Verdict
The Kobo Elipsa 2E is another hard cream for the chopine - agnostical or anti - Amazon eBook consumer . Its large , clear screen is peachy for recital , while the Kobo Stylus 2 and accompany software make for a useful note - taking tool .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
If any brand has managed to give Amazon’sKindle eReaderoperation a sore nozzle ( it would be too strong to hint that it had drawn blood ) , it ’s Kobo . Now , with the Kobo Elipsa 2E , it ’s the top - of - the - line Kindle Scribe eReader - notepad loan-blend that ’s in this Rakuten subordinate ’s crosshairs .
At a price of £ 349.99 ( or $ 399.99 in the US ) , Kobo is call for you to pay £ 30 less than the tantamount modelling of theKindle Scribe . With that articulate , Amazon does offer a simpler , lower - electrical capacity entry model for £ 329.99 .
Pricing aside , the Kobo Elipsa 2E offer some interesting perks over its big - sell rival , admit some impertinent pen functions and Kobo ’s more eclectic eBook ecosystem . Its release has also been accompanied by the wider rollout of Kobo Plus , offering straight-out access to a selection of eBooks for a monthly subscription .
It could be argue that Amazon did n’t quite hit the objective with its own scribbly eReader , so there ’s a hint of an opening in the market here , especially given that Kobo has had the luck for a warm - up with the original Elipsa .
Design
Kobo is keen to point out the green certification of its latesteReaders , with the Elipsa 2E made up of recycled and ocean - bound plastic . Even so , this choice of materials gain the Elipsa 2E find quite a piece cheap than the ( 100 % recycled ) aluminium Kindle Scribe .
The design is otherwise loosely similar , with an crooked look that places a particularly thick bezel to one side . This is where you ’re require to check the equipment , or at least bear much of the weight . Like the Scribe , you get no sealing here , which is similarly tough to swallow in such an expensive Reader .
Both the textured power clitoris and the USB - ascorbic acid port are positioned on one goal of this thick edge . This pee both elements readily accessible when shore the gimmick on a lap or table .
You ’ll plausibly be doing quite a lot of shore up , as this is a peculiarly great eReader , with a tall and wide 193 x 227 torso that weighs 390 g. That makes it quite a minute lightsome than the 433 1000 Kindle Scribe , though the latter is thin ( 5.8 mm vs 7.5 mm ) .
There ’s an optional SleepCover page number case for the Kobo Elipsa 2E , which I also test out . It feels middling pricey at £ 69.99 , especially given that it ’s essentially just a screen masking and a more untroubled holder for the Kobo Stylus 2 . Its magnetised cover did n’t ever quite solid up the right way when it closed for me , add together to the thin tactile sensation , and it does n’t batten down to the back of the gadget when to the full open out .
Screen and Pen
The Kobo Elipsa 2E is fronted by a 10.3 - inchE InkCarta 1200 touch screen , with a 1404 x 1872 resolution . Unfortunately , it does n’t attain the pivot - sharp 300 PPI of the Kindle Scribe or smaller and gaudy eReaders , only managing 227 PPI , though text remains nice and legible .
Indeed , the actual quality of that panel is very honest indeed . ComfortLight PRO technology assist to cut downhearted light and ease eye strain , allowing you to move from cool to warm as the light unload . It ’s a disgrace there ’s no machine - brightness level function , but as someone who always likes to fine - melody such things anyway , it was n’t really an issue for me .
The main dispute between the Elipsa 2E and other eReaders in the Kobo pipeline is the proviso of a stylus , predict the Kobo Stylus 2 . resemble a full - sized playpen , the Stylus 2 enables you to annotate eBooks and PDFs , as well as write in digital notebook .
This area is much more amply flesh out in the Kobo than it is in the Kindle Scribe . When setting up a novel notebook , you have the selection of freeform scribbling or a more advance contour for note - taking , with the power to commute hand - written notes into digital ( and thus exportable ) text . It worked really well for me , even when my handwriting get a small ragged . I also appreciated hint like being able to circle schoolbook to spotlight it , or emphasize it to make it into a title .
There ’s also a clitoris on the side of the Stylus 2 that will turn it into a highlighter when pressed , which is particularly commodious when taking advantage of one of the cool features here . Unlike the Kindle Scribe , you could actually annotate your eBooks with the Elipsa 2E , scrawling in the margin and highlighting text . It makes for a much better survey aid than Amazon ’s rival gimmick , that ’s for sure .
The writing experience itself is reasonably accurate , with just a trace of meantime spoiling the experience . It ’s not as newspaper - like as , say , anApple Pencil on an iPador anS Pen on a Samsung Galaxy S Ultra , but it ’s not forged .
There ’s an eraser on the back of the Stylus , though this operate in a slightly clumsy way , often delete large clod of your scribbling rather than applying a nuanced unmediated event . It ’s nice to see such a feature film include as standard though , unlike with the Kindle Scribe , which make it an optional supernumerary .
On a practical note of hand , it ’s annoying that you have to manually shoot down the Kobo Stylus 2 using a USB - C port . The Kindle Scribe does n’t place such a prerequisite on you , and there ’s no cock for keeping track of how much succus is allow for in the Stylus 2 on the Kobo itself .
