I just bought this a few weeks ago after returning back to Kindle 7, which is too small. This is a very, very good, much larger screen and supports comic format (Although not colour, it did very well on grey colour, which makes it readable without taking heavy Android/iPad tablet). Although higher cost, it is worth every cent!. I have read a few STM32 datasheets and documents, and it was excellent!. The software is stable and well-executed, I highly recommend this
Terrific review! I'm an Elipsa gen 1 owner that uses the device sparingly due to 99% of my note-taking is done on a reMarkable 2. The 2e was compelling to me, as the updates seemed worthwhile and I wanted to see if I could utilize a singular device that could act as a primary note-taker AND large e-reader. The Elipsa 2E came close but I ended up returning the device. For a gen 1 owner, the updates were quite.. whelming. Yes, we get the warmlight feature. Things are a tad bit faster (like BARELY so but noticeable) when using the device. I liked the new pen but the positives didn't out-weight the negatives; the eraser "wobble" on top was distracting and the nib was something I couldn't get used to. Two big concerns I had with this device, which actually affect me using the gen 1 device: 1) I can't find an ideal pen size. I know it's weird, but none of the pen sizes felt right to me. Either it was too thin or too thick. 2) General wonkiness with writing. I'm talking sometimes the latency will be seconds later for the pen marks to show up, which is so distracting when trying to write. The advanced notebook - while functionally pretty cool - exhibits some pretty weird behavior and things really slow down from a latency perspective if you're used to using their basic notebooks. This, along with some issues when it came to Dropbox exports (have this issue on the Gen 1 as well) made me not really trust the device, unlike my reMarkable 2, which has never let me down EVER.
Thank you Chalid for this great review! I have the same overall opinion about the Kobo Elipsa 2E, my biggest issues so far are with the pen eraser feeling being annoying, the writing feeling is a bit "slippery" on the screen, the tip feels also a little too big ; I also have the hand palm problem, as you stated so well. What's really missing are writing options for PDF note taking, the thickness of the writing is too big when taking notes on PDFs. I have reported this to the Rakuten customer service, no solution so far as it is a fixed standard size, I hope this will be fixed with future updates as it is a major negative point for a device which is rather good otherwise but not perfect considering the selling price. With proper updates and developments to correct these issues, it can become a very useful tool though.
Such a thorough and great review. As a Remarkable and Kindle Scribe user who prefers Kobo e-readers I was really hoping this would be my Scribe replacement but that pen feel is crucial. Thank you for talking about the writing feel and texture of screen, that was so appreciated. I’m curious to see what software updates they come out with for latency and note taking as well. I love that you can easily switch between books and notebooks and wish the competition did this easier. Overall an amazing review that really answered questions I had and gave a really great overview of what to expect.
The only suprise is the lack of 300ppi. Or even anything close. I'd settle for literally anything above 224ppi, doesn't have to be 300pi. Also lack of 64GB storage is another middle finger for manga readers. Also I eco friendly is only a positive thing if the product meets the above requirements.
Thanks for the review. I was on the verge of ordering the Elipsa 2E but after seeing this review, I decided to hold off as I currently use the Remarkable 2. Having that backlighting and longer battery life was the reason but I just love the natural writing feel of the Remarkable 2.
I am a PhD student needs to read a lot of journal articles mostly from pdf. I have Kindle Scribe but reading pdf files from Kindle is impossible. Can I read pdfs properly in Kobo Elipsa 2E?
Kindle Scribe and Kobo Elipsa 2E are more or less the same when it comes to reading PDF files. It works fine for most files, but you don't get many options. For scientific articles with multiple columns an Onyx Boox tablet or PocketBook ereader is the better choice. Those have dedicated columns modes, which zoom in on the columns and switch to the next portion of the page automatically.
Hey, great review. I am still not sure which E-note/E-reader device I will buy. I am in the market for one. I have had experiences with Kobo devices. I had the Kobo Libra H2O. That device was amazing. However there are stil so many choices out there 😅 Woudl you recommend this device? It's cheaper in The Netherlands than the Scribe and the Boox Ultra or Boox Note Air 2. I really like the kobo but the writing experiences is somewhat holding me back. Is it really bad? Is it useable? How does the writing experience compare from the Elipsa 2E to the Note Air 2 or the Ultra.
