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On April 19, Kobo will launch the Ellipse 2E, a new 10.3-inch e-reader and writer. The new Kindle Scribe and Onyx Boox Nova Air C competitor will retail for $399.99 and come with an upgraded stylus that you can use to write directly on the pages of eBooks and documents.
Those interested can get their hands on the latest Kobo e-reader Pre-order from Kobo It starts today. As an added incentive, Rakuten-owned Kobo offered a $25 Kobo e-gift card to customers who pre-ordered the device in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.
On paper, the Kobo Ellipse 2e looks like a minor upgrade from its predecessor, the Kobo Ellipse. Both come with a digital pen for $399, though the original Ellipsa only has a cap included. Both e-readers offer 10.3-inch glare-free displays with built-in technology to reduce blue light exposure with Bluetooth support. Both have an additional 32GB of storage and can convert handwriting into typed text. They both integrate with cloud services, so you can also export notes, unfortunately neither device is waterproof.
However, the Elipsa 2E comes with an improved stylus and other improvements that Kobo says will provide a “better and faster writing experience.” One, the redesigned Kobo Stylus 2 magnetically attaches to the Kobo Ellipse 2E. It’s rechargeable, which means it doesn’t come with AAA batteries that you’ll need to replace before. Meanwhile, for more intuitive use, the eraser is now placed on the back, instead of closer to the edge near the highlight button.
In addition, annotations are always visible even if users change settings such as font size or page layout. Previously, changing page layout settings hid annotations inside an icon that you had to click to see, so this new update saves users an extra step. Other improvements include a built-in easy-to-find laptop feature and a longer battery life that it claims “lasts for weeks,” though we’ll have to test that claim ourselves.
Like the new Kobo Clara 2E, the e-reader is also eco-friendly as part of Kobo’s larger goal of reducing the environment. For example, the e-reader is now made from more than 85 percent recycled plastic and 10 percent marine plastic. Meanwhile, the new Kobo Ellipsa 2e Sleep Cap — which allows the e-reader to sleep when closed — is made from more than 97 percent recycled plastic.
Along with the Elipsa 2E, Kobo today announced the launch of Amazon Kindle Unlimited’s Kobo Plus service in the US. Access to over a million e-books and hundreds of thousands of audiobooks starts at $7.99 per month for Three-tier subscription members.