When not being used the Kobo Stylus 2 attaches securely to the rear of the machine , where the Kobo logotype is , via the same magnets that are used to supplement the SleepCover . However , you could also use the weaker front fastening magnet to keep the pen stuck ( albeit weakly ) to the front on the thicker bezel , or along one of the shorter edges .
Performance
The Kobo Elipsa 2E runs on a 2GHz CPU and 1 GB of RAM , which by and large proves ample for the elementary tasks it ’s designed to carry out . I would n’t say that flip between tabs is speedy , on the button , but it ’s adequate for an eReader .
There were some initial responsiveness issues with my test unit , and these were mostly put to bed with a couple of microcode update . However , I still experienced the odd time where the Elipsa 2E only did n’t respond to my touch inputs . Sometimes in these situations , only the Kobo Stylus 2 would fire a response , suggesting that the touch recognition system is a little off .
This would appear to be a software takings rather than a hardware one , so hopefully it ’ll be resolved with succeeding updates . But it ’s not ideal .
More generally speaking , software has always been where the Kobo railway line distinguishes itself from Amazon ’s Kindle range of a function . While the latter is a walled garden , offer a Brobdingnagian but closed - off depository library of reading and listening material and create it difficult to cast beyond those border , Kobo takes a more opened approach .
On a basic level , the Kobo Elipsa 2E simply supports way more file type than any Amazon Kindle ( 15 of the suckers ) , and does n’t make you bound through hoops to access eBooks that have n’t been prevail directly through the Kobo shop . you may even import files through Dropbox , and Google Drive support is said to be coming before long .
by nature , if most of your eBooks have been buy through Amazon , then you wo n’t be able to access them here . But then , presumptively you ’d be all in on Kindle if that was the case anyway .
Kobo lately seethe out Kobo Plus in the UK and US , which is its monthly subscription service and respond to Amazon ’s Kindle Unlimited . For £ 8.99 a calendar month ( £ 11.99 if you want audiobooks too ) you get unlimited access to a clump of eBooks .
confessedly , the storefront on the Kindle Elipsa 2E is n’t precisely brimming with the hottest new book , and it is n’t particularly magnificent at surfacing volume recommendations either . The number of categories on display is middling limited , keeping most of the subroutine library tucked out of sight . You would n’t even know that there was a vast subroutine library of gratuitous classics to download and read on the armed service , so you ’ll need to use the hit - and - miss search organisation to locate specific titles .
OverDrive accompaniment is a magnificent feature , enable you to hook up to your local library and essentially ‘ borrow ’ Word from their digital repository . If the price of eBooks is a worry , and you do n’t want to rely on the patchy selection of Kobo Plus , it ’s a cracking alternative .
Another benefit of Kobo ’s more open , nuanced approach is that it features support for the Pocket military service , making the Kobo Elipsa 2E bully for take prospicient - form web contentedness with none of the common ad flab . Opt to read it later on Pocket whilst channel-surf the World Wide Web on your phone , and you ’ll be able-bodied to read it back on that lovely 10.3 - in E Ink cover later on .
When it do to stack away all these books and documents , there ’s 32 GB of interior entrepot as standard , which should prove ample . It ’s a shame there ’s no option for something a little more capacious , as with the Amazon Kindle Scribe , but it ’s not a unsound center ground to shoot for .
Kobo engage the rather dim hope of “ Weeks of battery aliveness ” , but there ’s really nothing to occupy about on the stamina front . I was n’t able to launch the equipment down in the couple of weeks I had it on test .
There ’s no charging brick in the boxwood though , so you ’ll require to attach the let in USB - C to USB - A cable to your phone charger or some other means .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
- : If you ’re someone who likes to annotate their books , the Kobo Elipsa 2E will let you scribble away to your nub ’s content with the bundled Kobo Stylus 2 .
Just about the only major eBook format the Kobo does n’t support is Amazon ’s AZW .
Final Thoughts
The Kobo Elipsa 2E is n’t just a groovy option to the Kindle Scribe – it ’s a flavourless - out better product in a number of ways . While its figure is n’t as premium and it technically be a little more , you ’re getting an advanced eReader that offers a far more fleshed - out note - taking experience than its competition .
Being able to write straight onto the Sir Frederick Handley Page of eBooks and spotlight school text is magnificent for abstruse reader and scholarly person , while powerful handwriting realization make the Elipsa 2E useful as a note - taking tool to boot .
It ’s particularly compelling if your eBook library is disperse across a number of non - Amazon source , as Kobo makes it comparatively soft to pull them all together in one property . Pocket and OverDrive support further expands your opening , and the addition of a Kobo Plus subscription service covers the whole Kindle Unlimited - shape break that used to be .
Kobo Plus could practice some flesh out , performance could be silky , and there are a few mess about reactivity bug that need ironing out . It ’s annoying that you have to tear the Kobo Stylus 2 singly , too . But the Kobo Elipsa 2E is otherwise the honest eReader in this very specific banker’s bill - taking recess .
Trusted Score
How we test
We try out every e - reader we review thoroughly . We utilise the machine over the review period . We ’ll always assure you what we find and we never , ever , accept money to review a product .
FAQs
No , it only comes with a USB - C cable system , so you ’ll necessitate to supply your own brick .
The SleepCover attaches magnetically and cost £ 70 in the UK .
