I’ve been testing ereaders and epaper note-taking tablets for over eight years and, for the last four or five of those, a Kobo model has been my pick of the best ereader rather than a Kindle.
That’s more so since Amazon launched its 2024 range of Kindles with a price hike across the board and minimal updates, which makes their Kobo counterparts better value for money as they come with more features, and that’s despite costing more than Amazon’s popular ebook readers at full price.
But why pay full price when you can get a great discount on one of my favourite Kobos? The Kobo Clara BW is down to its lowest price yet when shopping on eBay with the use of the checkout code DIGIOFF, bringing it in line with the price of its direct competition – the Amazon Kindle (2024).
You get a lot more for your money with the Kobo than you would with the Kindle, and you don’t even need to be an eBay Plus member to take advantage of the offer.
As I’ve said in my in-depth Kobo Clara BW review, it’s a compact 6-inch ereader that showcases the best monochrome E Ink display yet in its best light. Upgrading to the E Ink Carta 1300 for its 2024 ereaders, Kobo outdid Amazon when it comes to the display used in their respective entry-level ereaders – you’ll find that the 2024 Kindle still uses the older Carta 1200 display, albeit with tweaks to make it brighter than before. Nothing wrong with that, but why spend money on something old?
And that’s just the start when you compare the two competitors. So let’s pit the Kobo Clara BW against the Amazon Kindle (2024) to see which one scores higher, shall we?
It’s already 1-0 for the Kobo in terms of display, which is sharper and serves up greater contrast, so it’s better for reading (although only by a smidge that can only be discerned if you compare the two side by side).
Then there’s the waterproofing I’ve already mentioned. Every single Kobo ereader available today has an IPX8 rating, which the entry-level Kindle doesn’t. That’s 2-0, then.
Amazon has blocked the use Bluetooth on its latest Kindles in Australia, so there’s no longer any Audible (or Kindle Unlimited audiobook) support available on them. On the other hand, all current Kobo models have Bluetooth connectivity for you to enjoy listening to stories rather than reading, via a paired set of the best wireless headphones or best wireless earbuds, even one of the best Bluetooth speakers of course.
There is one caveat to listening to audiobooks on a Kobo ereader: they have to be sourced directly from the Kobo Store (either purchased or via a Kobo Plus subscription), sideloaded files will not play. Hey, at least you can still listen to audiobooks on a Kobo! Surely that counts as at last half a point if not a full? To keep things simple, I’ll make the score 3-0 in favour of Kobo.
Both Amazon and Kobo are being conscious of using recycled materials in their ereaders now, but the latter has taken things further by making its 2024 crop of ereaders repairable too, thus extending their life. Partnering with iFixit, Kobo has made all kinds of parts available online, including batteries, screens, motherboards and more, alongside the tools you’ll need to make those repairs. The iFixit website also has step-by-step instructions on how to carry out these repairs. Shall we say that’s another point to Kobo?
Then there’s the baked-in OverDrive support on all Kobo ereaders. This allows you to borrow library books instead of spending money on buying content – you just need to check with your local library whether they use the same platform or not. Borrowing from a library via a Kindle is only available in the US. That’s 5-0 to Kobo.
There’s one minor point that I’d also like to make: onboard usable storage. Both ereaders have 16GB on paper, but the performance improvements Amazon has done to the Kindle OS has taken up quite a bit of space, leaving about 11.5GB of usable storage (see the specs in my Amazon Kindle 2024 review). In comparison, the Kobo OS takes up about 2GB of space, leaving more for you to save ebooks and audiobooks (the latter usually has larger file sizes too).
So, what’s the tally then? 6 to nil by my reckoning.
Oh, and did I mention that, with the aforementioned offer, the Kobo Clara BW now cost less than a dollar more than the Kindle? Surely this purchase is a no-brainer if you’re after your very first ereader or looking for an upgrade from an older one.