The other two Kobo models the Elipsa and the Nia come only with adjustable brightness of the ink display. Both new models come with an adjustable color temperature of the front light.
The front-lighting system consists of several white and amber LEDs. The color temperature of the front light can easily be adjusted to make the perfect reading experience in any ambient conditions. More yellow lights are added in the dark ambient to reduce blue lights. Blue lights are the leading cause of eye strain and fatigue.
Eyes strain more when reading in dim surroundings, so the quality of the front lights is a significant factor when choosing which e-book reader to buy.
Both Amazon and Kobo offer a massive selection of e-books. Amazon offers more than 6 million e-books on the Kindle store and Audible. Kobo is catching up with Amazon in a number of available books. Currently, Kobo offers almost 6 million e-books on Kobo and Indigo online stores.
Kindle e-readers primarily support MOBI digital format. Books on the Kindle store are in this format. This is an extra step that requires some time, and the conversion is not always perfect. All recent versions of Kobo e-readers come with an integrated OverDrive feature. OverDrive feature allows you to access Canadian public libraries directly from your Kobo e-reader.
You will be able to search for an e-book in the section of Kobo books in your local public library, choose a book and borrow it. Your e-book will be automatically returned to your public library when your lending period expires. Kindle e-readers cannot access public libraries in Canada directly from the device — they have direct access to public libraries only in the USA. So there is a big difference in approach between Kobo and Kindle regarding e-books.
Since Kobo e-readers support more digital formats, you will be able to buy e-books from multiple online stores. You are not limited to purchasing books only from Kobo or Indigo online stores. You will be able to open and read many digital files from open source. Amazon has more control over its e-readers. Kindle e-readers can read much less digital formats and can download books from fewer websites. On the other hand, Amazon offers three subscription-based services that allow members access to a big selection of e-books and audiobooks at a popular price.
Prime Reading is automatically included with Amazon Prime membership with no extra costs. Amazon devices have great support for Kindle books. They have the ability to remember your place in the book across different electronic devices.
So you can start reading a book on a Kindle e-book reader and continue reading via Kindle App on Amazon Fire or any other tablet or smartphone without losing the place where you left off. If you have an audio version of the same book on a Kindle device, you can easily switch between reading a book and listening to the audiobook.
So you can start reading a book on Kindle Paperwhite in bed in the evening, switch to the audiobook in the morning while you are driving to work, from the same place where you left reading. This is accomplished through WhisperSync for Voice feature and is supported across different digital devices.
In the conclusion of the comparison of Kobo vs Kindle, the Kindle e-reader is a better device overall, but you have to buy most of your books. Kobo Libra, released in October , is one of the best e-reader from Kobo family. It is very similar to Kindle Oasis, especially when comparing size, display resolution, front light, and waterproof body. Both e-readers come with 7-inch screens and a high display resolution of PPI, which is sharp enough that text of all sizes and typefaces will look crystal clear.
Both e-readers come with a similar front lighting system, which automatically adjusts the brightness and color temperature of light to the ambient condition. This makes it easier to read in the dark. They have similar weights, the new Libra weights g, and the Oasis weighs g. Another feature that both Libra and Oasis have is an automatic orientation of the screen.
If you tilt your Libra or Oasis sideways, the text will switch from portrait to landscape mode. This is accomplished with a built-in gyroscope.
One of the significant advantages of Libra is that it comes with a built-in Overdrive feature. OverDrive feature on the Libra allows users to borrow books from public libraries directly from the device.
Users who own Kindle Oasis cannot connect to their local public libraries in Canada directly from their devices. On the other hand, Kindle Oasis can play audiobooks narrated by a professional narrator from the Audible website. Libra H2O cannot play audiobooks but the new Kobo Libra 2 introduced in October is capable of playing audiobooks. Since audiobooks require much more space than e-books, Kindle Oasis is available in two versions depending on the size of storage space: 8GB and 32 GB. Kobo has recently introduced two new models that are capable to play audiobooks.
