Kobo Libra Color Is Trying Its Best, but There Is No Color E-Ink Yet
Amazon has some influence over the e-reader industry. Like Kleenex before it with napkins, Kindle has become so synonymous with e-readers that it’s easy to forget other brands exist. It’s a bit of a shame because only from companies like Rakuten will you find more experimental features like color e-ink.
Rakuten’s latest e-readers, the Kobo Libra Color and Kobo Clara Color, are not the first color e-readers to hit the market. But since Rakuten is the Pepsi to Amazon’s Coca-Cola, they offer the familiar Kindle form factor and a vast e-reader ecosystem. They’re a prime example of the kind of innovation a second-place manufacturer must innovate to differentiate itself, but their niche use cases and numerous shortcomings show why Amazon hasn’t followed suit yet.
Why color electronic ink?
There’s more to the Kobo Libra and Clara Color than their color screens, but the screens are definitely a standout differentiator, especially since Kobo is currently the largest e-reader company to use color screens. For most devices, purchasing a color version has always seemed like a no-brainer. A color TV can display a more realistic image, and a color Game Boy can give the player a clearer image. For e-books, the transition to a color version is not so straightforward.
This is because books are mostly black and white anyway. Dune will read the same thing on paper as on a Kindle and on a computer monitor, with the exception of the individual characteristics of each medium. You won’t lose any information by choosing a black and white image, except maybe for the cover. That’s why Rakuten focused its marketing of the Kobo Libra and Clara Color on two use cases: comics and note-taking.
The first one is quite harsh and dry. Most Western comics are published in color, so reading them on a black and white e-reader is simply not comparable to reading them on a tablet or on the page. This won’t be a big deal for manga readers since these stories are usually published in black and white anyway, but color e-ink is finally making e-books accessible to Marvel and DC fans. This should also help with more traditional books that have elements of color, such as textbooks, children’s books, or cookbooks.
The second is notes. Kobo Libra Color also functions as an electronic note, meaning it has a notebook function for use with a compatible stylus. Colored e-ink allows note-takers to record drawings and handwriting in multiple colors, and markers can be used to annotate e-books using the correct color coding. (Clara Color does not work with a stylus, but does have color highlighting.)
Overall, color is a feature that many users won’t need and acts more as a bonus than a must-have. However, if you can afford it, why not take the opportunity to use it when needed, right? The downside is that the inclusion of color e-ink makes standard black and white content look worse.
How do colored e-inks work and what are their problems?
Rakuten color e-readers use a 7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display, which means they work the same as traditional black and white e-readers, but have an additional layer on the screen that creates color by filtering content through red. , a green and blue mosaic, too fine for the human eye. By controlling which pixels show through and where, the e-reader can reproduce up to 4,096 colors and up to 16 levels of grayscale. More traditional tablet screens can display billions of colors, so you’ll definitely sacrifice some brightness, but the result will look more like a printed page than an iPad or computer screen.
Unfortunately, the presence of a color filter creates a number of problems for black and white content, especially when it comes to a paper-like display. The main ones are contrast and the rainbow effect.
Although most modern e-readers are front-lit, to get a true reading experience, you should turn off the lights and read with a lamp. For a black and white e-reader this is not a big problem, but color e-readers suffer from a lack of contrast, especially when the backlight is turned off. This means that text can blend into the background even if you point the lamp directly at the screen.
This is because the color filter will usually darken the display even when it’s not in use, since your content still has to pass through it. The background will never be perfectly “paper white,” as Amazon likes to say, even with the front light on. However, turning on the front light will help significantly and is recommended for comfortable reading (as to why it helps when a lamp doesn’t, proximity to the screen and uniformity of lighting certainly play a role).
Whether this is a problem for you depends on what you want from these devices. For some, having to use a front light is an immediate red flag that goes against the grain of a digital book. Others are satisfied with content displayed using physical pigment rather than LEDs.
In any case, there is no escape from the rainbow effect. Although the color mosaic is too small for your eye to distinguish the individual red, blue and green dots, it is not invisible either. This means you’ll likely see grid-like artifacts in some content, ranging from a subtle shiny texture in the background to a full spectrum of colors.
None of this is unique to Kobo, but before you buy, it’s important to note that, unlike other devices, the color screen is more of a side step towards the e-reader than a straight upgrade.
What are the specifications of Kobo Libra Color?
While companies like Boox and Pocketbook have released color e-readers in the past, Rakuten is the largest company to do so so far. This means the Kobo Libra and Clara Color have full access to an extensive store and intuitive user interface, and also work with the optional Kobo Plus subscription.
Rakuten knows how to make an e-reader, and when it comes to the basics, the Libra Color I tested for this review is excellent. Its 1264 x 1680 resolution means text will never be blurry, the 2050mAh battery can last for weeks on end before dying (I never went below 90% during testing), and the front backlight is bright enough and can display different levels heat. .
