Kobo Libra Colour | eReader | 7" Glare-Free Colour E Ink Kaleido 3 Display | Dark Mode Option | Audiobooks | Waterproof

I bought the Kobo Libra Colour to replace my well-loved (and worn out) black and white Kobo Libra H2O. They are just about the same size and -- for my purposes -- function the same way. I didn't buy the Libra Colour for its color display -- as pleasant as it is -- or for any of the additional features not found on the H2O. To be honest, if Kobo still had a black and white e-reader in this size without the bells and whistles, I would have bought that and saved some money, but somethings like the color highlighting and note taking capacities are neat and would have been useful at an earlier point in my life. I did a side-by-side comparison of the same book page on the Libra Colour and the H2O. They looked pretty much the same to me, so I don't think adding color has diminished the reading experience. I do like the fact that the Libra Color weighs a bit less and is thinner. It also is a little more responsive than the H2O -- for example, pages turn faster. I was pleased with the quality of my H2O and expect to be equally pleased with the quality of the Libra Colour. Also, Kobo has now made their readers repairable, which is a big plus for me. Because I only use my e-reader to borrow books from my public library, I especially appreciate the fact that Kobo products have built-in OverDrive (Libby) integration, which means I can connect to my public library directly to browse, borrow and return books on the e-reader. Can't do this with a Kindle.

I've had this in hand for about a week and I'm growing to love it more and more every day. First, I've owned four or five kindles over the last decade++ and while they're incredibly convenient and ubiquitous and have led the e-book charge, the operating system has always felt clunky to me… all of the features you need daily are generally three or four steps into settings. Combine that with awkwardly placed power buttons, no option for physical buttons other than the oasis which has been discontinued, the need to always have a cover with a handle in order to hold it while reading. Much more but other than the e-book idea and implementation, it's never felt natural to me. The Kobo Libra Colour, on the other hand, feels a joy to hold, it's very light, has a screen auto rotate option which, combined with the lip at the buttons, are a perfect place to put your thumb of either hand. Yes, it's a similar designed to the Oasis but the Oasis (which I own for five years until it crapped out on me after having babied it and then Amazon not supporting diagnosing/fixing) was a much heavier device and although it was formed and weighted on the side with the buttons, it always felt like holding a Lego block or something rigid and awkward in my hand. Plus it was just heavy. The Cobo Libra is kind of the same form as an Oasis but much more comfortable to hold because it's not only much, much lighter (ounces?) but also because of the slight upward lip at the buttons... your thumb on either hand just slips into that corner so easily and it's incredibly smoth to position and move from one hand to the other. I've always had cases for Kindles but after a week with the Libra, I can't convince myself to get anything other than a sleeve for it… it just feels that nice in your hand. Then there's also the color book covers and color highlights, both surprisingly pleasurable additions. But those are really bonuses, the gem is the operating system and interface which is without a doubt more focused on the READER… it does the little things well like the mentioned auto rotate view we've all grown accustomed to with cell phones. Then there are a ton of similar details in the interface... being able to increase or decrease the brightness of the screen by one simple slide touch in the upper left corner, no digging into settings. The home screen showing the most recent four books and % read, or on the same page an area where you can access all your books, another area showing just your unread books, another area showing a link to overdrive to borrow books from the library, another spot to press showing the holds you have at your library on overdrive… in other words an actual home screen giving you all your options in one view. Not trying to sell you anything, not trying to distract you by anything. Your stuff where you want it. Which is of course another fantastic feature, it lets you directly and easily rent books from your library… The focus is on getting you what you want to read and having you enjoy the experience… NOT up selling you more books. What a concept. Oh, and the power button is recessed and on the BACK of the device… So no turning it on and off accidentally when resting it somewhere. In other words, great functionality making for a pleasurable experience using it. Amazon seems to have lost that with the Kindle… like the device itself is secondary to them pushing more product. Anyway, I could go on but this is already too long. Buy it, you'll love it and just look online for ways to transfer your already purchased Kindle books over… Kobo doesn't make YOUR books proprietary, you buy them, you own and can read them anywhere in standard formats. Again, what a concept....