Besides Kobo Libra 2, the Kobo Sage ebook reader can also play audiobooks. New Kobo Libra is still waterproof but Kobo decided to drop "H2O" from the name since there are a couple more Kobo models that are waterproof as well. While many design elements have remained the same, some significant updates bring the new Kobo Libra 2 in line with the Amazon Kindle Oasis.
Kobo Libra 2 has built-in Bluetooth technology. Libra can download books only via WiFi connection while Oasis can download via WiFi and via a free cellular connection. Downloading e-books and especially daily newspapers and magazines via mobile networks is a useful feature for customers who often travel and therefore, most of the time, do not have access to WiFi. In Canada, the Libra is available in two colors, white and black, while Oasis is available only in black.
The body of Kobo Libra is made of plastic with a bit of texture at the rear, while the body of Oasis is made of aluminum and glass for a fancy look. There is a difference in price. Sini Saja is a passionate Electrical Engineer with over 40 years of experience in the electronics industry. He wrote several articles on Instructables. Read the full review: Amazon Kindle. While traditional tablet-like ereaders like the Kindle Paperwhite mentioned above and the Kobo Nia and Clara HD below are the most affordable ebook readers you can get, they're uncomfortable to use single-handed.
And so the asymmetric design that the Kindle Oasis pioneered is becoming more popular, with Kobo introducing the Libra H2O in late as a more affordable option to both the Amazon counterpart as well as the bigger Kobo Forma.
But it's not just the Libra's relatively affordable price tag that makes it a compelling ereader alternative — it's also more durable than the expensive bigger brother listed below, and it boasts an improved user interface that offers a better reading experience than what you'd get on a Kindle. With a 7-inch screen compared to the Forma's 8 inches , it's smaller than its bigger brother, but that makes it more portable and it's a much faster device besides.
With the latest E Ink technology, the Libra H2O matches the Oasis in speed and responsiveness — whether you're just turning a page, selecting words for dictionary look-up or entering a Wi-FI password to set up the ereader. The Libra H2O debuted improvements to the user interface, like a new ebook navigator accessed by either swiping upward from the bottom or tapping in the centre of the screen. You can even use the Libra to read in landscape mode if you prefer.
We were already partial to Kobo's user interface and these changes have made it more streamlined than the cluttered UX of the Kindles. Thanks to its hard plastic body, the Libra has a more premium and rugged look than the Forma.
The page-turn buttons feel a lot more sturdy with good feedback, while the power button on the rear is easy to locate as it sits in a recess that's quite deep. That said, the buttons on the Oasis are, by far, the best of the three. And while the Oasis' metal body gives it a very premium look and feel — and carries a price tag to match its status — the Libra's affordability and usability make it easy to recommend — especially in countries where OverDrive support means you can borrow ebooks from you local public library.
Read the full review: Kobo Libra H2O. Kobo's Clara HD ereader is more than capable of giving its direct competition — Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite — a run for its money. Priced cheaper than its Kindle counterpart, the Clara HD manages to outperform Amazon's most popular ereader in almost every area that matters.
Key among those is the screen. The Clara HD's 6-inch front-lit display matches the Kindle for sharpness both are ppi but integrates a blue-light filter which uses your timezone to automatically change screen brightness at night to reduce your exposure to sleep-disrupting blue light.
It fits that display into a compact body that's lighter than the Paperwhite, making it easier to slip into just about any bag. Cover art and text are rendered at a higher DPI dots per inch on the Clara HD than other older Kobo ereaders, making them appear significantly sharper in comparison. The Clara HD also introduced a 'rapid page turn' engine that allows you to quickly move forward in an ebook by holding down the bottom left corner of the screen.
The responsiveness of the E Ink screen is also much faster and more precise than we're used to seeing on either Kindle or Kobo ereaders, which makes things like text selection for dictionary look-up or highlighting and note-taking much less hit-and-miss than before. It also has wireless OverDrive functionality, so you can browse and borrow from your local library's ebook collection directly on the device.
