Kobo launches the Kobo Elipsa 2E, a giant e-reader that you can write on, too

Kobo launches a new 10.3-inch e-reader and writing device, the Kobo Elipsa 2E, on April 19. 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 who are eager to get their hands on the latest e-reader from Kobo can Pre-order from Kobo Starting from today. As an added incentive, Rakuten-owned Kobo has thrown in a $25 Kobo e-gift card to customers who pre-order the device in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

On paper, the Kobo Elipsa 2E appears to be a minor upgrade over its predecessor, the Kobo Elipsa. Both sell for $399 with a stylus, though only the original Elipsa comes in an included sleeve. The two e-readers also offer 10.3-inch glare-free displays with built-in technology to reduce blue light exposure along with Bluetooth support. Additionally, they both have 32GB of storage and can convert handwriting into typed text. They both integrate with cloud services so you can export notes as well, and unfortunately, neither device is waterproof.

However, the Elipsa 2E does come with an upgraded stylus and other improvements that should provide a “better and faster writing experience,” or so Kobo claims. For one, the redesigned Kobo Stylus 2 magnetically attaches to the Kobo Elipsa 2E. It’s also rechargeable, which means it doesn’t come with AAA batteries that you previously had to replace. Meanwhile, the eraser is now positioned at the back, rather than closer to the edge near the highlight button, for easier use.

In addition, annotations will now always be visible even if users change settings such as font size or page layout. Prior to this, changing page layout settings could hide annotations inside an icon that you had to click to view, so this new update will save users an extra step. Other improvements include an easy-to-find built-in laptop feature as well as a longer battery life that says “should last for weeks,” though we’ll have to test it ourselves to see if that claim is true.

Like the new Kobo Clara 2E, the e-reader is also more environmentally friendly as part of Kobo’s larger goal to reduce its environmental footprint. The e-reader, for example, is now made from more than 85 percent recycled plastic, and 10 percent ocean plastic. Meanwhile, the new Kobo Elipsa 2E SleepCover—which puts the e-reader to sleep when closed—is made from more than 97 percent recycled plastic.

Along with the Elipsa 2E, Kobo also announced the launch of Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, the Kobo Plus service, in the US today. A three-tiered subscription gives members access to over a million ebooks and hundreds of thousands of audiobooks starting at $7.99 per month.