Kobo Libra 2 evaluate: Freedom with a small value

Amazon Kindles dominate consciousness in the case of e-readers—pals and kinfolk ask me what Kindle they need to get, not which e-reader. 

However overlooking the competitors can restrict each accessible options and locations to purchase books. Take the Kobo Libra 2, a detailed competitor to the Amazon Kindle Oasis. Its native help for library books and a greater variety of ebook codecs permits extra studying choices, whereas nonetheless offering related options because the Oasis, like bodily controls and a 7-inch display screen. It additionally presents an interface some individuals may like much better. Oh, and also you pay much less.

In actual fact, after months of utilizing the Libra 2, it’s usually my first suggestion to people searching for an e-reader with bodily buttons—even individuals already deeply invested within the Kindle ecosystem.

Kobo Libra 2 (2021): Specs, options, value

• Value: $190 MSRP (as of 2023)
• Colours: Black, white
• Storage: 32GB
• Show: 7-inch, 300 ppi E Ink touchscreen 
• Entrance gentle: Sure (plus adjustable brightness and shade temperature)
• Dimensions: 6.4 x 5.7 x 0.35 inches (144.6 x 161.6 x 9mm)
• Weight: 7.6 oz (215g)
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth
• Battery life: “Weeks of battery life”
• Charging: USB-C
• Waterproof score: IPX8
• Supported codecs: EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR, Kobo Audiobooks

Kobo is a longtime veteran of the e-reader wars—for over a decade, the corporate has steadily produced reasonably priced fashions which have pushed the envelope on options. For instance, Amazon wasn’t the primary to introduce waterproofing and heat lighting with its Kindles. Kobo already had completed it years prior.

The Libra 2 marches on on this vein, although with out the launch of revolutionary new tech. As an alternative, you get a strong assortment of premium options designed for energy studying. Its spec record ticks off all the most important bins: a 7-inch 300 dpi touchscreen, 32GB of storage, two bodily facet buttons, a compact, IPX8 waterproofed physique, and Bluetooth help for audiobooks (new to Kobo units). The display screen additionally helps each automated and guide shade temperature adjustment for nighttime studying. And whenever you activate the machine, you drop into a totally ad-free interface that features built-in help for OverDrive, a service utilized by many libraries for digital ebook loans.

This Kobo e-reader does nevertheless have a heavier, cheaper physique in comparison with its major rival. The Amazon Kindle Oasis is about three-quarters of an oz (22 grams) lighter, and housed in aluminum, whereas the Libra 2 is encased in plastic. The Libra 2 additionally lacks automated brightness settings. But it surely largely makes up for these variations with a cushty really feel in hand, and a nifty person interface trick that allows you to modify the brightness by sliding a finger alongside the facet of the display screen.

It’s laborious to complain about it missing sure options, nevertheless, given Kobo’s decrease pricing. Initially launched at an MSRP of $180 again in 2021, the value has nudged as much as $190 for 2023—which continues to be extra than $100 cheaper than an Amazon Kindle Oasis with close to equal specs.

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Kobo Libra 2 (2021): Studying expertise

The Libra 2 makes devouring books a pleasure, partially because of the 300 dpi display screen. It’s crisp and simple on the eyes—appropriately, because it’s the identical decision as printed books. However the {hardware} contributes as effectively, with web page turns responsive even in graphic novels, magazines, and PDF paperwork. Pinch-and-zoom in these file codecs can be fluid.

The display screen itself is evenly lit, with good visibility in out of doors conditions and blackout situations alike. The colour temperature of the LEDs shift broadly between cool and heat, although with much less granularity than on Amazon’s readers. No numerical scales right here; you solely have a sliding scale with 11 positions to select from. I discovered it much less problem to make use of the automated adjustment between daytime and nighttime temperatures—I chosen transitions at set instances, however you may as well tie it to your native dawn and sundown. Brightness settings are simpler to navigate, with a proportion given. You’ll get extra exact management by sliding your finger alongside the facet of the left display screen (relative to the machine’s present orientation); utilizing the highest navigation possibility jumps alongside in small, irregular increments.

