Assessment Date: Might 2024 – Assessment unit bought from Walmart
Overview
The Kobo Clara BW is a 6″ e book reader that was formally launched on April thirtieth, 2024, together with the Kobo Clara Color. Each fashions are just about similar, besides one has an everyday black and white E Ink display screen and the opposite has a coloration E Ink display screen.
The Clara BW is the third black and white Clara mannequin from Kobo, and it replaces the Clara 2E that was launched in 2022. Kobo has a historical past of changing fashions with “new” variations which might be nearly similar to the mannequin they’re changing, and even slight downgrades in some circumstances, and the Kobo Clara BW matches into that class.
The Kobo Clara BW is likely one of the first ereaders to come back with the most recent era display screen from E Ink, referred to as Carta 1300, that’s presupposed to be sooner and have higher distinction than earlier screens, however as I identified in a comparability with the Clara 2E, the improved distinction declare merely isn’t true when in comparison with Carta 1200 screens, however the system is quicker general so I suppose that may be attributed to the newer display screen.
Exterior of that, it’s mainly a clone of the Clara 2E from 2022 with just a few minor tweaks to the design. Software program-wise nothing has modified.
Kobo Clara BW Fast Assessment
Execs
- Sooner than earlier fashions in the case of web page turns and basic navigation.
- At $129, it’s the most effective worth ereaders contemplating the general set of options.
- Small, light-weight, and extremely moveable.
Cons
- Not an improve over the earlier mannequin in any significant manner.
- The display screen seems superb however textual content really seems a bit darker on the earlier gen Clara 2E compared side-by-side, so as soon as once more the “new and improved” display screen is usually simply advertising hype.
- Appears like a price range system with the essential design and plastic casing.
Verdict
I’m unsure why Kobo thought a brand new Clara was wanted only a 12 months and a half after the Clara 2E was launched (the earlier Clara HD was in the marketplace for over 4 years earlier than they changed it). The brand new mannequin is nearly precisely the identical because the Clara 2E, and I’m not satisfied it’s really higher. One small profit to the Clara BW is the truth that they made it person repairable, however changing elements is pretty difficult and might be greater than the common individual desires to take care of, and a brand new display screen prices 70% of the worth of a brand new Clara BW, plus delivery and the price of a restore package, so I don’t know the way helpful that actually is in the long term.
The Clara BW can be a bit sooner than earlier iterations, in order that’s a plus, but it surely’s not a big distinction by any means. Probably the most perplexing factor concerning the system is the truth that textual content really seems barely darker on the earlier era Clara 2E, as proven on this comparability video, however distinction is a bit of higher than older Kobos, and the display screen is a bit sooner to refresh so it’s higher is a few methods.
When you get previous the very fact it’s probably not an improve over the earlier mannequin, the Kobo Clara BW is a pleasant ereader with a stable set of options for the worth, and it’s different to the entry-level Kindle as a result of it has a number of upgrades over it and it solely prices $10 greater than the equal ad-free model. Plus it sells for $10 lower than the Clara 2E so a minimum of Kobo managed to carry the worth down a bit of.
It’s additionally different to the Clara Color for those who don’t care about coloration and need to prioritize the looks of the display screen in the case of studying common textual content. It’s smaller and extra moveable than most ereaders as nicely so it’s simpler to take with you wherever you go.
Kobo Clara BW Video Assessment
Associated Articles
Kobo Clara BW vs Clara Color
Kobo Clara Color Assessment
Kobo Libra Color Assessment
Kobo Clara BW Specs
- 6-inch E Ink Carta 1300 HD display screen (1448×1072).
- 300 ppi.
- Capacitive touchscreen.
- ComfortLight PRO – frontlight with temperature management.
- Waterproof – IPX8 rated.
- CPU: 1.0 GHz single core.
- 16GB space for storing.
- WiFi (2.4GHz + 5GHz).
- Bluetooth for audiobooks.
- USB-C port.
- Battery: 1500 mAh.
- Battery Life: Kobo says 53 days primarily based on studying half-hour per day with the frontlight at 10% and wi-fi off.
- Consumer replaceable battery and different substitute elements offered on iFixit, together with screens and motherboards.
- Supported doc codecs: EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR, KEPUB, plus Kobo audiobooks.
- Dimensions: 112 x 160 x 9.2 mm.
- Weight: 174 grams.
- Sells for $129 USD on Amazon.
