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Kobo Elipsa eReader review – for those who like to read with a pen in their hand

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  • VERDICT

The Kobo Elipsa is the future of eReaders – high quality and versatile – and is ideal for users who like to read with a pen in their hand and take notes and highlight passages. Kobo has now made the experience a reality with the Elipsa.

The Kobo Elipsa is not just another eReader. For a start it has a much bigger screen to make reading more comfortable and luxurious. But it’s also a notepad as well and is ideal for the those who like to read with a pen in their hand.

The included stylus allows readers to write in the margins and underline passages as well as create their own notes.

Kobo Elipsa has a 10.3-inch E-ink screen that gives your book’s pages plenty of room and makes them easier to read.

The device has all the features you’d expect from an eReader including the ability to enlarge the font so you can leave your glasses behind.

And with the larger screen you can still fit a lot more text than you would on a regular 6-inch eReader.

Design-wise, the Kobo Elipsa not only has a larger screen but it’s also thicker than your average eReader as well.

And because it’s bigger it’s also heavier and that makes holding it for long periods of time a lot harder than cradling a lighter and smaller eReader.

The built-in comfort light makes it easy to read in any conditions whether it’s in bed in the dark or on a park bench in the sun.

The non-glare screen has a paper like appearance no matter where or when you’re reading.

Also included with the device is a leather cover that doubles as a stand.

Also in the box is a stylus for writing on the screen.

Being a larger and heavier device, the cover/stand comes in handy so the Elipsa can rest on a surface and be positioned at a comfortable angle

The reading features are already well and truly in Kobo’s wheelhouse and it’s no surprise the quality of the experience is so high.

What we like about Kobo and this product is the sheer ambition it showed in combining that traditionally reader with a tablet and a stylus.

As a first attempt it is very impressive.

For many, Kobo Elipsa a allows them to do on an eReader what they would with a printed book and that is underlining text and writing notes in the margins.

Users are able to annotate books as well as other documents to make it more like an iPad than ever before.

One thing slightly lacking with Kobo Elipsa is its responsiveness.

When you are writing or underlining on the screen there is a fraction of a second delay that the user has to account for.

it does take a little getting used to especially if you are used to writing and taking notes quickly.

But on the positive side, the screen does respond to pressure when you need to right in bold letters or create darker shapes.

You can also create your own folders and notes and store them onboard the device.

Uses can choose between a basic notebook or an advanced notebook – the latter can also convert your handwriting to text.

The handwriting recognition is actually fairly accurate.

When you finish writing, you tap on the three dots in the top right hand corner and choose Convert All. In a second your handwritten notes are now typed text.

And the only choice we could find was writing for our notes – there was no option to use a keyboard.

Users are able to share their notes to their computer but this requires you to connect with

cable to transfer it. Unfortunately you aren’t able to send it wirelessly.

But you can upload the note to DropBox if you choose.

The notepad is a convenient feature for those who want to keep their documents and their books in one place.

Battery life is another strength of the device.

Even with regular daily reading the battery can last as long as a couple of weeks before it needs a recharge.

you could actually take the Kobo Elipsa on a week-long trip and not have to charge it the whole time.

OK, now let’s talk about the price.

In a market where you can pick up a Kindle or a regular Kobo for about $120.00, the Kobo is priced at $599.95.

An entry level iPad is $499 and if you add an Apple Pencil that takes the total to $644.00.

So that means the Kobo he’s playing in the same ballpark where a lot of customers are going to choose Apple.

The Kobo Elipsa goes on sale on June 24. It is priced at $599,.95.

VERDICT

The Kobo Elipsa is the future of eReaders – high quality and versatile – and is ideal for users who like to read with a pen in their hand and take notes and highlight passages. Kobo has now made the experience a reality with the Elipsa.