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The new Kobo Clara HD is a worthy (and affordable) Kindle competitor

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After months of rumors, Canadian ebook reader manufacturer Kobo has released its newest device, the Kobo Clara HD. The reader is the first budget model to be released by the company in nearly three years. And although it’s one of Kobo’s more affordable readers, it offers some pretty impressive features.

The Kobo Clara HD sports a 6-inch Cara E Ink screen with a 300ppi resolution. It features a whopping 8GB of storage which translates to about 6,000 ebooks. Unless you’re a heavy user, the battery should last for several weeks.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the most exciting features to make its way to the Kobo Clara HD is ComfortLight Pro. Instead of using the traditional technology to illuminate most E Ink screens, ComfortLight Pro uses orange and red LEDs for illumination, minimizing your exposure to blue light. While the Clara HD is not the first Kobo ebook reader to feature the technology, it is the least expensive one on the market.

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There are a few things missing on the Kobo Clara HD that you’ll find on some of the company’s more expensive ebook readers, however. First off, the Clara HD is not waterproof, so it’s not a great fit for summer beach reading. It also doesn’t include Overdrive integration, one of our favorite features on the Kobo Aura One that allows you to seamlessly borrow books from your local library.

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While Kobo may not have the same household recognition as Amazon’s Kindle line of ebook readers, it’s a worthy competitor nonetheless. The company released its first device in 2010 and has become a cult favorite among heavy readers. In addition to its own ebook store with more than 5 million titles, Kobo supports many more formats than you’ll find on Kindle. In addition to supporting most of the major ebook formats, the Kobo Clara HD allows you to view documents, photos, and even comic books.

It’s also easy to customize and annotate texts. With the Kobo Clara HD you can select from nearly a dozen different texts and forty different size options to get the perfect read. You can also highlight passages, bookmark pages, and even make notes within the text.

The Kobo Clara HD is available now. You can pick up the Kobo Clara HD for $130 on the Kobo website, and through various retailers including Amazon and Walmart.

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Steven Winkelman
Steven Winkelman
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven writes about technology, social practice, and books. At Digital Trends, he focuses primarily on mobile and wearables…
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