Kobo Libra 2 | eReader | 7” Glare Free Touchscreen | Waterproof | Adjustable Brightness and Color Temperature | Blue Light Reduction | eBooks | WiFi | 32GB of Storage | Carta E Ink Technology | Black

Liked it because it is very light and easily set up how you like it to work, like how you like reading it. I recommend this product

This is my first foray into e-readers, I prefer a physical book but physical space is a more limiting than digital storage. I like the anti glare and that reading on it doesnt burn my eyeballs out like reading on my phone. Ive noticed some ebooks dont translate well into it though, even when compared to the mobile kobu app. Also not a huge fan of the glitchy looking transitions when you turn a page even in the e-store. It makes it look like s*** and rankles me. I havent gotten around to trying to get ebooks from other platforms onto it yet but crossing my fingers. Not 100% sure i like it, but it is sufficient and does the job for now.

UPDATE: Im increasing my rating from 4 to 5 stars after using for months. With software updates, the device has been very stable and a pure joy to read on. ORIGINAL REVIEW: Overall, I think the Libra 2 is a fantastic ebook e-reader, and I recommend it. There are a few things that knock off 1 star from a perfect rating, though. Hardware - The good things: - The screen is amazing. The text is very crisp and dark and the front light is very even (at least on my unit). - The warm light is very pleasing for evening/night reading and works very well. (The evenness of the lighting was ever-so-slightly not perfect with the addition of the highest setting of warm light, but not enough to be distracting). - The rounded corners of the grip side make holding it in one hand fairly comfortable. - The weight of the device is light enough that it can be held one-handed (without a case) in comfort for a while. - The battery provided me 20 hours of reading using very generous front-lighting (probably over 70% most times) (with Wi-Fi turned off). The battery reached 10% at that point and popped up a low battery message. Im not sure how this compares to other e-readers since manufacturers like to advertise in weeks instead of hours, but using their convention of 30 minutes per day, this would be about 6 weeks of reading between charges. - Its available in white, which is what I got, because it is very good at concealing fingerprints. - The power buttons location is well placed. It never gets accidentally pressed and is easy to feel for without looking, and it has a definite click to know that its been pressed. - The USB-C port is obviously nice to have (vs. micro USB). (Note: The included cable is a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable, and no charger is included. So you will still need a charging brick with a Type-A port to use with this, and will need a Type-A port (or adapter) on your computer if you connect it to one.) Hardware - The not-so-good things: - The plastic case has a cheap feeling to the touch. It is not as nice as the more rubbery touch of the Kindle Paperwhite, for example. My unit even makes a slight creaking noise when squeezed gently near the corners. The embedded texture on the back helps make it feel a bit less cheap and does help to provide more grip when using without a case, but it still isnt pleasurable to the touch. Its just plastic. if you use a case while holding it, this wont be an issue. - The page turn buttons, whether by design or not, have an uneven pressure to them. If pressed toward the inside, it requires much more force to get it to click. If pressed toward the outside, only a light force is required. - When turning the front light completely off, the screen background is grayer (less white, less contrast) than other e-readers Ive seen (e.g. Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Oasis). (But with almost any amount of front light, the contrast is outstanding.) Hardware - One other thing: - The screen is slightly recessed. I personally prefer this to flush-screen e-readers. It doesnt have as premium a look, but it makes it very obvious to feel if the touchscreen is being contacted or not and prevent accidental touches. Software - The good things (common to all Kobo e-readers): - The interface is very well organized, clean, and simple to use. - The front light brightness can be adjusted with just a simple swipe up or down along the left edge of the screen, without first dropping down any menu and then having to close that menu. - The header can optionally show remaining pages in the chapter, which I find to be more useful than an estimate of how much more time is left, which can easily be miscalculated. - A subtle book progress bar is optionally displayed along the bottom of the screen. I really like this and prefer it to seeing a percentage. It provides a similar feeling to reading a physical book, where you can just tell how far you are in it, but without having to take any more screen space than necessary. - Kobos concept of pages: I really like the way Kobo software determines how many pages are in a book. It readjusts this number automatically based on the font size, margin settings, etc., so when it displays the number of pages left in a chapter, for example, you know that there are exactly that many page turns left for the settings you have selected for that book. I find this to be much more useful than Kindles way of showing pages, which is to correspond to the published physical book when possible. - Built-in Overdrive. Its nice to be able to check out and return books from the library right from the device. - Built in Pocket App support. I have not used this feature, but its nice to know I can read supported web articles on the Kobo if I want. - epub format support: Ive found that some of the classic literature is available in epub (but not Kindle) format, so I can borrow from the library without having to use any conversion software as I would on a Kindle. - Installing additional fonts is simple. Just connect to a computer, create a fonts folder, and drag the fonts into it. Software - The not-so-good things: - There are still some bugs (which will hopefully be fixed). My initial experience was not great. But all the bugs I found and list here were encountered during setup and configuration. I have not had any issue at all during reading sessions, which is what is most important. - Upon first powering up and connecting to Wi-Fi, after the device did an immediate software update and appeared to be finished with it, it became EXTREMELY laggy. It would take maybe 30 seconds to respond to actions. Rebooting resolved it. - The device has rebooted spontaneously while searching the Overdrive catalog and locked up completely a couple times (once while in sleep mode and once while changing a setting). - After connecting to Wi-Fi successfully, the device prompted me again for the password the next time I connected and again a third time. Only after that did it finally save the connection settings as it should. - When an Overdrive library book is returned, Kobos automatically download a preview copy from their store as a placeholder (supposedly to store annotations, bookmarks, etc, but also Im sure as a convenient way to purchase the book). Thats a bit annoying, and these can easily be removed after being downloaded, but one time it downloaded preview copies alongside their corresponding three library books I had checked out (that I had NOT returned and were NOT expired) and it erased all my progress in them. I have not tested any of the audiobook or bluetooth features. For me, I like the device so much that the issues I listed are easily acceptable. The bottom line is that it is very enjoyable to read on the Kobo Libra 2.

