You better watch out for the Kindle Scribe: there's a new premium note-taking reader on the market.
Available for pre-order today, Wednesday, April 5, the Kobo Elipsa 2E is the successor to the 10,3-inch Kobo Elipsa, the company's first foray into a note-taking e-reader. Although there are many similarities between the two Kobo models, the Elipsa 2E comes with notable and welcome improvements over its predecessor.
For starters, the Elipsa 2E continues Kobo's green mission that began with the 2-inch Kobo Clara 6E last August. Like its little brother, the Elipsa 2E is made from 85% recycled plastic, 10% of which goes into the ocean. This green twist helps the Kobo Elipsa 2E stand out from its direct competitor, the Kindle Scribe 2022, which instead has an all-metal chassis.
The comparisons don't end there: Like the Kindle Scribe, the Kobo Elipsa 2E doesn't come alone. Paired with a completely redesigned Kobo Stylus 2, you'll be able to use the Elipsa 2E to write notes in the margins of eBooks and PDF documents, highlight interesting parts of a book, and write or doodle as you please on 20 different pages. . settings. This new stylus is also an improvement over its predecessor, now with a rechargeable battery via the USB-C port, an updated design that includes a white "eraser" on top of the otherwise black stylus, and a magnetic strip to help secure it to the top of the Elipsa 2E (as opposed to the side of other similar devices).
There's also a sleeping cover that you can buy separately, and it's been redesigned for the Elipsa 2E as well. Unlike the old flip case that came with the previous Elipsa and opened in portrait mode, the new leatherette case opens like a book cover and is made from 97% recycled materials. Essentially only covering one side and the top of the device, this cover simply magnetically snaps onto the longer, thinner bezel of the Elipsa 2E and also provides a much more secure place to store the Stylus 2 by offering a corner for the new pen.
As for built-in features, there's 32GB of storage, Bluetooth connectivity so you can listen to all your favorite audiobooks, and an anti-glare E Ink touchscreen that, unlike its predecessor, now has amber LEDs to help change brightness and color. light tint.
Kobo also continued to offer OverDrive with the Elipsa 2E and this will remain on devices despite the removal of the app in the Libby service on mobile, allowing users to borrow books from a library that also supports OverDrive. Pocket and Dropbox integration is also built in, so you can save long web articles to read later (if you have a Pocket account set up in your web browser) and transfer files (even notes) directly from the cloud via a link. Dropbox account.
Like the old Elipsa, Notebook's functionality continues to expand, with handwriting recognition also available if you want to convert your notes to text.
Pre-orders open from April 5 in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia for an official release on April 19 in all available regions. You'll be looking at starting at $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$629.95 to pick one up, and that price includes the Kobo Stylus 2, with an additional $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$89 AU$.95 for the sleeping sleeve. Pre-orders in the US, UK and Australia also come with a €25 / €25 / AU$25 Kobo eGift Card to spend on eBooks and audiobooks for your new device.
The Kobo Elipsa 2E is a bit more expensive than the Kindle Scribe's starting price ($339.99 / £339.99 / AU$549.99), but the Elipsa 2E comes with double the storage of the base Scribe model, which also comes with just the basic stylus. . That said, the 32GB Kindle Scribe that comes with the Premium Stylus is £389.99 / £379.99 / AU$629, so the Elipsa 2E is very competitively priced, especially in the UK.
Is that enough for Kobo's new notepad to beat the Kindle Scribe on our list of the best e-readers? The verdict is still out as we finalize our Kobo Elipsa 2E review, but it looks like it could be a strong contender, especially since the Kindle Scribe appears to have a smaller set of writing tools than the Elipsa 2E.
But wait, you have to keep reading…
Additionally, Kobo has expanded its eBook subscription service to two major regions. Finally launching today (April 5) in the US and UK, Kobo Plus was originally only available in six regions, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with monthly fees of CA €9.99 / AU €13.99 / NZ €14.99.
Kobo Plus is the Japanese-Canadian e-reader maker's answer to Kindle Unlimited, giving subscribers access to a library of more than 1,3 million e-books and more than 100 audiobooks. Following the current model in Canada, the UK and US will have three different subscription levels to choose from, with the option to subscribe to Kobo Plus Read for ebooks only, Kobo Plus Listen for audiobooks only or both for one discount. price. Prize.
Pricing for the US and UK is €7,99/€8,99 per month for reading or listening, or €9,99/€11,99 for the full Kobo Plus option that gives you books electronics and audiobooks. A 30-day free trial is also offered in the UK and US, as well as other regions, so you can try out your chosen plan before committing fully.
While the Kobo Plus offers a substantial library, Kindle Unlimited currently has a larger catalog, but limits you to "borrowing" up to 10 titles at a time on loan. Kobo Plus doesn't have this limitation, so you can add anything you want to your library. Neither service lets you own what you borrow, so once you cancel your subscription, you lose access to those books.
Kindle Unlimited ($9.99 / £7.99 / AU$13.99 per month) also gives you access to some audiobooks that have matching eBook titles in the catalog, but Kobo Listen works like Audible, where you get credits to "buy" audiobooks.
While Kobo Plus Listen has been available for some time in Canada (CA$9.99/month alone or a CA$12.99 monthly fee when bundled with Read), subscribers in Australia and New Zealand have an audiobook subscription service for separate that has no brand. like Kobo Listen (AU$12,99/NZ$13,99 per month). As of now, it's unclear if these two regions will also upgrade to Kobo Plus Listen and get the three different plans.