Kobo Elipsa 10.3” eReader inc Stylus and Cover $454 + Shipping @ SkyComp

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0jay on 14/01/2023 - 14:42 skycomp.com.au (1558 clicks)
Last edited 14/01/2023 - 15:03 by 1 other user

The Kobo Elipsa is a versatile iPad-sized e-reader that is surprisingly comfortable to hold – once you ditch the heavy and largely pointless SleepCover. If you love reading ebooks and feel the latest e-readers with 6-inch displays are too small (and you also like to jot down notes), then the Kobo Elipsa is really worth considering

From Choice review: https://www.choice.com.au/electronics-and-technology/tablets…

Pretty good review at Goodereader with unboxing vid and hands-on review vid – https://goodereader.com/blog/reviews/hands-on-review-of-the-…

I’m keen on this for academic PDFs which are ok on other devices but I really need a dedicated unit. I don’t expect much from the markup feature but Kobo are really good with firmware updates so am hoping it to improve overtime. Shipping to inner Melbourne is $17.40 bringing it to $471.40 delivered.

Includes Overdrive and DropBox support.

Can possibly price match at JB (currently $599 - https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/kobo-elipsa-10-3-ereader?…)

Edit: this is an online only item at JB so no store pickup. Price match includes Skycomp shipping but JB will ship for free to compensate (normally $5 in Vic). 10-14 days shipping in Victoria from JB.

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• 

  Horacio on 14/01/2023 - 15:22

  +6

  This is a very low price, lower I think than it's been on Amazon. But just be aware that Kobo is about to come out with a new e-reader with stylus, and a key observer thinks it may be a new version of the Elipsa with improved hardware (this is not 300ppi) - see https://goodereader.com/blog/kobo-ereader-news/new-kobo-e-re…
  "The Elipsa first came out in 2021 was their first digital note taking device. It featured a 10.3 inch E INK Carta 1200 display and a resolution of 1404 by 1872 with 227 PPI. I have a feeling the new model will have the same 300 PPI that the Kindle Scribe employs."

  • jv on 14/01/2023 - 15:32 Comment score below threshold.
    • 

      Wonderfool on 14/01/2023 - 15:34

      +3

      E-ink devices are generally far more expensive. Especially one fast enough to use stylus with.

    • 

      Horacio on 14/01/2023 - 15:38

      +10

      These are an entirely different kettle of fish. You can get a 10 inch android tablet for less than $100 that'd be vastly cheaper than an ipad for reading, if you like reading from a screen. This is for people who want to give their eyes a rest

      • 

        Jackson on 14/01/2023 - 15:46

        True, but eink screens needent be inherently more expensive than lcds. These are just expensive cos they are new(ish) and haven't found a big market yet. You gotta be pretty keen to buy one. Don't get me wrong, I've wanted someone to make one for years so I can read textbooks in comfort, but I'm not paying 500 for one

        • 

          Horacio on 14/01/2023 - 15:48

          @Jackson: Yep I agree, I want one like this that fits an A4 page view of a pdf (the top half sideways, at least) but keep hoping the price will come down. Be cheaper to print the pages out & read if you didn't mind about the trees

          • 

            jv on 14/01/2023 - 16:21

            -7

            @Horacio:

            if you didn't mind about the trees

            Trees are renewable and younger trees absorb more carbon dioxide.

            • 

              Horacio on 14/01/2023 - 16:47

              +2

              @jv: A plantation tree may be renewable, but an old growth forest is only renewable over many centuries, during which time its usefulness as habitat is vastly diminished

        • 

          jv on 14/01/2023 - 16:20

          -2

          @Jackson:

          but I'm not paying 500 for one

          I’d consider one for $150, but not much more than that.

• 

  Euthyphro on 14/01/2023 - 15:50

  -1

  Both Kobo and Amazon want to manipulate the eBook market. They don't just sell their eReader devices. They want to limit the consumers so the consumers can buy ONLY eBooks from their own eBook store, therefore they won't come up with a device on which users can install whichever eBook app they want. Amazon Kindle definitely won't have an app on which users can buy eBooks from Kobo, and vice versa.

  Therefore the Chinese eReader manufacturers are increasing their marketshare, because their eReaders use Android 11 as the OS. Users can install whichever app from Google Play.

  • 

    Duff5000 on 14/01/2023 - 15:56

    +3

    Any specific ereaders to look into? I hadn't really considered alternatives to the main 2 brands despite using poco/redmi phones for years.

    • 

      0jay on 14/01/2023 - 16:22

      +1

      Boox run Android, have backlights (unlike ReMarkable) and are reasonably well specced and reviewed. They’re not cheap though.

    • 

      Xuaxace on 14/01/2023 - 19:12

      +3

      I have the boox note air 2 (got it about 3 months ago). My friend was also in the market and went for a supernote a5x - (supernote, boox and remarkable) tend to be the top 3 brands in most comparisons

      The reason I went for the boox air 2 was android store compatibility which allows me able to side load kindle, scrib, onedrive (all my pdf's and books are linked and synced). Other important factors were good backlight and decent paper feel (not as good as supernote).

