When you think about e-readers, you probably think of a stark white screen with black words, right?
Kobo’s newest releases will change the way you think about e-readers by injecting some much-needed color into all of your favorite books.
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Introducing the Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Libra Colour, two first-of-their-kind e-readers that use a new E Ink Kaleido display to show book covers, annotations, and more in all of their colorful glory. Post Wanted got a chance to test out the Kobo Libra Colour ahead of its April 30 release, and we’re big fans.
Trust us when we say: bookworms, you need this e-reader.
Kobo Libra Colour: How we tested
It goes without saying that to test this e-reader, I read. A lot. For the time being, I swapped my personal e-reader for the Kobo Libra Colour, so wherever I went, the e-reader went as well.
- Comfort: Is the Kobo Libra Colour comfortable to hold for long periods of time? What about lying down?
- Battery Life: Does the Kobo Libra Colour’s battery last long between charges?
- Reading Features: This includes, but is not limited to, trying out different settings like dark mode and reading something with color on the pages.
Kobo Libra Colour: Our Review
As someone who reads comics and graphic novels as often as I read regular books, the Kobo Libra Colour is the device I’ve been waiting for to condense my need for two reading devices (an e-reader for books and an iPad for comics) into one. Needless to say, I was thrilled to dive in and start reading.
At first, I noticed how easy it was to hold compared to my own buttonless e-reader, which I had to add a PopSocket for an easier, more comfortable grip. Between the page turn buttons (a huge bonus when compared to Kobo’s major competitor, Amazon Kindle; Amazon recently discontinued its only e-reader with buttons) and the slightly curved edge, it’s easy to hold this for long periods of time whether I’m sitting on the couch or lying on my side in bed. It helps that the screen auto-rotates as well; it means I can hold it in either hand and still use the buttons.
I was and still am so thoroughly impressed by the quality of the screen — it’s 300 ppi, just like the Libra to come before it and a handful of Amazon’s Kindle devices, but the addition of color makes everything pop even though it has the typical anti-glare, matte screen we’ve come to expect from e-readers.
Above, you can see what a full page in a graphic novel looks like on the Kobo Libra Colour. While the colors are not as vibrant or saturated as they may appear on a tablet like an iPad, you’re still getting full-color pages, book covers, and more (above in the article, you can see what one of those full-color book covers looks like). There’s also a zoom feature for comic panels, but I found that it was easier to read the smaller boxes than zoomed-in ones.
I’ve been reading consistently on the Kobo Libra Colour for about a month now and I’ve found that the promise of “weeks” of battery life mostly holds true. I charged it to 100% when receiving it, and it was another four weeks before I was reaching for a charger again.
What’s the book selection like for Kobo, you may be wondering? For the most part, as long as an e-book isn’t exclusive to Amazon due to contracts or Amazon Original status, you’re able to buy that book from the Kobo store either online or directly on the e-reader. You can also log into Dropbox and Google Drive directly on the device to access PDFs and more, plus library books are easily accessible with the Overdrive app on your mobile device — simply connect it to your public library card and you’ll be good to go!
As for things I’m missing from all my years as a Kindle user: not much, honestly! While I’ve tested all current Kindle models, the one I use day-to-day doesn’t have things like page turn buttons or automatically adjusting screen brightness, and it’s hard to miss things you don’t regularly have in the first place. Would it be nice to have that auto-adjusting brightness? Sure, but I also don’t mind upping the brightness when I read outside on sunny days. I’m more concerned with the screen “warmth” to cut down on blue light when I’m reading at night, anyway.
Pros:
- Page turn buttons
- Crisp color e-ink screen
- Support for Kobo Stylus 2 to write and annotate books + take notes
- Library books are still easily accessible through Overdrive
Cons:
- Getting library books via Libby is less streamlined
- No auto-adjusting light
Kobo Libra Colour
You can shop for the new e-reader in black or white.
The final verdict:
If it wasn’t obvious already, I love the Kobo Libra Colour. It’s such a level-up to what I thought was possible with a category I’ve tried so many devices in already. The color screen is a nice touch, especially for comic readers, and it’s super comfortable to hold and read on for hours and hours.
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