Increased screen resolution and waterproof features of the Clara 2E are nice improvements.However despite the faster processor, the Clara 2E is NOTICEABLY slower than the older Clara model. I have both, so I can do a sid-by-side comparison. When flipping pages, adjusting brightness, and navigating menus, the older Clara generation is snappy and performant. Compare to the new Clara 2E, the 2E is incredibly sluggish. Using the slider feature for adjusting screen brightness is almost unusable due to how slowly it responds.Kobo needs to review their software and address this. For this reason, I would not recommend the Clara 2E, and instead try to find an original Kobo Clara if you don't care about it being waterproof.

The kobo works as advertised with a nice screen and functional interface. The huge regret is that despite advertising that it is compatible with Overdrive, it is NOT. Overdrive absolutely comes up on the device, but unless you want to borrow a book from your library which is also available from the kobo bookstore, you are out of luck. You are supposed to be able to read any library book using Adobe Digital Editions software, but neither Adobe nor kobo provides any meaningful support. There is a 10 year old thread on the Adobe website dedicated to the integration problems between the kobo and ADE which is still active. Not good.Not sure I can recommend a different solution since it seems all library-to-ereader interfaces are messed up right now due to the terrible ... MoreThe kobo works as advertised with a nice screen and functional interface. The huge regret is that despite advertising that it is compatible with Overdrive, it is NOT. Overdrive absolutely comes up on the device, but unless you want to borrow a book from your library which is also available from the kobo bookstore, you are out of luck. You are supposed to be able to read any library book using Adobe Digital Editions software, but neither Adobe nor kobo provides any meaningful support. There is a 10 year old thread on the Adobe website dedicated to the integration problems between the kobo and ADE which is still active. Not good.Not sure I can recommend a different solution since it seems all library-to-ereader interfaces are messed up right now due to the terrible terms publishers force onto librarys. Maybe in 5-10 years when we finally do to publishers what we've done to the music industry, things will be better for folks who don't want to pay for every book they read. Not saying authors don't deserve to make money and pay bills, but pretty sure we can cut out the middle-man (publishers) who aren't really adding anything to the content.Overall, buyer beware on the whole ereader thing. the screens are much nicer than reading on a tablet for sure, but it also seems like a roll of the dice regarding functionality if you don't want to purchase all of your content.

Bought the Kobo Clara as a replacement for an old 2nd hand Kobo I bought off eBay some years ago that had stopped working.Difficult to find any faults or criticisms. Excellent clarity even in bright sunlight with the ability to select different fonts, font size, brightness, backlight etc.. Highlighting text and annotation features really useful.You can download and borrow books completely free from libraries that use the Borrowbox software They have a huge range of books so this is a real bonus. This isn’t possible with a lot of the Kindle e-readers where you are forced to purchase books from Amazon. Kobo have a good selection of books at reasonable prices and very often they offer really good books with an 80-90% reduction at just 99p from quality authors. (Best ... MoreBought the Kobo Clara as a replacement for an old 2nd hand Kobo I bought off eBay some years ago that had stopped working.Difficult to find any faults or criticisms. Excellent clarity even in bright sunlight with the ability to select different fonts, font size, brightness, backlight etc.. Highlighting text and annotation features really useful.You can download and borrow books completely free from libraries that use the Borrowbox software They have a huge range of books so this is a real bonus. This isn’t possible with a lot of the Kindle e-readers where you are forced to purchase books from Amazon. Kobo have a good selection of books at reasonable prices and very often they offer really good books with an 80-90% reduction at just 99p from quality authors. (Best to avoid any free ones they offer as you’ll know why they are free after reading the 1st chapter!!).Kobo claim it’s waterproof, which is useful if you accidentally drop it in your bath whilst reading. For the environmentally conscious it’s made with 85% recycled plastic, but still has a good quality feel about it.Am really pleased with my purchase and would thoroughly recommend the Kobo Clara

By far, this is the best eReader of many that I've owned including Amazon and Onyx Boox. There are multiple reasons why the Clara 2E is an execeptional eReader.First, it's the size. It is so compact that I would not hesitate to carry it with me everywhere. Second, it's the resolution -- it is by far the sharpest text I have seen on an eReader, including Amazon Oasis. Third, I love how I can use the entire 6" screen to fill it with text. And it is very responsive and it still has that quirkiness in flipping pages that I love -- yes, I actually think it's a nice feature -- not overly sensitive like Amazon Kindle which I do not like. And the sleep cover is awsome, such high quality!But, there's one thing I don't like -- which is the keyboard response time when ... MoreBy far, this is the best eReader of many that I've owned including Amazon and Onyx Boox. There are multiple reasons why the Clara 2E is an execeptional eReader.First, it's the size. It is so compact that I would not hesitate to carry it with me everywhere. Second, it's the resolution -- it is by far the sharpest text I have seen on an eReader, including Amazon Oasis. Third, I love how I can use the entire 6" screen to fill it with text. And it is very responsive and it still has that quirkiness in flipping pages that I love -- yes, I actually think it's a nice feature -- not overly sensitive like Amazon Kindle which I do not like. And the sleep cover is awsome, such high quality!But, there's one thing I don't like -- which is the keyboard response time when leaving a note on the highlighted text. I'm not sure if future updates will fix this issue, minor but somewhat annoying when the keypress does not register or slow to register.Overall, 4.5 stars. Clara 2E is a Grand Slam!

