Kobo Clara Colour 16GB – 6" E Ink Kaleido 3 Colour Display, Waterproof, Built-in OverDrive Library Borrowing (White)

Our Verdict

The Clara Colour is the e-reader to look at if you would rather borrow books than buy them. Kobo builds OverDrive into the device, so if your library service offers Libby/OverDrive you can browse and borrow ebooks without a phone or computer, and it reads EPUB, the format most other ebook shops and libraries use. BorrowBox, the main service used by Irish libraries, has no Kobo app; library help pages describe borrowing on a computer and moving the ebook across with Adobe Digital Editions, which takes a few more steps. The 6-inch colour E Ink screen shows covers, comics and highlights in muted colour; as with every colour e-ink screen, colour images look softer than black-and-white text. It is IPX8 waterproof, ComfortLight PRO cuts blue light for night reading, and it has Bluetooth for Kobo’s own audiobooks. The trade-off is the bookshop: if you already own a large Kindle library, those books will not open on a Kobo. There is no charger in the box.

Key Features & Irish Specs

• 6-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 colour display for book covers, comics and colour highlights
• Built-in OverDrive for borrowing library ebooks on the device, where your library offers it
• IPX8 waterproof: up to 60 minutes in up to 2 metres of water, according to Kobo
• ComfortLight PRO reduces blue light, plus a dark mode option
• 16GB storage, reads EPUB files, and Bluetooth for Kobo audiobooks