Kobo’s latest e-reader is much better value than | Tech News

I’ve made no secret of my choice for Kobo e-readers over Amazon Kindles, and my time with the latest Kobo has not modified that. In truth, it has solely solidified my perception that it’s best to significantly contemplate ditching Kindle in your digital studying wants.

Kobo, owned by Japanese firm Rakuten, makes well-priced e-readers with virtually equivalent e-book choice to the Kindle Store with typically equivalent pricing. They additionally, crucially, offer digital e-book loans linked to your native library card, one thing you’ll be able to’t do on a Kindle within the UK.

Though the Kobo Clara Colour was launched in April 2024, I didn’t get my palms on one on the time, as a substitute reviewing the pricier £209.99 Kobo Libra Colour with its superior screen and asymmetrical design with web page flip buttons.

But Kobo has simply launched a new white model of the Clara Colour, so I’ve been studying extensively on it to see if its £149.99 price level is a truthful one given its options and the competitors.

Not solely do I consider that it’s the best value Kobo, providing you with a sharp color screen in a pocketable dimension, it is much better value than the most cost effective color screen Kindle, the £239 Kindle Colorsoft.

The Clara Colour ditches the Libra’s web page flip buttons for a compact, touchscreen-only design much like the Kindle Colorsoft and Kindle Paperwhite. The Paperwhite retails from £159 with a black and white screen, with that price even making you undergo the ugly lockscreen advertisements Amazon makes you pay additional upfront to reside with out.

Kobo pushes no such advertisements on you, with the Clara Colour offering a color screen for £10 much less than the Paperwhite.

To be truthful, the Kindle Paperwhite and Colorsoft’s screens are flush with their casing, versus the Clara Colour’s which is recessed in matte plastic casing that makes it really feel more like the most cost effective £94.99 Kindle.

But the addition of a color screen at this price is fantastic to have. Even if you happen to primarily learn text-only books like I do, seeing e book covers in your library or within the Kobo Store in color not solely appears to be like great however helps you discover titles faster, your eye drawn to them prefer it is at your native Waterstones.

If you learn books with illustrations and maps or typically get graphic novels and comedian books in your e-reader, the improve to color from black and white is unimaginable to see. With a 6-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 show, it’s smaller than the 7-inch Kindle Colorsoft, which is a draw back as comics are rendered smaller and tougher to learn.

One factor to notice about these color E Ink screens is they don’t render black textual content on a white screen as sharp and clean as on black and white e-readers. The screens comprise a grainier grid of pixels essential to illuminate in color, and the outcome is, when put next, a barely washed out look (see under image for comparability with the Kobo Clara Colour on the left and the latest black and white Kindle Paperwhite on the appropriate).

But in my studying of a number of novels and non-fiction books in my few weeks with the Clara, it has confirmed a good pocket companion. I charged it when it arrived and it’s nonetheless happening the identical charge a month later.

Connecting to Wi-Fi permits you to for browe the Kobo Store or OverDrive, the worldwide system for e-book library loans. Via the Kobo itself (or the Libby app for iPhone and Android) you’ll be able to browse titles and reserve them or borrow them instantly if they’re obtainable.

My native library didn’t have every part I looked for, nevertheless it’s a great option to borrow books fully free and browse them on an e-reader, all supported natively. Kindles merely can’t do that within the UK, regardless that they’ll within the US. It’s a main motive to go Kobo on these shores.

I additionally examined a mild blue SleepCover that Kobo despatched together with the review pattern which protects the gadget and auto wakes and sleeps the screen. It makes every part heavier although, and I favor studying the Clara with out a case. If you do too, the white casing would not show fingerprints and possibly will disguise scratches nicely, and whereas the recessed screen doesn’t look as premium as a flush one, it might help forestall scratches.

Also it’s a small factor, however the energy/wake/sleep button on the Kobo is on the back on the high, an infinitely better place than on the Kindle, the place it’s on the backside and sometimes far too simply pressed.

The frontlight on the Kobo is a combined bag, although. It is not as uniformly brilliant throughout the entire screen because the latest Kindle Paperwhite or the Colorsoft, nevertheless it lights up the screen in any lighting situation to a first rate degree. There’s no auto-brightness operate, however there is a natural mild operate that strips out blue mild when its dimmer to save lots of your eyes from straining. But I discovered this very wobbly, typically altering the degrees continually, so I turned it off.

I additionally love you’ll be able to slide your finger or thumb up and down the left aspect of the screen in any e book to change the brightness.

The truth Kobo has launched a white model of the Clara Colour in September 2025 after first releasing a black model in April 2024 suggests it’s nonetheless a smart time to invest within the e-reader if you happen to just like the sound of it. While i’ve no insider data, it’s unlikely the firm would put this new model out if a sizable Clara improve was simply across the nook.

Although the Kindle Paperwhite is about the identical price and has a flush screen and better wanting frontlight, I favor every part else in regards to the Kobo Clara Colour. The smaller dimension, stable efficiency, addition of color within the show, better energy button placement and OverDrive and integration make it much better value – and even more so when in comparison with the Kindle Colorsoft, which prices £90 more.

Amazon additionally not too long ago determined to remove the power to plug a Kindle into a pc to obtain your bought e-books to your PC. You can nonetheless do that on a Kobo, and even transfer them between your gadgets.

Meanwhile, Kobo used to help Pocket, the read-later service that allows you to save webpages and articles in your cellphone, pill or pc to learn later, which is a great factor to make use of an e-reader for. Unfortunately Pocket was not too long ago shut down, however within mere weeks, Kobo pushed out a software program replace to help Instapaper, a direct Pocket competitor.

Where Amazon locks down its Kindles and takes away user-friendly options, Kobo seems to be much more attuned to its prospects’ wants, fixing points after they come up.

Not solely is the Kobo Clara Colour a great value e-reader, it is made by a company that seems to value its prospects, which isn’t one thing I’d at the moment say about Amazon in relation to the Kindle. This latest Kobo is not good, nevertheless it’s a well-priced product I’ve no hesitation in recommending.