MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Clara HD Will it be wise to buy a Kobo Clara HD now?

julian67 · 08-03-2021, 11:27 AM

I bought a new Kobo Clara HD and received it just over a week ago. It's to replace a Boyue Likebook P6 whose screen died on me after 6 months. I also have a 2nd gen Kindle Paperwhite which I like but has only tiny storage capacity. I manage all my ebooks with Calibre and I buy from Amazon, Google, Kobo and also borrow from my local library via BorrowBox.

I'm very pleased with the Kobo Clara HD. It is a much nicer device than the Likebook, which had terribly slow page turns and much less good font rendering. My old Paperwhite only has a 167 ppi display and I have really appreciated the 300 ppi displays of the Like book and now the Kobo. I can't see any reason why buying it might be a poor decision. I can't think that ebook formats are going to radically change and render it obsolete. I did open it up in order to swap the microSD card for a bigger one and I was pleased to see that the battery wires are not soldered onto the board but attached with standard micro JST connectors, so the device ought to have an extremely long lifespan.

The only drawback so far was that despite supporting mobi format books it doesn't do so very well, so I've had to convert my Calibre library from mobi to mobi+epub, however Calibre does make this really easy and reliable.

I guess if I had money to spare I might have bought the latest waterproof Kindle Paperwhite but I'm actually happy with the Kobo. I think the way it sorts and presents sideloaded books and their covers and metadata is far superior to the Kindle, and the way it displays pages is similarly good, and the font rendering is similarly excellent. I am really used to, and like very much, Amazon's Bookerly font and it was simple to add this to the Clara HD. The Kobo's page turning and rendering is very rapid and there is never any flicker or ghosting to distract. The search works really well too.

I think the one thing Amazon does markedly better is the device covers. Kindle covers are really sturdy and offer a lot of protection for the display.

Anyway, in answer to the original question "Clara HD Will it be wise to buy a Kobo Clara HD now?" I have to say yes, why not? The price for a new device is good, it's nicely made, is a much better choice than a Kindle for sideloaded books from multiple sources, is easy to upgrade and a pleasure to read on.

08-03-2021, 11:27 AM	#19
julian67 Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD & Kindle Paperwhite 2	I bought a new Kobo Clara HD and received it just over a week ago. It's to replace a Boyue Likebook P6 whose screen died on me after 6 months. I also have a 2nd gen Kindle Paperwhite which I like but has only tiny storage capacity. I manage all my ebooks with Calibre and I buy from Amazon, Google, Kobo and also borrow from my local library via BorrowBox. I'm very pleased with the Kobo Clara HD. It is a much nicer device than the Likebook, which had terribly slow page turns and much less good font rendering. My old Paperwhite only has a 167 ppi display and I have really appreciated the 300 ppi displays of the Like book and now the Kobo. I can't see any reason why buying it might be a poor decision. I can't think that ebook formats are going to radically change and render it obsolete. I did open it up in order to swap the microSD card for a bigger one and I was pleased to see that the battery wires are not soldered onto the board but attached with standard micro JST connectors, so the device ought to have an extremely long lifespan. The only drawback so far was that despite supporting mobi format books it doesn't do so very well, so I've had to convert my Calibre library from mobi to mobi+epub, however Calibre does make this really easy and reliable. I guess if I had money to spare I might have bought the latest waterproof Kindle Paperwhite but I'm actually happy with the Kobo. I think the way it sorts and presents sideloaded books and their covers and metadata is far superior to the Kindle, and the way it displays pages is similarly good, and the font rendering is similarly excellent. I am really used to, and like very much, Amazon's Bookerly font and it was simple to add this to the Clara HD. The Kobo's page turning and rendering is very rapid and there is never any flicker or ghosting to distract. The search works really well too. I think the one thing Amazon does markedly better is the device covers. Kindle covers are really sturdy and offer a lot of protection for the display. Anyway, in answer to the original question "Clara HD Will it be wise to buy a Kobo Clara HD now?" I have to say yes, why not? The price for a new device is good, it's nicely made, is a much better choice than a Kindle for sideloaded books from multiple sources, is easy to upgrade and a pleasure to read on.