KOBO Libra Colour

Decided to get this after looking up many reviews on YouTube and various review sites. I previously used to have a regular non backlit kindle (probably a 2nd gen). Got this at a slightly lower than MRP price (~18.6k after bank discounts) but worked out as much as it would if you were buying it from abroad (USD $220 MRP). Here is my unstructured review. Colour display - something new, and comics look nice, although not very easy to read on the smaller screen unless you zoom. The colors are not what you'd expect from an led display like a phone, so keep your expectations in check, the tech for that isn't there yet. However, this was not a big deal for me. Physical buttons - now this was important to me. I like touch screen displays generally, but it just isn't as nice when reading a book. The two buttons make turning pages very simple for the hand. The thumb just rests in a button, and press for the page turn. You can still use touch/swipe on screen, but I don't find myself using that as much. Software setup and UI - Very simple to get it started, and some level of customization for the library, although would have liked to have more freedom with organizing/hiding/folders etc. Epubs work without any conversion. I was able to link my google drive account and transfer books via my phone this way. The settings aren't too complicated to find your way around. Other good things about this that I won't get into - good form factor, waterproof, charges quickly, decent battery life (~20h with backlight 40% and reading book, not tested for comic), power button placement, USB C connectivity. Nice to have, but I've not used these fratures - repairable, can use a stylus (some 3rd party ones too), audio books. Also picked up the official cover, fits well, easy to hold, feels good to touch (faux leather). Only thing I wished for is that this was available at a lower price. But I couldn't wait for a price drop, as I had a huge backlog, and I was wasting precious time in travel not really doing anything productive. The cover wasn't cheap either, but no other 3rd party options available as yet, and I can't let an expensive device like this get scratches in my bag.

Go for it, integration of loading google Drive file give it's superiority over kindle paperwhite it's worth the price, brightness is good, battery life last for more than enough and it's easy to use. Everything is best.

Having been a Kindle (basic) user for 6 years, these are my thoughts on this device; 1. Screen is significantly dim when front-light is Off. I almost never used front-lighting on my old device; but on Libra Colour, although I can manage to read without front-lighting while in a moderately lit room, having had come from the Kindle's bright white screen, the lack of contrast is evident. But you do get used to it, fast. However, for those comfortable reading with the front-lighting On, this shouldn't be a problem, as upping the light to around 15% solves the dimming problem in some ways. 2. As expected, the colours are very muted/mild in nature. 3. Larger 7-inch screen with a smooth curved edge is a pleasure to hold and read-on. No issues faced reading for many hours straight. 4. Battery backup is excellent, as was in the Kindle. 5. I haven't had any problems with moderately larger eBooks (approx. 95 MB). If anyone's having any issues on this, please do read about converting epub to kepub format (using Calibre or kepubify website). 6. Page-turn buttons are fantastic to use and make it very easy to get spoiled by their convenience. 7. I like Kobo's interface a lot better than Kindle's - it's a lot more customisable, clean and is so much less intrusive. 8. Since I had always liked the Kindle's "Bookerly" font, sideloading "Bookerly" to Kobo was one of the first thing I did on it. 9. Google drive & Dropbox integration works fine, though Calibre is still my go-to-means for transferring ebooks. 10. As of now, sideloaded ebooks are not synched by Kobo (as opposed to "Send to Kindle" functionality). Bought the device for around Rs.17,600 during a sale and for that price, I feel it offers great value for money.

I had to buy this product a total of 3 times. First time, it had some scratches on the top bezels and I doubted it for a refurbished one, so I returned it hoping to get a fresh one next time. The second piece I received was full of scratches on all sides(except the screen and back, screen comes with a peel off-protective film). It was very frustrating and I had to place the order again. The third one ALSO had scratches, but relatively very less noticable ones, so I decided to finally settle for it. All pieces I received were sealed and apart from these scratches (which now I think is probably due to some rough handling during manufacturing) there were no signs of use. So please check your device in broad sunlight to see if it has any unacceptable level of scratches on any side. I am not sure it is an issue exclusive to the white colour, but I only wanted the white anyways. Now, the reason why I dared to order over and over again is because I fell in love with reading on this device. It is way more fun than kindle, especially if you're into comics, manga etc. Pros- - Great aspect ratio - Buttons become a necessity once you get adapted to how easy it is than swiping. - Has got dark mode for night - Much faster and responsive than kindle - Since it runs opensource (linux), you can install alternate firmwares like koreader, plato etc to get more custom options. If you're a comic reader (.cbz), install koreader for a terrific experience - sometimes better than reading the actual book because you can view in larger panels and can zoom in and out of individual panels(cropped). -Better battery life - I read a lot of comics (both colour and bw) and since it takes more refreshes, I got some 28 hrs reading time with more than a week standby on single charge. colour comics and higher brighteness drains battery more - I usually don't read beyond 2-5% brightness. - relatively quick charging - might take around 2 - 2.5 hrs (haven't checked yet) - Very light weight Cons - Very Low brightness without backlight. This is not an issue with the device but rather the underlying colour technology which is still in it's nascent stages, and further, better display options are not available in India currently and are not cost-effective in comparison. However, you'll easily get accustomed to it...I only use backlight (2-5%) when the lights are off or if it's too shady indoors. - Very limited options for accessories and too damn expensive even for a case! forget about the existence of screen protectors. - kobo store is not as big as kindle ones, and you may not find a lot of Indian authors. This doesn't affect me as I have a kindle if need be, and I sideload most of my books anyways. The subscription cost is the same and you get access to a lot of free books too. - I have bought and returned the stylus (sold seperately) twice because it was causing scratches (I tried with the protective film on). I checked reddit and saw multiple people complaining about the same. So if you plan to buy it, DO NOT use it on the bare screen first. Both the nib and top can cause scratch, so test it out thoroughly. I have also heard that metapen is also compatible with this device, and is a couple of thousands less. - FREEZING ISSUES: If you use the epub files downloaded from the internet that were working fine with you kindle or other devices, it MIGHT cause frequent freezing and auto restart in Kobo. In case you're experiencing this, the best fix is to convert it into kepub files using calibre or other softwares. You can search about these in the web. Once I've done it I haven't experienced any issues so far.

I had a Kindle basic from long long back and wanted to update it to newer model, possibly with buttons like Kindle Oasis, however Oasis has been out of commission and it was not renewed in newer line-ups of Amazon kindle. The ones which were updated was not having a good feedback from users. Hence I decided to go for Kobo Libra Color(KLC). Here are my thoughts. PROS:- 1. KLC is a color version with physical buttons and the colors are good enough for e-ink technology and please so not expect the tablet like quality in this. Colors are vivid and comics look as good as you can get with this technology(see images). Also you can get even more vivid colors by switching developer mode on. 2. Battery backup is excellent(a week or two probably) with normal reading(couple of hours a day) and even better if the content is pure black and white(B&W). Color has lower dpi but B&W is excellent. 3. You can use stylus for annotating and drawing directly on the book. It also has notebook feature. 4. If there is a screen door effect(search for this term) then either I don't have that issue or it really doesn't matter because it is not at all noticeable. 5. Like I said physical buttons are a god-send and very handy. 6. You use google drive or Dropbox for very easy file transfer. You can also use applications to make it very easy as well. 7. PDFs work very well so epubs is not the only supported format. While you can annotate on PDF file, you can't highlight on the PDFs like you do on epubs(this is because PDFs are basically like images with no text layer) CONS:- 1. You lose the variety that Amazon kindle offers with its large selection of books and also in half the price that Kobo will offer. Regional books will not be found on Kobo and if it is there there it will more expensive than what Amazon offers. A work around is that you can buy on Amazon and convert it to epubs and use it on Kobo. Amazon has that facility. 2. Kindle unlimited is yet another thing you might miss if you use that(I didn't). 3. I don't know if Kobo has service centers in India so that another thing you might have to keep in mind. Final Verdict: Go for it if it is in your budget, it is worth it. Update: Battery backup is even better than I initially said. With an hour of reading daily it can last for around 20+ days. If you faster drain of battery, check the ebooks for some error in Calibre application. Update (23/10/2025) : Amazon no longer allows you to download the books like earlier (atleast I don't know of any method, easy or not, that works), so you won't be able to buy the books here and read it in Kobo any longer. Since this could be an issue for some, I thought I should update this review.

crashing badly, lost all my collections in one click, backing up on harddisk is very crucial

Simply amazing product. I love my Kobo. I can read books from my google drive. The batter lasts for around a week or more even if I read 3-4 hours everyday. Doesn’t strain my eyes. You can highlight lines, book mark pages, add notes, look up a word in dictionary. Doesn't reflect light. Value for money.

This is the best purchase I've ever made in my entire life 🤍 I'm absolutely in love with this. Absolutely obsessed. I was initially confused between the Clara colour and Libra colour. It took me a long time to decide. But I'm so glad I decided to go with Libra colour. Absolutely worth every penny if you're a reader. It's so gentle on the eyes. I literally read for hours.