Thanks! :) No the writing experience isn't bad on the Elipsa 2E. But the latency is indeed a tiny bit slower and palm rejection isn't so great all of the time. Both Onyx Boox devices have quicker latency and solve the palm rejection problem with multiple software options that can be quickly toggled. At the risk of not making it easier for you: All of them have their pros and cons :D It really depends on what you want to do. - Kobo Elipsa 2E: Best frontlight out of the three, best handling, thanks to the low weight and more intuitive user interface. The biggest potential disadvantage (if you don't need Android) is the slower pen input. But I found it okay. - Boox Note Air 2 (Plus): Generally more notetaking features out of the box; the device is expandable with Android apps and has a full specs sheet (speakers, microphone, 4GB RAM ...). - Boox Tab Ultra: Same as Note Air 2, with an exceptionally fast screen (with the ultra fast mode), but worse battery life, and imho also worse build quality and haptics. It's also too heavy for holding it for long. Makes more sense as a tablet or laptop substitute. So I'd say: - Kobo Elipsa 2E for having the best balance for reading and taking notes, with slightly favoring reading. - Boox Note Air 2 (Plus) as a swiss army knife, that can pretty much do everything, but doesn't have the same great frontlight quality of the Kobo. - Boox Tab Ultra as a tablet/laptop substitute first and a handheld notetaking device second (because of the weight and boxy build). If I'm not mistaken, Kobo is available in retail stores in NL. So if you have the chance, I'd recommend that you try the pen's latency in a store to see if you have a problem with it. If not, you should be good imho :) Otherwise the Boox Note Air 2 (Plus) is generally a good choice - I'd only recommend, that you get it from Amazon or from a reseller in the EU and not directly from China (for easier warranty handling if needed).
@@ChalidRaqami Thanks for your reply I appriciate it. Do you think Mediamarkt has them in store. Good point you made that I should try in a store 😁 Will follow your advice. If I like it I might buy it. Then again Lenovo also posted a video 2 weeks ago on their youtube channel about the smart paper. I feel like that's also comming out very soon. The advantage with that device is that it has a wacom screen and you can use any pen you want plus I bought a brand new Lenovo laptop myself a month ago 🤗
@@WesXpress hi there, did you buy the kobo? I have just bought the remarkable 2 and I worry that I will really miss the light... but the writing quality of kobo worries me - I would mainly use the note taking for annotation...
Thank you for this deep review. There is one doubt that I still have: With the Bluetooth can I connect an external keyboard, and use it to type notes? I might not need it in an ebook or pdf, but I will need it in a note that I'm writing. And if so, how does it feels? Is it quick or not? and is it as battery consuming as writing with the pencil? Hope you can answer. Thank you so much, Ennio
Can we increase the contrast in pdfs? The example you showed had the black text not too black rather greyish. So is it possible to increase the contrast if not the font size?
I read from someone that the highlight button on the stylus is flushed, so it’s annoying as it’s harder to feel it with your finger to click it. Do you feel that way?
I love my Forma. I've been looking at writing platforms. Adding writing features to a Kobo is my perfect world. Alas, it's just not quite good enough. I want Kobo + Supernote. Not quite there yet.
What about Arabic PDFs, as for my Arabic studies I will be mainly using it for arabic books and journals, and mainly uploading a lot of PDF arabic books ? Your views please
PDF are fixed format files, so there shouldn't be any issues with arabic or other languages and you can use all viewing modes that are available. For columns mode, it's also possible to select the direction for the zoomed-in view, so you can progress the view from right to left as well.
It looks like it might be a nice reading device, but I have absolutely no use for a notepad in which my notes may randomly disappear when I turn the page. That is completely unacceptabe, and I would never trust a Kobo with so much as a shopping list.
Hard to tell from the video, because Nate uses different camera settings, so it looks different from that alone. Testing them side by side right now and I'd say both are pretty much identical.
I just bought this a few weeks ago after returning back to Kindle 7, which is too small. This is a very, very good, much larger screen and supports comic format (Although not colour, it did very well on grey colour, which makes it readable without taking heavy Android/iPad tablet). Although higher cost, it is worth every cent!. I have read a few STM32 datasheets and documents, and it was excellent!. The software is stable and well-executed, I highly recommend this
Terrific review! I'm an Elipsa gen 1 owner that uses the device sparingly due to 99% of my note-taking is done on a reMarkable 2. The 2e was compelling to me, as the updates seemed worthwhile and I wanted to see if I could utilize a singular device that could act as a primary note-taker AND large e-reader.
