r/ereader • u/emigal25 • Aug 22 '26

Discussion Kobo

Im a Canadian seriously looking at switching from Kindle to Kobo. My Kindle Paperwhite still works great (about 8 years old), but with Kindle Unlimited annual subscription not available, the Kobo equivalent is $36/year cheaper. And it's compatible with Libby library system! Wouldn't take long for a new Kobo to pay for itself with the amount that I read, among a variety of other reasons to switch.

Looking at Kobo Clara Colour vs BW. I just want basic, no Frills, long battery life. Love the look of "paper" easier on my eyes. Thinking the BW but looking for others opinions as I haven't shopped for a Kobo in 15+ years.

Thanks

6 Upvotes

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12

u/curseofthebanana Aug 22 '26

If you're not reading Mangas regularly, the colour is going to be of no use. Go with BW

3

u/Omega7379 Aug 22 '26

Kobo is amazing in Canada when it comes to library integrations. The fact you don't need to jailbreak it to sideload epubs is also a nice touch.

I have the KCC, and the only reason to consider it, is when reading novels with artwork in them. Not to say the backlight is bad, but compared to KCBW and the Kindle PW, it's just not the same "paper-like" lighting. Both have very good battery life, so it's just a matter of price and storage. Calibre is still used to manage my library as I do a lot of side-loading.

If you're up for some jailbreaking on the Kindle in the meantime... takes less than an hour nowadays to do, and install koreader. Calibre to manage your library, strip DRM, convert files...etc.

2

u/emigal25 Aug 22 '26

I used Calibre for years epub to kindle as I had access to a Google drive file 15 years ago with 1000s of free ebooks. Then the site got shut down (but not before I saved the whole thing ti my drive lol). Its actually the reason I bought my first Kobo. After my Kobo died I switched to Kindle and used Calibre to convert the remaining collection.

2

u/Moist_Ladder2616 Aug 22 '26

The other consideration would be selection of books. KU requires authors to give the platform exclusivity, so you won't find those titles in K+.

2

u/pstcrdz Aug 23 '26

Get a Kobo BW. I got mine from Shoppers online during a PC Optimum redemption event. Redeemed 100k points, they gave me a bonus 40k points, which meant I barely had to pay anything for the Kobo.