Kobo Libra Colour eReader, 7” Color E Ink, Waterproof, Black

In the past year or so I have gotten back into reading. I read about 10 physical books before I decided I couldn't afford to buy physical copies of every book with how fast I would read through them. I also really don't enjoy reading paperbacks, so I figured I could get an e-reader for those and any other books I didn't specifically want a hardback for. Did some research online and decided on the Kobo Libra Colour. I. LOVE. THIS. EREADER. It's simple and straight-forward. It's small, lightweight, and easy to hold. The page turn buttons are one of my favorite parts, especially since I can flip the screen whichever direction I want. The screen refresh is a little awkward but there's a setting to minimize how often it does it. You can adjust the brightness until there is no backlight at all. I keep the brightness at about 15% in a somewhat lit room and 2% in a pitchblack room, and I have only had to charge this thing ONCE in a whole month. I received it Aug 7, charged it fully and read AT LEAST 2hrs a day and by Sept 3 it is still at 8% charge. I've read 4 books of roughly 450pages in that time frame (with some breaks here and there). I did purchase a cover for it just recently. With slim, lightweight technology comes fragility. I dropped it once and it did not take any damage, but I didn't want to put it at risk again. Lots of fun covers online for it! So much customizable options!

I've had this in hand for about a week and I'm growing to love it more and more every day. First, I've owned four or five kindles over the last decade++ and while they're incredibly convenient and ubiquitous and have led the e-book charge, the operating system has always felt clunky to me… all of the features you need daily are generally three or four steps into settings. Combine that with awkwardly placed power buttons, no option for physical buttons other than the oasis which has been discontinued, the need to always have a cover with a handle in order to hold it while reading. Much more but other than the e-book idea and implementation, it's never felt natural to me. The Kobo Libra Colour, on the other hand, feels a joy to hold, it's very light, has a screen auto rotate option which, combined with the lip at the buttons, are a perfect place to put your thumb of either hand. Yes, it's a similar designed to the Oasis but the Oasis (which I own for five years until it crapped out on me after having babied it and then Amazon not supporting diagnosing/fixing) was a much heavier device and although it was formed and weighted on the side with the buttons, it always felt like holding a Lego block or something rigid and awkward in my hand. Plus it was just heavy. The Cobo Libra is kind of the same form as an Oasis but much more comfortable to hold because it's not only much, much lighter (ounces?) but also because of the slight upward lip at the buttons... your thumb on either hand just slips into that corner so easily and it's incredibly smoth to position and move from one hand to the other. I've always had cases for Kindles but after a week with the Libra, I can't convince myself to get anything other than a sleeve for it… it just feels that nice in your hand. Then there's also the color book covers and color highlights, both surprisingly pleasurable additions. But those are really bonuses, the gem is the operating system and interface which is without a doubt more focused on the READER… it does the little things well like the mentioned auto rotate view we've all grown accustomed to with cell phones. Then there are a ton of similar details in the interface... being able to increase or decrease the brightness of the screen by one simple slide touch in the upper left corner, no digging into settings. The home screen showing the most recent four books and % read, or on the same page an area where you can access all your books, another area showing just your unread books, another area showing a link to overdrive to borrow books from the library, another spot to press showing the holds you have at your library on overdrive… in other words an actual home screen giving you all your options in one view. Not trying to sell you anything, not trying to distract you by anything. Your stuff where you want it. Which is of course another fantastic feature, it lets you directly and easily rent books from your library… The focus is on getting you what you want to read and having you enjoy the experience… NOT up selling you more books. What a concept. Oh, and the power button is recessed and on the BACK of the device… So no turning it on and off accidentally when resting it somewhere. In other words, great functionality making for a pleasurable experience using it. Amazon seems to have lost that with the Kindle… like the device itself is secondary to them pushing more product. Anyway, I could go on but this is already too long. Buy it, you'll love it and just look online for ways to transfer your already purchased Kindle books over… Kobo doesn't make YOUR books proprietary, you buy them, you own and can read them anywhere in standard formats. Again, what a concept....

