Tokyo & Toronto – April 11, 2024 – Rakuten Kobo introduces booklovers to its first-ever colour E Ink eReaders with the new Kobo Libra Colour and Kobo Clara Colour, turning the page on the exclusively black and white digital reading experience Kobo fans already know and love.
With a Kobo-optimized colour E Ink Kaleido™ 3 display, Kobo Libra Colour and Kobo Clara Colour offer a subtle palette that retains the benefits of E Ink technology, now in colour. With the capacity to store thousands of books, a long battery life, 24/7 access to the Kobo.com bookstore, and OverDrive integration to easily borrow library books, booklovers can stock their digital shelves wherever they go. The new eReaders are also equipped with Bluetooth® wireless technology, making it easy to listen to Kobo Audiobooks.
“We are pleased to be the first global ebook platform to offer affordable colour eReaders, bringing both your books and our bookstore to life with a beautiful spectrum of gentle hues. It’s everything you love about print, with all the benefits of ereading,” said Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo. “For Kobo, colour is a way of deepening and enriching the reading experience, while keeping the daylight readability and battery longevity that E Ink screens deliver so well.”
In addition, for every reader who is also a journaler, in-the-margins note-taker, or page-decorating BookTok’er, Kobo Libra Colour is also Kobo’s most affordable stylus-enabled ereader with the addition of a Kobo Stylus 2 (sold separately), with colour handwriting, highlighting, and notebooks. Building on the success of Kobo Sage and Kobo Elipsa 2E handwriting experiences, the new Kobo Libra Colour brings stylus-based writing and Kobo’s patented write-anywhere ebook annotations to our popular 7” format. Colour highlighting also appears in Kobo Clara Colour, letting you colour-code your favourite passages with the touch of a finger.
“To build the most enriched reading experience for our customers, we worked tirelessly to optimize the Kaleido 3 display to ensure the best representation of colour,” said Ramesh Mantha, SVP, Product, Rakuten Kobo. “We introduced collimated front lighting technology to our 6” and 7” size eReaders to provide better colour performance, and have further engineered our software to automate the regulation of colours so they always look their best, no matter the content being displayed.”
Complementing the new colour reading experience, Kobo Libra Colour and Kobo Clara Colour further advance Kobo’s commitment to sustainability, adding new repairability features like easier battery replacement in addition to the use of eco-conscious recycled and ocean-bound plastics. Their SleepCovers also offer new pops of colour including Butter Yellow, Candy Pink and Cayenne Red. Crafted with fully recycled materials, the SleepCovers offer pops of colour and eco-friendly construction.
For Kobo readers who prefer an eReading experience in black and white, Kobo introduces Kobo Clara BW, an upgraded version of our black-and-white classic 6” ereader, equipped with the latest E Ink Carta 1300 screen, and an improved processor and more storage.
Kobo Libra Colour retails for $249.000 CAD/$219.99 USD, Kobo Clara Colour for $179.99 CAD/$149.99 USD, and Kobo Clara BW for $159.99 CAD/$129.99 USD at www.kobo.com/ereaders and select retailers. The Kobo Stylus 2 is currently available and retails for $89.99 CAD/$69.99 USD. Pre-orders will be available on April 10. The devices will be available in stores and online as of April 30, 2024, in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Turkey.
Get to know Kobo Libra Colour
7” colour E Ink Kaleido™ 3 display: Endless Library, Meet Infinite Journal
Like Kobo Sage and Kobo Elipsa 2E, Kobo Libra Colour adds notebooks, ebook annotations, and is the company’s first 7" device to support Dropbox and Google Drive support. The new colour E Ink Kaleido™ 3 display with Kobo Stylus 2 compatibility means people can now annotate, organize their thoughts, and highlight inspiring lines, all in colour—diving deeper into the writing they love.
32GB of storage and ergonomic design
Ergonomics and thoughtful design are at the core of the new Kobo Libra Colour eReader. Its unique form factor has a curved design that perfectly fits readers’ grip—with page-turn buttons and the option to read in landscape mode. Kobo Libra Colour offers 32 GB of storage* and can store up to 24,000 eBooks or 150 audiobooks, with a battery that lasts for weeks*.
*1GB = 1 billion bytes. Assumes an approximate size of about 1.3MB per eBook, and average audiobook length of 6.5 hours with 28.8MB per hour. Some storage space utilized by software.
** A single charge on the eReader lasts up to 40 days, based on 30 minutes of reading per day with the front light at 30% brightness and WiFi and Bluetooth® wireless technology off.
