Kobo Libra Colour eReader, 7” Color E Ink, Waterproof, White

EDIT: Previously, I mistakenly stated that this has no security, but it does in the form of a PIN. I've updated my review to reflect that, and bumped it up to 5 stars This is my first eReader so I have no comparison of performance compared to others. I'll list the cons first in case there are any deal-breakers for people, then they can stop reading and look for something else. Cons: -No SD/microSD slot -No NAS drive option -No headphone jack -Will get you addicted to reading Neutrals: -Looks like something from old Star Trek Pros: -Clear, readable text -Decent Colour -Readable in blinding sunlight -Super lightweight -Great battery life -Supports Google Drive, Overdrive & Dropbox -Probably won't shatter when you drop it Despite a few drawbacks, I still greatly enjoy this eReader. I don't foresee myself needing more than 32GB of storage for books, as I'm not an audio book guy (yet), and even so, I can transfer anything from my laptop to the Libra anyway. But still, I do have a NAS drive and microSD cards lying around, so being able to use those would've been a nice feature for peace of mind and feeling like I didn't overspend on tech stuff (lol). Maybe one day we'll get an OTA update that let's us use NAS drives. Now for the cool stuff! I wasn't completely sold on an eReader since I already have a tablet, but I decided to buy one anyway to see what the fuss is about, and I ultimately still love this thing. It's incredibly light and doesn't tire my hands like a tablet or a book, and being able to fit so many books onto something so small still wows me. Dang it, I just love technology! Syncing this with Google Drive just makes things even better. I've never dropped this thing but it looks a lot more durable than a glass phone, or even a tablet, and I'm confident it can survive a few drops. If you're someone who frequently drops stuff, I'd still buy a case for the aesthetic, if anything- this looks like it was designed by the same people who designed Star Trek Voyager computers. But maybe that's the case for all eReaders, no pun intended. Thanks to my allergies, I dislike going outside, but I did bother to test it in direct, blinding, sunburnable light and the brightness still makes things more than readable. If you're someone who likes to pretend they're a White Lotus character and reads on the beach with sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat, this can be a part of your prop arsenal. Personally, I like to read in bed before I go to sleep and I haven't dropped it on my face yet. As far as colour is concerned, it doesn't look as nice as my tablet or phone, but maybe that's asking too much. Apparently, colour eReaders are a mindblowing new thing so it might wow you. I haven't fully converted and sub'd to their book shop, so I can't comment on the experience there; I still have my Kindle Unlimited sub still active and may also buy a Kindle to see how the experience compares. I do notice that the Kindle app on my tablet tries to sell me new books hardcore and is way more in my face than this shop's. Despite that, I might end up with two book subs since it's current_Year and everyone has 10 streaming subs anyway. Carrying around two eReaders is definitely not as physically demanding as carrying two thick books. If you have the expendable income, why not have the best of both worlds? In short, this Libra Colour is gas. I've reconnected to my nerdy childhood and I'm reading tonnes more thanks to it. For anyone who loves reading, this is an amazing experience with ridiculous battery life compared to a phone or tablet, and won't strain your eyes. 5 Ryan Reynolds'!

I was disappointed when Kindle discontinued their Oasis and didn't release any kindles with page turn buttons.. which led me here! This device is super comfortable to hold with or without a case and the page turn buttons are amazing. They click well while not being noisy. I personally love the UI so much more than Kindle's. I find it to be a lot less glitchy as well. Kobo Plus is also pretty good but obviously there will be some books that aren't available due to being exclusive with KU. Having Overdrive on the device itself is also a huge plus, I only wish you could be logged into multiple cards at one time on the device. The screen will probably be hit or miss for most people. I actually really like it because to me it looks more like real paper as opposed to an electronic screen. If you've used the Paperwhite or Boox Page, this definitely doesn't look like that due to the color screen. It is a bit more grainy and almost looks like you're reading on a newspaper. I find myself preferring this actually because of the more authentic look to a physical book. The colors are good in my opinion too. Don't expect extremely vibrant colors as this isn't an iPad, it's still e-ink. The daily book deals on the Kobo store are also a good selection. The note-taking feature is perfect. I really love that you can write anywhere on the screen and change highlight / pen colors. My complaint is that the stylus doesn't come with Kobo Libra though. And the stylus is expensive.