Alaina Yee / Foundry

Arguably, the most effective half concerning the Libra 2 are its two bodily buttons. One-handed use is a no brainer, particularly with the crisp suggestions for every button. I completely cherished utilizing it whereas cooking and consuming, as a result of I by no means obtained sidetracked with person interface flubs as on touchscreen-only e-readers. Identical with the place of the ability button, which rests on the again—I personally discover side-mounted energy buttons extra fiddly to cope with.

Bodily, the only real awkward facet of the machine is its charging port, which is positioned on the facet with the buttons. You may solely comfortably maintain the Libra 2 in your proper hand when studying whereas charging.

Kobo Libra 2 (2021): Battery life

The lone challenge—in the event you can name it that—with the Kobo Libra 2 is its battery life. Kobo provides its estimate as “weeks,” slightly than any quantifiable quantity, as Amazon does. Are you able to get weeks of use from a single cost? Sure, and I did throughout my months of use.

However on the entire, the Libra 2 burns just a bit quicker by means of battery life than anticipated, even with gentle use, a dim display screen, and no lively Wi-Fi. Even when left on standby for lengthy stretches, it simply quits a bit prior to long-time Kindle customers could also be accustomed to. I seen it most throughout heavy intervals of studying, after I binged books for a couple of hours an evening and at the very least three or 4 instances in a 7-day span. I ran out of cost by the tip of such per week greater than as soon as.

The distinction in battery life doesn’t really feel large, although, and so didn’t negate the machine’s attraction for me. It costs moderately fast, and you’ll nonetheless use the e-reader whereas topping up. The location of the port isn’t elegant (as talked about above), however it’s workable.

Kobo Libra 2 (2021): Consumer interface

Alaina Yee / Foundry

I genuinely don’t assume the Kobo Libra 2’s battery life is a large challenge for most individuals—they’ll be close to electrical shops incessantly. (It’s a special story in case your life usually takes you into off-grid areas; it’s possible you’ll discover a Kindle a greater match.)

However in equity, I’m probably extra affected person with the Libra 2 due to its value, bodily buttons, and its built-in options, that are match for my priorities. Most vital to me is direct entry to library books, magazines, and graphic novels by way of OverDrive, as libraries are a significant supply of content material for my studying binges. You may log in to your OverDrive account by means of the Libra 2. My one quibble: Search outcomes present the paid Kobo retailer model of a ebook. To take a look at the library model, it’s a must to use the drop-down menu within the ebook’s itemizing.

I’m additionally a fan of how my books are displayed. Kindles presently use a extra streamlined interface, which seems to be cleaner however buries filtering and sorting choices in drop-down menus. Whilst you can handle books in an analogous approach as on a Kindle, the Libra 2 additionally has a tabbed menu on the high of the display screen that allows you to immediately view books as one huge pile or as an alternative grouped by authors, collection, and collections you’ve created. Between all of the choices, I typically discover a desired ebook quicker on the Libra 2, due to fewer faucets and fewer scrolling.

Alaina Yee / Foundry

Inside books, navigating is easy and intuitive. Kobo makes book-related settings seen as quickly as you faucet the middle of the display screen—a second faucet often will get you to the place you need. The one lacking possibility? A local capability to make the time all the time seen, as on Kindles. If I’m not cautious, I can lose complete hours whereas studying.

Curiously, Kobo doesn’t supply screensavers for Libra 2 whereas it’s in standby mode, like Kindles do. As an alternative, your two choices are the duvet of the ebook you’re presently studying, or a clean display screen and a little bit of textual content that claims “Sleeping.” You need to perform a little work by yourself so as to add your individual customized screensavers.

Along with downloading borrowed books from OverDrive and bought titles from the Kobo retailer, you’ll be able to in fact plug the machine right into a PC to switch recordsdata. Home windows will acknowledge your Libra 2 as a USB drive, into which you’ll copy books and different appropriate codecs like PDFs and even Microsoft Phrase recordsdata onto. (Books can’t be protected by DRM for this methodology to work, nevertheless.)

Must you purchase a Kobo Libra 2?

Kobo’s e-readers pack in options at reasonably priced costs, and the Libra 2 is not any exception. Its sharp display screen and bodily buttons makes digital studying extremely pleasing, and its software program presents flexibility in supported books and different studying content material. If battery life is the very best precedence for you, it’s possible you’ll want to stay to Amazon’s tightly built-in ecosystem, however for many everybody else, the liberty you get with this machine is price its minor quirks.