A rare discount on TechRadar's favourite ereader means you can give mum the gift of reading this Mother's Day

Deal image for the Kobo Libra Colour being held in two hands
(Image credit: Future)

Celebrated every year on the second Sunday of May – which this year is May 11 – Mother's Day 2025 is officially less than two weeks away. So if you haven't started thinking of Mother's Day gift ideas, now is the time. Luckily, we've got you covered with a present that is sure to knock mum's socks off, particularly if she’s an avid reader – and you get a nice little saving at the same time.

That prezzie would be our pick of the best ereader on the market right now. We think the Kobo Libra Colour is better than the best Kindles because it offers more bang for buck in comparison, although we’ll be the first to admit it’s not cheap. Factoring in a 7-inch colour display, 32GB of storage, Bluetooth connectivity for audiobook listening and full writing capabilities, it’s arguably a fantastic gift for anyone who loves to read, write or doodle.

It doesn’t ship with the Kobo Stylus 2, but mum can get that separately when she really needs it. For now, though, a saving of AU$20.95 is worth considering on the best ereader for Aussies.

Kobo Libra Colour
Kobo Libra Colour: was AU$359.95 now AU$339 at Amazon

Save AU$20.95

Usually, we wouldn't bother calling it out a 6% saving as a deal. However, this bargain is only AU$1 more than Amazon's cheapest price from Black Friday 2024 – and it's very rare to see much more than AU$20 off Kobo products. In fact, this is technically a AU$40.95 saving, as the Libra Colour is now listed for AU$379.95 on the Kobo website. Earning the full five-stars in our Kobo Libra Colour review thanks to its 7-inch display that's just big enough for comics and manga, IPX8 waterproofing for worry-free reading in the bath, page-turn buttons and full writing features, it's easily the #1 ereader to buy – even if you spend the extra AU$99.55 on the Kobo Stylus 2 right away.

Note that this offer is only available on the white model and also ships to New Zealand – down to NZ$354.41.

Every Kobo Libra model has graced the top spot of our best ereader buying guide because of the value they’ve offered, where we feel Kindle devices are currently lacking, and the Libra Colour is no different.

While nothing much changed on the design front, Kobo added full writing capabilities and a colour display to an already-winning formula, while retaining affordability when compared with similarly featured competitors.

Even if mum doesn’t make full use of that 7-inch colour display, she might well value the ability to annotate and doodle in colour. If mum is regularly underlining, highlighting and making notes in her favourite books, a touch of colour can make all the difference in the world.

More importantly, there are a ton of other features here that really make the Kobo Libra Colour worth considering as a Mother’s Day prezzie. For starters, you get Bluetooth connectivity for listening to audiobooks, albeit only those purchased (or borrowed via Kobo Plus) from the Kobo Store – something the latest Kindles are missing in Australia.

Then there’s OverDrive baked in, so even if mum doesn’t want to purchase content, she can borrow books from a local library – she only needs her library card and check with the library if they have OverDrive or Libby support. There’s even Google Drive and Dropbox access so it’s easy to transfer files (even notes) via a wireless connection.

It’s mostly made from recycled plastics and it’s repairable too! That’s not something you hear about any ereader. Kobo has partnered with iFixit to sell spare parts and provide step-by-step instructions on how to go about fixing the ereader yourself. That’s good for the planet.

All this and more makes the Libra Colour well worth the splurge if you want to elevate mum’s reading experience. If, however, it’s still beyond your budget, both the Kobo Clara BW and Kindle Paperwhite (2024) offer excellent digital reading experiences, but without colour displays.

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Max Delaney
Staff Writer

A Digital Content Writer for the Australian TechRadar team, Max covers all things tech and lifestyle and is keen on using tech to make life easier. A 2023 journalism graduate, Max has written across sports, entertainment and business for brands like Zero Digital Media and Valnet.Inc, but found his love for tech in his time at GadgetUser. At home when covering everything from the latest deal and coupon code to the most recent streaming service output, phone or smartwatch, Max excels at using his research, experience and writing ability give you more time to use your tech, not waste time finding it. 

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