wayne White , EVP of Devices at Kobo, in a statement. "With the latest Jelly Bean update, Kobo Arc becomes the perfect eReading companion that offers more with intelligent search recommendations, voice-to-text, and a highly responsive touch screen."

The Kobo Arc is a multimedia device with full access to the Google Play store. The device started being sold at Indigo and Chapters stores in Canada in November.

Earlier this year, Kobo announced that it has sold more than 12 million devices in its three years of operation, with four million sold in 2012 alone.