In the past I have always been a hardcore nook enthusiast, I thought Id try something different with this Kobo because of the reviews. I absolutely love it, I did have to get used to the large side lip, along with it feeling larger than my nook, only because I do not or did not use the physical buttons on either of the Kobo or my old Nook. But the extra options on this Kobo are absolutely beautiful. I am addicted to the dark mode and have not gone back to the regular reading mode since I got it. I definitely suggest getting either a cover with a handle, or like I did, a handle that sticks on a piece of Velcro to attach to the back. Without a handle, youre definitely going to smack yourself in the head if you tend to read at night lying down. One bad thing I have noticed is that the battery life is not as good as on my old Nook, I do have to charge it probably twice as much.

This Kobo is fast, very bright, and overall works well in day and bright mode. I preferred the text and screen overall to the Kindle Oasis and the battery life on both is great. However, that’s where it stopped. The Kobo is still bulky compared to the Oasis as well as feeling and looking cheap. The interface is much clunkier and generally annoying, and all of the features on this are available for the most part on the Oasis, but done better there. I ultimately returned after using it a week and went back to the (you guessed it) Kindle Oasis. It’s a shame that a brand new ereader can’t rival it’s two or so year old competitor.

I needed a replacement since my Kobo Aura 2 died after taking an unexpected bath in condensation water. Yeah, I stupidly left it in a spot where room humidity became water and steadily dripped on it until I found it in a puddle. So, for a week, I tried going back to regular paperback books. Once you go ebook reader, you really cant go back. You miss all the extra features that you get accustomed to using. And the Libra 2 is a step up. As it is a little bigger, that means the print is a little bigger. That is so much easier on my old eyes. The edge that has the two physical buttons on it makes it easier to hold and even operate one-handed (I often snack while reading). It does also have two features that I doubt I will ever use. One is Overdrive. My library dropped that service in favor of a similar one long ago. So this software just takes up space for nothing. The other is the ability to play audiobooks if you have compatible headphones or speakers. I do own a few audiobooks, but it is just handier for me to play them on my home computer, where they reside. If I could make two suggestions to Kobo for the future: 1) Make library borrowing software optional. One should be able to visit the Kobo website and install it if needed. Software for similar services should also be available. 2) Create a text-to-speech feature. Give the user the option of selecting the gender, age, and accent of the voice, to make it more appropriate to the type of book being read. Since I tend to fall asleep while listening to stuff, a timer for it to auto stop would be nice. I am told that this reader is waterproof, so I hope to avoid a repeat of what cost me my Aura.

I love that it has physical page-turn buttons. The slight angle of the bit you hold is very nice, it gives easier access to the buttons and feels more like holding a book. Battery lasts a long time, and does not drain fast on standby. Sometimes the screen ghosts a little bit, but it clears up pretty quick.

3 stars of 5 — cant recommend purchasing at this price. Kobo is supposed to have three things going for it, when compared to the Amazon Kindle: (1) checking out library books; (2) less intrusive advertising; and (3) less tracking/selling of your personal data. It rates poorly in all three categories. As far as the core purpose, reading ebooks: this Kobo is every bit as good as the comparable Kindles. I like the shape and heft of it — its more substantial than the smaller Kindles, which is better for me. Theres more than enough lighting, font, and other options to keep me reading. Theres even a Dyslexic-style font, which helps many people who simply find it difficult to move from the printed page to ebooks. Checking out library books isnt that much easier on the Kobo, because the default search takes you to purchase options, so it takes several clicks to check out the book. I found it easier to find books on the Librarys site, and follow the prompt on the Kobo after... which is no different than for Kindle. Likewise, if you discount the Kindles screensaver adverts, the Kobo pushes you just as hard towards Kobo purchases as Amazon does towards its ecosystem. And as for privacy, its hard to independent evaluate the difference. Amazon makes a lot of money from data gathering, sharing, selling and its hard to imagine that Kobo can afford to turn all of that down. So in the end, I find the Kobo simply to be a more expensive competitor, without the UI (or privacy) benefits we might see if it were an Apple product. Consequently, I dont see much reason to go with Kobo unless you really dont want give more money to Amazon.

Best reader, great battery life even with wifi on, has buttons as well as the touch screen for turning pages, comfortlight pro easy on the eyes, 32gb storage, worth it!

First off, lets say that this is a great ereader that I actually liked it better than Kindle Oasis 10th generation. Some people criticized its plastic shell, but I actually liked it. I think the plastics made it lightweight, easy to hold, and not metal-cold in winter. Battery was good, letters were sharp, and I enjoyed reading at night with this device in hand. But I returned it. Reason 1: Lack of synchronization. Although Kobo Libra 2, as a standalone ereader, is great, it does not sync well with the PC app. I did not test whether it syncs with an iPad Kobo app, but google tells me that it only syncs with books purchased from kobo website. Kindle, google play book, apple books, all beats Kobo in this essential function. Reason 2: lack of accessories. Along with Kobo Libra 2, I bought a Kobo origami case. The case was great, worked as intended, but it added a significant weight to the device, made it not very pleasant with the floppy back. I returned it. I prefer a sleeve case, a pouch, so when I read it can be held in my hands, and when I dont read it can be protected. Amazon is filled with pouch/sleeve cases for Kindle/paperwhite/oasis, and all kinds of ipads. None fit the kobo snugly. They were too big, too small, or too rectangular, etc.