With battery life that lasts a few weeks, the Clara HD is a feature-packed device with a display that's the best-in-class for an ereader at this price point. Read the full review: Kobo Clara HD. Announced in July , the Nia is the latest ereader to join the Kobo ranks, and also the company's cheapest device. It's a no-frills ereader that offers direct competition to the basic Amazon Kindle. While it's priced a touch higher than the Kindle, you do get a slightly better and more responsive 6-inch screen, with a resolution of x, or ppi a step-up from the ppi Kindle display.
You also get a more streamlined user interface which, over the last couple of years, has seen steady improvements. The new features that debuted last year on the Libra H2O have made their way to the Nia, making it a lot more user-friendly than any Kindle model.
The other advantages the Nia offers over the Kindle are wider file format support like all the Kobos and third-party application integration with OverDrive for borrowing library ebooks, Pocket for reading on the web, and Dropbox for cloud storage. Like the other Kobos, you'll be able to sideload fonts to the Nia, even Amazon's own Bookerly. Physically, the Kindle and the Nia are similar but the Kobo device has a textured rear panel that makes the ereader feel more secure in the hand.
The one complaint we do have is, for a device that launched in , it still doesn't have USB-C charging. Unlike the Kindle, there's no Bluetooth support on the Nia — a commonality shared by all the Kobo ereaders, even the premium ones. That means the Nia lacks audiobook support, which even the base model of the current Kindle range has. So, if you're not keen on getting locked into the Amazon ecosystem, then the Nia is an excellent ereader for anyone on a tight budget. However, the Nia lacks a blue light filter, so if you read a lot at night, we think the Kobo Clara HD is a better option — with a sharper ppi screen — if you can spare the extra cash for it.
Read the full review: Kobo Nia. The Forma is Kobo's answer to the Kindle Oasis, albeit with a much steeper price tag. Like it's Amazon competition, the Forma has an asymmetrical design that's meant to make prolonged one-hand holding comfortable.
Where the Forma one-ups the Kindle — and perhaps attempts to justify its price premium over the Oasis — is by adding an extra inch to the display, for an expansive 8 inches in total. Despite the size disparity, both premium ereaders have similar weights, although the Forma's plastic body tends to lose its shiny look over time and use.
The Forma's rubbery and textured back, on the other hand, means that despite its bigger size your grip never wavers and its bigger footprint helps keep that weight feel more evenly distributed. You can hold the Forma in either your left or right hand or even in landscape and the display orientation automatically rotates within a couple of seconds of switching. This happens a touch slower than the Libra H2O which is a newer device but, compared to older Kobo flagships like the Aura One , it requires fewer full screen refreshes.
As is common with all Kobo devices from the last few years, the Forma's backlight offers color-temperature adjustment, so you can opt for an orangey-yellow light tone rather than the standard and potentially sleep-disrupting blue light, which can even be scheduled.
Unlike the Oasis, though, there's only a single 8GB version of the Forma available and it's admittedly the most expensive ereader from a popular brand.
Despite that, it makes a case for itself by offering a superior user interface, OverDrive support, Dropbox integration for books stored in the cloud , and Pocket support for long-form web articles. Read the full review: Kobo Forma.
Whether you should opt for a Kindle or a Kobo ereader depends on what you're looking for from your ereader and, more often than not, that decision will be ruled by price and feature set. Both Amazon and Kobo have premium offerings in the Kindle Oasis and the Forma respectively, but there are budget ones as well.
That said, Amazon has the biggest marketshare by far, but Kobo devices have several advantages over their direct competition. So, which one is best for an avid reader? All Kobo ereaders have OverDrive baked-in, meaning anyone with a public library membership in countries where there is support can borrow ebooks from their local library. Most public libraries in the UK and Australia now allow members to borrow ebooks, saving you plenty of money in the long term on purchasing books.
That said, the ability to borrow library books is also available on Kindles, but support is extremely limited and is only available to users in the US for now. However, Kindle users can take advantage of Amazon's Prime Reading service — available for free to all Amazon Prime members. There's over a thousand titles to choose from, but you won't own the books you read via the Prime Reading service.
