KOBO Libra Colour

Decided to get this after looking up many reviews on YouTube and various review sites. I previously used to have a regular non backlit kindle (probably a 2nd gen). Got this at a slightly lower than MRP price (~18.6k after bank discounts) but worked out as much as it would if you were buying it from abroad (USD $220 MRP). Here is my unstructured review. Colour display - something new, and comics look nice, although not very easy to read on the smaller screen unless you zoom. The colors are not what you'd expect from an led display like a phone, so keep your expectations in check, the tech for that isn't there yet. However, this was not a big deal for me. Physical buttons - now this was important to me. I like touch screen displays generally, but it just isn't as nice when reading a book. The two buttons make turning pages very simple for the hand. The thumb just rests in a button, and press for the page turn. You can still use touch/swipe on screen, but I don't find myself using that as much. Software setup and UI - Very simple to get it started, and some level of customization for the library, although would have liked to have more freedom with organizing/hiding/folders etc. Epubs work without any conversion. I was able to link my google drive account and transfer books via my phone this way. The settings aren't too complicated to find your way around. Other good things about this that I won't get into - good form factor, waterproof, charges quickly, decent battery life (~20h with backlight 40% and reading book, not tested for comic), power button placement, USB C connectivity. Nice to have, but I've not used these fratures - repairable, can use a stylus (some 3rd party ones too), audio books. Also picked up the official cover, fits well, easy to hold, feels good to touch (faux leather). Only thing I wished for is that this was available at a lower price. But I couldn't wait for a price drop, as I had a huge backlog, and I was wasting precious time in travel not really doing anything productive. The cover wasn't cheap either, but no other 3rd party options available as yet, and I can't let an expensive device like this get scratches in my bag.

Having been a Kindle (basic) user for 6 years, these are my thoughts on this device; 1. Screen is significantly dim when front-light is Off. I almost never used front-lighting on my old device; but on Libra Colour, although I can manage to read without front-lighting while in a moderately lit room, having had come from the Kindle's bright white screen, the lack of contrast is evident. But you do get used to it, fast. However, for those comfortable reading with the front-lighting On, this shouldn't be a problem, as upping the light to around 15% solves the dimming problem in some ways. 2. As expected, the colours are very muted/mild in nature. 3. Larger 7-inch screen with a smooth curved edge is a pleasure to hold and read-on. No issues faced reading for many hours straight. 4. Battery backup is excellent, as was in the Kindle. 5. I haven't had any problems with moderately larger eBooks (approx. 95 MB). If anyone's having any issues on this, please do read about converting epub to kepub format (using Calibre or kepubify website). 6. Page-turn buttons are fantastic to use and make it very easy to get spoiled by their convenience. 7. I like Kobo's interface a lot better than Kindle's - it's a lot more customisable, clean and is so much less intrusive. 8. Since I had always liked the Kindle's "Bookerly" font, sideloading "Bookerly" to Kobo was one of the first thing I did on it. 9. Google drive & Dropbox integration works fine, though Calibre is still my go-to-means for transferring ebooks. 10. As of now, sideloaded ebooks are not synched by Kobo (as opposed to "Send to Kindle" functionality). Bought the device for around Rs.17,600 during a sale and for that price, I feel it offers great value for money.

Nice and compact. It's easy to hold in hand while reading, not too heavy. Colours appear much more muted than a mobile. Features such as dark mode, auto rotate, page turn button etc. are very convenient.

I purchased the Kobo Libra Colour from Amazon with high expectations, considering the premium price. Unfortunately, my experience has been extremely disappointing. Within just one month of normal use, the screen started showing issues (visible lines and display defects). For a device in this price range, this is completely unacceptable. The build and display quality do not match the cost at all. What makes this worse is the lack of proper warranty clarity. There is no clearly mentioned warranty on the product page, and only a short replacement window is offered. For such an expensive e-reader, not having a clearly stated manufacturer warranty is shocking. This feels misleading and deceptive from Amazon’s side because buyers naturally assume a premium electronics product comes with proper warranty support. When I tried to seek support, the service experience was also disappointing. No clear guidance, no easy resolution, and no accountability. Very unhappy with this purchase.

