Last month Kobo surprised us by releasing the Kobo Elipsa, their first large format device with a 10.3-inch E Ink screen that can be used as both an e-reader and an e-notebook.
Similar devices first started coming on the market 3-4 years ago so Kobo is a bit late to the game, and their software department has some catching up to do to match the competition, but it’s nice to see that Kobo’s not afraid to try something new.
One thing I find a bit interesting is how Kobo is marketing the Kobo Elipsa. Nearly every paragraph on the Kobo Elipsa product page talks about the note-taking and stylus features, and all the pictures show someone holding the stylus.
I’m surprised they aren’t also making more of a point to market it to people who want an ereader with a large E Ink screen for reading larger form content like PDFs, comics, manga, magazines, and just people who want a larger screen for reading regular ebooks.
For the most part I think there are three main reasons why someone would want to buy a Kobo Elipsa:
1. For the note-taking and drawing features.
2. To read and annotate PDFs (but currently with no option to export, Kobo is seriously neglecting this segment of the market).
3. To read ebooks (and other content like comics) on a larger screen, with the option to add handwritten notes and highlights to ebooks using the stylus.
At this point, as noted in my Kobo Elipsa review, the device is best as an ereader because of Kobo’s well-developed ebook software, but there’s room for improvement when it comes to the note-taking and PDF aspects.
That’s why I find it a bit surprising that Kobo seems to be marketing it more as a note-taking device than a large format ereader. Perhaps they don’t think there’s a very large market for 10-inch ereaders but after seeing the success of the Remarkable and Onyx Note devices they wanted to get into the E Ink note-taking market as well.
The only problem with that is Kobo is strictly an ebook company. They can’t make money selling notes to people so the only way they make money off of that is on hardware sales, and the Kobo Elipsa is one of the least expensive e-notes on the market at $399 with a cover, so it doesn’t exactly seem like a highly-profitable venture.
It will be interesting to see if the Kobo Elipsa turns out to be a successful product for Kobo.
If you purchased the Kobo Elipsa or if you’re considering it, what made you decide to get one? Was it more for the note-taking aspects or because of the larger E Ink screen for reading? Or a combination of both?
I bought it because of the larger screen. I love my kobo readers, and I love the Elipsa!
I bought it largely for the ability to read PDF files more comfortably. I will occasionally use the ability to take notes or annotate files. But even though I may not use that function that frequently, I appreciate it being there. And there are times that I just enjoy having a large screen to read a book. I also have a Kindle Oasis and find the screen is a little too small for my taste, and I also have a Kobo Forma. That screen is nearly perfect and the device is tremendous.
I got it mainly for reading on the larger screen. But I definitely have a use for the notebook side too. If it were only a larger screen, I probably would have waited for the Forma 2 or its replacement.
Its a larger screen version of the forma, which i like, so i like the elipsa even more. I use to read articles from the internet which i download to pocket then read on the elipsa. I wish there was a way to annotate articles from pocket.
I would like to use a pdf reader too; landscape mode kind of works but i wish they would improve the pdf reading software.
I really like the elipsa though and wish they would make a 13 inch version. I dont think so much of the cover but 399 for a decent 10 inch ereader with good build and reading software is great. Recommend strongly!!
I’m the annoying Kindle fanboy that loves my Kindle Basic. On the other hand I am really considering getting an elipsa for both my wife and I as it seems to have a good combination of simple note taking and annotating on PDFs. We can see ourselves being able to use these as teachers. I don’t intentend to replace my Kindle as it has the features that I use (portability, great online support from Amazon, audio, etc) but I expect us to use it for managing PDFs. Especially for our studies as we are furthering our teaching with more certificates. I do think Kobo is not really sure how to market the Elipsa. It shouldn’t push the note taking and drawing since for now those are its weakest points compared to other more dedicated and better established note takers. I think its strength is being able to combine both reading and annotating in one device. They would do better in improving the PDF handling and exporting and book annotation by offering more features in that direction. The notepad also needs a bit more features, but only to make is a more solid and flexible note taker, not to become an art drawing platform. It should have to compete with the dedicated notetakers. Clearly it has addressed a need that is not addressed by other devices. It should attempt to capitalise on it’s uniqueness rather than try to be like the others. I think this would also be great for college students (who aren’t in art majors). Adding keyboard support for writing drafts would be huge tipping point for the device. I am thinking of waiting until black Friday to hopefully get it at a discount and see how well Kobo has fixed the OS and added key features.
I bought it for the larger screen and absolutely love it. I just wish Amazon would come out with a comparable sized device since Kindle Unlimited keeps grabbing the authors I have been reading from Kobo..
A Kindle Elipsa would be a dream device for me.
Here here…..
