Kobo launches the Kobo Elipsa 2E, a huge e-reader you can also write on

Kobo’s launching a new 10.3-inch E Ink e-reader and writing device, the Kobo Elipsa 2E, on April 19th. The new Kindle Scribe and Onyx Boox Nova Air C rival will retail for $399.99 and comes with an upgraded stylus that you can use to write directly on the pages of ebooks and documents.

Those eager to get their hands on Kobo’s latest e-reader can preorder it from Kobo starting today. As an added incentive, the Rakuten-owned Kobo’s throwing in a $25 Kobo e-gift card for customers preordering the device in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

On paper, the Kobo Elipsa 2E appears to be a minor upgrade from its predecessor, the Kobo Elipsa. They both sell for $399 bundled with a stylus, though only the original Elipsa throws in an included cover. The two e-readers also offer 10.3-inch glare-free displays with built-in tech to minimize blue light exposure along with Bluetooth support. Both additionally sport 32GB of storage and can convert handwriting to typed text. They both integrate with cloud services so you can export notes as well and, sadly, neither device is waterproof.

However, the Elipsa 2E does come with an upgraded stylus and other improvements that should provide “a better and faster writing experience,” or so Kobo claims. For one, the redesigned Kobo Stylus 2 magnetically attaches to the Kobo Elipsa 2E. It’s also rechargeable, which means it doesn’t come with AAA batteries that you would previously have to keep replacing. Meanwhile, the eraser is located on the back now, as opposed to closer to the tip near the highlight button, for more intuitive use.

In addition, annotations will now always be visible even if users change settings like font size or page layout. Before, changing page layout settings would hide annotations within an icon you’d have to click on to view, so this new update will save users an extra step. Other improvements include an easier-to-search built-in notebook feature as well as longer battery life it says “should last weeks,” though we’ll have to test it ourselves to see if this claim holds true.

Like the new Kobo Clara 2E, the e-reader is also more eco-friendly as a part of Kobo’s larger goal to reduce its environmental footprint. The e-reader, for example, is now made from over 85 percent recycled plastic, with 10 percent from ocean plastic. Meanwhile, the new Kobo Elipsa 2E SleepCover — which puts the e-reader to sleep when closed — is made from over 97 percent recycled plastic.

Along with the Elipsa 2E, Kobo also announced the launch of its own take on Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, the Kobo Plus service, in the US today. The three-tier subscription grants members access to over a million ebooks and hundreds of thousands of audiobooks starting at $7.99 per month.