The Canadian Kobo offers its famous electronic e-readers in a new range with a color screen. A good idea which allows you to appreciate content differently but which still deserves some adjustments.
Innovations in the world of e-readers remain rare and limited. In the context of classic use, focused on reading, these devices ultimately use very little technology. They do not need to be renewed frequently like smartphones or tablets for which applications always require more power. Especially since, except in the event of breakage, e-readers have an extremely long lifespan, up to several years.
In this spring of 2024, however, the Canadian brand Kobo, owned by the Japanese giant Rakuten, is offering a new vision of the e-reader. It is adding two new models with a color screen to its catalog: the Libra Color, a large model equipped with a 7-inch screen on which it is also possible to take notes using a stylus ( optional) and the Clara Color that we are testing here, which retains the usual compact format with a 6-inch screen. The arrival of color on this device opens the door to reading comics but also books and other magazines which are not limited to the black and white of usual books. But that’s not all since Kobo has also thought of other uses. However, is it necessary to part with your classic e-reader in favor of a color model in the same format? We tested the Kobo Clara Color for several weeks. Here is our verdict.
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Kobo Clara Color: a compact format that’s still just as practical
Unlike the Libra model, the Clara Color maintains a compact size (160 x 112 x 9.2 mm) which allows it to easily slip into a handbag or small backpack. It weighs less than most smartphones today at 174 g. You can therefore carry it everywhere easily.
Kobo has hardly changed its design recipe in years and that’s a good thing. The e-reader has a power button on the back and, on the lower edge, a USB-C connector allowing it to be recharged but also to be connected to a Mac or PC to insert e-books and other files. we want to read. That’s all and it’s quite enough.
We also see that the device does not have a microSD card reader to increase its storage capacity. It’s actually not worth it since it has 16 GB of space. Enough to carry 12,000 eBooks or 75 audiobooks according to Kobo.
Because in addition to classic electronic books, the Clara Color, like its predecessors, allows you to read audio books. To do this, simply connect a headset, earphones or even a Bluetooth speaker. The e-reader does not have a jack for connecting wired headphones. We understand why since it benefits from IPX8 certification making it waterproof enough to withstand splashes and immersion in water at a depth of 2 meters for 60 minutes. Please note: the X in the index indicates that it is not too dust-proof. Beware of grains of sand on the beach.
The Clara Color finally has good finishes. The case is made of recycled plastic and it is also repairable. Kobo has partnered with the iFixit site for the occasion to deliver spare parts (screen, battery, front and rear panels and even the motherboard). A good point which allows it to last even longer.
Kobo Clara Color: a comfortable color screen but not in all situations
For display, the Clara Color has a 6-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 screen. It offers a definition of 1448 x 1072 pixels for a resolution of 300 ppi for black and white display and 150 ppi for color display. Because this is the great novelty of this Clara: the arrival of color. Which opens the doors to comics and other books or PDF files in color. Good idea ? Almost. The Clara Couleur home page presents the covers of the books stored in the device as they are in reality, in color, which is not unpleasant to the eye.
But reading this content is not always the most pleasant. Indeed, the colors remain very bland, pale, far from what the display of an LCD or Oled screen allows. Suffice to say that a cooking recipe book, a travel guide or a learning manual lose a lot of their flavor and freshness once displayed on the screen.
As for reading comics, the format of the e-reader does not lend itself well to the exercise. Since the page is displayed in its entirety, you must zoom in to read the text in the bubbles. A real test. If the small 2 GHz dual core processor is comfortable with black and white text, it really struggles with color content. The zoom is really not easy to operate. You have to spread two fingers on the screen as you would on a smartphone or tablet but with much less precision. There is also a significant latency time (1 to two seconds) before the magnification is carried out and the point is made with the refresh of the screen. In short, reading a comic book of around thirty pages will take you a long time but will certainly annoy you before you finish reading.
Kobo is also taking advantage of the arrival of color to improve a function. It is thus possible to highlight passages of text by choosing from four predefined colors. This makes it easier to locate elements.
Finally, we note the presence among the beta functionalities of a Web browser. This is a browser add-on that is not very comfortable with today’s Web technologies, especially images, and struggles to display pages. However, he can help.
Kobo Clara Color: very good battery life
We used the Clara Color for 15 days in a row, reading for a good hour daily with 70% lighting. We alternated between black and white and color content. At the end of this period, the e-reader still displayed 44% of available battery, which suggests a good month of autonomy at this rate, which is not bad. The 1500 mAh battery holds up well, as usual. And to gain a little more autonomy, you can also deactivate the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections if they are unnecessary.
Kobo Clara Color: should you go for Kobo’s first color e-reader?
The Kobo Clara Color takes into account all the achievements of its predecessors. A clear and clear interface, very good reading comfort for e-books, a clearly readable screen, insensitive to reflections and very bright, and excellent battery life. Kobo adds a touch of color on top. But let’s face it, it’s entirely possible to do without it. The size of the screen does not allow you to enjoy reading comics in the best possible conditions. The processor is also too sluggish to handle the inevitable zooming back and forth and rapid movement around the page. For reading magazines in PDF format, however, the color provides a welcome little extra. But here again, the screen does not present the most appropriate format.
What we appreciate, however, is the price. The official price is set at 160 euros. Competitors, relatively few in number on the color e-reader market (Amazon still does not have any in its catalog), charge much higher prices, above 200 euros. If you need to renew your e-reader, the Clara Color will bring you all the comfort you are used to with bonus color for a few dozen extra euros. But if you really want to enjoy comics, it will be better to turn to a larger and obviously much more expensive model or to turn to a tablet equipped with a specific coating like the NXTPaper models from TCL.