Kobo Clara BW

Kobo Clara BW Reviews

A product’s star rating is calculated as the average of all its reviews.


Rakuten Kobo logo

Sold by Rakuten Kobo

www.kobo.com

12.2K Reviews

4.1

The information on this page is based solely on product reviews written by customers of Rakuten Kobo via Trustpilot.


Here’s what people highlighted

Quality

4.7

653 ratings

Value for money

4.5

651 ratings


Product details

Brand: Rakuten Kobo eReader Store

Featuring a sharp E Ink Carta 1300 display, the Kobo Clara BW is a premium black-and-white eReader designed for glare-free, immersive reading. Its compact 6-inch frame makes this small eReader perfect for travel or comfortable one-handed use, while its IPX8-rated design makes it a fully waterproof eReader safe for the bath or pool. Beyond its durable design, the Kobo Clara BW is packed with features including 16GB of storage for 12,000 eBooks, ComfortLight PRO for reduced blue light, and built-in Libby integration for easy library borrowing. With Bluetooth® wireless technology for audiobooks, direct Wi-Fi access to the Kobo store, and up to 53 days of battery life, it is the ultimate all-in-one companion for readers on the go.

GTIN: 681495009558


All reviews


Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Love my book reader . Wouldn’t be without it

Quality: 5
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

This is my very first e-reader, so I cannot compare it to others. I was reading via Moonreader Pro on my phone before. I like the e-ink display and ability to change font size intuitively and easily on the fly. I was surprised by the relatively slow response time but quickly learned that's just how these readers work. The flash of inverse contrast during changes took a little getting used to as well but it's not intolerable. I was disappointed that it couldn't handle special characters in Esperanto easily, as I have loads of Esperanto books I'd like to read on it. I do know how to make that work, but it's another obstacle. I love how lightweight it is and small enough for my hands to hold. I did not get a cover or any accessories for it since I typically read at home and have no pets or kids to with about. I used hair ties on the corners to create one-handed straps but am still testing how I like that. Overall I am thrilled to have this device and be able to unlimited read digital books comfortably. I have had some challenges with reading since childhood and am hoping to become more of a reader now, with the help of my Kobo. Please consider adding options to show the time and battery percentage easily while reading, either way a tap or constantly in a header or footer. Also, I suggest guiding customers to create their accounts before their product arrives, to prepare them so they can jump into setting up and reading quickly rather than waiting around for that confirmation email that takes 20 minutes or longer. The wait can be maddening when you want to just get started.

Quality: 5
Value for money: 4
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Smaller than the paper white but same or better quality and experience. Do the model up for bigger screen size if vision is an issue because the screen on the CW is quite small. Showing both side by side for reference.

Quality: 5
Value for money: 4
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

you can carry endless amount of books in one place

Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

The Clara BW does what it's supposed to. I'm glad I got it. The Kobo Desktop Reader is absolutely worthless! The only reason I got it was to be able to access my book list on my PC, but the reader prevents copying from the list.

Quality: 4
Value for money: 3
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

It wouldn't stay connected to wifi

Quality: 1
Value for money: 1
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I ended up with a Clara after Amazon decided to effectively brick my Kindle, all because it was old. I'm glad I did, to be honest. It's a very nice device, probably not much different to the Kindle Paperwhite (or whatever it's called). Hopefully Rakuten's attitude to their Kobo customers isn't as ruthless and mercenary as Amazon's.

Quality: 5
Value for money: 3
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Love it! The Kobo store has everything I could want, including audiobooks! And I love that you can put your own pdfs and epubs on your kobo

Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Love the ereader. Great to read books - works very well.

Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

I wanted to find a dedicated E-reader that was not part of the Bezosphere, and was glad to find this Clara BW fit the bill. Delivery was very quick, 3-4 days after purchase. I mostly check out books from public libraries, and have used Overdrive/Libby apps on other tablets and E-readers. Those devices unfortunately present an experience that is too easy for me to close the book and start doom-scrolling on social media. This reader offers no such distraction. There is a bit of a learning curve between the whole Overdrive/Libby interface. My biggest complaint of this E-reader is the limitation of linking only one library card. It is a bit clunky to check out a book at another library. The other thing that was problematical for me, and there appears to be no documentation of this, is how using a custom screensaver is totally dependent on having a book open, and unfinished on my bookshelf. I created a custom contact card to show "If found, please return to..." It took a bit of sleuthing to figure out why my custom screen saver was not always showing upon waking from sleep or powered down state. My hack was downloading a free book with a proper cover page, reading a few pages of that book, and never finishing it. I was also happy to find this reader will sync seamlessly with TheStoryGraph, an alternative to Goodreads (another Bezosphere acquisition). So far, the recommendations based on my past reading seems better than Goodreads. YMMV.

Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Purchased to replace my old failed Kobo touch. Much improved connectivity and the inclusion of the inbuilt nightlight is a bonus.

Quality: 5
Value for money: 4
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Love my Kobo. This is my second Kobo. The battery on my Bus died after 9 years but I use the Kobo almost every day. So easy to use and love I can get books from the library as well

Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Dont bother

Quality: 1
Value for money: 1
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

It’s great

Quality: 4
Value for money: 4
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I love my Kobo. This is my first eReader and so far I’m pretty pleased with it. Before using one, I’d read on my tablet. A big reason why I decided to get a Kobo is because I noticed I would get frequent headaches and my eyes would hurt after reading on my tablet. Another important reason is because I do read fanfics and those can only be read digitally. So I did some research, found out how ereaders would be a nice alternative and help with the eye strain + headaches, many ppl recommended Kobo and this ereader, and then I went ahead and got myself one. It’s been a positive experience so far. Also, I appreciate how you can access your library from the device itself.

Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I had issues immediately trying to set up the eReader. After 4 hours of back and forth with the help services fighting software issues, I decided to return the eReader. If my initial experience with the Clara BW was any indication of what was to come, I wanted none of it. I hope others have a better experience than I did.

Quality: 1
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great reader. Very light to carry and easy to download books.

Quality: 5
Value for money: 4
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10's across the board. I have been waiting for over 6 years to get an e-reader. I REALLY did not want to get lock into that other billionaire's plantation-based ecosystem. I know Rakuten is a corporation with it's own flaws, too, but politics aside, the Kobo is the more superior e-reader with the more superior OS. It's charming, has side-loading, and is ready to use right out of the box. I just wish more of the amazon indie authors would make their way over to the Kobo store so I can buy/read here. I do hope Kobo will consider incentivizing reviews on the actual Kobo store. And I hope that they will somehow update the new Storygraph integration so that it doesn't just track books bought directly from Kobo, but books that are sideloaded as well. Thank you Rakuten

Quality: 5
Value for money: 5
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

easy to carry, good quality, showing good reading

Quality: 5
Value for money: 5