Rakuten Kobo Clara HD E-Reader: Superior To The Kindle Paperwhite, Except For One Thing

Its the content.

- Seamus Bellamy

Rakuten Kobo’s Clara HD e-reader ($130 from Rakuten Kobo) costs $10 less than its main competitor, the ad-free version of the Kindle Paperwhite (reviewed here [go. pcworld.com/knpw] and available, of course, from Amazon [go.pcworld.com/ampw]). The casual observer could be forgiven for mistaking one for the other, as they share similar dimensions and the same display size.

But Kobo’s done something with the Clara HD that Amazon hasn’t bothered to do with its Kindle Paperwhite in some time: innovate. Boasting a number of needful features that the current generation Paperwhite can’t match, the Clara HD is a superior device in almost every way.

Whether you should buy it—or dump your Kindle Paperwhite for it—is a more complex question that we’ll wrestle with as you keep reading.

HARDWARE

The Clara HD definitely wins on hardware. With its trim dimensions (6.2 x 4.33 x 0.3 inches) and 5.85-ounce heft, the Clara HD is a featherweight compared to the Kindle Paperwhite. Add to that the textured plastic back, and the Clara HD is a comfortable hold, even one-handed, for long periods of time.

The Clara HD packs a six-inch, 300-ppi Carta E-Ink display, just like the Paperwhite does. While reading the same book on both devices over the course of a week, I didn’t note any difference in the sharpness of text. The same can’t be said, however, for images: the Clara HD displays photos at a much higher resolution.