      My use case is mostly writing essays and mindmaps by hand, reading ebooks and going through journal article and scholarly books.

      My friend went for the supernote mostly for the more simple i.e. less distractions note and mostly uses it for notes and daily scheduling - paper feel was also his highest priority. For that use case he is happy with it.

      • 

        bluemyself on 14/01/2023 - 19:57

        I thought the boox has Google Play store so side loading was unnecessary? I'm looking into getting one and thought that was the case based on reviews, etc. Also where did you get it? It seems like only Elite Electronics has it for sale in Aus.

        • 

          Rayve on 15/01/2023 - 15:39

          @bluemyself: I bought the Boox Max Lumi, 13.3" for the full-size A4 PDF experience. I can confirm that the Google Play store works seamlessly. The functionality of apps is, of course, limited by the refresh rate and lack of colours. I also use it as a wireless PC monitor on occasion.

      • 

        Duff5000 on 15/01/2023 - 00:30

        I was just looking for only ebook reading. Seems like a kindle is still the best value then for basic use. Have had one in the past but lost it, still have calibre installed for uploading to one.

        Annoyed i missed that ~$70 deal recently.

  • 

    0jay on 14/01/2023 - 16:21

    +12

    Kobo’s probly the most accessible in terms of format compatibility and ease of sideload/organisation. They also feature Overdrive allowing for on device borrowing from library ebook collections.

    Comparing Kobo to Amazon in terms of lockin strategy is kind of stupid.

    • 

      theguyrules on 14/01/2023 - 16:27

      +8

      Kobo you can put on a completely different reader too, if you wanted.
      I agree it's dumb to say Kobo is as bad as Kindle.

      • 

        0jay on 14/01/2023 - 16:30

        -1

        Kobo you can put on a completely different reader

        Amazon have Kindle apps too

        • 

          theguyrules on 14/01/2023 - 19:37

          +2

          @0jay: Not on their eink readers AFAIK.

          Not in the same vein as Kobo and koreader.

          • 

            0jay on 14/01/2023 - 19:53

            @theguyrules:

            Not in the same vein

            Sorry, misunderstood – thought you meant apps for other devices.

    • 

      CommuterPolluter on 14/01/2023 - 16:28

      +2

      It’s pretty trivial to side load onto a kindle, unless the new devices have been locked down. I just plug into my PC and open Calibre. Back in the day, the device even had a dedicated email address which could be used to load non-Amazon books. Obviously not as convenient as being able to simply install a third-party storefront.

      • 

        0jay on 14/01/2023 - 16:33

        +1

        trivial to side load onto a kindle

        I have zero interest in trashing Kindle, it’s just the idea that Amazon’s lockin strategy is comparable to Kobo is a bit of a no show.

        Also while eReaders may be a niche product, they are not new. You can even get 25” desktop monitors with eInk now https://shop.boox.com/products/mira

        • 

          CommuterPolluter on 14/01/2023 - 21:12

          @0jay: How exactly is a kindle, or an ebook purchased on Amazon, more locked in than the kobo equivalent? In both cases you can sideload DRM-free eBooks. In both cases the eBooks provided by the store contain DRM.

          Is it just that you can read overdrive books on a kobo?

          • 

            0jay on 16/01/2023 - 16:03

            +1

            @CommuterPolluter: It’s been quite a few years since I used a Kindle. Kobo is popularly regarded to be the best supported hardware on Calibre. FW updates are reversible and I’ve never seen an ad (no idea if ads are still a thing on Kindle).

            If you’re used to Kindle then stick with it. It’s my understanding that Kindles are finicky to hack and customisations in terms of layout/font weight etc are limited. This may not be true. There used to be a time when it was trivial to expand storage on some models of Kobo, I think this is no longer the case.

            Much of the time comparisons like this come down to nuance. You need to have experience with both devices to clarify generalisations. I don’t have that experience. If you consider it a false statement to say that Kobo is more open and flexible then I’m not going to argue with you.

            • 

              CommuterPolluter on 16/01/2023 - 16:45

              @0jay: I don't think it’s a false statement - I’m just curious as hadn’t seen any substantial differences listed.

              Overdrive definitely is a point in Kobos favour regarding openness. My experience with loading books via Calibre has been fine but it be a different story with more modern kindles, or other eBooks or file formats.

              • 

                0jay on 16/01/2023 - 17:37

                +1

                @CommuterPolluter: Overdrive is a great feature and seamless the few times I’ve used it. You can load memberships for several libraries so you can get a pretty huge selection on the one device. Having said this I’ve only used it a few times some years ago when I first bought an AuraOne so I’m not the best person to speak on it.

                My use sounds similar to yours – mostly sideloading of epubs via Calibre. This is about to change as I have a lot of mongraphs and journal articles only available on PDF so I guess I’ll see how that goes.

                My experience of Kobo as a company has been very good. I once bought a used Glo that just froze irretrievably a couple of years in from my purchase, I didn’t expect much from them beyond advice but they shipped a replacement unit (this is for a four year old reader). I was astonished to be honest.

