Kobo isn’t the primary on the color-ereader scene; Boox and Pocketbook have had coloration ereaders and tablets for years. Each of these firms make lovely, premium gadgets which can be extremely succesful and customizable — however they don’t supply the plug-and-play ereader expertise of a Kindle or Kobo. Of all of the ereaders I’ve tried over the previous 12 months, I’ve discovered Kobos do the very best job of mixing a user-friendly interface with high quality {hardware}. And now that {hardware} has a brand new trick with a coloration display on the Clara Color.
It’s noteworthy that Kobo beat Kindle to the punch in getting a coloration ereader out the door. To be honest, Amazon is busy doing, properly, the whole lot, however it’s protected to guess {that a} coloration Kindle will probably be coming quickly. For now, although, Kobo’s Clara Color is the consumer-friendly coloration ereader to beat. A beefier processor makes it zippier than its already-fast predecessor, and the addition of coloration appears to be like beautiful, with out detracting from the crisp and easy-to-read textual content. I’ll admit, I’m not an ereader diehard; I typically return to my old flame, print. However just a few weeks with Kobo’s newest has me extra excited than ever about studying on this cozy, easy machine.
Kobo’s Clara Color has an exquisite construct, a stunning coloration display and a useful and speedy working system. It’s the colour ereader to beat proper now…till we see what Amazon does.
- Sooner processor makes menus load shortly
- Coloration display makes guide covers pop
- Glorious iIntegration with native libraries
- OS makes it simple to seek out books and customise settings
- Permits entry to third-party ePub books
- Display isn’t as sharp or vivid because the earlier technology
- Kobo’s library isn’t as massive as Amazon’s
Design and show
Most e-paper gadgets depend on a show made by E Ink. The Clara Color makes use of the corporate’s new Kaleido 3 panel, which provides a printed Coloration Filter Array (CFA) layer on high of the present black-and-white microcapsule layer. The colour layer can show round 4,000 colours, with a decision of 150 dpi. To be clear, a full coloration web page on the Clara Color appears to be like nothing like what you’d get from probably the most primary LED display. E-paper colours are muted and saturated, reminiscent of ‘70s comic book covers. But, also unlike LED, E Ink color panels actually look better under bright light.
The monochrome microcapsule layer creates sharp, 300 dpi text, same as the previous generation. But set side-by-side with the Clara 2E, the Clara Colour’s web page does look much less sharp. Get near the display and also you’ll discover noise within the white elements of the web page. The nice and cozy entrance mild is extra amber, too. That’s the character of the colour filter array: because it’s all the time there, any textual content you learn is filtered by means of that layer. I’ve to emphasize that it’s solely one thing I observed as a result of I’m scripting this evaluate and digging deep into the efficiency as in comparison with the earlier technology. In terms of really studying, I discovered I most well-liked the softer, hotter impact of the Color. It jogs my memory of the pulpy mass-market Stephen King and Anne Rice paperbacks I grew up studying.
Kobo’s customization choices aren’t overly concerned, however they grant sufficient management so you possibly can change issues just like the typeface, font dimension, line spacing and margin width, in addition to brightness and light-weight heat. On the surface, the Kobo Clara 2E and the Clara Color look almost similar. The display is barely extra recessed on the Color mannequin and the soft-touch plastic is extra textured, which is definitely a profit as a result of it exhibits fewer fingerprints. The centimeter-wide bezels are simply large enough to your thumb, which, together with the textured again, makes the reader simple to carry from totally different positions. It’s sufficiently small I can grip it across the again, however I’ve bigger palms, so which may not work for everybody.
With an IPX8 ranking, the Clara Color can deal with full submersion in water. I haven’t gone that far with this evaluate unit, however I did survive after I unintentionally splashed water on it when washing my palms within the lavatory. Why was it within the lavatory? As a result of I stash my guide close to the bathroom so I don’t sit there and stare at my cellphone. It’s the tactic that acquired me studying once more after I had a child and was quickly satisfied I’d by no means end one other guide. I heartily suggest it, notably with a studying system like this one that may deal with the watery setting of a restroom.
Studying expertise
The Clara Color’s new chip makes loading menus, performing searches and flipping pages a contact quicker than with the earlier technology. The pace enhance doesn’t quantity to a drastically totally different expertise, however faster web page turns preserve the motion going. Like if Murderbot is defending its people from HostileSecUnit1 and all of a sudden there’s one other SecUnit on the backside of the web page, you’ll want to know as quick as technologically attainable what goes down subsequent. Searching for a brand new guide and testing previews is speedier, too, one thing I admire when the whole lot on my dutifully curated TBR checklist appears to be like like broccoli and I need ice cream.
The UX is identical as all Kobos that don’t assist stylus enter, with simply 4 choices alongside a backside menu bar: Residence, My Books, Uncover and Extra. Uncover takes you to the Kobo retailer, the place you possibly can search for ebooks, audiobooks and titles from KoboPlus, the corporate’s month-to-month subscription for limitless entry to a number of books (aka Kobo’s reply to Amazon Limitless).
