Kobo - Clara BW-eReader-6" Glare-Free Touchscreen with ComfortLight PRO-Dark Mode Option-Waterproof-16GB - 2024 - Black

I purchased the Kobo Clara BW eReader because one of my local libraries use CloudLibrary wish does not work with Kindle devices. I went back and forth on which Kobo device to get and I settled on the BW device instead of the Clara Colour or Libra Colour. The screen is nice and I love the portability of a 6 inch device to fit in small purses. It is a little heavier and the screen is a little more recessed than my 6" Kindle Basic but it offers more features than the Basic so that is understandable. The screen and light quality are more on par with the Kindle Paperwhite. I do wish Kobo software allowed Google sync like the higher tier models, I also wish it supported multiple Libby/Overdrive library cards because I do have library cards for libraries for use Libby as well. For CloudLibrary, you have to download the book to your computer then USB transfer to the Kobo. I had no problem with this process on a Mac and the process took less than 5 minutes. My Mac recognized the device and my Calibre book management software did as well. Kobo store purchases show up in My Books for download. The download tri dots are sensitive. I thought I could see book details by clicking on the dots next to a title like with my kindle but for me, it downloads the book instead of giving me an option. I easily loaded additional fonts to the device via USB transfer from my computer. I purchased the Kobo remote page turner and it paired and works seamlessly. I recommend this device if you are in the market for an ereader.

E-readers are a niche product, I previously owned a nook and it lasted a long time. I was searching for another and came across the Kobo Clara B&W. It is your typical e-reader with wireless features and integrated Rakuten e-shop. Upon receiving my Kobo it was a pretty simple experience. The box is small and lightweight as you would expect. Inside you’ll find the Kobo and a usb type c cable for charging. No power brick is included. Setup took a while due to the fact that I had an old Rakuten account but failed in my attempt to retrieve account access so I just created another account. This was the most difficult part of the setup process. Browsing the store is a breeze and with “overdrive” you have the ability to borrow books from your local public library. You simply search for your local library enter your credentials and borrow your books. Fairly simple and cool. The store offers a subscription service that is affordable it is less than $10 a month and has a decent offering of books between the subscription service and overdrive you’ll always have something to read. I like the fact that like all e-readers the battery life is impressive and the device charges quickly. The OS is super simple to use and navigate. You have gesture controls to change the page and adjust the brightness. The device is advertised and water resistant but I am not willing to find out if that is true. I purchased a case and it is a nice addition and protects the screen and automatically puts the device to sleep and awake when you open the device. Overall, the Clara is a great device and it comes in color if black and white isn’t your thing. Should you get it? If Amazon isn’t your cup of tea or Barnes & Noble doesn’t do it for you then get a Clara it is nice to have options.

If you are an avid reader, Kobo eReader would be a nice addition to your library. I have not owned an eReader since Sony released theirs, so it has been a decade or so. I was looking to get back into eReader world and decided to check out Kobo brand. First of all, I was glad to learn that there are a number of different models available. I decided on Kobo Clara BW model for its size and features. The initial set up was a peace of cake: turn on the Power on the backside of the reader, connect to the WiFi, your reader get an immediate update (the process was quick too) and you get a prompt to sign in or sign up for the Kobo Rakuten account (just scan the QR code with your phone and you are done in a minute). At first when I was holding the eReader, I thought I would not like the form factor. However, after handling it for a few minutes, I realized it was perfect for my hand and it is pretty comfortable to hold even for a few hours. It is lightweight and very compact. I really dig its 6" E Ink Carta 1300 display, it is crisp 300 ppi text, and has a better contrast than older generations (according to my research before I bought it). I was pleasantly surprised how quick and snappy the eReader jumps from book to book or menu to menu. I just wish there was a physical button available to switch from page to page. If you are an night reader, Kobo has this ComfortLight PRO with warm/cool lighting. It helps reduce eye strain and makes your reading more comfortable. Now the back of this eReader is somewhat slippery because it is made out of plastic, so I bought a grippy case for it and that solved my problem. With its waterproof rating, you can bring it safely to your pool or to the beach. Now you may ask whether or not the sun would hinder your reading, Kobo thought of that too and thanks to the e-ink tech, this reader has a wonderful outdoor readability thanks to its recessed, non‑glass display (no glare!). Battery life is perfect, something to be expected with this black and white e-ink reader, so I am not even going to be worried about it. I am planning on using the OverDrive library as it offers a ton of free reading materials and allows you to borrow ebooks directly from your local public libraries. Audio books are another huge plus and you can get your Bluetooth earbuds paired with this reader and you will be set to go on long trips listening to your favorite books, podcasts, etc. All in all, this Kobo eReader is a great way to jump into eReading world. If your reading is mostly novels, articles, and long‑form text, I think this model is a top‑tier budget friendly pick.

