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I have been using Kobo eReaders for years. I love them for their great battery life, convenience of digital reading, and the fact you can connect it to your local library to borrow free e-Books. And, of course, their quality E Ink screens that are so easy on the eyes.
With the Kobo Libra Colour, the company is building on a history of great eReaders, while adding a pop of colour!
If you're wondering if you should upgrade your old eReader for this colourful new gadget, here's everything you need to know.
One Paragraph Review Kobo Libra Colour
Kobo eReaders are just great, and this one is great plus colourful. It's not going to be the vivid saturations you experience on an iPad screen (way different tech), but it is going to be colourful, easy on the eyes, and it will allow you to annote or write in a digital notebook with coloured pencils. If you want a Kobo with buttons and a mid-sized screen (seven inches), it's a no-brainer to get this model.
Pros
- Colour Screen: Covers and comics look great
- Physical Buttons: Page turning is satisfying
- Waterproof: Read in the tub without worrying
- Note Taking: Highlight in multiple colours (with stylus)
Cons
- Screen Resolution: Colour is lower resolution than black and white
- Brightness: Screen is naturally a bit darker than non-colour models
- Stylus Cost: Pen is sold separately
- Comic Books: Definitely not optimized for comic book readers
Colour eReader
Kobo Libra Colour
Geeking Out Shop
The Kobo Libra Colour adds a new dimension to the eReader experience by laying in colour e-ink. Beyond that, it's not different from the "regular" Kobo Libra. The colour is a nice-to-have feature, particularly if you want to take advantge of annotating your books or highlighitng certain passages or using this as a digital diary in the Notebook section.
Kobo Libra Colour The Colour Screen
May as well start with the main feature, and that's the colour screen! The Kobo Libra Colour uses a 7" E Ink Kaleid 3 display.
It is important to manage your expectations here. This isn't an iPad or a smartphone screen. You aren't getting blindingly bright, vivid neon colours. Instead, the colour looks more like a Sunday newspaper or a pastel painting. It has a soft, printed quality to it that is very easy on the eyes.
Basically, that paper-like experience you get in the black and white version, you now get in the colour version. It's like you're reading the funny pages in the newspaper.
If you care to look at the specs, technically speaking, the screen gives a lower resolution than the black and white eReaders (300 pixels per inch vs 150), but, in person, this is no big deal / a non-issue.
For regular eBooks books: The text is crisp and sharp.
For book covers/books with colour illustrations: The images are colourful but have a slightly grittier/muted look than a "real" printed version.
For comic books: Same as the above, colours are more muted, and the quality of the comic reading experiences varies widely by publisher. If you're looking for a Marvel Unlimited or DC, this is definitely not it.
Long story short, the high-quality and comfortable viewing experience you'd expect from Kobo is fully realized, but now, in colour!
Kobo Libra Colour Design and Buttons
If you have used the Kobo Libra 2, this will feel very familiar. The Libra Colour keeps that excellent ergonomic curve on one side. This thicker edge shifts the centre of gravity to your palm, making it super comfortable to hold one-handed.
It also keeps my favourite feature: physical page-turn buttons. Some (many?) won't care about this at all, but it was a deciding factor for me when I purchased my first Kobo H20 way back when. There is something so satisfying about physically clicking a button to flip the page. For ease of reading, when you're comfy on the couch or in bed, the buttons keep you in the moment without you needing to constantly move a hand or arm to to tap the screen.
Plus, the screen rotates, so you can hold it in your left or right hand and the text (and buttons) will flip to match.
The device is built with recycled and ocean-bound plastic, which is a nice eco-friendly touch, and it is fully waterproof (IPX8 rated). You can dunk it in up to two meters of water for 60 minutes, so reading in the bath or by the pool is totally safe.
Kobo Libra Colour Note Taking and Highlights
An added bonus with the Libra Colour is that it doubles as a digital notebook. It's compatible with the Kobo Stylus 2 (though you have to buy that separately). This is okay since not everyone will have a strong desire to use the notebook feature (therefore they don't have to pay for an "included" stylus), so this lowers the price for all and gives the option for those who want it to get the stylus as an extra (which costs 90 bucks).
Because the screen is colour, you aren't limited to just grey highlights anymore. You can highlight your favourite passages in yellow, pink, blue, or green, just like you would with a real textbook. You can also write handwritten notes directly onto the pages of your eBooks.
If you are a student or just someone who loves annotating books, this is a big deal. If you want to dabble in gratitude journaling, then you've got this option.
This isn't a make or break feature for buying this model or not, but it's a nice-to-have if you're buying it, anway.
Kobo Libra Colour Storage and Audiobooks
Under the hood, this eReader has 32GB of storage. Which may sound like not much compared to a smartphone, but that's enough space for roughly 24,000 eBooks or about 150 Kobo Audiobooks.
Speaking of audiobooks, the device has Bluetooth built-in. You can pair your wireless headphones or a speaker directly to the eReader to listen to your stories. Just remember, there are no built-in speakers, so you need Bluetooth headphones.
The Verdict Is the Kobo Libra Colour Worth it?
The Kobo Libra Colour is a fantastic device that breathes new life into the e-reading experience through the colour display and note-taking features. While the colour screen might not be as sharp as a tablet, it offers a distraction-free, eye-friendly way to enjoy comics, graphic novels, and colourful book covers.
Colour eReader
Kobo Libra Colour
Geeking Out Shop
The Kobo Libra Colour adds a new dimension to the eReader experience by laying in colour e-ink. Beyond that, it's not different from the "regular" Kobo Libra. The colour is a nice-to-have feature, particularly if you want to take advantge of annotating your books or highlighitng certain passages or using this as a digital diary in the Notebook section.
If you strictly read text-only paperback novels, you might save a few bucks with a black-and-white model. The closest available would be the Sage, though it's listed as Sold Out on the Kobo site, so perhaps that model is winding down in favour of the Libra colour?
If you want the most versatile, fun, and feature-packed eReader on the market right now, the Kobo Libra Colour is the one to beat.
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