Rakuten Kobo has introduced the latest addition to its eReader family with the Kobo Elipsa 2E, which is made with a more than 85 per cent recycled plastic exterior, including 10 per cent ocean-bound plastic.
Equipped with a 10.3-inch glare-free E Ink touchscreen with ComfortLight Pro to reduce blue light and eyestrain, a dark mode for reading at night, the Kobo Elipsa 2E comes bundled with the new Kobo Stylus 2. In addition to reading eBooks on the device, you can also create and organize notebooks then export them to a compatible cloud service like Dropbox (Google Drive support, coming soon).
The ample 32GB of storage can hold thousands of books while the weeks of battery life on a single charge means it can last for long trips, daily reading, and more. It also has built-in speakers for listening to Kobo audiobooks with Bluetooth wireless technology.
“For over a decade, we have been innovating in the digital reading space with our best-in-class eReaders, expansive eBook and audiobook selection, and top-rated Kobo apps,” says Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo “Kobo Elipsa 2E is the latest step in our journey to make reading lives better, bridging gaps between print and digital books, and offering an unparalleled reading experience.
“We understand,” he continues, “that for many of our valued customers, reading is more than words on a page. It is about engaging with ideas. Marking up, highlighting, capturing inspiration in infinite notebooks of almost magical capability using a versatile, intuitively-designed stylus – these are essential for capturing the thoughts and ideas that reading inspires.”
The included Stylus 2 employs an ergonomic design and rechargeable battery. It offers pressure sensitivity mimicking a ballpoint pen, and is customizable with different pen type, shade, line size and eraser size. Use it to wipe mistakes when writing notes or sketching, highlight passages, underline text, write in margins, and make other annotations. Thanks to Kobo’s patented mark-up technolgoy, you will see annotations even when changing the font size or page layout. When not in use, it stores magnetically on to the eReader. Note that the stylus will not work for mark-ups on PDFs with digital rights management or permission limitations.
With the handwriting experience powered by MyScript, you can also turn handwriting into typed text with a tap. Go to the My Notebooks section to create and manage your notebooks. Choose a notebook template and keep your notes grouped in folders for easy retrieval, even searching by keyword. Kobo Elipsa 2E is compatible with the third-party service Readwise and, with a subscription to that service, allows you to sync your annotations to tools like Notion, Roam, Evernote, and more.
The eReader is perfectly paired with the optional eco-friendly SleepCover, which is made using 97 per cent recycled plastic, including 10 per cent ocean-bound plastic that would otherwise become landfill and ocean waste. The SleepCover, available in black, saves battery life by putting your eReader to sleep when you close it. It easily snaps onto the device thanks to its magnetic design.
The Kobo Elipsa 2E bundled with the Kobo Stylus 2 is available for pre-order in Canada for $500 and will officially ship beginning April 19, 2023. It comes in magnet-free packaging made with FSC-certified recycled paper and printed with soy ink. Those who pre-order one on the Kobo Website between now and April 18 will receive a $25 Kobo eGift card that can be used towards the purchase of eBooks and audiobooks.