Kobo goes big with new Elipsa 2E e-reader
More natural note taking from the 10.3in E Ink tablet
Kobo is aiming to please bookworms that like to make notes as they read with its latest e-reader. The new Kobo Elipsa 2E packs a large screen, improved stylus and notebook feature that’ll let you swap pen and paper scribbles for digital ones. The Kindle Scribe and ReMarkable 2 rival (£350, from Kobo.com) also supports the firm’s new Kobo Plus subscription service, for unlimited ebook and audiobook access for a monthly fixed fee.
The Elipsa 2E has a 10.3in E Ink touchscreen, with Kobo’s ComfortLight Pro lighting for nighttime reading. Brightness and colour temp are fully tweakable, while low blue light emissions and a white text on black paper option should reduce eyestrain when you simply have to finish the chapter before calling it a night. It should last weeks at a time between charges, and has built-in Bluetooth support for listening to audiobooks via your wireless headphones.
Note-taking and scribbling in the margins are all taken care of by the Kobo Stylus 2, which has pressure sensitivity meant to mimic a ballpoint pen, an eraser on the rear for rubbing out mistakes, and a highlighter button to spotlight important paragraphs. It magnetically hooks onto the e-reader when not in use, and offers a choice of digital pen types, shades and line sizes.
A dedicated notebook section lets you get creative, or you write over any ebooks and PDFs in your collection. There’s 32GB of storage for thousands of books, plus cloud syncing to Dropbox out of the box for all your notes and documents. Google Drive support is set to follow later in the year. It’s also compatible with paid-for service Readwise, which can sync annotations to apps like Evernote.
Bookmarks are synced to the Kobo smartphone app, to pick up where you left off on your phone, and you can borrow ebooks from public libraries that support the OverDrive service. Kobo Plus also lets you pick from over 1.3 million ebooks and more than 100,000 audiobooks available through Kobo’s storefront, for £9 per month for the read or listen packages, or £12 for a combined read and listen offer.
Kobo has used 85% recycled plastic for the chassis, while the optional protective SleepCover steps up to 97% recycled materials. It magnetically affixes to the e-reader, and automatically puts it to sleep when you close it. There’s also a slot for storing the stylus.
You’ll be able to pre-order the Kobo Elipsa 2E directly from the Kobo website from today onwards for £350, with retail sales kicking off from the 19th of April. UK customers putting their name down between the 5th and 18th will get a £25 Kobo gift card to put towards ebooks and audiobooks.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor