Kobo in color: Digital reading innovator unveils first-ever color eReaders
The newly announced Kobo Libra Colour and Kobo Clara Colour blend the vibrancy of life and literature in two eye-catching models.
Rakuten Kobo has announced its first-ever color E Ink eReaders with the new Kobo Libra Colour and Kobo Clara Colour, offering a new element to the digital reading experience Kobo fans already know and love.
Kobo Libra Colour and Kobo Clara Colour feature a Kobo-optimized color E Ink Kaleido™ 3 display, presenting a nuanced palette while preserving the advantages of E Ink technology, now available in color. Leveraging the success of Kobo Sage and Kobo Elipsa 2E handwriting experiences, the new Kobo Libra Colour brings stylus-based writing and Kobo’s patented write-anywhere eBook annotations to the company’s popular 7” format. Boosting its versatility, the new eReaders also come equipped with Bluetooth wireless technology, making it easier than ever to listen to Kobo Audiobooks.
“We are pleased to be the first global eBook platform to offer affordable color eReaders, bringing both your books and our bookstore to life with a beautiful spectrum of gentle hues. It’s everything you love about print, with all the benefits of ereading,” said Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo. “For Kobo, color is a way of deepening and enriching the reading experience, while keeping the daylight readability and battery longevity that E Ink screens deliver so well.”
Kobo Libra Colour: Endless Library, Meet Infinite Journal
Catering to those book lovers who prefer adding personal touches to their reading experience by journaling, annotating or doodling in the margins, the Kobo Libra Colour stands out as Kobo’s most affordable stylus-enabled eReader.
The device boasts a new color E Ink Kaleido™ 3 display, Kobo Stylus 2 compatibility, 32 GB of storage that can store up to 24,000 eBooks, or an impressive 150 audiobooks, and a battery that lasts for weeks. With 24/7 access to the Kobo.com bookstore, and OverDrive integration to easily borrow library books, booklovers can update their digital shelves wherever they go. The device has a unique curved design that perfectly fits the readers grip, bringing high levels of comfort and the joy of color to the reading experience.
Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Clara BW
The new Kobo Clara Colour represents a significant advancement on the beloved 6″ eReader, delivering a glare-free, distraction-free color experience. This compact and lightweight device offers a selection of colors at the touch of a finger, allowing readers to highlight eBooks just like they would print books.
For Kobo readers who prefer an eReading experience in black and white, Kobo has also introduced the Kobo Clara BW, an upgraded version of Kobo’s black-and-white classic 6” eReader, equipped with the latest E Ink Carta 1300 screen and an improved processor.
Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Clara BW offer 16 GB of storage* to carry up to 12,000 eBooks or 75 Kobo Audiobooks.
Unparalleled versatility
Kobo prioritizes reader comfort with its ComfortLight PRO technology, which automatically adjusts blue light levels, allowing book lovers to read late into the night without interrupting sleep. Users can customize their reading experience to reduce eyestrain with an optional Dark Mode. Furthermore, with a fully waterproof design (IPX8 rating), the devices can withstand immersion in up to two meters of water for up to an hour.
“To build the most enriched reading experience for our customers, we worked tirelessly to optimize the Kaleido 3 display to ensure the best representation of colour,” said Ramesh Mantha, SVP, Product, Rakuten Kobo. “We introduced collimated front lighting technology to our 6” and 7” size eReaders to provide better color performance, and have further engineered our software to automate the regulation of colors so they always look their best, no matter the content being displayed.”
Commitment to sustainability
Kobo Libra Colour, Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Clara BW further advance Kobo’s commitment to sustainability and join the lineup of eReaders made with recycled and ocean-bound plastics. This diverts CDs and DVDs from landfills and plastic bottles from the planet’s oceans. All three new devices have repairability features like easier battery replacement, allowing customers to extend the life of their eReader and replace components. The packaging for the devices is also made with 100% FSC certified recycled paper and are printed with soy ink.
More about the new device
Kobo Libra Colour retails for $249.000 CAD/$219.99 USD, Kobo Clara Colour for $179.99 CAD/$149.99 USD, and Kobo Clara BW for $159.99 CAD/$129.99 USD at www.kobo.com/ereaders and select retailers. The Kobo Stylus 2 is currently available and retails for $89.99 CAD/$69.99 USD.. The devices will be available in stores and online in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Turkey as of April 30, 2024.