It’s also comfortable in the hands. As a premium e-reader, the Libra Color has an extended side panel with buttons and an ergonomic handle that gives you something to hold on to, just like a Kindle Oasis. The Clara Color doesn’t have this sidebar, and while I didn’t receive a review model for it, if it’s anything like previous Rakuten ereaders, it should be about as comfortable to hold as equivalent Kindle models without the sidebar.
There’s also Bluetooth support for headphones and audiobooks, but perhaps the best reason to choose a Rakuten ereader over Amazon is that it takes you out of the Kindle ecosystem. This means greater support for eBook formats, including EPUB, making it easier to share files between devices and read free content. In particular, Kindle doesn’t support EPUB, and while there are ways to convert unsupported files for reading on Kindle , they don’t always work. It can also be difficult to convert Kindle files for use in third-party e-readers.
Add to this an extensive default font library and a large print mode for visually impaired readers, and it’s clear that Rakuten has created the best color e-readers they can.
The question then is whether the color itself is worth it.
Kobo Libra color testing
It’s hard to imagine the pros and cons of color e-ink without trying it out firsthand, so I tested a range of titles, including traditional books, comics, and manga, on both the Libra Color and my personal current-generation Kindle . Paper white . Technically, the premium Kindle Oasis would be a fairer comparison, although it’s discontinued (and I don’t have one). However, the Paperwhite’s display is comparable in size and resolution.
Based on what I’ve been reading lately, I preferred Dune on Kindle. My fiancé and I don’t agree on this, but for me it comes down to the rainbow effect.
He says he doesn’t notice much of a difference, but while I see a smooth background when reading on a Kindle, Kobo looks like Edward Cullen standing in the sunlight—glitters everywhere. Yes, even with the front light turned off, since the rainbow effect depends more on how the screen reflects ambient light than anything else. There is an option in Kobo’s settings to “reduce rainbow effect”, although I didn’t notice much of a difference when I turned it on.
I also appreciated that the Kindle made it easier to read without a frontlight, but what will probably matter more to you is how sensitive you are to the “texture” of the page. My fiancé likes to compare the shine to the grain of real paper, but it seems too uniform to have the same effect on me. In certain lighting conditions, reading regular text on the Libra Color is almost like reading graph paper. It’s possible, but distracting enough to be next to a pure black and white e-reader day and night.
As for what really takes advantage of color, I read a few comics on both devices. I’m of two minds here.
Firstly, I was impressed by the image quality. For color content, Kobo has to cut PPI (pixels per inch) in half to achieve the desired effect (i.e. less dense pixels), but everything still looks like it was drawn on the page. There are occasional jagged edges that aren’t visible on more traditional screens, but for the most part the image looks natural and detailed. It’s pretty special too – other than real paper, there’s nothing like it. The modern Kindle can do this too (older models had resolution issues), but without a color screen to differentiate the shades, color comics blur together so much that they become practically illegible (assuming you even want to try to read a color picture). black and white comic).
This gives the Kobo Libra Color a key advantage as it is a real way to read content that the Kindle has trouble with. But even with the content that should be its bread and butter, the Kobo Libra Color still falters in key areas, meaning it may not necessarily be better than more traditional tablets.
The most obvious is how vibrant its colors are. While the E Ink Kaleido 3 display promises 30% more saturation than previous versions, everything here will still look a little dull and a little dark. Older comics, which also had limitations on what could be printed on physical paper, fare better here, but the bright and colorful modern works suffer a bit.
This trade-off may be worth it for those who like the hand-drawn look, but there are two things that really kept me from enjoying comics on Kobo: the text size and access to my comic library.
It depends on the comic, but for stories with a lot of text, a 7-inch screen is not enough to read them easily. The Kindle has a “panel view” mode that allows you to load images panel by panel rather than page by page, but there is no such solution on Kobo. The best you can do is to manually zoom in using finger movements or a slider, but the limited refresh rate of the screen can slow down this process, which can be very difficult if your comic doesn’t have uniform pages and you need to adjust the zoom. for each new page.
Perhaps even more annoying is that since Kobo devices don’t use Android, you won’t be able to access any of the popular comic-reading apps on Libra Color. I enjoy browsing through old comics through Marvel Unlimited, DC Infinite, and the Shonen Jump app, but they don’t exist here. Instead, the most convenient way to get comics on Kobo is to buy them piecemeal from the Kobo store, which is a much more expensive proposition. You can sign up for a Kobo Plus subscription, but then you’re limited to what’s in the Kobo store, which may not be as extensive as what’s in the publishers’ official apps.
