The Kobo Clara Colour is down to $159 from $179 on Amazon, and at that price, it looks even better next to the Kindle Paperwhite, which recently jumped from $159.99 to $199.99. The biggest difference is that Kobo gives you color without pushing you into tablet territory. Book covers, illustrations, comics, and highlights get some extra life from the 6-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 screen (though the color side is softer at 150 ppi), while regular black-and-white text still looks sharp at 300 pixels per inch. Plus, its 16GB of storage should give you plenty of room for a large ebook collection, and you also get Bluetooth support if you want to switch over to Kobo audiobooks.
Kobo’s built-in OverDrive integration is another reason the Clara Colour works well for frequent readers, since you can connect a library card and borrow supported ebooks directly on the device instead of paying for every title you want to read. Once those books are loaded, it is also easy to carry around for long stretches—at 6.1 ounces, it stays comfortable in one hand, while the IPX8 waterproof rating means you can read by the pool or in the bath without worrying too much about splashes. Its recessed screen also handles outdoor glare well, and its battery life can stretch for weeks depending on your brightness and wireless settings.
On the downside, loading your own books can be more inconvenient—unlike a Kindle, where you can email files or use Send to Kindle, the Clara Colour generally requires you to connect it to a computer, notes this PCMag review. You also miss out on physical page-turn buttons, which Kobo reserves for the more expensive Libra Colour. One thing Kobo does better than most ereader makers, though, is repairability. Its partnership with iFixit means you can buy official replacement parts for components such as the battery or display instead of automatically replacing the entire device if something breaks. All said, the Clara Colour is easier to recommend, especially now that it gives you color, built-in library access, and waterproofing for $40 less than the Kindle Paperwhite.
