Kobo Clara 2E evaluate: sluggish reader

I don’t know what to do throughout thunderstorms. I’m from Southern California, in any case, the place we’re accustomed to heat, sunny days, even in the course of the winter. So when the primary raindrop fell on the Kobo Clara 2E I used to be studying whereas within the park, my bewildered self naturally thought a hen peed on my evaluate unit. Solely when the rain actually began to pour down did it hit me that I used to be caught in the course of a storm outdoors with no jacket or umbrella to guard me or this $129.99 e-reader. For sure, I freaked out and ran.

However there was no have to. It turned out the Kobo Clara 2E is best at coping with rainstorms than this, nicely, Californian author. Now again indoors, drenched and frazzled, I nervously clicked the facility button hoping I didn’t destroy it. The e-reader powered on and labored like regular, regardless of spending about twenty minutes outdoors in a literal storm. 

I breathed a sigh of aid. 

Boasting an IPX8 waterproof score, Kobo’s $129.99 Clara 2E is its first six-inch waterproof e-reader — and clearly, it does the job nicely. But it’s simply one of many many new options Kobo’s newest e-reader gives that additional narrows the divide between the Kobo and Amazon’s ubiquitous Kindle. With a high-resolution show, twice the storage of the bottom Kindle Paperwhite, and Bluetooth assist so you possibly can hearken to audiobooks, it’s a very good Amazon e-reader different. I’d additionally suggest it if the ad-free $169.99 Kindle Paperwhite is just too costly however you’re hesitant to purchase the cheaper, equally specced Kindle as a result of it’s not waterproof.

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Earlier than I even registered that this was a water-resistant e-reader, I used to be impressed by the Kobo Clara’s 2E display. Given you purchase an e-reader primarily to, nicely, learn, a show that makes it straightforward to take action is an absolute should. Fortunately, the Kobo Clara 2E nailed this e-reader elementary. It makes use of the identical sharp 300 PPI show discovered on Amazon’s newest Kindles so textual content exhibits up crisp and clear, however with a number of further customization options for a extra snug and accessibility-friendly studying expertise. Kobo, for instance, gives extra flexibility with sliders you need to use to regulate the font weight, margins, and line areas precisely to your liking, which is useful for these of us who don glasses. The Kindle Paperwhite enables you to modify these items too, however it’s a must to select from a group of preset choices. Plus, the Kobo additionally comes with barely extra font and font model choices, even one which’s catered to these with dyslexia. 

Just like the Kindle Paperwhite, the show additionally robotically adjusts its brightness and tone primarily based on the time of day. Mixed with tech that reduces blue mild publicity and a darkish mode possibility, studying at evening and in low-light circumstances didn’t give me any complications or eye fatigue. And if you end up studying beneath the solar, it is best to have the ability to with out a problem because the show does a very good job of considerably lowering glare.

But the display comes with two weaknesses. First, the Kindle Paperwhite comes with a flush display, that means there’s no hole between the show and the aspect of the e-reader. Sadly, the Clara 2E’s sunken show means there’s a hole the place it might probably gather some mud and filth. The second flaw is extra a matter of private choice. As a typical six-inch show, it’s smaller than the Kindle Paperwhite’s, which is 6.8 inches. That might make it slightly tougher to learn for some, however it additionally means it’s slightly extra pocketable and might be held with one hand, which I can’t comfortably do for lengthy stretches with the Kindle Paperwhite. 

Talking of what it’s like to carry the Clara 2E, a singular wavy sample on the again of the gadget helps with grip and makes it simpler for me to hold it. Simply watch out to not unintentionally press the facility button, which is positioned on the again. In any other case, the e-reader seems like some other plastic e-reader. Nonetheless, there’s one huge distinction: in line with Kobo, the “eco-friendly” Clara 2E stands out as a result of it’s produced from 85 % recycled plastic, with ocean-bound plastic accounting for ten %. It’s probably for this reason Kobo included a wavy sample and made the again navy-colored in distinction to the black entrance. That’s slightly extra recycled materials than utilized in Amazon’s e-readers; the Kindle makes use of 30-75% recycled plastics, whereas the Kindle Paperwhite is produced from 60 % recycled plastics.

