The second I heard about the Kobo Elipsa back in May I knew I wanted to get my hands on a device. So I reached out to Kobo to see what we could do. While this post/video isn’t sponsored, they were kind enough to lend me a loaner device in brand new packaging! Initially all I wanted to do with this device was to just make notes while I read my books because I’ve never wanted to ruin my like physical books. So having a digital book I could mark up would be a game changer. I’ve had the device for about a week now and the possibilities are endless! I can’t wait to dive into them with you.
Kobo Elipsa | A 10.3″ E-Reader with A Stylus
The Good
This is an awesome starter pack to get you into an e-reader that also functions as a notebook! It comes with a larger screen, a stylus, and a sleep cover. As a Kobo device it’ll have all of our favourite features; like support for lots of files, access to your public library and the Kobo Store. With some new extras like dropbox integration and the ability to create your own notebooks!
The Bad
Only has white backlight (no option for warm colour). Can’t export EPUB with markups. Some lagging and timeouts, unsure of the cause though.
Overall
This is a great device for people wanting some offscreen time. If you want to make notes while you read books and magazine or have some worksheets to fill out. This is an awesome pack to get you an e-ink notebook.
An Awesome Reading Device That You Can Markup
If you read my Clara HD review you can probably tell I have a bias towards Kobo devices. I love the fact that they support like a ton of files and their business model isn’t throwing ads in your face every minute they get. So that is always a nice feeling. To be fair I haven’t had any other e-reader so I don’t personally have any experience with other devices but from my research, I’ve leaned towards Kobo devices.
The Kobo Elipsa just turns it up on the features and I could rave on about them for ages so to try not to overwhelm you I’m going to break it down into sections that I think make the most sense. First is the build quality and accessories, then its functionality as an e-reader, and lastly the obvious functionality as a notebook.
Kobo Elipsa | Build Quality
The Elipsa is Kobo’s most high-end product and its shows. It’s sold in a pack that has a stylus, sleep cover and the beautiful 10.3″ e-ink display. The device has a solid build similar to the other Kobo e-books in their line-up. Aside from the largest screen in their line, something I noticed is that its back is smooth compared to their usual texted back. The Elipsa only has one physical button for power which means that if you prefer turning pages with buttons you won’t find that here. Their interface is all at the bottom right which I assume is a reset button. It’s pretty awesome that its charging cable is USB-C which makes my life a lot easier.
Technical Specifications
| Screen Size | 10.3” Non-reflective E-Ink Carta touchscreen (227 ppi) |
| Dimensions | 7.59 by 8.96 by .3 inches (193 x 227.5 x 7.6 mm) |
| Weight | 13.5 oz (383g) |
| Light | ComfortLight (Not PRO so only white light – no yellow light) |
| Battery | 2,400 mAH Li-Ion (Lasted 2 weeks for me, Charges via USB-C) |
| Storage | 32GB (Varies by types of book but could be: 15,000 EPubs) |
| RAM | 512 MB (E-Reader functionality is snappy, Advanced Notebook can lag a little) |
| Book Formats | EPUB, EPUB3, FlePub, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, CBR |
| Stylus | Cylindrical Metal Stylus with erase and highlight buttons (AAAA Battery Included) |
| Case/Cover | Blue Sleep Cover and Case (Can be angled at 15°, is detachable and has a pen holder) |
| Writable Formats | EPUB, kEPub, PDF |
| Extras | Dropbox and Pocket App Integration, Create Basic and Advanced Notebooks |
Kobo Elipsa | A Closer Look at The Device
Just like the other Kobo devices, it’s got a pretty solid build quality. It’s made out of a hearty plastic that has got a matte kind of feeling that goes along the back and even the screen has a matte feeling which is good especially for writing. I personally run a little greasy so I don’t know if it’s just me but the back of the device is picking up quite a bit of fingerprint but I actually don’t see much on the screen itself.
However, after writing on the Kobo for a while I did see some writing marks if you looked at the screen at a specific angle. It seemed like black marks but you can just wipe it off with your finger. I also write pretty hard so I think I’d need to replace the stylus cause it does look like it’s being worn down from the way I write.
All the interface is at the bottom right of the device (well the way I hold it with the Kobo logo at the bottom right). The power button is a little inset so it can be somewhat difficult to press. Beside it is the LED power light and then after that is the USB-C port where you can charge the device or transfer files to your computer.
The Kobo Elipsa Sleep Cover
The Blue Sleep Cover comes in the pack when you purchase the Kobo Elipsa. It seems like this is the only colour that is available so you have to like blue when you purchase the device. I don’t usually like a vertical cover but for this device, I’ve actually warmed up to it. I think my main issue with the vertical cover on the Clara was that it didn’t feel like a book. But on the Elipsa it made sense cause it made it feel more like a notebook. It works as its name states when you close it, it puts the device to sleep and then when you open it, it wakes up the device.
The cover is basically a case to hold the device which is nice cause I like it to feel protected in case I’m clumsy and drop it or something. The power button is actually easier to press with the case on however it seems that the USB-C is a little bit harder to reach. If you have a Samsung SSD and you have that cable lying around for some reason it’s not long enough to make a solid connection through the case.
Another cool thing about the cover/case is that it is detachable. The sleep cover has a pretty strong magnet at the top of the device so that you can just pull the cover off or snap it back on. In addition to that, the magnetic is also super helpful at resting the stylus at the top when not in use. And then when you’re on the go you can just snap it into the holder so you don’t lose the stylus when you’re on the go.
The Kobo Stylus
This stylus reminds me a lot of the Microsoft Surface Pro Pen form factor. It has the same two buttons for erasing and highlighting. and it also is powered by an AAAA battery. It has that nice metal build and is pretty easy to hold. I suppose my only personal caveat to this stylus is that it is a rubber tip which means if you have a heavy hand like me the tip seems to be wearing down already. Other than that I actually really enjoy using the stylus on this device.
Something that I have noticed other people mention is that they don’t like the placement of the buttons because they are always accidentally pressing them. I suppose because I used to use a Surface Pro that I’m used to it. But this is something that I think is important to mention.
Kobo Elipsa | The E-Reader with a Really Large Screen
This device size is awesome for textbooks, worksheets, magazines and more!