Alternatively, due to greater open format compatibility, you can download comics from another source, but you’ll still need to get your files somewhere, which will likely cost you a pretty penny at some point (if provided that you comply with the law).
Of course, Kindles have this problem too, but they don’t market themselves as comic book readers. However, they may be a better way to read black and white comics, which is what I tested next.
While reading Sailor Moon and Berserk on both the Kobo Libra Color and my Kindle Paperwhite, I noticed some familiar issues cropping up again. Notably, the rainbow effect was perhaps more noticeable in these headlines than in regular text.
This is because artifacts applied to a character’s face may appear less like page texture and more like a direct defect. In negative space, it can bloom into a full rainbow rather than little sparkles.
None of these problems occurred on my Kindle, which, unlike color works, is a great way to read black and white comics. While turning on Kobo’s Rainbow Reduction mode did help, even though it doesn’t help much with text, it did make images blurrier and generally unpleasant to look at. Overall, Kobo’s excellence in comics doesn’t match the level of manga and other similar content.
Finally, I wanted to test the Dual 2.0GHz Libra Color processor using a PDF file, which will require frequent scaling and reconfiguration. It wasn’t the best experience, meaning it was about on par with the Kindle and all the other e-readers I’ve used. Don’t buy an e-reader for PDF files.
Draw in color
Color e-ink has several advantages beyond immediate reading, and while none of them are system-sellers, they are all undeniably nice.
The most extensive update concerns highlighting and other types of markings, as Kobo Libra Color can draw notes and highlight different colors in both documents and dedicated notebooks. There are four highlight color options (yellow, pink, blue, and light green) and ten doodle color options (black, red, brown, yellow, dark green, light green, pink, light blue, purple, and grey). as well as several handle size options. Clara Color doesn’t work with a stylus, but can still illuminate in color.
The Kobo Libra Color isn’t the first or only Kobo with electronic note-taking functionality, but marking up is still fast and the notepad feature is robust, giving you the choice between blank pages and lined pages that you can fill with digital text and charts. in addition to written notes and drawings. Starting with a blank page, you can also choose a background, including anything from a grid to a storyboard layout, although you’ll have to start on a lined page to get help with the diagrams.
Please note: To use notepads or draw on documents with Libra Color, you will need an MPP-compatible pen. The Kobo Stylus 2 costs $70 , but third-party alternatives like the Renaisser Raphael 520 can cost much less.
Pocket integration also has an advantage here and is a unique advantage over the Kindle, since while Kindle Scribe at least allows you to create black-and-white electronic notes, all Kindles have to rely on the older Send to Kindle technology to read web articles. . On the Kobo Libra Color or Clara Color, you can simply save an article using the Pocket app on your phone and then automatically find it on your Kobo. And thanks to color electronic ink, you can better appreciate any work of art. There’s also integration with Google Drive and Dropbox, which the Kindle also doesn’t have.
Menu navigation on Kobo tends to be a little easier, as all of your book thumbnails will appear in full color, making them easier to navigate. Again, when reading a traditional book, you will spend most of your time in black and white, but there are fewer problems once you start reading.
Is it worth buying a color e-book?
The Kobo Libra Color is a well-made e-reader that nevertheless shows that color e-ink is simply out of reach for most people. This is far from a strict update, but rather a side step with niche use cases and serious compromises in black and white content.
Libra Color’s ideal audience is someone who reads a lot of color comics, especially those with little text, and also likes to take a lot of notes. Young readers will likely do well here, enjoying picture books and text-based comics on the device, although it could also be useful for students thanks to a more colorful notepad system and Pocket integration.
Unfortunately, readers of traditional books, as well as black-and-white comics, will have to put up with a number of shortcomings of Libra or Clara Color, including low contrast, intermittent artifacts, and rainbow effect. If you’re like me, you read a good mix of content, but those shortcomings may not be worth the trouble of reading color comics on your e-reader.
That said, Kobo Libra Color is about as good as a color e-reader can get right now, at least for a traditional Kindle-like format. Alternatives from companies like Boox offer larger screens and Android support, which can help with some of the pain points of comic book readers, but they are significantly more expensive. Additionally, while Android provides access to more comic book apps, navigating with e-ink can generally be slow.
The truth is that there’s no perfect solution for color e-ink at the moment, so if there’s anything to take away from this review it’s that it’s not as obvious an upgrade as a color TV. However, there is nothing better if you are willing to make some compromises in exchange for the spectacle. If you’re limited on shelf space for physical comics or simply prefer the convenience of an e-reader, the Kobo Libra Color is a great way to read these stories digitally while maintaining the hand-drawn look: something that certainly seems special no matter how many stars you attach to it.
The Kobo Libra Color costs $220, and the Clara Color costs $150. By comparison, the current Amazon Kindle Paperwhite starts at $150.