Kobo has been teasing on social media that they have something special planned, and this is a reasonable sale for most of their e-readers and e-notes. Americans and Canadians can save up to $30 on each unit for the duration of the promotion. The 1st generation Elipsa, Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Clara 2e, and the Kobo Nia are all discounted; most of these are their latest gen devices, so you can replace an older unit or buy into the Kobo ecosystem for the first time. Typically Kobo offers free shipping on their website for Canadians and residents of the US.
The 1st generation Kobo Elipsa Pack comprises the e-note, stylus and case. Americans can buy this for $349.99, and it has been discounted from $399.99. Meanwhile, the Kobo Sage is a hybrid e-reader and digital note-taking device. The everyday price is $269.99 but has been discounted by $30 and is now $239.99. The Kobo Libra 2 is the Good e-Reader Top Pick from the sale because the Sage has terrible battery life unless you splurge and buy the case with a built-in battery. The Libra 2 is a dedicated e-reader with no note-taking functionality. It has physical page-turn buttons, making it easy to read a novel. The regular price is $189.99 and is now $169.99. The Kobo Clara 2e is an entry-level e-reader made with ocean-bound plastic and is environmentally friendly. It is a bare-bones e-reader with no buttons, just a hunk of plastic. The regular price is $139.99 and is $30 off with the promotion for a cool $119.99. I would not buy the Nia; it is one of the worst e-readers currently being sold, even though it is $30 off and available for $89.99. It is the oldest e-reader that Kobo sells, the specs and screen quality is utterly terrifying.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the same devices are available, with the same $30 discount, but prices are generally more expensive in the great white north, just because the Canadian dollar is not that high. The Kobo Elipsa Pack is $449 with the deal, the Sage is $269, Libra 2 is $209.99 (but is only $20 off). The Kobo Clara 2e is not on sale in Canada, but the abysmal Kobo Nia is, and I recommend to flee in abject terror rather than buying this.
Kobo is the global number two player in the e-reader space worldwide. They are second only to Amazon. They have the same titles from both small and large publishers. However, they generally have fewer titles due to their self-publishing platform, Writing Life, not being as successful as Kindle Direct Publishing. This is good since the Kobo ecosystem is not inundated with AI-generated books and terrible books written by wannabe authors. Kobo also sells audiobooks; their content library is quite compelling, although you can’t listen to audiobooks on any of their e-readers yet.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.