                • 

                  Sammyboy on 18/01/2023 - 11:37

                  @0jay: Have you had any problems with overdrive recently?
                  I cant get overdrive working at all on my Kobo. Just gets stuck on please wait, or says no content

                  • 

                    0jay on 18/01/2023 - 13:33

                    @Sammyboy:

                    I cant get overdrive working

                    Are you on the latest firmware?

                    To be honest it’s a feature I’ve not used for years so am not the best person to speak on it.

                    The MobileRead forums have a ton of information and very knowledgable people moderating. As inconvenient as it may be, sometimes a system reset can help iron out the kind of problems you’re having. If you’ve not already tried, just logging out and then back in again can resolve some problems too.

                    Sorry I can’t be more help.

      • 

        Horacio on 14/01/2023 - 16:49

        yup you're not locked in really

  • 

    Horacio on 14/01/2023 - 16:50

    From what I can gather the custom linux-based ereaders (like this) have an advantage over Android, which requires some cludges to work well with e-ink

    • 

      Euthyphro on 14/01/2023 - 20:21

      +1

      You are right about the Android disadvantages.
      My point is not about the OS. It's about maket manipulation. Amazon is worse on this than Kobo.

  • 

    fuzzy wuzzy on 16/01/2023 - 11:10

    I've been using my kobo glo Hd for 7+ years now and the main reason I bought it was the ability to just side load any ebook into it while kindle didn't support it officially.

• 

  J Wang on 14/01/2023 - 16:04

  +4

  very low price ,I got this for 495$ on ebay. If you want use it for reading pdf, the font color is not dark enough and you can not adjust the font color like kindle.
  You can install koreader or plato to read pdf which can adjust font color , but can not use the stylus.

  • 

    0jay on 14/01/2023 - 16:48

    I got this for 495$ on ebay

    You happy?

• 

  muppet on 14/01/2023 - 16:45

  This or kindle scribe?

  • 

    Horacio on 14/01/2023 - 16:48

    maybe the upcoming replacement for this? Scribe not rated well for note taking

• 

  zbc on 14/01/2023 - 17:33

  +3

  Viewing and editing PDF files is also one of the flagship functionalities. You can freehand draw anywhere on the document, although you cannot highlight a specific word or body of text in a conventional manner. You basically need to press down on the highlight button and paint the highlight, think of it as just scribbling.

  Sadly, this kills it for me. I'm looking for an e-note that will do conventional text highlighting on a PDF, not just finger painting.

  • 

    djthornton on 14/01/2023 - 18:19

    +1

    My Remarkable tablet does a reasonably good job of this (highlighting pdfs in-line). Been using for years, don't have an e-reader to compare it to though.

  • 

    Ryballs on 14/01/2023 - 18:38

    +2

    That's weird as I can highlight PDF text on my Kobo Libra 2 just fine.

    • 

      Horacio on 15/01/2023 - 11:47

      That's interesting. And link comments to the text? And export them back out of the device with the notes intact in the pdf? That's all I need

• 

  irmalik on 15/01/2023 - 07:58

  +2

  Onyx eink Android tabs look good too. 13.3" for full page reading. 500+ grams though.

• 

  Polytrope on 15/01/2023 - 19:12

  +1

  I bought an Elipsa very enthusiastically in 2021 (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/639445), but unfortunately I can't quite recommend it for academic study.

  Reading epubs is great, but the writing experience is awful and PDF support is sub-par. It is much slower to read a PDF than an epub and annotations chug the device, so I wouldn't recommend it if you need to flip from page to page frequently.

  I find it useful when I need to have a single page open for a long time (language translation), and the dropbox support is excellent. But otherwise I'd buy an Oynx device at this stage, or maybe wait until the just announced Lenovo e-ink tablet comes out. The Elipsa hasn't received any substantive updates since release, and I wouldn't expect any now.

  • 

    0jay on 16/01/2023 - 18:53

    PDF support is sub-par. It is much slower to read a PDF than an epub

    While I take this experience onboard, there is a whole constellation of possibilities in terms of what state a PDF might be in as to how it will effect a unit like a Kobo.

    Scanned PDFs are often essentially images, they tend to be large files for a given page count and are RAM intensive to display (they also often have no underlying OCR file so highlighting is freehand and dictionary lookup is a no-go).

    I doctor all my PDFs in Acrobat as soon as I get them, compress the file, sometimes redo the OCR and if it’s a scanned document I’ll let Acrobat do quite a bit of work on it before settling on the result (including an OCR).

    Not all PDFs are equal, it’s why you get some folks saying highlighting’s freehand only and other folks saying inline highlighting works fine for them.

  • 

    Horacio on 31/01/2023 - 07:26

    Very interesting and useful feedback, thanks. If pdfs don't run so well then an Elipsa doesn't make so much sense

• 

  wholedamnpomme on 18/01/2023 - 14:51

  +1

  I actually went with the Kobo Sage on SkyComp; still at a great price in comparison to jb/hn etc. as I wanted something closer to kindle paper white size.
  Got the stylus also, though not a case yet.