Best Color eReader: Boox, Kobo, PocketBook or Bigme?

Summary

This video compares various color e-readers, concluding that the Pocketbook InkBed Color 3 is the best all-rounder for color saturation, features, and battery life. The Kobo Libra Color 7 is a close second with more features and a better front light. The Bigme B751 C excels in ghosting behavior and pen support, while the Kobo Clara Color and Pocketbook Era Color are recommended for compactness and affordability.

Takeaways

• 📚 The Pocketbook InkBed Color 3 is the best all-rounder for color saturation, feature set, battery life, and ease of use.
• 🌈 The Kobo Forma 2.0 has more features and a slightly better front light, but it's not as easy to use and doesn't have as vibrant colors as the InkPad.
• 📱 Android integration is a significant selling point, offering more options compared to Pocketbook, but requires some time to adjust settings for optimal app usage.
• 👻 The Bigme B751C leads in ghosting behavior and has good pen support, making it a strong contender for those prioritizing these features.
• 🖊️ The Onyx Boox Libra Color is the best choice for extensive annotations, with great pen and notebook support, despite some limitations in PDF and comic handling.
• 📊 The Pocketbook InkBed Color and Era Color are recommended for those looking for a more compact or affordable e-reader, but may lack some advanced features.
• 🌞 The Kobo Forma 2.0 has the brightest front light among the devices, enhancing contrast and readability, followed by the Onyx Boox and Pocketbook devices.
• 🔋 The Pocketbook InkBed Color 3 has the longest battery life in the test conditions, followed by the Onyx Boox ClearColor and Kobo Forma 2.0.
• 📚 The Kobo Forma 2.0 offers the best viewing experience for comics and PDFs with its various viewing options, though it requires some setup to reduce ghosting.
• 🎨 The Onyx Boox devices provide the best experience for reading and annotating pure text e-books with extensive text styling options and color-coded annotations.

Q & A

Which color e-reader is considered the best all-rounder according to the video?

The Pocketbook InkBed Color 3 is considered the best all-rounder in terms of color saturation, feature set, battery life, and ease of use.

What are the main selling points of the Kobo Forma 2 over other e-readers?

The Kobo Forma 2's main selling points include its extensive text styling options, color-coded annotations, and the ability to switch between an e-book and a notebook easily.

How does the Bigme B751C stand out in terms of ghosting behavior among the compared e-readers?

The Bigme B751C has the best ghosting behavior among the compared e-readers, with less noticeable ghosting even with image content.

What is the main advantage of the Onyx Boox Color 7 in terms of software?

The Onyx Boox Color 7 offers a well-optimized Android user interface for the e-ink screen, providing more options compared to other e-readers, although it may not be as intuitive and easy to use.

How does the Pocketbook InkBed Color 3 perform in terms of battery life in the test conditions mentioned in the video?

In the test conditions, the Pocketbook InkBed Color 3 consumed the least amount of energy, translating to a runtime of roughly 29 hours.

What is the main drawback of the Kobo Libra Color and Kobo Clara Color in terms of color saturation?

The Kobo Libra Color and Kobo Clara Color have less vibrant colors out of the box due to more desaturated color settings, but this can be improved by changing the color mode in the developer settings.

How does the front light affect the color perception on these e-readers?

The front light plays a significant role in how colors and the screen in general are perceived on these e-readers. A brighter front light can enhance contrast and readability, with the Kobo devices having the brightest front lights.

What is the main advantage of the Onyx Boox Color 7 in terms of viewing options for comics?

The Onyx Boox Color 7 offers different viewing options for comics that work better than on any of the others, making it the best choice for comic reading among the compared e-readers.

How does the Bigme B751C compare to other e-readers in terms of user interface and ease of use?

The Bigme B751C is considered the hardest to recommend in terms of user interface and ease of use, as it is not as refined as the others and seems to have implemented many options without first optimizing the existing ones.

