Competition for Amazon’s Kindle E-Reader Emerges in India

The Amazon Kindle e-reader is one of the best in the market and has been the only option for Indians for many years. But not anymore, as a new e-reader brand has been launched in the country, offering people different options depending on what they want to use.

Rakuten’s Kobo e-reader arrived this week, and it’s sure to be much more flexible with file format support than the Kindle, which Amazon keeps limited to certain formats. The company has introduced three Kobo e-readers, which are Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Clara 2E and Kobo Nia.

Kobo E-readers price in India

Kobo now has three e-readers in the market which are available in the Kobo Nia at Rs 10,999, the Kobo Clara 2E at Rs 14,999 and the premium Kobo Libra 2 model at Rs 19,999. Kobo will sell these e-readers through online platforms and its own website in the country.

Features of the Kobo E-Reader

Kobo Nia is the most affordable model with a 6-inch HD e-ink screen. It supports Wi-Fi and comes with a microUSB port for charging, making it an old model. It has 8GB of storage and a 1000mAh battery.

The Kobo Clara 2E also has a 6-inch HD e-ink display, but this model has an IPX8 rating, making it water resistant. You have Wi-Fi and USB C for connectivity, 16 GB of storage and a promised battery life of up to 7 days. And finally, you have the Kobo Libra 2, which is the premium version of the three.

This model has a 7-inch HD display with dark mode support. You have Wi-Fi and USB C for connectivity, 32 GB of storage and a 1500 mAh battery that supports USB C charging. If you hide the Kobo branding on e-readers, there is very little to tell the difference between a Kobo and a Kobo. Kindle e-readers.

That said, Amazon has a solid track record with its Kindle in the country, and Rakuten needs to match those achievements to become popular with buyers in India.