Kobo Libra Colour

Listen to this post:

We’re now at the very beginning of the next evolution of digital e-Readers, where users love them so much but wish they could do just a little bit more. Blame smartphones, which have evolved so far past their original intended use that we sometimes forget that not every device has to be able to do everything all the time.

The industry has decided the next phase of e-Readers should have the ability to take (and export) notes and, increasingly, display color text and images. Given the low-power nature of e-Readers this upgrade isn’t as easy as it sounds, and adding color to E Ink displays means an entirely new technology, with all the stumbles and growing pains that come with it.

While there’s no shortage of third-party companies trying to fill this void, most of the e-Reader buzz still revolves around two, Amazon and Kobo, and both have already started to implement note-taking on their higher-end models (with suitably higher-end prices). Once again, Kobo beat Amazon to the punch by releasing color updates to their most popular readers with the Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Libra Colour, the latter being the focus of this review.

via YouTube

But color shouldn’t be a hard sell. Color is pretty, and of course some content just looks better when it’s displayed as intended. There’s no question a world with color is a better world. Make no mistake; these are easily the most affordable color e-Readers on the market. But is color E Ink ready for primetime?

Note: In deference to the Queen’s English (and for SEO accuracy) I’ll be referring to the Kobo Libra Colour by its rightful name, though in every other instance the standard spelling for “color” will be used.

TLDR

The Kobo Libra Colour evolves the Kobo Libra 2 with faster performance and the ability to take notes and mark up content with a stylus. With a larger screen and physical buttons, it may be the perfect middleground for those wanting the best experience and comfort from a digital reader capable of doing just a bit extra. Those expecting the Colour in the name to be a game-changer, however, may want to temper their expectations.

Design: Familiar, Comfortable

The Libra Colour retains the basic look and feel of its predecessor, the Libra 2, a rectangular slab (available in black or white) measuring 5.6″ x 6.3″ x .03″ and weighing just 7oz. Its defining features – its elongated bezel with physical buttons – remain present and as comfortable as ever. There’s only a single USB-C charge/transfer port on the side of said bezel and the only other physical button is the circular power/standby one located on the back.

The body is made of recycled plastic and the textured backing feels very comfortable even for longer sessions and is certified for IPX8 waterproofing (great for splashes and dips, but not for longer soaks). Inside is a whopping 32GB of memory to store all those books and audiobooks, and there’s a beefier battery upgrade to 2050 mAh, though this doesn’t necessarily translate to longer battery life (color screens, using the stylus, and more frequent screen refreshes are the likely culprit). Overall, Kobo hasn’t rocked the boat with the Kobo Libra Colour, but they did create a few nice waves.

The Screen: Colourful

The Libra Colour sports a generously big 7” E Ink display that utilizes the newer Kaleido 3 display technology. While its output resolution remains a solid 1264 x 1680, its output PPI (pixels per inch) will change from 300 PPI for black and white and 150 PPI for color content. Also worth noting: like many Kobos, the Libra Colour screen is slightly recessed, not flush, which some claim reduces glare but I’m not entirely convinced. Many users seem to love the recessed screens, however, so they’ll be pleased with this one.

The Libra Colour retains the same great backlighting array of previous models and looks awesome in darker areas when you need a lighting boost. Kobo’s trademarked ComfortLight Pro, which basically means Blue Light filtering, which can be adjusted manually or programmed to kick in at certain times. Dark Mode is available, which looks great, but for whatever reason Kobo hides the feature in the settings – something so useful should be easily accessible.

One caveat: Because the new Kobo Colour readers utilize Kaleido 3 E Ink rather than traditional E Ink Carta 1300 black & white content may look slightly darker. Some users have reported that contrast levels are less bright than traditional E Ink screens, which can make them look slightly darker. This is true, but the differences will be almost negligible for most.

The Kobo Experience

If you’ve used an e-Reader over the past decade you’ll be right at home. Kobos offer every major feature and function to make digital reading the most enjoyable experience possible, including forward/back, long-press for definitions, taking notes, and Google/Wiki searches, bookmarking, chapter jumps, etc. The Libra Colour adds stylus support for marking up text, taking notes, and highlighting, though not with all formats (see below).

The reading experience remains as delightful as ever, especially if you’re just reading text. I was shocked at how fast the performance was here, easily the quickest and most responsive I’ve ever experienced on an e-Reader. For text, anyway. PDFs are still mostly sluggish and still aren’t a great fit for any E Ink device, this one included.