Yes, a few years ago 10″ readers were launched, but they had flexible screens. I don’t know the reason for this last trend with more fragile screen’s substrate
I am not judging but what would be main reasons to get Kobo Elipsa and not Onyx Note Air? At the moment (at least software wise) Air seems to be better device. It is Android so you may install Kobo and Kindle and many other readers, note taking and PDF reading is better…
True, but Android apps aren’t designed for E Ink screens so they don’t run as smoothly as a dedicated ebook app, and Kobo’s Android app is awful, IMO. Onyx’s devices are great, but they can be a bit too advanced if you just want a reading device, and the UI is all over the place. There are so many different settings menus and customization options it can be hard for a new user to get things figured out, especially with their poorly-translated manuals. Onyx is also based in China and their customer support isn’t very good (although Kobo’s isn’t known for being much better). For most people the Note Air is probably going to be the better option because of all the extra features, but the Elipsa is a solid alternative with a better dedicated ebook app, IMO. Onyx’s ebook app is pretty good but it doesn’t support DRM and it has some issues, like the font choice menu is a total trainwreck.
Personally, I won’t use android devices. It is a vector for malware/spyware some of which can’t be mitigated because Android is not OpenBSD. NSO pegasus, anyone ? No, this is not paranoia after the revelations of Edward Snowden and if you think Pegasus is the only thing in its league, in existence, you are naive. Not that linux based devices are perfect — I have no idea why no one has made an ereader based on OpenBSD. PocketBook uses Linux so OpenBSD running a modified FBreader and KOreader is possible.
Perhaps you’ll be relieved to learn that Kobos are actually run on Linux. In fact, KOreader is actively developed for it the Kobo, and the dev owns an Elipsa so he can finetune KOreader on it. Kobos have extensive support for patches and home-brewed apps in the community, and NO viruses that I have heard of. Kobo keeps the Linux partitions separate from the publicly mounted partition. You have to actually crack open a Kobo to remove the SD card to get access to the Linux partitions, which might account why Pegasus has no idea what I like to read yet.
I had the Note Air and returned it because the Kobo app did not work well on it.
Big screen, perfect for PDF, optimized software, what else?
Does Elipsa handle pdfs as good as Note Air???
No, it’s not close. Onyx’s PDF software is at the top of the list when it comes to E Ink ereaders. Kobo’s PDF software is usable but it’s very basic and there’s not even half the features of Onyx’s software.
Your reasons for why people might pick up a Kobo Elipsa are well thought out, Nathan.
>1. For the note-taking and drawing features.
I like having the ability to draw on the Elipsa, but I have to be honest. I already own an iPad & Pencil. Creating serious art isn’t why I bought the Elipsa. In part, it was for the notebooks, which work great for when I’ve put my iDevices aside for reading time and want to jot down my thoughts. I also like using Elipsa notebooks for a reusable ToDo list, though I wouldn’t recommend spending $400 for that purpose!
2. To read and annotate PDFs (but currently with no option to export, Kobo is seriously neglecting this segment of the market).
This is not something that I need my Elipsa for. I have the iPad which handles PDFs beautifully, and then I have PDF software to sign contracts, make annotations, then submit as a PDF from the iPad as well.
3. To read ebooks (and other content like comics) on a larger screen, with the option to add handwritten notes and highlights to ebooks using the stylus.
My iPad makes a better device for reading comics, though I do like late night comic reading on the Elipsa. The iPad is too bright even if you adjust the white point. But books on the larger screen are super nice, and handwritten notes and highlights with a stylus were almost killer apps for me.
In short, it was the note taking abilities of the Elipsa with the excellent Kobo eBook software that works with my existing books and management system that sold me.
I own a Boox Note Air with Bluetooth keyboard for garden/sun computer applications and a Likebook Alita with 512 GB SD card and Bluetooth remote for books and Notes applications.
I really don’t see a reason to buy a device that can’t compete with either one.
And for reading, I use a Tolino Epos 2 with Android apps installed.
I bought an Elipsa for the note taking abilities. It is one of the few that does not force you to share documents across their Cloud. I hooks up to your pc and looks like a USB drive to your machine. Don’t buy one if you ever plan on needing repairs. I accidentally broke my screen and Kobo support is not able to do the repair . I offered to pay the cost of what a theoretical screen replacement would be and have them send me a replacement machine. They refused to replace the machine but did offer me 20 off the purchase of a e-reader. Never again for me . That is too much money for what is a throw away device. That’s minus one for “right to repair” and environmental sensitivity..
Sorry to hear that, but I don’t think any of the ereader companies replace broken E Ink screens even if you’re willing to pay for it. Kobo uses the more fragile glass-based Carta screens on the Elipsa because they’re cheaper. Mobius screens won’t break like that.
Hello James, I just encountered the exact same problem. Did you ever find a solution?
None of the ereader companies fix broken screens, unfortunately, and they aren’t covered by the warranty unless you buy an upgraded warranty that covers accidental breakages.
Why would you buy this for PDFs if there’s no expandable SD storage? I’m hesitant about buying into the Amazon ecosystem. Why would I bet on some third rate manga distributor (or whatever it is that Kobo does) that I’ve never heard of?
Almost all E Ink ereaders lack SD storage these days, and Kobo has been selling ebooks and ereaders for well over a decade.