Libra Colour So far I love my Colour Kobo. What about you?

Cootey · Yesterday, 06:01 AM

I’ve had my Libra Colour (LC) for about five months now. I picked the pearlescent white model. Even though I have an iPhone 15 and an iPad—both of which have high resolution, full color displays—I love using my LC for reading novels, light novels, manga, art books, etc. In fact, I’ve just noticed recently that I’ve been reading manga on the LC far more than the iPad. That wasn’t a conscious decision.

The page turning buttons help. Sweeping with a finger is convenient, but it becomes repetitive when reading comics or books. I also don’t mind the screen’s resolution. I know there have been very technical and informative comments regarding the lower resolution of the LC, but I haven’t found it to be an impediment.

I do enjoy having a colorful homepage. I like seeing the book covers in color. I like seeing illustrations in color. Highlighting and note taking in color is quite enjoyable as well. If all of that’s just a novelty, then I don’t mind. It was priced affordably, and I needed a new ereader.

I have found that I use my LC far more than my previous ereader, the Clara HD. This increased usage has resulted in more frequent charging. It’s about once every two weeks, compared to the Clara HD or Elipsa. However, that’s nothing compared to my daily charging of my iPad and iPhone. I don’t consider it a detriment at all.

I’m curious what other people think about their Colour Kobo. Do you find the color screen an enhancement or just a marketing novelty?

bluepeter · Today, 12:49 AM

I'm glad you like yours. I regretted buying my Clara Colour. It sounds as if we use our e-readers for different material, and that's significant. You like a lot of colour illustrations, whilst I read pretty much exclusively simple black text on a white background. The resolution issue means that when I want to read a book with illustrations (generally non-fiction), I buy it in print.

It's funny that you should raise this. It's only yesterday that someone raised the possibility of replacing her Kindle with a Libra Colour on a Facebook reading group to which I belong. This was my comment to her:

I had a Kobo Clara Colour, which has the same screen as the Libra Colour. IMO, it was a waste of money. The colours are very muted (unsaturated) and contrast is dreadful. I don't normally use the built in frontlight to read, but found that it was necessary all of the time just to get tolerable contrast reading simple black text - even in a well-lit room. The background for a page of text isn't the white that you'll be used to, but grey.

I sold mine on eBay after only a week or so, and took the financial hit. The Clara BW or 2E are, for my needs, much better e-readers.

My advice is simple: don't buy a colour e-reader yet. A *lot* of development is needed before they become worthwhile. (And the same applies to those from other manufacturers, e.g. Onyx Boox. They all use the same screens.)

It's well worth switching from Kindle to Kobo, simply for the vastly better user interface. (that was why I switched a few years ago.) But I'd recommend one of the monochrome models, not a colour one. Unfortunately, if you want a 7" screen, there isn't currently a monochrome Libra. The choices are (a) smaller screen; (b) larger screen, or (c) find a Libra 2/H2O on eBay or similar. (You might get lucky and find a refurbished Libra 2 or H2O somewhere.)

Whilst responses to the OP weren't unanimous, this seems to have been pretty much the majority view.

Yesterday, 06:01 AM	#1
Cootey Absentminded Reader Posts: 1,258 Karma: 6467285 Join Date: Apr 2017 Device: Kobo Mini, Libra Colour & Elipsa; Kindle Paperwhite 3 & 4; iOS apps	So far I love my Colour Kobo. What about you? I’ve had my Libra Colour (LC) for about five months now. I picked the pearlescent white model. Even though I have an iPhone 15 and an iPad—both of which have high resolution, full color displays—I love using my LC for reading novels, light novels, manga, art books, etc. In fact, I’ve just noticed recently that I’ve been reading manga on the LC far more than the iPad. That wasn’t a conscious decision. The page turning buttons help. Sweeping with a finger is convenient, but it becomes repetitive when reading comics or books. I also don’t mind the screen’s resolution. I know there have been very technical and informative comments regarding the lower resolution of the LC, but I haven’t found it to be an impediment. I do enjoy having a colorful homepage. I like seeing the book covers in color. I like seeing illustrations in color. Highlighting and note taking in color is quite enjoyable as well. If all of that’s just a novelty, then I don’t mind. It was priced affordably, and I needed a new ereader. I have found that I use my LC far more than my previous ereader, the Clara HD. This increased usage has resulted in more frequent charging. It’s about once every two weeks, compared to the Clara HD or Elipsa. However, that’s nothing compared to my daily charging of my iPad and iPhone. I don’t consider it a detriment at all. I’m curious what other people think about their Colour Kobo. Do you find the color screen an enhancement or just a marketing novelty?

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Today, 12:49 AM	#2
bluepeter Zealot Posts: 112 Karma: 109178 Join Date: May 2024 Location: Salisbury, UK Device: Clara 2E, Clara BW, Mini, Libra H2O, Paperwhite (10G), Boox Poke 5	I'm glad you like yours. I regretted buying my Clara Colour. It sounds as if we use our e-readers for different material, and that's significant. You like a lot of colour illustrations, whilst I read pretty much exclusively simple black text on a white background. The resolution issue means that when I want to read a book with illustrations (generally non-fiction), I buy it in print. It's funny that you should raise this. It's only yesterday that someone raised the possibility of replacing her Kindle with a Libra Colour on a Facebook reading group to which I belong. This was my comment to her: I had a Kobo Clara Colour, which has the same screen as the Libra Colour. IMO, it was a waste of money. The colours are very muted (unsaturated) and contrast is dreadful. I don't normally use the built in frontlight to read, but found that it was necessary all of the time just to get tolerable contrast reading simple black text - even in a well-lit room. The background for a page of text isn't the white that you'll be used to, but grey. I sold mine on eBay after only a week or so, and took the financial hit. The Clara BW or 2E are, for my needs, much better e-readers. My advice is simple: don't buy a colour e-reader yet. A lot of development is needed before they become worthwhile. (And the same applies to those from other manufacturers, e.g. Onyx Boox. They all use the same screens.) It's well worth switching from Kindle to Kobo, simply for the vastly better user interface. (that was why I switched a few years ago.) But I'd recommend one of the monochrome models, not a colour one. Unfortunately, if you want a 7" screen, there isn't currently a monochrome Libra. The choices are (a) smaller screen; (b) larger screen, or (c) find a Libra 2/H2O on eBay or similar. (You might get lucky and find a refurbished Libra 2 or H2O somewhere.) Whilst responses to the OP weren't unanimous, this seems to have been pretty much the majority view.

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