have the Kobo Libra Colour
this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2026
812 points (99.6% liked)
Technology
83963 readers
3624 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
This is my first time hearing about Kobo. Do you like it?
Not the person you replied to, but I've had 2 kobos and didn't have a problem with either. (The screen on the first one broke, but that was my fault for dropping a book on it. I might have been able to fix it if they had this ifixit deal back then)
Breaking an e-book with an actual book is hilarious
It's funnier now than it was when it happened
Yeah… fair enough
Are you able to borrow books from the library with it?
I don't want to ruin good news, but everyone needs to know that Kobo is owned by the shitty Japanese Amazon equivalent called Rakuten since 2012. So the risk of enshitification is pretty high, why not if the hardware is nice, but try to cut as many software ties as possible.
They haven't made side loading harder as long as I've been using kobo, I only use their software to launch koreader.
Comments like these are super strange to me... Are you suggesting people should go with a different brand, why not mention one specifically? As it reads you won't like any ereader that is owned by a corporation?
I guess you're going to be building an open source ereader and release it for free so it can't be enshitified?
Just reminding people Kobo is not just that nice little Canadian tech company anymore, it's part of tech giant. So don't fall for the David and Goliath narrative that is implied here. It's rather third-rate Goliath and Goliath. So take your precautions where you can. I sadly don't have an alternative to suggest.
It's been 14 years, and no sign of then making anything shitty, your point at this time is moot.
I bought my brother Kobo precisely because of being privacy and consumer friendly.
Android is still a bad match for e-reader usecase and hardware but whatever.
I dunno, it's not perfect, but I tend to enjoy the experience of moonreader, librera, or other really solid apps on android better than the experience on kindles, or the others I've tried that aren't android based.
That's even on eink options; I have a boox, and a kobo that are eink, with the boox running Android, and kobo whatever they used. I tend to find less hassles on the boox, despite it being their cheapest model.
I don't think any of them have really perfected the overall form and function, but I find the apps on android give better immersion and less hassle.
The apps, yes, while the system sucks (battery).
I dunno, I had a kobo many years ago, put an android launcher on there and could use it as an e-ink tablet. Don't know if you can still do this, but it was pretty handy.
I do that too, except that Android e-inks are usually underpowered for anything except a reading software. Which would be fine with a minimal Linux, less so with a weird Java VM and a 100 subsystems.
kobo + calibre + annas archive = nothing else needed
I’ve also installed koreader on mine, and I’ve been quite pleased with it.
Remember to donate to the author if you enjoy a book
I buy used paperback books even when I could buy them new. I feel no guilt that none of my money is going to the author.
I try to only stick to dead authors to avoid guilt.
Library card
True. Libby and Hoopla are also nice apps on a Kobo eReader.
Can you get Hoopla? It could be that mine is a bit too lightweight to run it, but so far I've only had Overdrive access through direct OS integration.
Do kind of wish that they had less silly names, though.
It's hard to recommend them without sounding like you're just babbling nonsense.
If you get Libby and Hoopla for your Kobo, you don't need Ploob, no matter how much Ploob has it for you.
coming up with a new name for something that isn't already trademarked can be frustrating, let alone a list of names to choose from for an executive board or committee. i totally get how people eventually end up at "yea, this name sounds dumb af, but it's unique and not already taken"
Donating to calibre and annas if you've got a few extra bucks to spare.
load more comments
(3 replies)
I'm not saying there's anything untoward here, but at what point do we start looking at these partnerships and start to wonder if it affects the repairability ratings?
HMD partnered with iFixit and created a very repairable phone... Except in the software realm, where the bootloader is locked, it's still on Android 15, and allegedly the next major update will be its last (giving it a shorter security shelf life than a glued-up Samsung).
I think it's worth being clear about the scope of the rating. iFixit has always been about repairability defined by parts availability, and its ratings consider software restrictions only to the point where it interferes with the user experience when replacing parts to restore things to the original performance.
Customizability (in software or otherwise) isn't part of the score. Durability/longevity isn't part of the score, either. Those are things that I want, too, but I can recognize those are outside the scope of what iFixit advocates for.
I do have some concerns about the partnerships creating a conflict of interest, but sometimes that feedback loop is helpful for improving the product, where the maintainer of a standard also has a consulting business in helping others meet that standard. Ideally there's a wall between the two sides (advisors versus raters), but the mere fact that one company might do both things isn't that big of a deal in itself.
You can buy some parts for the steamdeck but not the mainboard despite them claiming you could buy every part when they announced the partnership. iFixit has been getting just a littttttle bit sus honestly
I had a kobo reader once, and when I had questions about repairing it they refused to help in any shape or form. They told me to buy a new one, and I did - but never again a kobo. Maybe this is a step in the right direction, maybe it's too little, too late.
I guess for you, I haven't bought one yet loool
Just FYI, older Kobos are exceptionally easy to repair and modify. They used to have an SD card as the hd you could remove and do all sorts of cool things with. They also published the version of the linux kernel they used and any modifications they (Kobo) devs had to do to get things working. It was awesome for a time. Its more locked down now... :(
I used to play around with https://quill-os.org/ and it worked decently well on kobo until the newer versions started to crack down on the mod scene.
Nowadays im thinking the open book or Diptyx E-Reader might be a better bet for long term sustainability. Its great ifixit is working with kobo, but the software is still locked down.
For a bigger list take a look: https://itsfoss.com/open-source-ebook-readers-options/
I'd love to have ventured into that with mine. Turns out the very first gen I got didn't have the SD card internally yet but soldered memory, so I can't do some fancy stuff with it. On the other hand, the thing still runs and that's like, most of what matters. The old thing still got firmware updates from time to time, gotta say that is rather impressive. I can also swap the battery once it decides to die, which is nice.
Bummed to hear they cracked down on the mod scene there, thought that was awesome. I'm bookmarking your comment so I know what to look for if my kobo ever dies. Not getting any locked down bs for sure.
load more comments
(5 replies)
Big fan of my Kobo as well. I wish the software was swappable, if just so I could try other stuff out, but Koreader is alright when I don't want the default setup.
view more: next ›