Kobo Clara HD
A night light for the mid-range market – but not coming directly to Germany
At a Glance
With the Kobo Clara HD, a blue light-reducing night light is making its debut in the mid-range eReader segment for the first time. Previously, this feature was reserved only for more expensive devices. With the launch of the new Clara line, Kobo is also retiring the Aura series, which had dominated the portfolio in various versions until now. These days, Aura only stands for eReaders without blue light reduction.
The Clara HD is not marketed directly by Kobo in Germany and Austria, as the company has entered into a technology partnership with the Tolino partners. This means that Kobo is no longer directly involved in marketing activities in these countries.
On the other hand, this also means that Kobo eReaders—including the Clara HD—are released here as Tolino models with different branding. In these markets, the Kobo Clara HD is better known as the Tolino Shine 3.
Technically, the two devices are almost identical, differing only in branding and software. The Kobo Clara HD runs the familiar Kobo firmware, while the Shine 3 comes with the customized Tolino Android interface.
In terms of hardware, the Kobo Clara HD is a reliable mid-range device featuring an E-Ink Carta display with a pixel density of 300 ppi. The 6-inch screen offers a resolution of 1448×1072 pixels. The rest of the specs are also tried and trusted: WiFi connectivity, 8 GB of storage (not expandable), and a 1,500 mAh battery. Water protection is not included, which is to be expected at this price point.
Perhaps the biggest downside—shared by both the Clara HD and Shine 3—is the hard plastic casing, which feels cheap and isn’t particularly appealing. Owners are definitely advised to use a suitable case.
Conclusion
The Kobo Clara HD is a solid eReader model that brings a night light (Kobo ComfortLight Pro) to the mid-range. However, the device is not marketed directly in this region, so interested buyers should look at the functionally identical Tolino Shine 3.
Purchasing the Clara HD really only makes sense if you don’t want to buy eBooks directly on the device and especially want to use the Kobo interface. Everyone else will be better served with a Tolino.
Kobo Clara HD: Technical Specifications
| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Kobo |
| Market launch | 2018 |
| Device type | E-Reader |
| Device category | Mid-range |
| Price (USD / EUR) | 129 |
| Available colors | black |
| Size & Weight | |
| Size (L × B × T) | 159.6 x 110 x 8.35 mm |
| Weight (g) | 166 |
| Display | |
| Technology | E-Ink Carta |
| Flexible Display Technology | No |
| Size (inch) | 6 |
| Resolution (px) | 1448×1072 |
| Pixel density (ppi) | 300 |
| Colors | No |
| Color depth | 16 greyscale |
| Touchscreen | Yes, capacitive |
| Built-in light | Yes, dual-tone frontlight |
| Flush display | No |
| Connections | |
| USB | Micro-USB |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| Cellular connectivity | No |
| GPS | Unknown |
| Hardware Specs | |
| CPU Cores | Unknown |
| CPU Type | |
| RAM (GB) | |
| Internal Storage (GB) | 8.00 |
| Internal Storage up to (GB) | |
| Storage Expansion | No |
| Speakers | No |
| Microphone | No |
| Battery (mAh) | |
| Operating system | Linux |
| Features | |
| Text-to-speech | No |
| Page turn buttons | No |
| Water protection | IPX8 |
| Accelerometer | Unknown |
| E-book store | Yes |
| Supported file types | EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR |
All information provided without guarantee.
Ad