The Kobo Clara is a small format eReader that lets you take your entire digital library with you on the go. The eReader is a bit larger than a photograph with a 4.25” x 6.25” frame and readable screen size of 3.5” x 4.75”. I have the black-and-white version but there is also a color version available. The color one may be a better choice for folks who enjoy graphic novels, comics, or other illustrated books, so you can fully experience the artwork. That said, images and illustrations display just fine on the BW’s screen in grayscale, though this can result in some loss in detail or clarity. You’ll need to register for a Kobo account and activate the device in your account before you can use it. The device is lightweight at 180g, a bit over 6 oz, which is lighter than my mobile phone. The E Ink Carta 1300 HD screen is low-glare and doesn’t emit a ton of light, so doesn’t strain my eyes when reading for long periods of time and remains completely legible outdoors under full sun. The device is around 3/8” thick and can be held easily in one hand. Its design is plain with a textured back for increased grip, a power button on the back, status LED above the screen, and USB-C charging port in the bottom right corner. The unit is also fully waterproof with an IPX8 rating and can survive being submerged in 6 feet of water for up to 60 minutes, so you can take it outdoors, to the pool, or on the beach without worrying about it getting wet. The 1500 mAh battery also lasts over to 26 hours of runtime with conservative power settings, giving you weeks between charges while on standby. You’ll use the touchscreen via taps and swipes to change settings and control the device, like connecting it to WiFi and turning pages. You can change the font size and style to suit your preferences and even pinch-to-zoom on the fly. The brightness of the display’s backlight is adjustable from 0-100%, and in most lighting conditions I had no issues reading on it without any backlighting at all. You can also adjust the color temperature manually or automatically to mimic natural lighting and reduce blue light exposure. I found that toggling on ‘Dark Mode’ at night or in dimly lit rooms made for a more comfortable reading experience, as it provides a black background with white text. You are able to choose what you want displayed on the screen while the device is sleeping and even set a security PIN to unlock the device. The Kobo Clara supports both e-books and audiobooks. These can be purchased and downloaded through the Kobo store, or you can subscribe to Kobo Plus for free access to over a large selection of titles in either or both categories. There’s also a paid rewards program where you’ll earn points on purchases that can be redeemed for books lieu of payment. You don’t need to have a paid subscription to use the device, however, since you can sideload content by plugging the Kobo into your computer and dragging and dropping compatible files to the eReader. There are also integrations for OverDrive and Instapaper, allowing you to use your library memberships as well as read saved articles from around the web. I was able to checkout books from my local library and download them directly to the Kobo; these are automatically returned on their due dates so that you’ll never incur any late fees but you can always return them earlier if you are finished reading. One thing to note is that E Ink screens flash whenever the display refreshes, like when you scroll in a list, turn pages, or change the view, as it is necessary to prevent or remove any ‘ghosting’ of whatever was displayed previously. While it can be a bit jarring at first, I got used to it after a while as the refreshes happen quickly. You can change the frequency of refreshes while reading to only on new chapters or after a specific number of pages for e-books. In e-books, tapping and highlighting passages lets you add notes and annotations. The passages remain highlighted and underlined with an icon to the side of the page, so they are easily found later. Highlighting individual words will show its dictionary entry, if available. You can also enable a history of words you’ve looked up to help you learn and practice them. For listening to audiobooks, I paired my Bluetooth headphones to the eReader. While there is the option to listen at slower or faster speeds, I found that selecting any speed above 1.25x resulted in garbled or choppy audio, as it seems the Kobo can’t process and transmit the audio fast enough for proper listening. I found the audiobook experience quite enjoyable otherwise. As for Beta features, Internet Browsing using DuckDuckGo was hit or miss. I didn’t find it very useful as many websites don’t display properly and some pages or images simply refused to load, with poor renderings of layout and navigability. I did, however, find the Sketch Pad useful, as it allows you to take hand-written notes and save them. Overall, the Kobo Clara BW is a great tool for reading on-the-go. It’s a lot lighter and easier to read on than my phone, tablet, or laptop since the display is glare-free and visible in all types of lighting. I can buy, borrow, or load in e-books, audiobooks, and other content with or without a subscription. Its 16 GB of storage is more than enough room for thousands of e-books or up to 75 audiobooks. Titles can be filtered, sorted, and searched while displaying completion stats, so I can quickly pick the book I want and monitor my progress as I read. Its compact size makes it convenient to pack and carry around, and I like that it's repairable by the end user, if needed.

I have been using e-book readers for the past 10 years and finally decided to change my old one with Kobo Clara BW and I am pleased with it. Size and Screen -------------------------- Kobo Clara BW comes with a 6 inch glare-free touch-screen with the E Ink Carta 1300 display technology which offers a better contrast and much improved response time. The 300 ppi resolution provides a crisp display. At just around 6 ounces, this is very light-weight. The anti-glare is exceptional for reading especially outdoors. This can get really bright, and I am comfortable using it at less than 20% brightness during night reading. The night reading automatically filters blue light (feature can be turned-off) and also has a dark mode for an even better experience. The IPX8 waterproof rating, it’s safe to use around the pool without the fear of water splashes. Libby/Overdrive Integration ------------------------------------------------ One of the best features of this e-reader is the integration with Libby/Overdrive where we can link the device with the library cards and borrow e-books from library directly to the e-reader. Super convenient ! However, this can be linked with only one library account. I wish it supported multiple accounts, as I have access to multiple libraries. Storage and Battery ---------------------------------------------- This comes with a 16GB storage which can hold thousands of books. The 1500 mAh battery offers a really long runtime (many days) and recharging (via USB-C port) is also pretty fast from 20% to 100% in just under an hour. Audiobooks & Other formats support --------------------------------------------------- This connects via Bluetooth to a speaker or headsets and supports Audiobooks listening. It supports multiple file formats like EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML etc. Copying personal content to this e-reader has never been easier. Just connect via USB-C cable to a laptop and copy it over. Kobo Plus -------------------- The Kobo plus subscription offers bundled e-book and audiobook option or either one separately. It allows up to 15 books download for offline reading. Occasionally, there are offers available on e-books allowing us to purchase them for a really low price. Wish list ------------------ Apart from the multiple account support for Overdrive, there are few other features I wish I had on this device. I wish it supported integration with Google drive or Drop box for wireless content transfer. Another minor but very useful feature is to display the clock on the reading page and also display the battery percentage in numeric. Summary ---------------------------- This perfectly sized light-weight e-reader glare-free screen with an improved display technology makes it a pleasurable experience to hold and read for a longer duration even outdoors. The quick lag-free response makes it easy to use and perfect size makes it perfect to hold and carry around.