For some odd reason an unboxing video of the new Kobo Elipsa 2E was uploaded to Facebook about a month ago, so it would appear that Kobo is getting set to release their second generation eNote soon.
It doesn’t look like a lot has changed from the 1st generation Kobo Elipsa. It has the same overall design and it still has the same 10.3-inch E Ink Carta 1200 screen with 227 ppi, but they did add a warm frontlight.
Apparently it’s lighter than the previous version too, and it’s good to see that a cover is not included this time so you can choose one on your liking.
They changed the stylus a bit as well. They’re calling it the Kobo Stylus 2. It seems to use the same technology as before, but the stylus now has an eraser and it charges via USB instead of having replaceable batteries. The person in the unboxing video was pretty enthusiastic about the device, but he didn’t seem to like the stylus very much.
The Kobo Elipsa 2E is also made of recycled plastic like the Kobo Clara 2E that was released last year.
It’s kind of disappointing that they weren’t able to add more upgrades, but a lot of people will appreciate the addition of the warm frontlight, and hopefully there will be some more software improvements as well. I couldn’t help but notice the basic notebook still defaults to graph paper every time.
It will be interesting to see what price Kobo decides to sell the second generation Elipsa for when it officially gets announced. I would expect the price to go down a bit since it doesn’t come with a cover now, but Kobo recently raised the prices of all their ereaders except the Elipsa so it’s hard to say. The 1st gen Elipsa sells for $399 with a heavy-duty cover.
Kobo Elipsa 2E Unboxing Video
via: MobileRead
How terribly disappointing.
Owner of an Elipsa 1st gen. No 300ppi eh? Warmlight is nice and happy about the stylus update.
The actual notebook software is terrible. There aren’t even folders 😂
Yes, more of a disappointment than anything. I was hoping for a device more of interest. Probably just as well, my eyes don’t yet need a larger reader, hopefully Elipsa 3 will be an improvement worth trying.
I like Kobo official covers, so I’d just as soon it came with one. As for USB charging styluses, I prefer those with a battery to replace. No 300ppi is a deal-breaker for me. Too spoiled to go back.
Still holding my breath for a Kaleido+ Kobo eReader with a decent size to read those manga and comic books in color.
Sure there are competitors, but I like the Kobo platform..
Disappointed that it won’t have the 300 dpi but happy for the warm lighting, I can’t wait to see what cover they will have. I hate the current Elipsa’s cover. Would be glad if they have the same type of cover as the Sage.
I pulled out the Elipsa that I had set aside when I purchased the Sage. I was never a great fan of page turn buttons but the Sage has now become my number one Kobo to read on. I like the size, screen, warm coloring, 300 dpi and the buttons. Trying out the 2021 Elipsa again after reading on the Sage I realized the 10.3 screen and 227 dpi along with no warm light just was not appealing anymore. If Kobo is only adding the warm lighting and not increasing the dpi. – the second edition of the Elipsa will be the first Kobo I will not be buying which is very disappointing since I was really looking forward to their “new” device..
Really curious to see what kind of case they will offer… I hate the case of Elipsa. It is soooo clunky and heavy. Hope it will be compatible with the original Elipsa.
With the current sale prices on the Kindle Scribe, with 300 ppi and near perfect front lighting, that the Scribe remains King of the 10 inch e-readers. I just wish they handled PDFs like Onyx Boox devices do.
I’m waiting for Onyx to release a 10 inch with 300 PPI. That would be the new King.
I don’t understand why anyone needs 300 dpi ONLY FOR READING. It would be nice, but we don’t need it. I guess we all want more and more…
When I went from an OG Aura (213dpi) to an Aura ONE (300dpi) the difference was quite noticeable to me.
I agree with you up to a point. With books with regular text, 300 ppi is very nice to have but not mandatory. I have both the basic 10th gen kindle and the PW5 11th gen and reading regular books is not a problem. Most of the time I don’t notice the lower resolution of 167 ppi on the basic. But where I did notice the difference is in reading a PDF. 300 ppi really makes a difference, especially if it is a scanned PDF. I have a Likebook P10 that has something like 212 ppi and the PW5 is still easier to read the same PDFs. Even though it is smaller, the images are sharper on the PW5 than the lower res Likebook which has a 10″ screen.
I certainly notice the difference between 300 and 167 ppi even when reading regular books. People are different. What doesn’t bother you may well bother someone else and vice cersa.
Strictly speaking, we NEED very few things. We don’t need electricity, running water, movies, the internet, mobile phones and so on. Sure they’re nice to have, but we managed to live for tens of thousands of years withot any of those things.
Yes, it’s human nature to want more and more. Otherwise we would still be happily living in caves.
Yes, that’s one of our big problems and the one culprit we are destroying our planet. Good luck this summer with newer high temperatures
I’ll gladly take the higher tempature. This has been the coldest and rainiest winter in So Cal to date.
I don’t want to live in the cave…I will wait for a 300 dpi screen. The Scribe has spoiled me…I prefer Kobo software but I will wait for 300 dpi…probably late fall when the Amazon embargo ends.
Maybe it’s time for Kobo to have a higher end (build quality) range of aspirational devices made from better quality materials, too. My Libra 2 creaks and my Paperwhite 5 doesn’t, and they’re both plastic! Time to break out the aluminium, which is easy to recycle.
” We don’t need electricity, running water, movies, the internet, mobile phones and so on.”
True, we won’t die without this stuff – necessarily. But thanks to some of this, life expectation and health generally improves. People in caves didn’t fare well. And needs fluctuate as society and system change. If you forgo internet and mobile phone and can’t access it somewhere, hard to get around much anymore. Makes it much more difficult to pay necessary bills, for one thing. But sure, you’d live, just more stress and maybe not as well or safely!
We are spoiled in our ways of course – human nature ;D
Thanks Nathan, I am thinking of getting the new Kobo Elipsa on the strength of being able to read pure text PDFs better. It seems the native PDF reader doesn’t handle text contrast and reflow. How feasible is it to install KOReader on the Elipsa without messing with the overall firmware, do you think? And would I have a decent pdf reader in the end. I am assuming that the screen resolution is good for e-pubs etc as well.
I don’t follow KOReader developments but I would assume it works on the Elipsa too, though I doubt it supports using the stylus. Onyx has the best PDF software by far, but their devices are the most expensive. Library ebooks would be more of a hassle though because you’d have to use an app not designed for E Ink screens, and I don’t know how well Libby works on E Ink.
The boxing was nice, but premature. There are lots of excellent changes for the note taking software. Folders. A bevy of new templates. Google Drive support. I look forward to your new review, Nathan.