When you think of e-readers, Amazon’s Kindle usually comes to mind. But there’s another brand giving book lovers more options – including free library books and a way to save long-form articles to read later.
Kobo, a company now owned by Japanese retail giant Rakuten, has been making e-readers for 15 years.
“Our mission is to make reading lives better. And our Kobo e-reader devices are sort of the embodiment of that,” said Ramesh Mantha, senior vice president of product at Kobo.
I tested two of the company’s two latest models the dimunitive Kobo Clara, priced at $160, and the Kobo Libra, a larger $230 device that lets you draw on screen. Both are waterproof and have color e-ink displays.
Kobo’s biggest advantage? Openness. You’re not locked into one store or format. The devices support EPUB, PDFs, and comics. You can download books from Kobo’s online store, drag and drop files from your computer, or connect Google Drive and Dropbox.
“Fundamentally, our view is we are open. We want you to be able to read whatever you want to read,” said Mantha.
Two standout features make Kobo especially interesting for avid readers. The first is Instapaper integration, which lets you save online articles to read later in a clean, distraction-free format.
“It’s particularly well-suited to longer-form content. So think about like a magazine article, a long Substack post, stuff like that,” Mantha explained.
The second is built-in OverDrive support, similar to the Libby app, which lets you borrow e-books directly from your local library on screen. No phone or extra app required.
“Libraries have always been such a great way to make books accessible to folks,” said Mantha.
I love borrowing free books for my Kindle, but it does take a few extra steps to get them there. I like how Kobo lets you browse and download directly on the device.
Overall, Kobo is a great fit if you like to source books from multiple places, not just Amazon’s Kindle Store. Also, some Kobo models still have physical page turn buttons, and there’s even an optional remote control to wirelessly turn to the next page.
My buying advice: skip the color screen if you don’t need it – black-and-white e-ink has more contrast and is easier on the eyes.
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