Kobo has officially announced the upcoming release of a new entry-level ebook reader called the Kobo Nia that will be available starting July 21st.
The Kobo Nia has a 6-inch E Ink Carta screen with a resolution of 1024 × 758 (212 ppi). It has a frontlight too, but unlike other Kobos, it does not have adjustable color temperature.
As mentioned in an earlier post, there’s really not a single thing “new” about the Kobo Nia, and frankly releasing a device like this doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Basically all Kobo did was put their previous entry-level ereader, the Kobo Aura 2, inside a new casing and renamed it the Kobo Nia. The only “upgrade” is they bumped the storage space from 4GB to 8GB for the few that want to carry more than 3000 books on their device.
This type of practice of releasing a new device with no improvements is fairly common when it come to E Ink ebook readers, but the price of the Kobo Nia is the real head-scratcher.
At $99 USD, the Kobo Nia is a better value than the entry-level Kindle that sells for $89 because the Nia has a higher resolution screen (212 ppi vs 167 ppi) and it doesn’t cost an extra $20 to remove the Special Offers (ads).
But compared to the Kobo Clara HD the Nia is a bad deal. The Clara HD only costs $20 more than the Nia, and the Clara HD often goes on sale for $99, sometimes $89. The Clara HD has a higher resolution screen with 300 ppi and it also has a better frontlight with adjustable color temperature. It’s also a bit thinner and lighter. You’re much better off spending an extra $20 on the Clara HD or waiting for it to go on sale than buying a Nia for nearly the same price.
Amazon’s pricing makes more sense because there’s a $40 price difference between the entry-level model and the Kindle Paperwhite, and the entry-level model often goes on sale for $65. If Kobo ever drops the price of the Nia to that level then it has the potential to be a good deal, but that remains to be seen.
The Kobo Nia isn’t a bad device but compared to the Clara HD it’s an impulse buy for the uninformed buyer that hasn’t done any research.
I just hope that Kobo doesn’t discontinue the Clara HD now in favor of the cheaper Nia. That’s exactly what they did to the Kobo Glo HD after releasing the inferior Kobo Aura 2 in 2016.
“The Clara HD only costs $20 more than the Nia, and the Clara HD often goes on sale for $99, sometimes $89”
This is the same mistake that people made with their gripes about the pricing of the basic Kindle 10 when it launched. They compared the sale price of the PW4 to the regular retail price of the basic and concluded that the basic was priced poorly. I pointed out then that was stupid because the sale price of the basic will probably be $60-70. And I was right.
I’ll point out that mistake again. The Aura 2 regularly went on sale for $50-70 on Walmart. Comparing the regular retail price of the Nia to the sale price of the Clara is a mistake.
And I’ll say what I said about the basic when it launched. Many people don’t care about resolution or adjustable color temp or waterproofing. They want the cheapest option and then spend their money on books. Even if the price differential is $20-40 they are not going to spend it if they don’t have to. And while the difference between 167 ppi and 300 ppi is at least painfully obvious, the difference between 212 ppi and 300 ppi is subtle.
I don’t understand why it is so difficult to understand the point of an entry level device or why more choice is pro-consumer. And the Nia is price matched with the Kindle 10 (it falls right inbetween the ads and ad-free version). And it will probably frequently go on sale at incredibly low prices like the Aura 2 did. So it’s fine. Not every product has to be for you.
Agreed! I grabbed two Aura Twos at my local Walmart when they were clearing them out for $15 a pop, and two of my kids use them. They are pretty great, so keeping it alive is not a bad thing, in my estimation. The lack of ads and higher PPI make it a better choice than the basic Kindle, if you don’t need Amazon’s ecosystem. And this thing will get super cheap when Walmart fails to market the thing and needs to clear them out again in a year.
I’m just sick of these companies releasing the same thing over and over again and calling it new. Go back and look at the Kobo Glo that was released way back in 2012. The Nia is 90% the same device. The only upgrade is the screen is Carta instead of Pearl, and that’s E Ink’s department, not Kobo’s. At least the Glo had a microSD card slot. The Nia doesn’t even have that.
Now Kobo has jacked up the price of the Clara HD by $10 in Canada to make the price of the Nia seem more appealing. Pro-consumer, huh? Kobo themselves never had the Aura 2 priced anywhere close to $60-$70. That was Walmart doing their own thing clearing out stock. I bet the Nia never goes below $79 at Kobo. In which case you’d still be better off spending $20 extra on a Clara HD when it’s on sale. $10 for a better screen. $10 for a better frontlight. It’s a no-brainer. That’s a big difference than the $40 price difference on Kindles.
Kobo could have at least done something different to make the Nia stand out. Give use some different color choices or a different size. If it would have had a 5-inch screen (a Kobo Mini with a frontlight would’ve been great!) instead of a 6-inch screen it would be a lot more interesting, and then it would compliment the Clara HD instead of directly competing with it.
If it had been a new Mini with a front light I would have bought several without a second thought. This was a disappointment. The only thing I like are the colors of the covers,
I’m with Susan on this. I have three Minis, and I’m hoping to see a new one with a front light before the batteries die. I can’t help but think that there are a good number of readers who would like an e-reader that fits comfortably in a shirt pocket.
I sure could’ve gone for a new Mini too. I wonder why Kobo disliked that model so much. It’s the only one they aren’t updating the software on anymore, aside from their earlier non-touch models.
The plastic of this model is same as kindle basic 2019 and looks very cheap. It is better if add more 10$ and buy the flagship clara hd.
Good luck kobo with this product.
I’ve read this too late! Anyways, I’m really happy with my Kobo Nia! First time e-reader for me and I’m loving it! Only con so far: I’d love that it was a bit smaller, more transportable, pocket size.