Now that Amazon has ticked off a bunch of Kindle customers by eradicating the flexibility to obtain bought Kindle books for USB switch and backup, lots of people are leaping ship and are in search of options to the Kindle retailer and Kindle ereaders.
Whereas a number of e book shops nonetheless provide e book downloads in Adobe EPUB format, Kobo is the one firm that additionally sells devoted ereaders to go together with that, so naturally Kobo is likely one of the greatest choices for these seeking to transfer away from the Kindle platform.
The issue, nevertheless, is that Kobo doesn’t promote any ereaders which might be instantly similar to the preferred Kindle mannequin of all time—the Kindle Paperwhite.
Until you’re a fan of coloration E Ink, your choices are very restricted on the subject of shopping for a brand new Kobo ereader with a conventional black and white E Ink display screen.
There’s the Kobo Clara BW, a primary 6″ mannequin that’s similar to the entry-level Kindle, nevertheless it prices $30 greater than the equal Kindle due to Kobo’s newest value hike, and it not often goes on sale, not like Kindles. It does add a heat frontlight and waterproofing, although, so it does have some benefits over the bottom Kindle.
In case you’re coming from an older 6″ Paperwhite, the Clara BW may appear to be an appropriate improve, however with a budget plastic casing and smaller display screen it definitely seems like a downgrade in comparison with the Paperwhite 5 and 6, and it’s not even in the identical league as gadgets just like the Kindle Voyage and Kindle Oasis.
Exterior of the Clara BW, Kobo’s choices are restricted. Kobo solely sells two different BW fashions, and each are outdated. The Elipsa 2E is a ten″ eNote that sells for $400, and it’s nonetheless caught with a decrease decision display screen than the Kindle Scribe that got here out in 2022.
The opposite mannequin is the 8″ Kobo Sage. It’s lots nicer than the Clara from a construct high quality standpoint, and it provides a flush display screen and web page buttons, with a design that’s much like the Kindle Oasis, nevertheless it prices $270 and it was launched 3.5 years in the past so it’s not precisely present and it’s most likely within the strategy of being phased out at this level. Plus it’s recognized for having poor battery life and an uneven frontlight, so it doesn’t precisely have the best fame.
Kobo’s “greatest” mannequin amongst their present lineup is the Kobo Libra Color. It’s a effective gadget, and it has web page buttons and it helps stylus enter for notetaking, however Kobo now not sells a black and white equal, and coloration screens aren’t for everyone contemplating the apparent drawbacks.
Kobo opted to go all in on coloration E Ink for his or her hottest mannequin final yr. I believe it was a mistake for them to not launch a BW model too, they usually actually ought to think about providing one thing instantly similar to the Kindle Paperwhite—in any case, it’s the most effective promoting devoted ereader on this planet yr in and yr out for a purpose. Now that Kobo is in prime place to capitalize on disgruntled Kindle customers, they actually ought to be doing extra to entice them over to their platform.
