Kobo’s New Color E-Readers May Make You Finally Give up Your Kindle
Kobo is the first of the big three e-reader companies, which includes Rakuten Kobo, Amazon and Barnes & Noble, to take the plunge and offer color display on some of its e-readers. The company recently announced the new Kobo Clara Color and Kobo Libra Color , which are already available for pre-order and will go on sale on April 30.
The new devices build on previous Kobo, Clara and Libra black-and-white e-readers. These e-readers offer a trusted alternative to Amazon’s Kindle e-readers while still offering access to a vast library of books, including a reading subscription similar to Kindle Unlimited.
While color e-readers are nothing new—we’ve seen some single-color displays from companies like PocketBook and Onyx Boox, both of which have good reputations and come highly recommended by users—neither of these options include a huge ecosystem offered by Kobo. offers thanks to its parent company Rakuten.
The new Clara Color has a 6-inch display, while the Libra has a slightly larger 7-inch color display. Both feature E Ink’s Kaleido 3 screen technology, which promises 300 PPI resolution on Libra Color and Clara Color. E Ink also promises support for 4,096 colors, as well as greater saturation of those colors compared to the previous generation Kaleido Plus display technology.
In addition to being the first of three known e-readers to feature a color display, the new Kobo Libra Color and Kobo Clara Color will also be exceptionally affordable compared to some other color e-readers. The Kobo Clara Color will cost just $149.99, while the slightly larger Libra Color will cost $219.99. For the additional cost of Libra, you get built-in page turn buttons, as well as support for the Kobo Stylus, so you can take notes directly on the Libra Color.
It’s these prices that make this announcement truly exciting, as most color e-readers tend to cost around $300. Clara Color will offer a new color-capable display for the same price as Amazon’s black-and-white Kindle Paperwhite, making it a truly solid option for those who want to read color comics and other material on a Kindle-sized electronic device. reader.
Both devices still feature front-lighting with variable color temperature, just like previous Kobo e-readers, so you won’t miss a thing either. I’ve been using the Kobo Libra 2 for the past few months as a break from my Kindle, and I can honestly say that adding color displays to Kobo’s two best e-readers only makes them even more appealing. alternatives to Kindles , which currently do not have a color display on any model.