The Clara 2E is a great device and I could use it to check out books in Overdrive from my library. However, Overdrive is going away and libraries are going to Overdrive's Libby app. Through the Libby app I was able to download books to my computer, open in Adobe Digital Editions, and transfer the ebook to the USB-connected Clara 2E. On the Clara I got a message the ereader is not authorized to open the device, even though both the computer and ereader are authorized. I tried multiple times without success. This is apparently a known issue and I tried several recommended fixes without success. Search for something like "ade authorize kobo" for more insight. In summary, I really liked the Clara 2E but I could not get it to work with copyright protected books from the ... MoreThe Clara 2E is a great device and I could use it to check out books in Overdrive from my library. However, Overdrive is going away and libraries are going to Overdrive's Libby app. Through the Libby app I was able to download books to my computer, open in Adobe Digital Editions, and transfer the ebook to the USB-connected Clara 2E. On the Clara I got a message the ereader is not authorized to open the device, even though both the computer and ereader are authorized. I tried multiple times without success. This is apparently a known issue and I tried several recommended fixes without success. Search for something like "ade authorize kobo" for more insight. In summary, I really liked the Clara 2E but I could not get it to work with copyright protected books from the library using Adobe Digital Editions so I had to return it.

The reader itself is great. This is my first e-reader so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but it works exactly as advertised, is easy to read, has great battery life, is small and lightweight enough.What has been frustrating however is the relatively poor integration to borrow books from the library. Since it was advertised as having an "Overdrive" interface, I assumed that it would be relatively straightforward to get books from the library. And I can...sort of. There is an "Overdrive" interface and I can get books from the library, and also place a hold there. But the search interface is very limited and I cannot get audiobooks.Also, if use other ways of putting a book on hold at my library, such as the library website, or "Libby", then I have no way of ... MoreThe reader itself is great. This is my first e-reader so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but it works exactly as advertised, is easy to read, has great battery life, is small and lightweight enough.What has been frustrating however is the relatively poor integration to borrow books from the library. Since it was advertised as having an "Overdrive" interface, I assumed that it would be relatively straightforward to get books from the library. And I can...sort of. There is an "Overdrive" interface and I can get books from the library, and also place a hold there. But the search interface is very limited and I cannot get audiobooks.Also, if use other ways of putting a book on hold at my library, such as the library website, or "Libby", then I have no way of getting those 'held' books on to the e-reader.Also, I assumed that it would be easier for me to get any pdf file onto the e-reader but that is only possible if I physically plug the reader into my computer. Seems like that could be made much easier.Anyway, glad there is an alternative to Amazon available. Keep at it, Kobo

I purchased the Clara 2E to replace a 7 plus year old Kobo Aura (which I love). The Aura is still working fine but the battery is beginning to show its age and needs charging more often. I also wanted the waterproof build. And I thought that, being new, it would probably have a newer OS and software.Well, I'll have to trust the waterproof build part. I don't have the nerve to submerge it to test whether it is or is not. A newer OS? Not that I can tell. Newer software? No. It has the same software package that my Aura is using.The two models are very similar in size and weight and usability. The build quality between the old Aura and the new Clara seems comparable with one huge exception. The touch screen on the Clara 2E is lousy - - L O U S Y. period. ... MoreI purchased the Clara 2E to replace a 7 plus year old Kobo Aura (which I love). The Aura is still working fine but the battery is beginning to show its age and needs charging more often. I also wanted the waterproof build. And I thought that, being new, it would probably have a newer OS and software.Well, I'll have to trust the waterproof build part. I don't have the nerve to submerge it to test whether it is or is not. A newer OS? Not that I can tell. Newer software? No. It has the same software package that my Aura is using.The two models are very similar in size and weight and usability. The build quality between the old Aura and the new Clara seems comparable with one huge exception. The touch screen on the Clara 2E is lousy - - L O U S Y. period. exclamation point. I am giving the Clara 2E just 3 stars for quality for this reason alone. It is so laggy that I often wonder if the darn thing has frozen (or died). Five, ten seconds after a finger swipe before a page turns. Sometimes more. So much more that I'll swipe again - - and again - - and then, after 20-30 seconds or more, it will turn two or three pages forward all at once and I will have to try and get the thing to back up. Another fight. I have never - never - seen a screen that is this bad. I am on the verge of tossing the thing in a drawer and forgetting it. I still have the Aura, which has a very responsive touch screen. The battery may be getting old but it probably still has years of life left as long as I can put up with charging it more often.I enjoyed the Aura so much that I never considered any other brand when I decided to upgrade. After this I will have severe reservations about another Kobo anytime in my future.

Good reader but not a good tablet. Easy carry.

This is my second Clara. This updated version has a better power button location and powers up with less hassle then the older version. The usb/c is much better as the original version final malfunctioned and wouldn’t charge reliably. Screen and speed seem the same although it may be marginally sharper. Still doesn’t have a decent web browser but I guess it is okay. Finally like the original Clara it doesn’t read a lot of open source books on their own book store, I guess they don’t vet their book offerings or somehow mess with free content. As a dedicated reader it works for me as long as I manage expectations.

Love our kobo

I bought this for my 10 year old to encourage more reading. It's worked a treat. He loves the features that show him how much he's read and how much more until he's finished the book. He finds it incentivises him to finish or show off how much he's read each day. He loves browsing for and buying new book. I did set up the ability to borrow ebooks from the library but haven't found much range. The really disappointing aspect was the monthly kobo subscription on offer. We tried it and there's really nothing worth reading unless you like romance novels. I'm now sharing the kobo with my son as I've found I also enjoy reading on it as it's so easy to hold and I enjoy being able to highlight words, make notes and look up words.