What are the main features that make the Pocketbook InkBed Color 3 stand out for reading and annotating pure text e-books?

The Pocketbook InkBed Color 3 offers extensive text styling options, color-coded annotations, and a clean, easy-to-use interface, making it an excellent choice for reading and annotating pure text e-books.

Outlines

00:00

🖋️ Best Color Ink E-Readers Comparison

This paragraph introduces a comparison of various color ink e-readers, including the Boox Color 7, Kobo Libra Color, Pocketbook Ink Bed Color 3, and the Bigme B751 C. The presenter quickly concludes that the Pocketbook Ink Bed Color 3 is the best all-rounder in terms of color saturation, feature set, battery life, and ease of use. The Boox Color 7 is noted for its additional features and slightly better front light but is not as user-friendly or vibrant in color. The Bigme B751 C excels in ghosting behavior and pen support, while the Kobo Libra Color is recommended for those who do a lot of annotations. The presenter also mentions that the UI is clean and easy to use, but PDF and comics handling could be better. The video promises a detailed comparison of these devices in terms of screen quality, front light, ghosting, software, and battery life.

06:55

🌟 Front Light and Ghosting Behavior

The second paragraph delves into the front light and ghosting behavior of the e-readers. It highlights that all devices have dark displays without the front light, making them less comfortable for reading. The Kobo devices have the brightest front lights, followed by the Boox Color 7, Pocketbook Ink Bed Color 3, and the Bigme B751 C, which has the dimmest front light. The presenter suggests that the front light is crucial for color perception and readability. Ghosting is noted as an issue with all Incal 3 screens, but Boox and Bigme have found ways to reduce it through technology and settings adjustments. The Bigme B751 C is praised for having the best ghosting behavior, while the Kobo devices have the least vibrant colors but the best contrast levels. The presenter recommends checking developer settings to improve color saturation on Kobo devices.

11:57

📚 Reading Experience and Software Features

This paragraph focuses on the reading experience and software features of the e-readers. The Boox Color 7 is praised for its viewing options, making it the best choice for comics and PDFs. The Pocketbook devices also offer a good viewing experience, but the Kobo and Bigme devices are not as effective for these formats. Kobo devices excel in reading and annotating text ebooks, with great text styling options and color-coded annotations. Pocketbook offers color-coded annotations and a well-organized library, but lacks pen support. The Boox Color 7 offers more features than Pocketbook, but they are not as refined or easy to use. The Bigme B751 C is noted for its many options, but the presenter suggests that fewer, more refined options would be preferable.

16:59

🔋 Battery Life and Final Recommendations

The final paragraph discusses the battery life of the e-readers, with the Pocketbook Ink Bed Color 3 showing the best performance, followed by the Kobo Libra Color and the Boox Color 7. The presenter notes that battery life can vary significantly depending on usage, such as viewing comics, using the browser, or taking notes with the pen. The presenter concludes by recommending the Pocketbook Ink Bed Color 3 as an easy-to-use all-around device with longer battery life and more vibrant colors, while the Boox Color 7 is recommended for its advanced features and Android expandability. The presenter encourages viewers to watch in-depth reviews for more information and to make a choice based on their specific use case.

Keywords

💡Color Ink

Color Ink refers to the ink used in electronic devices like e-readers to display color content. In the video, the term is used to describe the ink technology in various e-readers, emphasizing its importance in color saturation and vibrancy. The script discusses how different e-readers handle color ink, with some devices offering more vibrant colors than others.

💡E-Reader

An E-Reader, or electronic reader, is a portable device designed primarily for reading digital books and documents. The video script evaluates several e-readers based on their color ink technology, front light, battery life, and user interface, highlighting the features that make them suitable for different reading needs.

💡Color Saturation

Color Saturation refers to the intensity and purity of colors displayed on a screen. In the context of the video, color saturation is a key factor in determining the quality of the e-readers' screens, with some devices offering more vibrant and accurate colors than others. The script compares the color saturation of various e-readers to help viewers decide which device might be best for their needs.

