Libra Colour So far I love my Colour Kobo. What about you?

[Revhead]

Just sharing some info that I thought might be helpful. I initially had problems with my Libra Color and this is what is now working for me. Have not had any problems since. Also useful to do 'Control + q' quit from time to time to prevent out of storage space messages.

[Aselk]

I have a Libra 2, Clara BW and Clara colour. I used the Libra 2 exclusively for 3 years. I since have retired and wanted a smaller device for when I was away from home so I got the Clara BW. I loved the smaller size and have not touched the Libra since except to confirm that I much preferred the Clara. Curiosity got the best of me so I gave the Clara colour a try. After seeing many reviews pointing out the negatives and being a hard core black and white advocate because I only read text I was expecting to not like it.

Surprise surprise I didn't dislike it, and I tried. I compared the text side by side simply visually matching the screen with the Clara BW (that means visually matching the brightness by eye and not by matching the brightness setting) and the difference was so slight I'm sure I would flunk a blind test. A bit of tweaking on the font weight and the Clara colour is more than good enough.

In my opinion most reviewers are greatly exaggerating the negatives. The negatives may be there if you really look for it but in real world use they are so minor as to be insignificant. The screen is darker but only until you turn on the lights, then the differences disappear. I use both the Clara BW and colour and they are both interchangeable. Most times I prefer the colour..... because it's colour.

[rashkae]

Originally Posted by Aselk

In my opinion most reviewers are greatly exaggerating the negatives. The negatives may be there if you really look for it but in real world use they are so minor as to be insignificant. The screen is darker but only until you turn on the lights, then the differences disappear. I use both the Clara BW and colour and they are both interchangeable. Most times I prefer the colour..... because it's colour.

I'm glad to see that narrative is getting more and more pushback. I understand the reasons some would prefer the B&W, but it's become a really weird kind of gospel.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by rashkae

I'm glad to see that narrative is getting more and more pushback. I understand the reasons some would prefer the B&W, but it's become a really weird kind of gospel.

It's not gospel. The screen being darker with the Kaleido overlay is a fact. Some people are not bothered by this, others are. There have been posters here who have returned their colour devices for just that reason. And yes, many users don't care about the difference or hardly notice it at all. Then again, others do notice and care.

[mgrimace]

Originally Posted by Revhead

I just thought I'd share the least problematic way of adding books to the Kobo Libra Color that I have discovered so far.
I'm sure that other more knowledgeable people than I might have different ideas, but this is the process that seems to create the least problems:
1. I use EPUB exclusively.
2. Edit metadata etc in Caliber before connecting your Kobo. Note. If you connect it prematurely, the unedited book is likely to be automatically added to Kobo before you are ready, creating two copies.
3. If you are adding several books at once, check that Caliber has FN/LN around the right way for all of them. I clear all tags, then add the author's name as a tag. Then I create a shelf, also named after the author. This way they become part of the one collection when they arrive in Kobo.
3. I also find that adding too many books at once can cause problems, so I have limited it to 200.
4. Once you're happy with the book connect to Kobo, wait for it to be recognized, then highlight the book or books and click send to device.
5. When Caliber indicates that the job is finished, eject Kobo.
6. After a few seconds Kobo will indicate that it is importing books.
7. You're not finished yet. Power off the Kobo, wait a few seconds then turn it back on.
8. That's it.

FWIW use calibre-web and the kobo-sync API option enabled. It makes your library appear 'natively' on the device in the My Books tab, with tap to download (wirelessly) available. It's a life changer for me and for managing my spouse and kids' devices.

C-W autoconverts to kepub on send/download, but out of habit I update metadata and covers in Calibre, share the same database for Calibre-Web, and sync the kobo to C-W. New books appear on-device on sync with the option to download. Shelves/Collections are synced too.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by mgrimace

FWIW use calibre-web and the kobo-sync API option enabled. It makes your library appear 'natively' on the device in the My Books tab, with tap to download (wirelessly) available. It's a life changer for me and for managing my spouse and kids' devices.

C-W autoconverts to kepub on send/download, but out of habit I update metadata and covers in Calibre, share the same database for Calibre-Web, and sync the kobo to C-W. New books appear on-device on sync with the option to download. Shelves/Collections are synced too.

Does the series information work via this method (I mean, does the series name appear where it's supposed to be on your Kobo)?

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Does the series information work via this method (I mean, does the series name appear where it's supposed to be on your Kobo)?

Yes it does.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

Yes it does.

Thank you.

[Aselk]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

It's not gospel. The screen being darker with the Kaleido overlay is a fact. Some people are not bothered by this, others are. There have been posters here who have returned their colour devices for just that reason. And yes, many users don't care about the difference or hardly notice it at all. Then again, others do notice and care.

