If you are in the market to buy an ereader in North America, the Amazon Kindle and the Rakuten Kobo They are really the only two options if you want to access a wellebook store in stock. Today, the latter revealed its alternative to the current cheaper Kindle model with the new $ 100 Kobo Nia, which It includes a high resolution screen, a backlight and no ad on the lock screen.
the Kindle cheaper than you can currently buying will cost you $ 90 Yes you’re good with Amazon Special offers characteristic, that displays ads and sponsored messages on your device’s lock screen when it is in sleep mode. Most of them are discreet and easy to ignore, but if you prefer that Amazon doesn’t bother you to buy things while trying to relax with a book, you can buy a Kindle without ads for $ 20 more.
The new Kobo Nia is not ad-supported apart from book suggestions in its online store, making it competitive with Amazon’s cheaper ad-free Kindle for $ 10 less. The device is clearly Rakuten’s attempt to steal new leads away from Amazon. Yes You still don’t have a huge library of Kindle books, it’s a solid option if you’re just starting out with ereaders, or already have a collection of electronic books in PDF or EPUB format.
The new Nia is not only competing with the cheaper Amazon Kindle, but it’s also competing with Rakuten’s Kobo Clara HD, which offers some compelling updates for just $ 20 more. With a passing glance, it is difficult to distinguish between Nia and Clara HD, apart from cosmetic finishes. But the Nia is slightly taller than the Clara HD, slightly thicker, six grams heavier, and the microUSB charging and sync port (we need everyone on board) the USB-C stream has already) been relocated to the bottom of the device.
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The differences between the Kobo Nia and Clara HD are most apparent when you turn on the ereaders and place them side by side. The Clara HD has the current top of E Inkof-he-line, 6 6-inch Letter epaper screen with 300 pixels per inch (ppi) resolution, whereas the Nia uses the same 212 ppi screen Rakuten used in the Kobo Aura 2 that was discontinued earlier this year. But both offer better resolution than the entry-level Kindle, which has 167 ppi. screen res.
If you get close, There’s definitely a noticeable difference between the way the smooth letters and fine lines appear on the Clara HD’s screen compared to the Nia’s, but at a comfortable reading distance, I found those differences to be mostly insignificant unless I’m really looking for them.
If there is one feature that makes it worth spending an additional $ 20 on the Kobo Clara HD over the new Kobo Nia, It is the ability of the screen to adjust the color temperature of your lighting. For now, All smartphone and tablet manufacturers have added auto-adjust features that tint a screen toward warmer tones at night, as cooler blue light has been found to increase wakefulness when you’re supposed to be transitioning to sleep. The illumination of the Kobo Nia display is excellent, and at maximum brightness it is even slightly brighter than that offered by Clara HD, but it is limited to a very cold white tone. The lighting on the Kobo Clara HD can be switched to much warmer tones, which is more pleasant to read in the dark and, at least in theory, improves your chances of falling asleep once you save your book.
If you’re just starting with ereadersThe new Kobo Nia is a solid place to start. Online book store Rakuten more or less matches what Amazon offers when it comes to top book releases, but you’ll want to take a minute or two to confirm that your favorite authors are available on the platform. However, if you prefer to bring your own e-books, Kobo has long offered support for a wider variety of file formats compared to the relatively locked Kindle.
But with the Nia Launch price of $ 100it’s probably better to spend an additional $ 20 for the Kobo Clara HD, which offers you a slightly better screen, much better lighting, and an optional case that can work like a hand-free booth but as we get closer to the On vacation, there’s no question that the Nia will be the first Kobo device in Rakuten’s current lineup to be discounted, and if the company takes it down for even $ 20, it will be a compelling alternative to the cheaper Kindle and more expensive Kobos.
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