💡Front Light

The Front Light is a feature in e-readers that illuminates the screen, making it easier to read in low-light conditions. The video script discusses the brightness levels of the front lights in different e-readers, noting how they affect the readability and perception of colors on the screen. Some devices are praised for their bright front lights, while others are criticized for being too dim.

💡Battery Life

Battery Life refers to the amount of time a device can operate before needing to be recharged. In the video, battery life is an important factor in evaluating e-readers, with some models offering longer runtimes than others. The script provides specific battery life estimates for each e-reader, helping viewers understand how long they can expect to use each device before needing to recharge.

💡Ghosting

Ghosting is a display issue where residual images or 'ghosts' of previous pages appear on the screen. The video script discusses how different e-readers handle ghosting, with some devices offering better performance in this regard. The term is used to compare the visual quality of e-readers, especially when viewing image-heavy content.

💡User Interface

The User Interface (UI) is the point of interaction between a user and a device, including the display and controls. In the video, the user interface is a critical factor in evaluating e-readers, with some devices praised for their intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces, while others are criticized for being less refined. The script discusses how the UI affects the overall user experience of each e-reader.

💡Annotations

Annotations are notes or comments added to a text, often used in e-readers to highlight or comment on specific parts of a document. The video script discusses the annotation capabilities of different e-readers, noting how some devices offer better support for annotating text, including color coding and pen support. This is important for users who need to interact with the text in a more dynamic way.

💡Android

Android is an operating system used in many smartphones and tablets, and some e-readers also use Android for their software. In the video, the presence of Android in e-readers is highlighted as a selling point, offering more options and flexibility compared to other systems. The script discusses how Android enhances the functionality of e-readers, including the ability to use apps and access a wider range of content.

💡E-ink

E-ink is a display technology used in e-readers and other electronic devices, known for its low power consumption and readability in sunlight. The video script mentions E-ink in the context of the display technology used in the e-readers being reviewed, noting that all the devices use E-ink 3 technology, which is the best available at the time of recording.

💡Comics and PDFs

Comics and PDFs are two common types of digital content that e-readers are often used to read. In the video, the handling of comics and PDFs is discussed as a key feature of e-readers. The script compares how different e-readers display and interact with these types of content, noting which devices offer better viewing options and user experience for reading comics and PDFs.

Highlights

The Kobo Ink Bed Color 3 is the best all-rounder for color saturation, feature set, battery life, and ease of use.

The Kobo Ink Bed Color 3 offers the most vibrant colors among the compared e-readers.

The Kobo Libra Color 7 has more features and a slightly better front light but may not be as easy to use.

Android integration is a key selling point, providing more options compared to PocketBook, but requires time to adjust settings.

The Bigme B751 C leads in ghosting behavior and has excellent pen support.

Cobal Libra Color is recommended for those doing a lot of annotations due to its responsive notebooks and pen.

The UI of the Cobal devices is clean and easy to use, making it a user-friendly choice.

PDF and Comics handling is not the strong suit of the Cobal Libra Color.

The PocketBook Ink Bed Color and Era Color are recommended for those seeking a more compact or cheaper e-reader.

All e-readers use Incal 3 technology, providing 300 PPI black and white resolution and 150 PPI color resolution.

The Bigme B751 C has the dimmest front light, which might be an issue for some users.

The Kobo Libra Color 7 has the brightest front light, enhancing contrast and readability.

Color temperature adjustments are available on all devices, allowing for personal preference customization.

The Bigme B751 C has the best ghosting behavior, making it ideal for image-heavy content.

The PocketBook Ink Bed Color 3 has the longest battery life in the test conditions, at approximately 29 hours.

The Kobo Ink Bed Color 3 and the Kobo Libra Color 7 are the top choices for users based on use case and preference.