For reference, I own an 11th generation Kindle Paperwhite, a Boox Palma 2 Pro, and I also tried the Kindle Colorsoft. With that being said, I love the Kobo Libra Color. Out of all my e-readers, the 11th generation Kindle Paperwhite has always been my favorite because of how crisp the text is. But I really wanted color for my book covers, so I picked up the Boox Palma 2 Pro. While I still have and use the Boox Palma 2 Pro and appreciate its flexibility, the graininess and slight yellowing at the bottom of the Boox Palma 2 Pro screen were a bit disappointing. I also tried the Kindle Colorsoft, but I ended up returning it, not just because of a similar screen experience to the Boox Palma 2 Pro, but also because the Kindle Colorsoft ecosystem felt too limited compared to the Boox Palma 2 Pro. The Kobo Libra Color finally gave me the best of both worlds. The text on the Kobo Libra Color is crisp, and the colors on the Kobo Libra Color are beautiful. The Kobo Libra Color honestly makes reading feel fun and exciting again. Adding the stylus to the Kobo Libra Color takes it even further since you can annotate in color and even doodle directly on your books, which makes the whole experience so enjoyable. If you are on the fence about getting the Kobo Libra Color, just do it. The Kobo Libra Color is absolutely worth it!!!

The best ereader I have ever owned! I love the buttons! I had an oasis for a long time till it went to heck. This is so much better! Lightweight! Comfortable in hand! You can rotate however ya want and it adjusts with you. Its only been a few weeks but battery life is fantastic! Even compared to the kindle colorsoft. Also the color is better on the kobo. I cant transfer my kindle books which totally sucks but not kobos fault. I havent even tried the notepad but heck thats a super bonus. This is the way to go for the ultimate ereader!!

I did a very extensive research before choosing Kobo Libra Colour. I got lucky with the discount and picked it up for $199. No issue with product quality. I had to look up some videos to be able to use Kobo to it's full capacity. But if you don't have problems following instructions, the device is easy to use and set up. The weight does add up if you are holding the reader for a while but my arms/wrists didn't have much issues for 3-5 hours. Although, my elbows were starting to bother me due to constantly being bent but i ordered a case that can be used as a stand. So, it solved the issue. ----------------------- If you are trying to chose the best reader. If you are looking at other brands: 1. in my opinion Kobo has a better value for money (especially if you look at cheaper models; 2. while some Android based brands might compare and allow you to download other apps - you are still getting the same "slow" ereader performance; 3. if you already have an Android (tablet/phone) you can download apps for reading books - you are losing the coveted ereader screen. 4. There are of course a lot of other brands but I personally would have one of the following issues: size/price didn't make sense; some brands are not as reliable as others; not enough or too many features. If you are choosing between Kobo models: 1. As a first time ereader buyers, I wasn't interested in buying models that are more expensive or have more features then Libra Colour (so, cannot help you there) 2. To me personally, it was important to see colored book covers (it's silly but I really wanted it). So, Clara BW wouldn't work for me but keep in might that you lose some brightness and image clarity with colored versions (although, as a first time user I wouldn't have anything to compare it with) 3. I wanted physical buttons for peace of mind, so Clara Colour wouldn't work for. But I don't use the stylus feature which was another selling point for Libra Colour, so I guess it's a bit of waste of money. But I do have that feature if I'll need it in the feature. Libra also has a slight larger screen then Clara. Thankfully, I was able to afford the more expensive Libra Colour. But if you are on a tighter budget I think Clara Colour is still a great option. I hope that was helpful!

First disclosure: I am very invested in the Amazon ecosystem and own thousands of ebooks through there as well as own many of their reading devices like the Paperwhite Signature Edition, Kindle Oasis, Kindle Basic, Kindle Scribe, and multiple Kindle Fires. I was tempted to buy the Kobo Libra Colour because I loved the form factor of how it looks like a Kindle Oasis (discontinued), but in white with page-turning buttons and using e-ink color. The day I saw the Kindle Colorsoft announced and saw that it did not have page turning buttons, and that it was basically a Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition with color e-ink- I ordered the Kobo Libra Colour. I was a bit tortured over this because it's a totally different ecosystem and I have no intention of ordering books from the Kobo Store. I also have no intention of going through the computer gymnastics of converting my purchased kindle books into files that can be read on the Kobo. I have too many, and I love/prefer my Amazon reading devices anyway. I justified my purchase of the Kobo Libra Colour with the fact that it has Libby/OverDrive integrated right on the device so I can borrow my library books right there. I also had a bunch of other ebook files I transferred from my computer to the Kobo for offline reading. Lastly, I sometimes get protected DRM ebook files to read and review that can't be read on a Kindle, so I'm able to drag them onto the Kobo using Adobe Digital Editions on my computer. So this Kobo device has very limited use for me, since I can already have Libby/OverDrive send my borrowed ebooks to my Kindle. This was a luxury buy simply because I'm an ereader collector and it looked like a beautiful reading device with page turning buttons. After using it I struggled with the possibility of returning it for a refund, since it was totally unnecessary for my needs. However, after decorating the back of it with some bookish stickers and a clear case, and using it for my free public library borrows (after all, I can see the bookcovers in color) I decided to keep it. I like the fact that you can simply run your finger up and down the left side of the screen to adjust the brightness. I have the Natural Light setting on automatic so that it gradually includes "warmth" lighting as the evening sets in. I don't like the extra steps I have to go through to get to "Dark Mode" with the black background for night reads. You have to open up settings and go to a page 2 in Settings to select Dark Mode. On the kindles you very simply swipe down from the top of the screen and tap the icon "Dark Mode". The color on the Kobo Libra Colour is muted and washed out, but I expected that because it's an e-ink device, not an android tablet or iPad. The screen is quite lovely for reading. I don't give a hoot about comics or manga- I just want to read words. I love the white plastic casing of the Kobo Libra Colour. It's not just white, when you look closely it's a kind of frosted white that glows. It's a very pretty looking device. I think I'll keep it! *UPDATE: 5 months later and somehow there are two scratches on the screen. This is made from recycled materials, and perhaps the screen isn't that impervious to scratches. I had a clear back case and stickers on this, but switched over to a proper book-like case to protect it. A lovely device that I enjoy but not as much as my Kindles.

