Kobo adds color to its e-reader lineup for the first time, starting at $149

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  Kobo's Libra Colour is the higher-end of the two color Kobos, with a 7-inch screen, physical page-turn buttons, and stylus compatibility. [credit: Kobo ]

Color e-readers have been a thing for a while, but until now, the biggest companies with the most extensive book ecosystems—Amazon, mainly, but also Barnes & Noble and Rakuten Kobo—have only sold traditional black-and-white models.

That changes on April 30th, when Kobo releases its first color e-readers: the $149.99 Kobo Clara Colour and $219.99 Kobo Libra Colour. Both devices look a lot like their black-and-white predecessors, the Kobo Libra 2 and Kobo Clara 2E, but with colorful screens instead of black-and-white ones.

Kobo is also refreshing the black-and-white version of the Clara, called the Clara BW to distinguish it from the color model. It's mostly identical to the old Clara 2E model, but with the faster dual-core processor from the color models. It sells for $129.99, $10 cheaper than the Clara 2E.