The Elipsa 2E came close but I ended up returning the device.
For a gen 1 owner, the updates were quite.. whelming. Yes, we get the warmlight feature. Things are a tad bit faster (like BARELY so but noticeable) when using the device. I liked the new pen but the positives didn't out-weight the negatives; the eraser "wobble" on top was distracting and the nib was something I couldn't get used to.
Two big concerns I had with this device, which actually affect me using the gen 1 device:
1) I can't find an ideal pen size. I know it's weird, but none of the pen sizes felt right to me. Either it was too thin or too thick.
2) General wonkiness with writing. I'm talking sometimes the latency will be seconds later for the pen marks to show up, which is so distracting when trying to write. The advanced notebook - while functionally pretty cool - exhibits some pretty weird behavior and things really slow down from a latency perspective if you're used to using their basic notebooks.
This, along with some issues when it came to Dropbox exports (have this issue on the Gen 1 as well) made me not really trust the device, unlike my reMarkable 2, which has never let me down EVER.
Thank you Chalid for this great review! I have the same overall opinion about the Kobo Elipsa 2E, my biggest issues so far are with the pen eraser feeling being annoying, the writing feeling is a bit "slippery" on the screen, the tip feels also a little too big ; I also have the hand palm problem, as you stated so well. What's really missing are writing options for PDF note taking, the thickness of the writing is too big when taking notes on PDFs. I have reported this to the Rakuten customer service, no solution so far as it is a fixed standard size, I hope this will be fixed with future updates as it is a major negative point for a device which is rather good otherwise but not perfect considering the selling price. With proper updates and developments to correct these issues, it can become a very useful tool though.
Such a thorough and great review. As a Remarkable and Kindle Scribe user who prefers Kobo e-readers I was really hoping this would be my Scribe replacement but that pen feel is crucial. Thank you for talking about the writing feel and texture of screen, that was so appreciated. I’m curious to see what software updates they come out with for latency and note taking as well. I love that you can easily switch between books and notebooks and wish the competition did this easier. Overall an amazing review that really answered questions I had and gave a really great overview of what to expect.
does it allow writing conversion in other language than english?
The only suprise is the lack of 300ppi.
Or even anything close.
I'd settle for literally anything above 224ppi, doesn't have to be 300pi.
Also lack of 64GB storage is another middle finger for manga readers.
Also I eco friendly is only a positive thing if the product meets the above requirements.
Thanks for the review. I was on the verge of ordering the Elipsa 2E but after seeing this review, I decided to hold off as I currently use the Remarkable 2. Having that backlighting and longer battery life was the reason but I just love the natural writing feel of the Remarkable 2.
Also what is the pdf experience please? Especially transferring a huge number of books in one go please
I am a PhD student needs to read a lot of journal articles mostly from pdf. I have Kindle Scribe but reading pdf files from Kindle is impossible. Can I read pdfs properly in Kobo Elipsa 2E?
Why can't you use your Kindle Scribe to read PDFs? I have read journal articles on the Elipsa 2, actually that's why I bought mine
@@ComtessedArtagnan the text is too small in Kindle and you cannot change the size.
@@mbasdinkci I see. PDFs are uneditable, so I guess you will get a similar result on Kobo. You can zoom the page it will be annoying to change page.
No, e-inks are slow and you want to smash them all the time u use them
Kindle Scribe and Kobo Elipsa 2E are more or less the same when it comes to reading PDF files. It works fine for most files, but you don't get many options.
For scientific articles with multiple columns an Onyx Boox tablet or PocketBook ereader is the better choice. Those have dedicated columns modes, which zoom in on the columns and switch to the next portion of the page automatically.
Hey,
great review. I am still not sure which E-note/E-reader device I will buy. I am in the market for one. I have had experiences with Kobo devices. I had the Kobo Libra H2O. That device was amazing.
However there are stil so many choices out there 😅
Woudl you recommend this device? It's cheaper in The Netherlands than the Scribe and the Boox Ultra or Boox Note Air 2. I really like the kobo but the writing experiences is somewhat holding me back. Is it really bad? Is it useable?