I’m happy to have bought this product, and I’ve been using it smoothly for over a month now. There are no issues with charging or battery life—over the last 45 days, I’ve had to charge it only twice. I’ve also noticed that it doesn’t strain my eyes, which makes reading very comfortable. However, I’ve observed a problem when reading Bengali books. The device doesn’t render complex Bengali characters properly (letters that combine to form conjunct characters). Instead of displaying them as a single combined glyph, the characters appear broken, which affects the reading experience. I tried downloading and installing Bengali fonts, but that didn’t solve the issue. I have shared this feedback with the Kobo team, and they responded that they will try to address the problem in their next update.

I had a Kindle basic from long long back and wanted to update it to newer model, possibly with buttons like Kindle Oasis, however Oasis has been out of commission and it was not renewed in newer line-ups of Amazon kindle. The ones which were updated was not having a good feedback from users. Hence I decided to go for Kobo Libra Color(KLC). Here are my thoughts. PROS:- 1. KLC is a color version with physical buttons and the colors are good enough for e-ink technology and please so not expect the tablet like quality in this. Colors are vivid and comics look as good as you can get with this technology(see images). Also you can get even more vivid colors by switching developer mode on. 2. Battery backup is excellent(a week or two probably) with normal reading(couple of hours a day) and even better if the content is pure black and white(B&W). Color has lower dpi but B&W is excellent. 3. You can use stylus for annotating and drawing directly on the book. It also has notebook feature. 4. If there is a screen door effect(search for this term) then either I don't have that issue or it really doesn't matter because it is not at all noticeable. 5. Like I said physical buttons are a god-send and very handy. 6. You use google drive or Dropbox for very easy file transfer. You can also use applications to make it very easy as well. 7. PDFs work very well so epubs is not the only supported format. While you can annotate on PDF file, you can't highlight on the PDFs like you do on epubs(this is because PDFs are basically like images with no text layer) CONS:- 1. You lose the variety that Amazon kindle offers with its large selection of books and also in half the price that Kobo will offer. Regional books will not be found on Kobo and if it is there there it will more expensive than what Amazon offers. A work around is that you can buy on Amazon and convert it to epubs and use it on Kobo. Amazon has that facility. 2. Kindle unlimited is yet another thing you might miss if you use that(I didn't). 3. I don't know if Kobo has service centers in India so that another thing you might have to keep in mind. Final Verdict: Go for it if it is in your budget, it is worth it. Update: Battery backup is even better than I initially said. With an hour of reading daily it can last for around 20+ days. If you faster drain of battery, check the ebooks for some error in Calibre application. Update (23/10/2025) : Amazon no longer allows you to download the books like earlier (atleast I don't know of any method, easy or not, that works), so you won't be able to buy the books here and read it in Kobo any longer. Since this could be an issue for some, I thought I should update this review.

I'd highly recommend this if you prefer to download epubs. I haven't bought Kobo plus because the collection I saw when scrolling didn't seem enticing enough so no comments on that, however, I've been uploading epubs from Google drive and the experience is seamless. The build quality is decent. Since it's made of recycled plastic, the device itself is rather light so doesn't tire you out when you read for hours when travelling or so, I find the design ergonomic as well since I rest my thumb on the right corner rather comfortably and the buttons are easily reachable as well (I have small hands so, yk). I like the feel of the screen as well, the background display—not talking about letters—looks a little grainy (very, very light grainy) and I personally like that since it gives me the feel of a paper. I also like that you can adjust the night mode display and the dark mode option. I haven't read any graphic novels or manga on it yet but the colours are nice considering the book covers I've seen on its display. Overall I'd really recommend this over many other e-readers I've seen, it's a little pricey in comparison in the Indian market but I find it worth it tbh.

For this amount you might want seamless experience. Bluetooth and wifi connection are patchy usually. The system hangs frequently. Cordless document transfer is painful and prolonged sometimes. Other than that, it's easy on the eyes and very comfortable even for long reading sessions. Brightness is adjustable and fits well in one hand. Not that sturdy so cover is a must. Does the job if you want to cutoff online time and just read. Screen lags sometime but not too annoying. Pretty to look at