A New Kind of eReader – The Kobo Elipsa
Kobo Elipsa is an eBook reader that merges the convenience of an electronic book reader with the size and value of an eBook. Australia is relatively late to the scene when it came to eBook devices. While other countries, such as the US, already have a myriad of note-like devices to choose from, by comparison, Australia has only a handful of choices by major eBook vendor perspective. Enter the Kobo Elipsa which marries all the popular Kobo e-reader features with an enhanced performance of an eBook and displays it on a larger screen.
One of the biggest differences between the Elipsa and its competitors is its screen and its cover. While other e-readers simply have a white screen and a black cover, the Elipsa has a full color, back lit screen and, for those who need it, a stylus as well. The stylus is especially useful if you plan to use it for note taking on flights and buses. The Elipsa also offers a sleepcover which, while not as comfortable as those offered on other types of e-readers, allows you to read without having to re-inflate your legs every so often.
One of the biggest advantages of the Elipsa as compared to other eBook readers is the type of battery it uses. Unlike many of its competitors, the Elipsa uses a solid state small-sized battery rather than the older and larger liquid-filled ones. Although smaller in size, the battery gives the Elipsa a higher endurance for word processing, web surfing and general reading. While this may not sound like a big deal-the battery is still powerful enough to allow you to complete most of your daily activities using it. The former battery does tend to last longer than others though.
Another advantage of the Elipsa is its outstanding display. While many people might look down on displays that are difficult to read or view, the Elipsa has an unusually high contrast ratio for an e-reader. This means that not only is the font sharp and clear; so is the picture itself. What’s more, you can see the same text size on the screen as you would with a real book. You really feel like you’re reading a real book.
There are other advantages to the Elipsa as well. For example, it’s extremely easy to download books from the Kobo store. If you want to read a book, you just turn on the device, pick out a book you want to read and start reading. It’s amazing how many books you can pick out with this amazing screen and how quickly you get through them. The Elipsa also gets quite hot when used with the larger battery, but the backlight reduces this effect. This means you can read for hours on one battery, and you won’t experience that sensation of being totally zapped off by the heat.
There are some drawbacks to the Elipsa too. One of them is that you have to remove the protective cover to get at the battery. For many people this is simply not an acceptable trade off. Luckily, the eReader also allows you to buy additional ink for your printheads. While the screen is smaller than the enotes, the Kobo Elipsa does give you less room for your prints.
The biggest complaint about the Elipsa is the fact that it isn’t as bright as you would like for an e-reader. The reason is because it uses a lower lumen, but the result is a wonderful light for viewing your documents. The Elipsa does produce a significant amount of glare, but this may not be a problem if you use the backlight feature. If you do prefer a brighter display though, you can purchase the Carta 1200 screen protector that covers the backlight completely.
Kobo has put out a very impressive product, the Elipsa. Unlike some of their competitors, the Elipsa offers a lot of value for such a low price. They are definitely on the low end in size, but they pack a powerful punch. The ereader industry is still in its early days, so it will be interesting to see what comes out next. Right now, however, the Elipsa takes the crown for best small tablet computer on the market.