When visually matching the screens the colour is not darker with essentially no real world difference in clarity. I just compared them with a mixture of natural and artificial light and the colour is at 20% and the BW 16%. Yea the colour is darker..... but so what. A slight increase in light and there is no real world difference between contrast or clarity. Perhaps with a magnifying glass you might see something but at that point it's irrelevant.

After owning and using both Claras I can't get the idea out of my head that there is a lot of group think going on.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Aselk

When visually matching the screens the colour is not darker with essentially no real world difference in clarity. I just compared them with a mixture of natural and artificial light and the colour is at 20% and the BW 16%. Yea the colour is darker..... but so what. A slight increase in light and there is no real world difference between contrast or clarity. Perhaps with a magnifying glass you might see something but at that point it's irrelevant.

After owning and using both Claras I can't get the idea out of my head that there is a lot of group think going on.

And yet there are people who returned their colour ereaders, because they found the screen too dark for their usual reading environment.

When I read on my Libra 2 on a sunny day, the light is sometimes up 80% or more. I couldn't read on a Libra Colour and have the screen look as I want in those conditions.

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by Aselk

I just compared them with a mixture of natural and artificial light and the colour is at 20% and the BW 16%. Yea the colour is darker..... but so what.

I will also point out that some people want to read with the frontlight completely off, so needing to use the frontlight to compensate for Kaleido's poor contrast can be a deal breaker.

If you're happy with your colour device, that's great, but don't assume that everyone has the same eyes as you do. We all have different needs and desires when it comes to the reading experience we want.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

If you're happy with your colour device, that's great, but don't assume that everyone has the same eyes as you do. We all have different needs and desires when it comes to the reading experience we want.

And people read in very different environments. Some only read at night in a dark room, others only indoors, still others read outside in the sun and so on.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by Aselk

After owning and using both Claras I can't get the idea out of my head that there is a lot of group think going on.

I am VERY happy with my Libra Colour, but I also have no trouble accepting that overall it's an inferior reading experience to a greyscale reader. That's why, just ONE MONTH after buying my Libra Colour, I bought a new Sage to replace my first Sage, whose battery was dying.

There is a world of difference between "I see no difference, it's fine for me" and "everyone who disagrees is guilty of group think". The first is always going to be 100% accurate and acceptable. The second is needlessly offensive to many people, and denies the reality that everyone's reading experience and reading needs are different.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

There is a world of difference between "I see no difference, it's fine for me" and "everyone who disagrees is guilty of group think". The first is always going to be 100% accurate and acceptable. The second is needlessly offensive to many people, and denies the reality that everyone's reading experience and reading needs are different.

I hear what you’re saying, and, to a degree, I agree with you. However, I started this thread because the “Only ignoramuses like the Kobo Libra Colour”-type posts around its launch date were bugging me. I only intended this thread to be a place where people who weren’t ashamed to like their color Kobo could huddle together to protect themselves from the spec onslaught of the anti-color brigade. 😜

I wish people would just let other people like whatever they like and be kind to each other, with maybe just a hint of snarky humor mixed in, but then that wouldn’t be Mobileread. Instead, stating you like something is taken as a gauntlet thrown in the face by somebody else who stated in another thread that they hate it. Of course, I’m just speaking generally and with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Actually, this thread has done a pretty good job of not only staying on topic, but being civil with only a divergent post here and there. Well done, everyone!

P.S. I still absolutely love my Kobo Libra Colour (except for the annoying Kobo sleep cover page-skip bug)

[John F]

Originally Posted by Cootey

I hear what you’re saying, and, to a degree, I agree with you. However, I started this thread because the “Only ignoramuses like the Kobo Libra Colour”-type posts around its launch date were bugging me. I only intended this thread to be a place where people who weren’t ashamed to like their color Kobo could huddle together tomoretext themselves from the spec onslaught of the anti-color brigade. 😜

I wish people would just let other people like whatever they like and be kind to each other, with maybe just a hint of snarky humor mixed in, but then that wouldn’t be Mobileread. Instead, stating you like something is taken as a gauntlet thrown in the face by somebody else who stated in another thread that they hate it. Of course, I’m just speaking generally and with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Actually, this thread has done a pretty good job of not only staying on topic, but being civil with only a divergent post here and there. Well done, everyone!

P.S. I still absolutely love my Kobo Libra Colour (except for the annoying Kobo sleep cover page-skip bug)

And from the OP:

...
I’m curious what other people think about their Colour Kobo. ...

It's interesting how people interpret things differently. I assumed "their" referred to actual owners. So post number 3 (and the next couple of posts) seemed a little strange. I guess with post 3, "their" refers to Kobo.