Easy to use, great interface, pleasant color screen and adjustable backlight. Best of all: connects great with Libby for heavy library use and displays the cover of the current book when powered off. Minimal ads, which I adore. Far superior to Kindle.

Easy setup, nice display, good battery life.

Looooooove this e reader!! First e reader ever and it’s perfect. The screen size, I love the buttons on the side and how it fits in my hands! Battery lasts nice and so much storage. I got an off brand stylus that works with it so you can draw on your books! So cool

I have a Kindle Colorsoft that I love. I carry it with me everywhere. However, some books are not available in KU and I am not wealthy. I don't want to spend money to "rent" a book for more than a couple of dollars outside of the paid monthly subscription. I've read different blogs and recommendations for various e-readers and decided to give this one a go. This was largely due to the reviews stating that many books were available in Kobo Plus that were unavailable in KU and the subscription was cheaper. This is largely true. There have been very few books or audiobooks unavailable in Kobo Plus that I really wanted to read. However, there are some well known authors who aren't available in Kobo Plus, which is disappointing. There are times that I listen to a book on Kobo Plus while reading the book in KU and vice versa. I really like the Kobo Libra Colour. There are features that I like, such as the dedicated buttons to turn the page, Bluetooth, the power button being at your fingertip on the back left side, and the ability to actually listen to the book on the device. It appears that the buttons could be used for a left handed or right handed person when using the screen auto-rotate feature. The screen is clear and brightness and blue light can be adjusted. The color clarity is the same clarity as the Kindle Colorsoft and is a nice feature for this ADHD brain. That being said, I don't like that you can't read while you listen. I was hoping that was a possibility because I enjoy reading along with the narrated versions of the books. I wanted a larger screen and get away from using my phone for this. Also, I wish there was the option to have the time or a clock on the page while I'm reading. I often get lost in a story and lose track of time. Having that clock in front of me helps me avoid pulling an all-nighter without realizing it. There is a huge lag is the screen responsiveness when using the filters or search. I like to use the filters in my library to sort between read and unread books. I often find myself having to really punch the screen to get the reader to accept the option I'm trying to select. That is so frustrating. Often times, I find myself giving up and closing the Kobo and picking up my Kindle. I haven't had a chance to spend a lot of time with this e-reader to be able to give a better review. I'll update this, as needed, with any other pros or cons that I experience.

LOVE LOVE LOVE🥰🫶🏻 I can read manga perfectly fine, as well as regular novels. Battery doesn’t last super long but it’s good enough. I would definitely charge it to 100% if you plan on reading somewhere you can’t charge it. I have had no problems with it. I would get a case for it!

I wanted to read and annotate books. I bought both Kindle Scribe and Kobo Libra Colour. I returned Kindle. Primary Reasons: 1. Kobo's texture feels better on both back and screen. I *really* didn't like the screen texture touch feel on Kindle, it feels "dry" and the back of it is cold metal. Kobo made amazing work with the back of the book texture, the material is just plastic, but it feels premium and satisfying to the touch thanks to the clever texture. 2. Kobo is super light and very easy to hold, yet very balanced, so it fits great and doesn't feel cheap in the hand. 3. You can scribble in the book! In Kindle it inserts a boring square block if you try to scribble, but here it feels so natural, it's amazing. 4. Quick brightness change by sliding along the left side is amazing and is much better than Kindle's way of doing it There are more reasons (including being able to tell a yellow highlighter from red one), but these were the main ones. For my purposes of reading and annotating books, there was nothing that Kindle has this one doesn't, but Kobo also has tons of things Kindle doesn't have. It's also cheaper, but it wasn't the reason I liked it. If anything, I'm impressed a superior product is also cheaper. I like almost everything about this color Kobo reader, and impressed with what they did. The only "find what could be better" parts are: - Device Setup and syncing books has more steps than Kindle, and is considerably less intuitive and syncon from macOS is harder, but nothing too crazy and Dropbox integration is easy. - Dictionaries are limited in Kobo (no Eastern European languages) Both are non-critical and more of nice-to-have things. p.s. The photo makes it look like there are "stripes" when you look closely at the screen, but that's just how the camera captures it and 20/20 eye does not see any lines in the real life.