Rakuten, which owns e-reading service Kobo, will offer two new Kobo e-readers for the Japanese market – a challenge to its rival Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite.

The two new e-readers are the Kobo Glo and the Kobo Mini. The Kobo Glo front-lit e-reader is now available for pre-order at 7980 yen through the Rakuten-Ichiba online marketplace at http://kobo.rakuten.co.jp, with a shipment date of November 15.

The Kobo Glo includes a built-in SD slot to expand memory and has a high-resolution screen and customisable page-turning features. It uses E Ink technology, customisable fonts and a glare-free XGA high-resolution six inch E Ink screen that is just like reading print on paper.

The e-reader connects easily to wi-fi allowing users to explore and discover recommendations in the Kobo eBookstore, and with a battery life of one month.

The Kobo Mini, the world’s smallest full-featured e-reader with a five inch touchscreen, will be available in December for 6980 yen.

“The Japanese e-reading market is taking off with new and exciting products coming from Kobo this gift-giving season,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO, Kobo.

“We’re working closely with retail partners to successfully integrate the Kobo reader, digital content, and the Kobo eBookstore into the ecosystem – to deliver an experience that is tailored to the Japanese market and consumer,” said Serbinis.

The two new e-readers adds to Kobo’s e-readers Kobo Touch and Kobo Arc.

“This reinforces our commitment to expanding digital goods and e-commerce services through beautiful and exciting devices,” said Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani.

Last month, Amazon opened a Kindle store in Japan which sells its new e-reader Kindle Paperwhite.

GB