Been a Kindle Paperwhite user for years and I liked it fine. But I thought of getting the Kobo because of the progress bar at the bottom. I think that (& other stats included in the Kobo) makes a huge difference in my motivation to finish a book. Similar to being able to see right away where you're at on a physical book. First time I'm trying a color e-reader and i LOVE it! And it's fun that I can annotate straight on the actual pages besides being able to highlight in color. (Sidenote: the Kobo stylus for this is ridiculously expensive and I got the Metapen1 instead, which was way cheaper & works great.} A common "complaint" about the color e-readers is how muted the colors are. But I love that it is! First off, it's better for your eyes. The way iPads are more and more vibrant is ridiculous to me! It gives me a headache and the colors aren't even realistic anymore. I have to put a low percent Grayscale filter on the iPad just to be able to use it at all. The Kobo Libra Color has a watercolor-y, newspaper-like look to it. Funny enough, I kept wishing the Kindle could look more paperlike. Well, I got my wish with the Kobo. I love this e-reader. And I love Kobo's focus on reading rather than shoving the Kindle store in your face. You don't have to pay to take off ads, and it's library friendly & integrated with Overdrive/Libby.) I received this right away and it was well packaged.

First off, I have the Kobo Clara Clour and absolutely love it. I think it's literally "the perfect eReader". Or close to it. Highly portable - fits in my pants pockets - all of them - and every jacket pocket. The Kobo user interface is the best out there, I think, and I really like the warm light, as it's not too yellow and orange like a lot of them out there. My only issue is it could be just a tiny bit brighter - like the Libra Colour. Having said that, it's really NOT an issue, just a tiny thing that might be nice, sometimes. But my vision sucks. The color on both the Clara and the Libra are identical. But, it's nice to have the slightly bigger book covers of the Libra, and the few extra lines of text on a page, at the same font size as the Clara. But... not a big deal for the Clara at all. In most regards, the Libra is just a bigger version of the Clara, with one big exception: The buttons. Having come from years reading on a Kindle Oasis - unarguably the best eReader ever made - I thought I would love the buttons on the Libra. Instead, I hate them. LOL. Well... kind of. Reason being, I don't really mind using my thumb to turn pages, these days, and, more importantly, I just got the Kobo Remote, which is AWESOME. Though expensive at $70. So, my current reading style is before bed, and in bed, and I pop the Libra Colour onto a magsafe little metal quad-pod stand, using the metal ring that comes with the stand and a clear PVC back-only case for the Libra. I set it up on my chest, laying there, and it's perfect. I can just use the remote and don't have to jostle around holding the kindle by the finger grip I usually attach to the back, via said magsafe ring. So... the buttons aren't needed, and just add weight and width to the device. A real bummer. It barely fits in my jacket pocket, and doesn't really fit in most pants pockets. It's saving grace is that I like the slightly bigger size for reading at night, and the slightly larger color book covers, so I'll keep it. I'm also keeping the Claras Colour, for sure, as it's just my favorite eReader ever, and truly hoping they come out with improvements to the COLOR along the way. It's good now, but it would be nice to have it clearer and brighter. If the Kindle Colorsoft had the Kobo user interface, I would be all over it. But Kobo's is just so much better. Especially for the Beta fFeatures where you can make everything bigger - text and user interface (Library and Settings pages). This is a REAL bummer not having those on the Kindle, as I slightly prefer the Kindle book offerings.

Very happy with my Kobo Libra Colour eReader. Light, easy to work with. Ironically, people suggested buying from Amazon because Kobo service can be iffy if there are problems. I love the page-turn buttons, easy brightness control, and reading on it. Wanted to leave the Amazon universe and use more ePub books. Mostly, I read from my library, which is easier to do on Kobo - it connects directly to Libby and my library. Did a lot of research on Reddit before buying, and it was very helpful. Would buy again.

I was already an ereader type of gal and owned 2 kindles and a Kobo Clara. I got rid of one of my larger Kindle then found that I was reading more on my Kobo than anything. I got this Kobo Libra and have been obsessed with it! The ergonomics are so on point, I don't have any issue holding it at night without a strap or pop socket. I honestly just love everything about this reader. The buttons are amazing and worth the hype. The Libra is worth every penny. The white looks amazing and the Kobo interface is so easy to use. I love love love it. IF you're thinking about it and already have a Kindle or Kobo, sell it or just have 2 (if you can justify the different uses)!

Turn Page Buttons Are Great I have a very old version of a Kobo (probably 10 years old) and I loved it, but it finally died. The libra color version is a great replacement! Still so lightweight, but has a slightly bigger screen than my 6.8 inch and the Physical turn page buttons are great, and it adds just a little more room to hold the reader comfortably.

The warranty on this ereader is 1 year. After 1 year and 2 months, my screen has developed a line of dead pixels. It's never been dropped and has only ever been used in a case. After searching online, it seems these tend to break down at the 1.5 year mark. Awful reliability and the company won't accept fault. I had my previous kindle for over a decade and never had any issues with the screen.