The video provides in-depth reviews and comparisons for those interested in learning more about the e-readers.

Transcripts

let's check out which of these color ink

eers is the best we'll compare the booko

color 7 Cobo Libra color and cleara

color pocketbook ink bed color 3 and era

color and the big me b751 C and let's

just come to The Upfront conclusion to

give you a quick answer and to not waste

anyone's time the bucket book ink bed

color 3 is the best allrounder when it

comes to color saturation feature set

battery life and E ofuse it combin many

useful functions with the most vibrant

colors compared to the rest so if you

don't need Android or handwritten

annotations this is the best color ink

eror right now in my opinion very

closely followed by the books score

color 7 which has even more features the

slightly better front light but isn't

exactly as easy to use and also doesn't

have the same vibrant colors as the ink

Android is definitely the most important

selling Point here and gives you much

more options compared to pocketbook but

to reduce costing in apps you need to

invest a bit of time and Tinker with the

settings the big me b751 c also has

Android but isn't as refined as the

books eror or any of the others for that

matter it also has the dimmest front L

which might be an issue for some however

where it leads this comparison is

ghosting Behavior if you're looking for

the best ghost Behavior the big me eer

takes the lead the edit pen support is

also a plus the cobal Libra color is the

best choice if you're doing a lot of

annotations those work great with and

without the pen and the notebooks are

awesome additions even though the pen

latency isn't as low as with dedicated

Notting tablets it's still nice to have

them the UI is also clean and easy to

use what's not great is PDF and Comics

handling here so if that's your main

application pick one of the others and

I'd only recommend going for the Koba

cleara color or pocketbook era color if

you're looking for a more compact or

cheaper eror otherwise go for the other

two models of those companies like And

subscribe if that was helpful and if you

appreciate the upfront summary and keep

watching for more detailed setby set

comparison so let's Jump Right In with

the screen comparison and first see how

differently they handle color Edition

because there is quite a bit to unpack

here all of these color ERS use incal 3

technology that's the best you can get

at the time of recording this video all

of them have a 300 PPI black and white

resolution and the 150 PPI color

resolution and match the front lights

brightness levels as closely as possible

with the exception of the big me b751 c

all are set to around 4 its brightness

because the big me eer just doesn't get

as bright with the cold white LEDs as

the others side by side we can

immediately tell that the pocketbook

inad color 3 is more vibrant than the

smaller devices with tweaking settings a

bit you can get closer to the color

saturation of the ink pad with the

smaller devices as well but still not

quite so if you're after the color ink

iror with the most vibrant colors the P

color 3 is the best choice right now in

terms of color Fidelity the books go

color 7 manages to come out on top

especially because it doesn't Crush some

details in images as much as it's the

case on the more saturated pocketbook

devices out of the box both cobal color

erors have the least vibrant colors but

the best contrast levels what's

important to know here is that a big

part of color condition comes down to

software and for some reason Co chose to

go with more desaturated color settings

which I'm not sure if this was the right

call to make luckily you can change the

color mode in the developer settings

which you have to enable first and then

switch to one of the S modes and that

immediately boosts color saturation to a

level more in line with the others that

definitely comes at the price of color

accuracy but that's not the best to

begin with with any of those so that's a

trate I willing to make and I would

recommend anyone getting or already

owning a cobal color eror to check out

those settings to see if you like them

better as well so let's flip through a

couple of more pages to give you a bit

more context

[Music]

