Which stylus e-reader is best?

Top Picks

Kobo Libra Color

Kobo Libra Colour is a groundbreaking product. Libra Colour allows users to jot down their thoughts while reading, write in a separate notebook, and access their Google Drive.
Strong Points

Amazing color display

Perfect size for taking notes

The page turning buttons are convenient
runner-up

Amazon Kindle Scribe

$234 $340 Save $106

The Kindle Scribe has a large display that gives you all the reading features of a Kindle while still giving you plenty of space for note-taking and annotating.
Strong Points

The 10.2-inch size feels unwieldy

Stylus included

The display is very comfortable to write on
Cons

You can’t write notes anywhere

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Key Takeaways

The Kobo Libra Color gives you the benefits of a physical book without the distractions.
Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is more expensive than the Kobo Libra Color, but it offers faster performance.
The Kobo Libra Color links to Google Drive and offers a colorful highlighting feature.

As the new semester approaches, most students are deciding whether to use a traditional notebook or switch to an iPad for their new semester notes. Throughout high school, college, and even grad school, I have always chosen to use a traditional notebook for note-taking. Tablets like the iPad were too distracting for me and kept me from concentrating on my classes.

But as I began to need more books for school, I started looking for a compact way to store my books and notes without buying an iPad. That’s when I discovered that e-readers allow readers to annotate, write in notes, and even have limited internet access.

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This color e-reader is perfect for back to school

The Kobo Libra Colour is a great option for those looking for something in between an iPad and an e-reader.

As a former print reader, I miss so many advantages of print books that e-readers don’t have. The main advantage is annotation. Especially when you’re reading work or school related books, your mind is racing as you read, so having the option to write in the margins is very useful. But this new e-reader combines the advantages of print books and e-books.

While Amazon’s Kindle Scribe has been the big player in the stylus-enabled e-reader industry, this spring Rakuten introduced the Kobo Libra Color, an e-reader that lets users scribble all over the page. I’ve used Kindle and Kobo e-readers in the past and am a fan of both devices, but I couldn’t decide which one to buy. Naturally, I had to get both. If you’re having trouble deciding between the Kindle Scribe and the Kobo Libra Color, I’ve been using both for the past few weeks.

Pricing, Availability and Specifications

Both devices are available on Amazon, but the Kobo is a little more affordable, available at Walmart and directly from Rakuten. The Kindle Scribe, which includes a basic pen, costs $340. The Kobo Libra Colour on Rakuten is about $220, but doesn’t include the stylus needed to write on the device. The stylus is an additional $70, and the sleep cover is $40, for a total of $330.

	Kobo Libra Color	Amazon Kindle Scribe Essentials Bundle
brand	Kobo	Kindle
screen	7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display (150ppi) with FastGLR and dark mode	10.2-inch Paper White Display (300ppi)
Storage	32GB	16GB, 32GB, or 64GB
Connectivity	USB-C	USB-C
battery	Your eReader will last up to 40 days on a single charge when reading for 30 minutes per day with frontlight brightness set to 30% and WiFi and Bluetooth® wireless technology turned off.	With wireless off, light setting 13, and 30 minutes of reading per day, you can get up to 12 weeks of use on a single charge.
button	Power button, page turn button	Power button
Weight	7.03 oz (199.5 g)	15.3 oz (433 g)
size	5.7 x 6.3 x 0.32 inches (144.6 x 161 x 8.3 mm)	7.7 x 9.0 x 0.22 inches (196 x 230 x 5.8 mm (excluding feet))
like water off a duck’s back	IPX8	IPX8

Design and display

One of the most significant differences between Kobo and Kindle is the design and display: the Kindle Scribe is more reminiscent of a standard tablet, while the Kobo Libra Colour still has an e-book feel.

The Kindle Scribe is significantly larger than the Kobo Libra Colour. The Scribe has a 10.2-inch e-ink display, while the Kobo has a 7-inch display. If you’re familiar with the Kindle or Kobo home screen, they’re both the same, except that both devices now have a separate section for notebooks.

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While both devices have a paper-like screen texture, the Kindle Scribe definitely looks more like a tablet screen than the Kobo Libra Color. Another advantage of the Kobo Libra Color’s design is the addition of buttons on the side of the tablet, which makes turning pages forward and backward much easier, a big advantage over the Scribe.

Of course, the last and most obvious difference between the two is the lack of color on the Kindle Scribe, something I didn’t notice until I used the Kobo Libra Color. Kobo’s e-readers offer several highlight color options to help differentiate notes on a page. Plus, the all-color book covers add a little personality to the device.

performance

In terms of performance, the Kindle Scribe wins slightly: it turns pages faster, there’s almost no lag when highlighting or adding notes, and the e-reader charges faster than the Kobo Libra Color. That’s not to say the Libra Color doesn’t perform better; in fact, there’s a noticeable improvement between the Kobo Libra Color and the older Kobo Clara, which I tested recently.

Where Libra Colour excels Scribe is in its annotation capabilities. The Kobo Stylus allows users to doodle all over the pages of a book, a luxury that Kindle Scribe’s basic pen doesn’t offer. Scribe lets users add handwritten or typed notes to a page, but doesn’t let them write freely wherever they want.

The extra features that each e-reader comes with is another big turning point. Both e-readers offer a wide range of features, and what you’re looking for will determine which one is best for you. Kindle Scribe offers easy web browsing, links to Goodreads, is compatible with Libby, can send PDFs and e-documents to the e-reader, and also has notebook functionality.

Rakuten’s Kobo Libra Color offers similar features to Scribe, including notebook functionality and the ability to edit PDFs and e-documents, but with some modifications. Web browsing on the Kobo Libra Color is still in beta (Kobo’s web browser has been in beta for years), so it’s not as advanced as Kindle Scribe’s web browsing.

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But my favorite addition to the Libra Color is the ability to link to Google Drive and add articles you’ve saved in Pocket. Linking to Google Drive makes it easy to upload and edit articles on both the Kobo Libra Color and your laptop. The Pocket feature, which is not new to Kobo devices, lets you save articles you find online and download them to read later.

Which is better for the new school year?

Ultimately, it depends on what kind of experience you want. After using the devices for a few weeks, I’m leaning towards the Kobo Libra Colour for its compact size and ability to link to Google Drive.