Uncover’s suggestion part has a operating checklist of titles referred to as Only for You and, underneath Associated Reads, suggests books you would possibly like based mostly on works you’ve completed. The connective threads between the titles isn’t something shocking, however they provide a very good place to start out when you’re noodling on what to learn subsequent.
Kobo’s deep integration with OverDrive helps you to borrow any title your native library has obtainable with just some seconds of setup and a library card. Clicking the three dots close to the Purchase button on any guide brings up the choice to borrow (or place a maintain on) the e-book out of your library. I like how deeply Kobo helps the characteristic, putting one thing free and public on par with paid books and subscriptions.
Different options are good to have, like gathering your Pocket articles from the online so you possibly can learn them later within the extra centered setting of your Kobo. There’s additionally a beta net browser that I used to search for the Wikipedia entry on the Mason-Dixon line after I learn Percival Everett’s James and the one for rook (the chook) when studying Tana French’s The Hunter. The browser’s not geared up for heavy browsing, however that’s a very good factor. The additional effort it takes to browse retains me on course with my studying. On the similar time, I’m comfortable to dig up a bit of background information with out selecting up my cellphone, the place the distractions are plentiful and compulsive.
The competitors (aka Kindle vs Kobo)
There’s no escaping the truth that a Kobo ereader shouldn’t be a Kindle. However the benefits Kindle has over Kobo are largely within the availability of titles, not in {hardware}. The Kobo Clara Color is most immediately akin to the usual Kindle. They’ve the identical primary form, the identical dimension display with 300 dpi textual content and 16GB of storage. However the Kindle is $50 cheaper.
Nonetheless! Amazon’s system will serve you advertisements on the lockscreen and it prices $20 additional to take away them. It’s additionally not waterproof and has no heat mild. No Kindle has a coloration show but, however there are many rumors suggesting that transfer is (fairly clearly) on the horizon. For now, although, coloration is one other level in Kobo’s favor.
That stated, when you’ve spent the previous decade amassing a small library on Amazon, you received’t be capable to entry it on a Kobo with out some main, quasi-unlawful finagling. I solely have just a few Kindle titles from my previous, so beginning over with Kobo didn’t really feel like a loss.
Amazon’s e-book retailer is bigger than Kobo’s, boosted by Kindle Direct Publishing exclusives and self-published books. Kobo has its personal self-publishing program, however it’s far smaller. That stated, each in-print guide from a significant writer will present up in each the Kindle and the Kobo retailer. Each title I’ve looked for within the Kobo retailer was available.
Amazon’s subscription program, Kindle Limitless, is larger too, with 4 million mixed audio- and e-book titles obtainable. Comparatively, Kobo Plus at present claims 1.5 million ebooks and 150,000 audiobooks. Kobo’s plan is a tad cheaper at $10 per 30 days to each learn and pay attention, or $8 for ebooks solely. Kindle Limitless is $12 month-to-month and offers you entry to each codecs. Neither subscription consists of bestselling titles from main authors, however there’s nonetheless a lot to select from.
Nonetheless, Kobo’s e-book entry does outmatch Kindle’s in two methods: the power to buy third-party shops and a better OverDrive expertise. Amazon makes use of its personal digital rights administration (DRM) know-how, whereas most everybody else depends on Adobe’s DRM. Which means when you purchase a guide from most main publishers on a third-party website (like ebooks.com or Google Books), you received’t be capable to learn the ePub file in your Kindle. There are a few additional steps for studying these titles on a Kobo, however it’s simple sufficient. As for OverDrive, studying public library books on a Kindle isn’t exhausting, however you need to first go to OverDrive’s or your library’s website, discover your guide and choose “read on Kindle” because the supply possibility. With a Kobo, you click on the three dots subsequent to Purchase, choose Borrow and begin studying seconds in a while the identical system.
Wrap-up
The massive query is whether or not the addition of coloration makes the Kobo Clara Color higher and well worth the $10 over the earlier technology. The quicker processor alone makes up for the worth hike and the waterproof construct, heat entrance lights and lack of advertisements makes for a extra premium ereader that justifies the $50 value disparity between the Clara Color and the fundamental Kindle.
As for the colour display, it doesn’t make a lot distinction whenever you’re studying a typical e-book. And the additional layer does add some noise to the whitespace and offers the whole lot a hotter glow. However I didn’t thoughts the minute drop in readability and really most well-liked the softer, cozier look of the web page. Colours look beautiful on the guide covers in my assortment and beneficial titles draw me to them with their muted blues and washed out reds.
You’ve most likely heard of that trick the place you turn your cellphone’s display to grayscale to cut back its attraction. It appears to really work, so I’ve to think about the other is true, too. Something that makes studying materials extra enticing — and higher capable of compete with the technicolor onslaught of digital distraction — is a win in my guide.