Rakuten Kobo is stepping into the realm of color e-readers with its latest offerings, the Kobo Libra Colour and the Kobo Clara Colour. These devices mark a significant milestone for the company, as they feature E Ink’s latest Kaleido color screen technology. The screens provide subtle, pastel-like hues and maintain a grayscale resolution of 300ppi, dropping to 150ppi when displaying content in color.
While I’ll be conducting thorough testing of both e-readers soon, initial impressions suggest that they represent incremental upgrades to Kobo’s existing lineup—a sentiment that isn’t necessarily negative. The seven-inch Kobo Libra 2 stands out as one of my preferred e-readers outside of Amazon’s ecosystem. It offers the Kindle Paperwhite’s IPX8 waterproof design, along with features like physical page-turning buttons, an ad-free experience, and ample storage.
The Kobo Libra Colour retains all the beloved features of its predecessor, including physical page-turning buttons, and now supports the Kobo Stylus 2 for note-taking. Priced at $219.99, it is $30 more expensive than its predecessor, with the stylus available separately for $69.99.
On the other hand, the Kobo Clara Colour distinguishes itself from the Kobo Clara 2E with enhancements such as increased storage (16GB) and an improved processor, addressing previous performance concerns. Priced at $149.99, it offers a compelling option for those seeking an affordable yet feature-rich e-reader.
Additionally, Kobo introduced an upgraded black-and-white model, the Kobo Clara BW, featuring similar storage and processor upgrades, priced at $129.99.
All three devices are available for pre-order starting today and are expected to ship on April 30th.