How does the writing experience compare from the Elipsa 2E to the Note Air 2 or the Ultra.
Thanks! :) No the writing experience isn't bad on the Elipsa 2E. But the latency is indeed a tiny bit slower and palm rejection isn't so great all of the time. Both Onyx Boox devices have quicker latency and solve the palm rejection problem with multiple software options that can be quickly toggled.
At the risk of not making it easier for you: All of them have their pros and cons :D It really depends on what you want to do.
- Kobo Elipsa 2E: Best frontlight out of the three, best handling, thanks to the low weight and more intuitive user interface. The biggest potential disadvantage (if you don't need Android) is the slower pen input. But I found it okay.
- Boox Note Air 2 (Plus): Generally more notetaking features out of the box; the device is expandable with Android apps and has a full specs sheet (speakers, microphone, 4GB RAM ...).
- Boox Tab Ultra: Same as Note Air 2, with an exceptionally fast screen (with the ultra fast mode), but worse battery life, and imho also worse build quality and haptics. It's also too heavy for holding it for long. Makes more sense as a tablet or laptop substitute.
So I'd say:
- Kobo Elipsa 2E for having the best balance for reading and taking notes, with slightly favoring reading.
- Boox Note Air 2 (Plus) as a swiss army knife, that can pretty much do everything, but doesn't have the same great frontlight quality of the Kobo.
- Boox Tab Ultra as a tablet/laptop substitute first and a handheld notetaking device second (because of the weight and boxy build).
If I'm not mistaken, Kobo is available in retail stores in NL. So if you have the chance, I'd recommend that you try the pen's latency in a store to see if you have a problem with it. If not, you should be good imho :)
Otherwise the Boox Note Air 2 (Plus) is generally a good choice - I'd only recommend, that you get it from Amazon or from a reseller in the EU and not directly from China (for easier warranty handling if needed).
@@ChalidRaqami Thanks for your reply I appriciate it. Do you think Mediamarkt has them in store. Good point you made that I should try in a store 😁 Will follow your advice. If I like it I might buy it.
Then again Lenovo also posted a video 2 weeks ago on their youtube channel about the smart paper. I feel like that's also comming out very soon.
The advantage with that device is that it has a wacom screen and you can use any pen you want plus I bought a brand new Lenovo laptop myself a month ago 🤗
@@WesXpress hi there, did you buy the kobo? I have just bought the remarkable 2 and I worry that I will really miss the light... but the writing quality of kobo worries me - I would mainly use the note taking for annotation...
Thank you for this deep review. There is one doubt that I still have:
With the Bluetooth can I connect an external keyboard, and use it to type notes? I might not need it in an ebook or pdf, but I will need it in a note that I'm writing. And if so, how does it feels? Is it quick or not? and is it as battery consuming as writing with the pencil?
Hope you can answer.
Thank you so much,
Ennio
Can we increase the contrast in pdfs? The example you showed had the black text not too black rather greyish. So is it possible to increase the contrast if not the font size?
No mention of dark mode.
I read from someone that the highlight button on the stylus is flushed, so it’s annoying as it’s harder to feel it with your finger to click it. Do you feel that way?
I love my Forma. I've been looking at writing platforms. Adding writing features to a Kobo is my perfect world. Alas, it's just not quite good enough. I want Kobo + Supernote. Not quite there yet.
What about Arabic PDFs, as for my Arabic studies I will be mainly using it for arabic books and journals, and mainly uploading a lot of PDF arabic books ? Your views please
PDF are fixed format files, so there shouldn't be any issues with arabic or other languages and you can use all viewing modes that are available.
For columns mode, it's also possible to select the direction for the zoomed-in view, so you can progress the view from right to left as well.
It looks like it might be a nice reading device, but I have absolutely no use for a notepad in which my notes may randomly disappear when I turn the page. That is completely unacceptabe, and I would never trust a Kobo with so much as a shopping list.
7:52 seems to be slower than Kobo Libra color ? ua-cam.com/video/CszBeon1qlA/v-deo.html
Hard to tell from the video, because Nate uses different camera settings, so it looks different from that alone. Testing them side by side right now and I'd say both are pretty much identical.
Do you have twitter?
No, sorry ... :-/