Someone on reddit found a new product listing for a white Clara Colour on an obscure Canadian website, so it looks like Kobo is getting ready to release a new white version of the Kobo Clara Colour soon.
This always happens whenever Kobo launches a new product; it always shows up on some random website you’ve never heard of before, and then the listing gets pulled because it went up too early.
I took a screenshot before they took the page down so you can at least see what it looks like. A white Clara Colour looks pretty slick, actually.
Kobo hasn’t officially announced it so there’s nothing about it on their website yet, but they’re probably getting ready to release it soon if retailers are starting to put up new product listings.
Releasing a white Clara Colour makes sense considering Kobo sells the Libra Colour in both black and white. Two FCC listings for new Kobos turned up recently too, and they’re revisions to existing models instead of “new” models so that makes sense.
It makes you wonder if Kobo is going to release a white Clara BW too, but so far there aren’t any signs of that. The website that leaked the white Clara Colour doesn’t show a white version for the Clara BW (they still show the white Clara Colour as an option to select even after the page was taken down).
I’m sure some folks will like having the option for a white Clara Colour, and it does look pretty sharp in the pictures, but I’m not sure white is the best fit to pair with color E Ink. Color E Ink screens have a darker appearance than BW E Ink screens, and when you have a light border it makes E Ink screens look greyer. I even notice this with the matcha green Kindle because the green is pretty light. There’s an optical illusion with E Ink that makes the text look darker when it’s surrounded by a black border.
I had a white Kobo Libra 2 though, and the screen looked great on it. The frontlight kind of blended in with the white bezel and made it look more paper-like. When using the frontlight the optical illusion isn’t as noticeable, but if you’re somebody that prefers to keep the frontlight off or low you’d probably be better off with the black bezel.
When it comes to black text, the white bezel does indeed give the optical impression of a darker background (although it takes very little time to get used to). But when it comes to colour images, the effect is the opposite: the colour appears more enhanced. We still have the habit of comparing colour e-readers based on our long experience with monochrome e-readers. And, at the end of the day, people who buy colour e-readers do so precisely because of the colour, which is what monochrome e-readers lack (no matter how good their screen is for text). Personally, I think it’s a good idea for colour e-readers to have a white bezel.
I want to cry, I’ve just bought Clara Colour half a year ago and I have my white Libra OG. Basically, I would buy white Clara if I had a choice.
The current (i.e., black bezel) Clara Colour is on sale until August 14, and thus, the new white Clara Colour will likely be available after that sale is over.
I much prefer white bezels over black, independent of any other factor. The white bezels on my Libra Colour are the main thing making me regret returning it. However, the negatives of color ereaders (i.e., poor visibility outside, and the need for the front light when inside) make it difficult to justify keeping it.
I like white bezels so much that I would probably buy a white Clara BW if available, even though my Clara 2E is less than two years old and I want at least 7 inch screen.