if you're asking yourself now which one

of these is the best eer without using

the frontlet I have to disappoint

because I'd recommend none of them if

you don't want to use the frontlet

because of the way incal screens work

all of those erors have pretty dark

displays when not turning up the front L

which makes reading not really

comfortable check out my is color ink

worth it video If you haven't seen it

already to get a few more insights on

that which brings us to the front light

which is also a big part of how colors

and the screen in general is perceived

on these eers in terms of brightest

levels K Cobo easily takes the lead with

the brightest front lights at around 120

nits with the cold white LEDs personally

I'm not using ink devices with the

brightness set to such high levels but

there is no denying that this enhances

contrast and reability further in both

Cobo is followed by the book go color 7

at around 68 its Max on brightness the

bucket book era color at around 63 nits

and the bucket book ink bit color 3 at

around 58 nits all three of those are

totally fine and easily bright enough

for everyday use the big b b751 c has

the dimmest frontlet by far when not

mixing color temperature with only 28

knits when dialing up the W wide LEDs

you can improve that brightness levels

but at the cost of color Fidelity

personally I find the front that on the

big eror a bit too dim to comfortably

use it but that definitely depends on

your personal reference the color

temperatures on here are very different

from one another but all offer color

temperature adjustments allowing for a

bit more refinement by mixing the Neds

but generally the Coba devices and the

big me b751 c are more in the warmer

side while pocketbook and books have a

cooler color temperature which I think

provides a better starting point to find

that sweet spot for mixing the LEDs for

Comics the frontlet doesn't have to be

especially even because with colored

content irregularities just aren't as

obvious so if your main application is

Comics all of them are totally fine if

you intend to read pure text ebooks as

well that's another story for that You'