In accordance with Kobo, battery life ought to final weeks, though that is determined by how vivid you just like the show to be. With the display brightness turned on at 50 % and Wi-Fi enabled, it lasted for about two-and-a-half weeks earlier than I wanted to juice it again up, however I principally learn at evening for an hour or two. You could possibly comfortably learn with 30 % brightness, particularly in the event you principally learn in the course of the day and switch the Wi-Fi off sometimes, so the battery might last as long as 4 weeks for others. That’s not the Kindle Paperwhite’s “months-long” battery life nor the six weeks battery life the usual Kindle gives, although. Fortunately, the Kobo Clara 2E fees fairly rapidly, because of USB-C assist. Utilizing a sluggish five-watt USB energy adapter, I used to be nonetheless in a position to cost the e-reader from 50 to 100% in about two hours which is on par with the Kindle.

Aside from one main downside, which I’ll clarify shortly, studying on the e-reader is usually an pleasing expertise. From the beginning, I appreciated there aren’t any annoying adverts on the lockscreen, which it’s a must to pay further to take away on Amazon’s e-readers. I additionally appreciated that the principle homescreen was much less cluttered with suggestions and different books than Amazon’s, which made it really feel much less overwhelming. Plus, there are even some good new experimental options you possibly can play with, like a sketchpad you possibly can take notes with or draw on both along with your finger or a stylus (bought individually) and a Giant Print mode that enlarges textual content everywhere in the Kobo.

But my pleasure over these items rapidly began to fade after I really began to navigate the menu. The Kobo Clara 2E is noticeably sluggish in comparison with each the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite. Because of this, navigation and turning pages by tapping on the touchscreen generally required me to attend a second or two. This was one thing that acquired on my nerves at instances — particularly whereas typing in my Wi-Fi credentials. Whereas not a complete dealbreaker given the opposite praiseworthy options this e-reader boasts, it was undoubtedly a disappointment. 

Efficiency points apart, although, I used to be pleased with the wide selection of content material you possibly can entry, particularly outdoors of the Kobo ecosystem. You may simply entry ebooks out of your public library of alternative because of OverDrive assist. There’s even a tab on the homescreen for fast entry. As well as, you possibly can rapidly sideload ebooks, comedian books, and different kinds of paperwork in 15 file codecs by utilizing a cable and a pc. Plus, because of its distinctive Pocket integration, you possibly can even learn articles you discover on-line in your e-reader by saving them to the app’s account — a function that requires a bit extra legwork on the Kindle and doesn’t work as nicely. Nonetheless, there’s no assist for AZW information, so that you received’t have the ability to learn Kindle books on the e-reader. That may very well be a downside in the event you’re already embedded in Amazon’s ecosystem.

In case you do need to purchase from Kobo, its on-line retailer additionally hosts hundreds of thousands of books, so that you’ll have the ability to purchase the most recent bestseller simply out of your homescreen. I additionally appreciated that, like Amazon, Kobo typically reductions its ebooks and has a brand new, cost-effective e-book subscription service, the , which is like Amazon’s Kindle Limitless. After the free first month, you’ll need to pay $9.99 a month for entry to over 1,000,000 ebooks. You may as well recover from 100,000 audiobooks for $12.99 per thirty days. The library is admittedly fairly restricted compared to Kindle’s. Nonetheless, you possibly can obtain a vast variety of ebooks at a time, which isn’t one thing Kindle Limitless permits. 

Talking of audiobooks, not like its predecessor, the Clara HD, the Clara 2E additionally now helps Bluetooth. Because of this, you possibly can hearken to dozens of audiobooks saved on the 16GB of storage, which is twice what the Kindle Paperwhite begins at. Sadly, nonetheless, you possibly can solely hearken to audiobooks bought from Kobo as you possibly can’t sideload them.

The Kobo Clara 2E is an efficient e-reader, but would I like to recommend it over different e-readers like Amazon’s? It relies upon. At $129.99, the Kobo Clara 2E is $40 cheaper than the identical specced Kindle Paperwhite with no adverts and 16GB of storage. But I wouldn’t select the Clara 2E over the Kindle in the event you’re merely on the lookout for a less expensive different. In any case, for $119.99, you should purchase an ad-free base Kindle that shares a lot of what I like concerning the Kobo Clara 2E, like a high-resolution show, however it’s lots quicker. You’ll simply need to be snug with the actual fact it’s an Amazon e-reader that’s not waterproof. 

Nonetheless, in the event you’re primarily on the lookout for a water-resistant e-reader that’s cheaper than the Kindle Paperwhite, or an Amazon different, then the Clara 2E is a stable different. It does a very good job at nailing the basics, however it’s extra pocketable, customizable, and doesn’t come tethered to Amazon’s ecosystem.