Kobo Store, Compatibility, and Audiobooks

You won’t be lacking for content using the Libra Colour. Apart from buying direct from the Kobo storefront you can also subscribe to their sizable Kobo Plus subscription service or connect using OverDrive to easily download books while supporting your local library without ever setting foot in one (though you definitely should). Import articles using Pocket, too, and the Libra Colour also adds Dropbox and Google Drive support as well, which gives users yet another way to easily get their own content onto the device.

As always, Kobo readers enjoy best-in-class compatibility, much better than Amazon’s ecosystem. Practically every digital file format you could ever want is here and ready for all your sideloading needs including EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, and CBR. You can also add fonts, resize fonts, realign fonts, tweak fonts… so many font options!

As always, sideloading your own content is easy, and most compatibility issues can be alleviated with freely available software like Calibre and websites that get it done quickly. You can even use the (still) beta web browser to browse and download free books from the Project Gutenberg website directly.

There’s also full support for Kobo audiobooks only, meaning if you want to listen you’ll have to buy from their store or subscribe to their proprietary audiobook service. This means if you’re coming from Amazon’s Audible service you’re out of luck, though Kobo’s version offers a lot to choose from. You’ll need a Bluetooth headset or speaker to listen, but the performance is fast and responsive and quite enjoyable.

Notes, Scribbles, and Stylus

Aside from the addition of color, easily the biggest upgrade to the Libra Colour is the ability to mark up content, take notes, or just doodle the hours away. I need to stress that the Libra Colour is the least expensive E Ink device offering these features, and for many this might be the best reason to pick one up.

If you love doodling on your paper books then you’ll probably love doodling here. Compatibility varies, but most ePub and PDF files didn’t mind being marked up with notes and scribbles. You can use the stylus to quickly highlight text and change colors, but it’s not difficult to do that with your finger, either. Curiously, while you can add specific notes and annotations in books, these have to be typed out (no stylus support for whatever reason).

There are two different styles of notebooks available: basic and advanced, the former being a quick scratchpad for doodles and whatnot. Advanced notebooks let you transform your chicken scratch into text (it’s remarkably accurate) and even add math equations and diagrams using a nice variety of digital “pens” (ballpoint, fountain, calligraphy, etc.), sizes, and colors. You’re able to export them via USB cable, Dropbox, or Google Drive in a variety of formats. There is some latency when drawing, but it’s acceptable given the device.

One word about the stylus. Kobo recommends using the Kobo Stylus 2 (of course), but at the time of this review finding one is nearly impossible, and even if you can, the price can be higher than you’d want. Many third-party styli are compatible with the Libra Colour, especially those designed for Microsoft’s Surface tablets, and can be found at a fraction of the price of Kobo’s version. Do your homework before buying and you should be good to go.

Is Colour Worth the Color?

The biggest question you probably have about the new Colour Kobos is whether the addition of color is worth the upgrade. The honest truth is: probably not, especially if you’re not interested in taking colorized notes or reading comic books and manga. Text naturally lends itself better to black & white because it’s mostly fonts on backgrounds. Things get trickier with images because some lend themselves better to being rendered in monochrome and some don’t.

The limitations of the Kaleido 3 technology means color content shifts from razor-sharp 300 PPI to less sharp 150 PPI, a huge tradeoff your eyes can actually see and feel. And with a limited palette of just 4096 colors you’re never getting the smoother gradients or saturation you’d find on standard displays. At best, this means color images look considerably washed out and faded, like how paper newspapers render them.

That said…like I said, color looks prettier than black & white, and even faded colors can still brighten the experience in subtle ways. Seeing the covers of my book library colorized was a nice surprise, and there’s no question having some coloring in comics and graphic novels adds to the overall enjoyment of reading them. Comics and picture books with simpler coloring can look particularly good on this screen.

While color content on the Libra Colour is never spectacular, it’s never awful. We’re still in the early days of color E INK and while the tech still has a way to go, it should only get better as it becomes more adopted and refined. One piece of advice: if you really want the best color experience, turn off the Blue light filter (i.e. Natural light) as it severely degrades color quality.

Conclusion:

The Kobo Libra Colour is a fantastic e-Reader capable of displaying black & white and color content, though not in equal measure. The generous screen size and fast performance make this an ideal choice for those who consume digital content, and the compatibility can’t be beat. Plus, the ability to mark up content and take notes make it a solid option for power users who need to do those things. Should you buy it exclusively for the promise of having color on the screen? Honestly, I wouldn’t, but a splash of color can make your content more interesting to look at.