Kindle Alternative Drops to $30 Off After Price Hike
▼ Summary
– The Kobo Libra Colour e-reader is available for its original price of $229.99 at Kobo, Best Buy, and Target, reversing a recent price hike to $259.99.
– It features a sharp seven-inch color display, is waterproof, and has adjustable warm lighting for comfortable reading.
– The device supports EPUB and more file formats than Amazon’s Kindle, and offers 32GB of storage, double that of the Kindle Colorsoft.
– Unlike the Kindle Colorsoft, the Kobo Libra Colour has physical page-turning buttons and supports an optional Stylus 2 for handwritten notes and annotations.
– It works with Instapaper for offline reading of web articles, though its size makes it less suitable than larger devices for use as a dedicated digital notebook.
Kobo recently raised the price of its Libra Colour e-reader to $259.99, but today’s deal effectively cancels out that increase. Best Buy, Target, and Kobo itself are all offering the device for its original $229.99 price as part of broader sales, making this one of the best moments to pick up my top recommended Kindle alternative.
If you aren’t deeply tied into Amazon’s ecosystem, I believe the Kobo Libra Colour is a stronger choice than its closest Kindle competitor, the $249.99 Kindle Colorsoft. It delivers many of the same essential features, including a crisp seven-inch color display that makes book covers, comics, and highlights stand out with slightly less saturation than the color Kindle but still impressive clarity. The device is also waterproof, so you can read worry-free at the beach, and it includes adjustable warm lighting for more comfortable reading at night.
The Kobo also holds several advantages over Amazon’s e-reader. It supports EPUB and a wider range of file formats, making it easier to read books from various sources, while offering double the storage (32GB). Unlike the Colorsoft, the Libra Colour includes physical page-turning buttons, which I find create a more natural reading experience. It also works with Kobo’s optional Stylus 2, allowing you to annotate ebooks, jot handwritten notes, use built-in notebook templates, and even convert your handwriting into typed text. Given its size, I wouldn’t recommend it as a dedicated digital notebook over something larger like the Kobo Elipsa 2E or Kindle Scribe, but it’s far more practical for quick notes than using your phone. It also integrates with Instapaper, making it simple to save web articles for offline reading.
(Source: The Verge)
