Color me surprised: Kobo’s finally beaten Kindle with its latest ereaders

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Color ereaders aren’t new – brands like Onyx and PocketBook have been making them for a while – but I’ve been waiting a long time to see a color-screen Kindle or Kobo. It’s finally happened with the Japanese-Canadian brand today (April 10) announcing not one, but two new color ereaders at the same time!

Called the Kobo Libra Colour and Kobo Clara Colour, both tablets are upgraded versions of the existing Libra 2 and Clara 2E ereaders, now using a different screen technology called E Ink Kaleido 3 in place of the monochrome Carta 1200 in the previous models.

The Kaleido 3 display is currently the best color e-paper technology available for ereaders, supporting 4,096 hues, but the colors appear a little muted when compared to what you’d see on an LCD display. 

Despite this little niggle, Kobo has beaten Amazon in the race to make a mainstream color ereader and, more importantly, I think they’re competitively priced.

Balancing features and price

The first new ereader from Kobo is the Libra Colour, an updated version of what we think is the best ereader overall – the Kobo Libra 2 – and it’s the one that has me most excited. While it retains the 7-inch screen size from the previous generations, the important update here is that it can now display over 4,000 colors and has writing capabilities. Yes, that’s right – Kobo’s best ereader just got better!

To handle the extra work, Kobo has improved the processing power, using a 2GHz CPU as opposed to the 1GHz chip we saw in the Libra 2. The battery, too, is bigger, now using a 2,050mAh capacity pack where the older model had a 1,500mAh battery.

The other features on the Libra Colour have been inherited from its predecessor, and that’s not a bad thing at all. Our Kobo Libra 2 review scored a full five stars and an Editor’s Choice Award for offering an excellent all-rounder at a decent price point. The page-turn buttons that I like have been brought over, plus there’s 32GB of internal storage and Bluetooth support so you can listen to audiobooks. OverDrive is still baked in to allow users to borrow library books directly on their device, and you can now sign into either Google Drive or Dropbox to access files you’ve got stored in the cloud.

(Image credit: Rakuten Kobo)

I’m also stoked that Kobo hasn’t slapped a massive price tag onto the Libra Colour, even though the new screen capabilities might justify it. It’s available to pre-order now directly from Kobo for $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$359.95 and will start shipping from April 30. 

To take full advantage of the Libra Colour’s skills, you’ll want a compatible pen too and Kobo’s existing Stylus 2 – which debuted alongside the Elipsa 2E writing tablet – is the one you’ll need. You will have to purchased separately though, and that’s fair, considering the Libra Colour is launching at only a slightly higher price tag than the Libra 2, which currently retails for $189.99 / £169.99 / AU$319.95. 

That’s pretty darn good considering the Onyx Boox Tab Mini C – a 7.8-inch Android alternative that is our pick for the best color ereader – retails for $450 / £450 / AU$765, although it does ship with a pen. Another comparison would be the PocketBook InkPad Color 3, which is also a 7.8-inch color ereader but without any writing capabilities, retailing in the US for $329.

Also available to purchase separately for the new Kobo Libra Colour are some sleepcovers.

(Image credit: Rakuten Kobo)

Double the Clara charm

Then there’s the Kobo Clara Colour, a 6-inch mid-range option that comes in at a launch price of $149.99 / £139.99 / AU$259.95. While it doesn’t boast any writing features, it’s an affordable – albeit smaller – alternative to other color ereaders that typically have a 7.8-inch screen. It comes with 16GB of internal storage and Bluetooth connectivity. Here too OverDrive is baked in, but there’s no Google Drive or Dropbox support here. To transfer files, you’ll need to plug the device into your computer.

While the two color ereaders are the headline act here, there’s one more new Kobo ereader debuting at the same time. Called the Kobo Clara BW, it’s a monochrome update to the Kobo Clara 2E, now boasting the latest E Ink Carta 1300 screen tech.  This display, as far as I know, is currently only being used on the iReader Smart x3, so it’s a maojor leap for Kobo in terms of screen tech. 

It promises even better contrast than the Carta 1200 panels we’ve been seeing on most monochrome ereaders. That means the blacks should look darker which, in turn, should make text on the screen appear sharper and easier to read. E Ink, the company that makes these e-paper displays, also says that the refresh rate on the Carta 1300 screens is better than before, which should reduce ghosting effects we typically see on ereaders.

The Kobo Clara BW will set you back $159.99 / £119.99 / AU$239.95 for 16GB of storage.

(Image credit: Rakuten Kobo)

Making reading better for the planet

Kobo started a sustainability initiative with the Clara 2E, which was the brand’s first ebook reader to be made from 80% recycled plastics, 10% of which was ocean-bound. It was followed up with the Kobo Elipsa 2E, with the ‘E’ moniker indicating their eco-friendly origins.

The three new ereaders follow in the same path, with Kobo stating that not only were recycled and ocean-bound plastics used to make the body of each device, but the packaging is 100% recycled paper with soy ink used to print the text on the boxes.

IPX8 waterproofing on all the new Kobo ereaders means they’ll carry on functioning despite the accidental dunk in the pool, bath or kitchen sink – you might want to keep them away from salt water, though.

Kobo is also partnering with iFixit in a new repairability initiative that could also help prolong the life of your device. Details on how this partnership will work is still unclear, but iFixit usually has easy-to-follow guides on its site that help you repair certain tech products by yourself if you can find replacement parts. These parts can sometimes also be purchased directly from iFixit. I’ll be sure to update this article as soon as concrete details on Kobo’s new repairability initiative are available.

You might also like…

Kindle vs Kobo: how to choose the best ereader for you.Keen on an ebook subscription service? Check out our Kobo Plus review.Need a large-screen note-taking ereader? Read our in-depth Kobo Elipsa 2E review for more information.
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