This year, I've tested my way through the most popular e-readers. Amazon dropped a new line-up of Kindles just after Prime Big Deals Days in October, so I loaded my library into a new batch of devices, basking in the new devices' speed and high-contrast display. However, no matter how many Kindles I test, I'm always thinking about the Kobo Libra Colour. It's now $20 off for Black Friday — a rare deal.
The Kobo Libra has perfected the e-reader design. The seven-inch screen comes with both adjustable brightness and warmth, which I loved as an evening reader, not wanting to burn my eyes with blue light. If you're an annotator, it's stylus compatible, helping you highlight passages or even journal on the Kobo. Not to mention it's waterproof, for beachside reading.
But even better, the Kobo comes with page-turning buttons. While the screen is perfectly responsive to swipes, the buttons let you read one-handed. And unlike Kindles, the Kobo rotates the screen so you can read and write in landscape or portrait.
Plus, the Kobo Libra offers color displays, ideal if you want to highlight or write in different colors. However, I enjoyed it for reading graphic novels on the Kobo. And while Amazon now offers a color e-reader, it will cost you about $60 more than the Kobo at full price.
It's not without its faults, Amazon still has the upper hand on palm rejection and processing speed, but if you're looking to escape Amazon's grip on the e-reader market, Rakuten's e-reader provides a worthy alternative. Kobo's e-readers are rarely on sale, but this Black Friday, you can find it for $20 off, bringing it under $200. For $199.99, enjoy the Kobo Libra Colour, a great e-reader with no Amazon affiliation.