I absolutely love my Kobo, but I will say getting used to the Kobo environment is a little bit of a learning curve coming from kindle. First of all if you really enjoy Kindle insights that show how long you’ve read a book, when you read the book, how long it took you to read it throughout the month, What days you read versus what days you did not read, etc, this may not be the device for you because the software/environment is just not there yet. I wish I had known that before purchasing. I do miss those insights from Kindle, but I will say I enjoy the feel and look and hardware of the Kobo more than the Kindle Oasis. I also obviously love that there is color, and highlighting and taking notes with the pen has become something I can’t live without. The battery life is super impressive, I read a lot, and I barely ever have to charge this thing, I’d say it’s about the same as the Kindle oasis. You can upload news articles with the pocket app and read them on your kobo as well as library books which I think is super cool and was easy to figure out how to do, I don’t really think that Kindle allows you to do that, but I may be wrong. The brightness on the kobo is a little bit different than the Kindle, I think that it might come off as a little bit of a harsher light, but I do love that it’s adjustable by just dragging your finger up and down the side of the screen, which is so handy. I will say I think that Kindle has a better Kindle unlimited selection versus kobo plus subscription if you’re into fantasy romance novels. I can’t really speak to other genres, but I have noticed that a lot of the books I wanted to read were not available with my subscription, unfortunately, but there is a pretty good reward points system with the Kobo at least. The Kobo is definitely lighter than the Kindle Oasis, because it is made from recycled plastic instead of Metal. If that is important to you, you are making the right choice going with Kobo.

Wanted to try something new from my other ereader, heard a lot of praise online for this and was seriously disappointed. No online cloud syncing for sideloaded books, so if your Kobo gets reset, your annotations and your books are just gone. Have to manually on the device categorize and sort every book if you want to be organized, no way to do it on the app for sideloaded content which can take hours. In the 3 days I had it, I tried to like it so so bad, but it froze on me randomly twice, and I had to hard reset it each time which was incredibly frustrating. I wish it handled sideloaded content better and was less glitchy. The ghosting effect on these is suuuuper prevalent too, so if you don’t like that I would steer clear. I wish this had gone better, but I just don’t think these are up to par yet for other competitors. Do not recommend!

Está súper bonita llegó en buen estado y es súper práctica, pensé que era más grande pero el tamaño es perfecto 💯

Lo amo, ya llevo poco más de un año con él y a mí se me facilita más leer así que en libro, me gusta el ajuste de brillo y tonalidad para la noche. Es ligero, no pesa y me encanta. Se golpeó un poco y eso me pasa por no comprarle su funda desde un inicio, así que si lo compras, si o si cómprale una carcasa.

Pasé de un Kindle Oasis ( descontinuado). Y me he adaptado muy bien a este lector. Adaptas la luz, más fría o más cálida. Lo del subrayado a colores es lindo. También compré el lapiz aunque no lo vi tan necesario porque no hago anotaciones y creo que si cambias el zoom de la página como que se pierde o cambia de lugar lo que anotaste. Tip: compra la funda original tipo “origami” para que puedas pararlo en una mesa etc. Gran lector :)

Lo que se necesita de un lector electrónico pero a COLOR! Pequeño, hermoso y práctico.

El kobo esta increíble y desde que lo tengo leo mucho más y el botón para cambiar de hoja es super cómodo. Lo único que si esta mal en mi opinión es que la mitad de sus funciones dependen de que les des más dinero: si quieres que mida tus lecturas con todas sus funciones los libros tienen que ser comprados de su tienda (o tener el formato para kobo) y las notas, los resaltados y las libretas solo funcionan si tienes una pluma de ellos. Aun así vale la pena y es mucho mejor opción qué otras tabletas para libros sin color.