If you're keen on owning all the books you read, then the Kindle Store usually has way more titles on offer than the Kobo Store — primarily due to Amazon's self-publishing platform — but Kobo's Super Points system allows you to save points you earn on purchases for later use note that these points do have an expiration date. Another thing to keep in mind when choosing an ereader is the support for different file types.
All Kindle ebooks you purchase from Amazon will be in. There is no. Kobos, on the other hand, will support most file types — with the exception of Amazon's own. You'll even be able to read PDFs, text files, comics and graphic novels on your Kobo device, just to name a few. You'll find that the Kindles have some custom fonts designed by Amazon, with Bookerly and Ember being the most popular ones.
We found that the list of fonts on Kindles is extensive enough that we didn't find the need to sideload more, but you can if you need to. Kobo devices also have their own set of default fonts, but there's no rule against sideloading more, including Amazon's own custom ones like Bookerly.
And sideloading is as easy as plugging your Kobo ereader into a computer and moving your desired font to the device's fonts folder. While the Kobo Store has a large number of audiobooks, you can't listen to them on any of the company's ereaders — not even the expensive Forma.
For that, you'll need to download the Kobo app on your smartphone or tablet. However, all the latest iterations of the Kindle devices Kindle 8th Gen, Kindle Oasis 8th and 9th Gen, Kindle Paperwhite 10th Gen have Bluetooth connectivity for wireless headphones and audiobook support for anything you get from Audible.
Goodreads is a great social platform for avid readers and, ever since Amazon acquired the company, there's seamless integration with Kindle devices available on the ereaders.
It's a great and easy way to keep tabs on your library. However, integration with other platforms on Kindle devices stops there. Other than OverDrive support to borrow library books, Kobo also has a partnership with Dropbox. If you happen to have your library saved in a Dropbox folder, you can easily connect the two and transfer files to the device without needing to plug the ereader into your computer.
Then there's Pocket support on the Kobo devices as well. This app allows you to read long-form articles on the web that you save for later, and syncing with your Pocket account will give you access to them all on your Kobo ereader.
There are some differences between the two platforms when it comes to the user interface as well — the main being the ability to organize your library on the device.
While you can create folders and collections on both Kindle and Kobo devices, you can only organize ebooks you've purchased from the Kindle Store on an Amazon device.
If you've added books you've purchased from elsewhere, they will sit in the main library but you will not be able to move them to a folder. On the other hand, everything you have stored on your Kobo device can be organized as you see fit.
Pretty much everything else about the two platforms is competitive, including pricing, so the choice of device ultimately rests on whether you'd like to borrow library books or if you're a Prime member, what file format the vast majority of your existing library is, and whether you'd like to listen to audiobooks when you're not reading.
At the end, you won't go wrong with either a Kindle or a Kobo, with both offering their own set of pros and cons. If you already own a tablet — either an iPad or an Android device — do you really need another device to read digital books on?
Perhaps not, but there are a few advantages an ereader offers that you won't get with a tablet. Battery life Ebooks readers use far less power than a tablet, allowing manufacturers to claim days, if not weeks, of battery life.
And every single model listed above offers at least a few days of battery if you're an avid reader, which gets pushed to a couple of weeks at least if you're a casual reader. With tablets, you'll be doing a lot of other things besides reading, and they would likely need topping up every day. E Ink technology As mentioned above, every ereader on the market uses an E Ink screen with a matte finish, unlike the shiny reflective displays on tablets.
This makes it easier to use ereaders in bright sunshine, which can be a problem with some backlit tablet screens. Blue light filter While dark mode has become quite common in recent times and many modern electronic screens automatically adjust their displays depending on ambient lighting, there's no filter to reduce sleep-disrupting blue light. Ereaders, however, use front lights with a white to yellow hue that's a lot better for the eyes and your sleep pattern as compared to phones and tablets.
Affordable and convenient There are a few other reasons to consider an ereader over a tablet: they're typically smaller and lighter, with thicker bezels so you can hold them comfortably while reading.
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