want to get the most even frontlet that

you can here the books go color 7 has

the least variances followed by the

bucket book Inked color 3 which has

slightly visible Halos at the bottom of

the screen but otherwise is also very

even the big me b751 c is also even but

again with only around 30 in its

brightness irregularities are generally

less obvious Cobo Libra color cleara

color and the pocketbook era color are a

bit worse but still good enough to not

cause major issues for most people so in

short you can't really go wrong with any

of them when it comes to the frontal

deformity but if you're sensitive to

that go for the books go color 7 or

pocket book inket color 3

ghosting is essentially an issue with

all Inc Little 3 screens when it comes

to imager content but books and big me

have found ways around that with books

it's the book super refresh technology

which draws more energy but allows for

faster screen refreshes and less

ghosting but that's not available in the

gool 7 so to reduce ghosting on here you

need to Tinker with the settings once

that's done ghosting is not not a huge

deal anymore with static content with

pocketbook and Cobo I'd say it's still a

bit more noticeable than on an optimized

book go color 7 the bigm b751 C on the

other hand has hands down the best

ghosting behavior of all of these still

not perfect but with the different ink

viewing options you can reduce ghosting

more than on the other devices in terms

of software these are all very different

experiences

I'd say the Coba erors have the easiest

to use interface out of these four

companies here it's clean well organized

and doesn't take a lot of time getting

used to the pocket book models are also

very well organized and offer a couple

of useful customization options have the

best library but aren't as responsive as

the others so I'd say that's the only

downside even though I also wouldn't say

they are annoyingly slow just a slower

in comparison the books go color 7

offers a well optimized Android user

interface for the in screen which isn't

always perfect but because you get a lot

more options compared to Cobo and

pocketbook it's not as intuitive and

easy to use as those so it definitely

needs a bit more time getting used to

that one the big me b751 c is

essentially the hardest to recommend in

terms of the user interface it just

isn't as refined as the rest and you can

tell right from the start that the

others seem to have put more time and

effort into

optimizations when it comes to comics

and PDF functions the books go color 7

easily wins the comparison with its

different viewing options those work

better than on any of the others but for

Comics I typically only use the fit to

width option which Zooms in on a page to

fit the width of the screen that's

essentially the most comfortable viewing

mode on this screen say for me

personally so you just jump from segment

to segment with a tab on the screen or

push of the page Dr Button the bucket

book eers don't have as many viewing

options but the most important ones are

here as well same as on the books eer I

just used the fit to WID option which

works essentially the same so the inkbit

color 3 and era color also offer great

viewing experience for comics cobal and

big me both aren't great when it comes

to comics and PDFs both like the same

intuitive and easy to use viewing mods

as the others but at the very least with

big me you can use Android apps to

overcome those shortcomings on both Cobo

devices you need to settle for the

missing feature set at least for now I

suspect Kobo will offer improvements

over time with software updates but

right now the others are the better

choice for comics on the other hand when

it comes to reading and annotating pure

text ebooks Cobo offers the best

experience not only do the Koba Liber

color and Kar color have great extensive

text styling options but annotations

with color coding work incredibly well

without having to fiddle around with the

cursors to accurately select the text on

the page and the cobal Liber color also

has pen support with the option to

easily switch between an ebook and in a

notebook so that's super useful

dictionary function and Library are also

well executed making for a great user

experience overall only the web browser

is something you shouldn't rely on and

it's essentially the worst in that

comparison but buying ebooks Works

directly via the well integrated store

pocketbook also offers colorcoded

annotations and you can even use your

fingers to highlight something in a book

but not taking is a bit Feit

because selecting text isn't as precise

as on the Cobo models also there's no

pen support text styling options are

also less extensive but there are more

dictionaries available and the library

is the best you can get right now in the

eing space offering the best sorting and

filtering options with the ability to

use a folder structure or calra text to

sort to ebooks oet book is also more

open than Cobo which means you can

listen to S load content easier and

there's also a build-in speaker to

listen to music and audiobooks directly

there's also a nice text to speech

option available and last but not least

the web browser also works much better

than on Cobo so you can also use it to

buy ebooks in another store except

Amazon but the integrated store is also

well done and easy to use the books

goool color 7 offers even more features

than pocketbook but those aren't always

as refined and easy to use there are

only three preinstalled local

dictionaries otherwise it's using online

services for that function note taking

also has color coding but right now the

text selection is a bit buggy with the

device selecting all text on a page when

it's not supposed to but I suspect that

will be fixed soon as it's a problem I

don't have with other books devices

there's also a buil-in speaker to listen

to audio books and use the text to

speech function directly which is even

better than on pocketbook but all of

those mentioned features are just a bit

more complicated to use and some aren't

as refined thanks to Android the web

browser is even better than on

pocketbook and is even suitable to

listen to podcasts for example but I'd

recommend just using an app for that you

will also need to use an app or the

browser for getting your ebooks because

the integrated store is only collection

of public domain books and doesn't offer

contemporary literature the big me b751

c is somewhat similar it offers a lot of

options but I have to say that's

actually a drawback here because it

looks like big me tried to implement as

many options as possible without first

optimizing the existing ones I'd really

like to see less but more refined

options in the future but there's a more

positive side note the big MC B 751c

also has pen support from not taking

which is definitely a nice addition in

terms of battery life I tested each

device with a page turn interval of 15

seconds and a full page refresh every

five pages with the front let set to

around 14 nit brightness where possible

in that test the pocketbook inkbed color

3 drew the least amount of energy with

only around 3.4% per hour which Ade

equates to a runtime of roughly 29 hours

followed by the Coba clearer color with

27 hours the books go color 7 with 21

hours the cobal Liber color with 20

hours the pocket book eror color with 17

hours and the big me b751 c with 13

hours just keep in mind the battery life

can vary a lot depending on what you do

viewing Comics using the browser sending

the frontlet to BR levels listening to

audiobooks and if possible taking notes

with the pen or using Android apps will

all reduce battery life but at the very

least these numbers give us a good

estimate of which device we can expect

longer run temps from so that's it you

got the up front summary in the

beginning and as you can see there is

not the best color eer but you should

make the choice based on your use case

for me personally it's a choice between

the pocketbook ink bed color three and

the books go color 7 the InkPad is the

better choice as an easy to use all

around with longer battery life and more

vibrant colors the go color 7 is the

more advanced device with Android

expendability but this deeper learning

Cur to learn more check out both my

in-depth reviews please like And

subscribe if you found this video

helpful and to not miss future reviews

and comparisons thanks for your time

watching and see you on the next one