Rakuten Kobo has made a surprise announcement. At 10.3 inches in size Kobo’s new Elipsa is the largest eink ereader available in Australia and also the only one that allows you to use the included stylus to write notes on the screen.
I finished my 2nd university degree many years ago and back then I did have a 9.7 inch Kindle DX ereader so I can see the appeal of a large ereader for some people.
However I have no need for note taking now and I’m perfectly happy reading books with the 7 inch Kobo Libra H2O ereader I bought a while back.
The Elipsa is a unique device but the Elipsa $599.95 RRP is not a cheap price point when you can buy an entry level Wi-Fi Apple iPad 8th generation (plus pencil) or Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite Wi-Fi 64GB (stylus included) for the same or slightly less money.
The Elipsa is an innovative eReader packed with features and including new accessories including the Kobo Stylus, Kobo Elipsa provides an unmatched digital reading and writing experience.
With Kobo Elipsa, Rakuten Kobo’s expert product designers and software developers looked
beyond the standard eReading experience to create an intriguing writing and reading package that bridges the gap between print and eBooks, and between reading and creating.
Complete with an expansive 10.3″ E Ink Carta 1200 glare-free screen, ComfortLight adjustable brightness, 32 GB of storage, a stylus and versatile SleepCover, Kobo Elipsa is the next frontier of digital reading.
The new ereader is available in Midnight Blue, with the Kobo Stylus in Black and SleepCover in Slate Blue.
Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo said:
“When looking at what should come next for Kobo eReaders, we always go back to our customers, to the people who read everyday, to learn how we can make their reading lives better. With Kobo Elipsa, we meet the needs of people who don’t just want to read a book; they want to engage with it – mark it up, highlight, write in the margins, or in a notebook of their own, because that is how they get the most out of the books, articles and documents they read”.
“With this new eReader, we merged the bookstore, book and notebook together so people can capture all the ideas that spring from books and writing.”
Tamblyn continued:
“When looking at the eReaders currently on the market on one hand, and the eInk writing tablets on the other, we saw an opportunity to not just replace a pad of paper or words on a page, but to create a better way to find, capture and create ideas. Readers are thoughtful people, so we want to make devices that encourage thoughtfulness.”
Pre-orders will be available on 20 May and the device will be available in stores and online as of 24 June in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the US, the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Turkey.
The Kobo Elipsa Pack, complete with Kobo Elipsa eReader, Kobo Stylus and Kobo Elipsa
SleepCover, will retail for $599.95 at the Kobo Australia site and select retailers.
What do you think of the Elipsa? Please add your thoughts in the comments.
It’s like a Chromebook competing against Real Laptops. Too little capability, for far too high a price, being released far too late.
My wife saw your review and like the reader but won’t preorder one until she has hands on. Pity with wasn’t in color. The NZ price of $699 is rather high. Guess Kiwi tax.
My Boox Nova2 also comes with a stylus. Have had it now for almost one year and happy with it as it also runs Android. Even got MoonReader+ working on it but prefer the Boox native reader.