In addition to the Kobo Libra Colour, Kobo has unveiled two new Kobo Clara models, one with a color E Ink screen and one with a regular black and white screen, and both are available to pre-order now from Kobo’s website.
The Kobo Clara Colour has a 6-inch Kaleido 3 screen, and it sells for $149.99. The Kobo Clara BW has a 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 screen, and it sells for $129.99. Both are getting released on April 30th.
Both models share the same design, and the specs are mostly the same, except the color version has a dual-core 2.0 GHz processor and the black and white version has a single core 1.0 GHz processor.
Both come with 16GB of storage space, both are waterproof (IPX8 rated), both support dual band Wi-Fi, they have Bluetooth for streaming audiobooks, they have USB-C ports, and both have 1500mAh batteries. They also have frontlights with temperature control, and the overall dimensions and weight are identical.
The Kobo Clara BW has the latest E Ink Carta 1300 screen, which is supposed to have better contrast, so that’s a plus, and it’s the first Kobo to use that screen. I look forward to seeing how it compares to Carta 1200 screens.
One interesting detail to note, Kobo gives different battery life estimates for each model. Kobo says the battery on the black and white version can last up to 53 days per charge, based on reading 30 minutes per day with the frontlight at 10% brightness, and they say the Kobo Clara Colour’s battery can last up to 42 days when reading 30 minutes per day with the frontlight brightness at 30%.
You tend to need the frontlight set higher with color screens because they’re darker in appearance with the color filter layer so at least they accounted for that. See this post to learn more about color E Ink screens.
I’ll post some comparison videos of all the new Kobo ereaders after they get released. In the meantime, here are some videos from Kobo.
Kobo Clara Colour Videos
Kobo Clara Colour Specs
- 6-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 screen.
- 1448 x 1072 resolution (300ppi for black and white content; 150ppi for color).
- Capacitive touchscreen.
- Frontlight: ComfortLight Pro with adjustable brightness and color temperature.
- Waterproof – IPX8 rated.
- Dual core 2.0 GHz processor.
- 16GB storage space.
- WiFi 802.11 ac/b/g/n.
- Bluetooth for audiobooks.
- USB-C port.
- Battery: 1500mAh.
- Supported formats: EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR.
- Dimensions: 112 x 160 x 9.2mm.
- Weight: 174 grams.
- Price: $149.99 USD.
Kobo Clara BW Specs
- 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 screen.
- 1448 x 1072 resolution (300ppi).
- Capacitive touchscreen.
- Frontlight: ComfortLight Pro with adjustable brightness and color temperature.
- Waterproof – IPX8 rated.
- 1.0 GHz processor.
- 16GB storage space.
- WiFi 802.11 ac/b/g/n.
- Bluetooth for audiobooks.
- USB-C port.
- Battery: 1500mAh.
- Supported formats: EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR.
- Dimensions: 112 x 160 x 9.2mm.
- Weight: 174 grams.
- Price: $129.99 USD.
While too small for my preferences, it looks promising. Kobo put these out in the most popular sizes and will do well with them. I will wait for a Elipsa, or something similar, color update.
Good luck Kobo!
What about the Libra Colour? Or do you need something bigger still?
Yes Hippo, anywhere between 8 and 10 inches works for me. That said, the Libra should do well.
Side note, I wonder if these are going to be made available in India? I used to see only the lower-end models (Nia, Clara, Libra) on Kobo’s India website, and not the Sage or Elipsa. Now I’m seeing the two new Claras and the Libra Colour listed on the menu, but all the links go to Kobo’s global page and not an India-specific one.
Kobo was previously selling select models on Flipkart, and I still see those there, but no sign of pre-orders for any of the new models. Kobo would do well to at least introduce the Clara Colour; it’ll likely be Indians’ first experience of colour ereaders so is bound to stand out, and is also priced low enough that more people will be likely to buy it.
Hi Hippo
Is there a Kobo India site?
Could you guide mw with the specific url
I have never found any other ebook reader other than the Kindle available in India
and hence I have ended up with having 3 Kindles (Kindle KB, PW-1 and PW (6.8))
Thanks
Ninad
Kobo Libra Colour product page mentions “FastGLR”. I wonder what it is.