Reading Accessories
The Notebook SleepCover with Kobo Stylus 2 holder is designed to make taking notes on the go easier than ever, storing the Kobo Stylus 2 in a convenient magnetic slot. Kobo Libra Colour wakes automatically when you open the cover and sleeps when you close it. The Notebook SleepCovers are made with recycled materials and are available in Black and Sand Beige, and retails for $49.99 CAD/$39.99 USD.
Additional SleepCovers for Kobo Libra Colour are designed with magnets inside the case to snap it into place effortlessly and a 2-way stand to keep eReaders upright for hands-free reading in both landscape and portrait orientations. The SleepCovers are made with recycled materials and available in three shades, Black, Dusk Blue and Butter Yellow, and retails for $49.99 CAD/$39.99 USD.
Readers can also protect their Kobo affordably with the Basic SleepCover in Garden Green ($34.99 CAD/$29.99 USD).
There are also Kobo users who love to decorate their ereaders with stickers, decals and photos. To let this love of reading shine through, Kobo now offers a Clear Case that retails for $29.99 CAD/$24.99 USD
All sleep SleepCovers are sold separately.
Get to know the new eReader lineup
6” colour E Ink Kaleido™ 3 display: Carry an entire library and read for weeks on one charge
Both Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Clara BW offer 16 GB of storage* to carry up to 12,000 eBooks or 75 Kobo Audiobooks. Like every Kobo eReader, Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Clara BW have a battery that lasts for weeks** so you can read without a worry.
* 1GB = 1 billion bytes. Assumes an approximate size of about 1.3MB per eBook, and average audiobook length of 6.5 hours with 28.8MB per hour. Some storage space utilized by software.
**A single charge on the eReader lasts up to 53 days, based on 30 minutes of reading per day with the front light at 10% brightness and WiFi and Bluetooth® wireless technology off.
Reading Accessories
Like the Kobo Libra Colour, the Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Clara BW’s SleepCovers ($34.99 CAD/$29.99 USD) are also made with recycled materials and sold separately. Available colours are Black, Candy Pink, Misty Green and Cayenne Red. At a lower price point, there is also the Basic SleepCover in Cobalt Blue ($29.99 CAD/$19.99 USD). Kobo also offers a Clear Case ($29.99 CAD/$19.99 USD) option for personalized stickers and photos.
There’s more to Kobo Libra Colour, Kobo Clara Colour, and Kobo Clara BW
Eco-Conscious
Given Kobo’s continued commitment to more eco-conscious practices, Kobo Libra Colour, Kobo Clara Colour, and Kobo Clara BW will join the new lineup of eReaders made with recycled and ocean-bound plastics. This diverts CDs and DVDs from landfills and plastic bottles from the planet’s oceans. The packaging for the devices is also made with 100% FSC certified recycled paper and are printed with soy ink.
All three new devices are repairable so that customers can extend the life of their eReader and replace components. Rakuten Kobo is partnering with iFixit, the leader in the technology repairability space, to launch this new capability for customers globally.
For more about Kobo's sustainability practices: kobo.com/eco; and more about repairability at kobo.com/repairability.
Full waterproof protection
Whether it’s beach getaways or bath time reading bliss, Kobo Libra Colour, Kobo Clara Colour, and Kobo Clara BW are fully waterproof, meeting the requirements of an IPX8 rating. The devices can last for up to 1 hour in up to 2 metres of water.
Read late at night, still get to sleep
All devices offer ComfortLight PRO capabilities that can be set to automatically reduce blue light throughout the day, so readers can read late into the night without interrupting sleep. The front light technology directs light at the page and not at the eyes, for the most comfortable reading experience. With optional Dark Mode, readers have even more ways to reduce eyestrain.
More ways to read
Just like all Kobo eReaders, Kobo Libra Colour, Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Clara BW offer users multiple ways to read. They have the built-in Kobo eBookstore for readers to find their next book at any time, OverDrive integration to borrow library books from the comfort of their home, and Pocket support to read online articles that they’ve saved.
About Rakuten Kobo Inc.
Rakuten Kobo Inc. is the world’s digital bookseller created by and for book lovers. Owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten Group, Inc. and headquartered in Toronto, Rakuten Kobo’s millions of worldwide users can read anytime, anywhere, and on any device. With a mission to make reading lives better for all, Rakuten Kobo connects readers to stories using thoughtful and personalized curation of eBooks and audiobooks, and the best dedicated eReaders and apps for reading. With the singular focus of making reading lives the best they can be, Kobo’s open platform allows people to fit reading into more moments in their busy lives.
To learn more about Rakuten Kobo, visit www.kobo.com.