Is the Kobo Elipsa 2E getting a bit long in the tooth - screen-wise?

[Dr. Drib]

Serious question:

Wasn't there supposed to be a newer screen (beyond the 2E) - the same screen used by the Kindle Scribe?

Or has this already occurred?

[Sirtel]

Kobo doesn't seem to be interested in releasing new b/w devices with larger screens. The Sage is almost 4 years old, there is no b/w 7" device, and no 10" 300ppi device either.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Serious question:

Wasn't there supposed to be a newer screen (beyond the 2E) - the same screen used by the Kindle Scribe?

Or has this already occurred?

There is a 10.3" 300PPI screen now as used in the Scribe and other devices like the Boox Go 10.3. 2E has the older 227PPI found in a lot of other devices.

Maybe Kobo doesn't feel they shift enough units to introduce a new model? Or maybe they feel it's not worth switching from a cost perspective?

[DJUNGELSKOG]

I don't think this would happen any time soon. They are still trying to sell the original Elipsa.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Serious question:

Wasn't there supposed to be a newer screen (beyond the 2E) - the same screen used by the Kindle Scribe?

Or has this already occurred?

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Kobo doesn't seem to be interested in releasing new b/w devices with larger screens. The Sage is almost 4 years old, there is no b/w 7" device, and no 10" 300ppi device either.

It's a puzzle. Rakuten is huge company*. Only Amazon, of ereader sellers, has more resources. Pocketbook and Onyx are the next two and much less resources. Bigme, reMarkable, Meebook and others are tiny.

Lenovo tinkered with eink.
Sony gave up because they couldn't run bookstore, so pivoted with Fujitsu to Office epaper (and reMarkable is more like those than real ereaders).

There used to be about four bistable screen companies (not counting Mirasol), but they have either been bought by Eink Corp and buried or bought by Amazon and buried. So Eink Corp for practical purposes has a monopoly.

Eink based ereaders are now a tiny niche compare to eink price labels or people reading on apps.

Also Amazon has 90%+ of the world English Language in ebook sales and prioritises their apps.

[* Rakuten once #2 OEM TV maker]

[cellaris]

I think the Elipsa 2e screen is excellent. It's very difficult for me to see any differences at first glance compared to my Kindle Scribe. I think the differences in resolution (227 vs 300) are more theoretical than practical. I'm not saying that there aren't users who are particularly sensitive to this issue, but I'm certainly not one of them. The lighting on my Elipsa 2e is completely uniform and the text is very sharp. Simply for reading (which is what I use it for), I don't see any disadvantage compared to the Kindle Scribe, despite its lower resolution. I wouldn't be swayed by the numbers, but rather by personal experience. I had the opportunity to see all the current Kobo models side by side, and the screen that impressed me the most was the Elipsa 2e. That's why I bought it, and I don't regret it at all. But someone else may have a different experience than mine.

[Quoth]

The 227 vs 300 depends on font.
with epub ebook at same size font or pdf at same size zoom, the PW3, Libra, Libra 2, Boyue Likebook Mars and Sage (all 300 dpi) were all sharper / clearer on fussy serif fonts than my reMarkable or Elipsa (same 227 dpi). They are also slightly better than the original Aura HD H20 (267 dpi?) which I had then too.

If you are using an old font optimised for screens rather than quality paper printing you probably won't notice the difference.

I considered a Scribe but as you say the 227 dpi to 300 dpi isn't compelling when you have two 10.3" ereaders already, and given the issues of PDF annotation, I decided not.

In the end I passed on my Elipsa and reMarkable (both too heavy & large, yet inadequate for PDFs). With good glasses the Sage (more pixels!) beats them for PDFs. I also passed on the original H2O as the Libra H2O and Libra 2 make it obsolete.

So in conclusion, for fine serif fonts for paper, or multicolumn scanned Magazine PDFs (or some text books) you will easily see the difference between 227 and 300 dpi. However if you are reading with Georgia or any font for 150 dpi to 166 dpi screens rather than for paper, you'll easily see the difference.

I think much more than 8″ is too big and heavy for novels and 10.x″ is still too small for PDFs. I now regard a 14.25″ 3:2 or 4:3 aspect screen as a minimum. The 13.x″ eink are stupidly expensive and in the past even lower than 227 dpi, but might be about that now.

I have a portable 16″ screen that's QHD (but sadly 16:9 and no internal power, it's ONLY a screen that looks like a tablet) and it's not too bad. Works on Pi or 11" Chromebook (both natively running Linux). The best all-in-one so far for PDFs is my 14.25″ Nxtpaper 14 (3:2 aspect).

[talaivan]

I remember reading that the large 300 dpi screens were only for Amazon and that Kobo could not get them. I had a Scribe but sent it back because in night mode I found the screen very hard to read. I am quite happy with the Elipsa 2E -- the screen is clear and easy to read for my 80-year-old eyes whether in regular or dark mode. In any case, I do not like Amazon's readers and Amazon's software. I do wish Kobo would make available a new 7" reader -- don't care whether it's color or not.

[Alastair_S]

Originally Posted by Quoth

However if you are reading with Georgia or any font for 150 dpi to 166 dpi screens rather than for paper, you'll easily see the difference.

Given what you have written in the rest of your post shouldn't the above be "you won't easily see the difference"?

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by talaivan

I remember reading that the large 300 dpi screens were only for Amazon and that Kobo could not get them. I had a Scribe but sent it back because in night mode I found the screen very hard to read. I am quite happy with the Elipsa 2E -- the screen is clear and easy to read for my 80-year-old eyes whether in regular or dark mode. In any case, I do not like Amazon's readers and Amazon's software. I do wish Kobo would make available a new 7" reader -- don't care whether it's color or not.

Others have the large 300 PPI screens now, like I already mentioned above.

Kobo made a new 7" reader last year, not sure they really need to do anything more if you don't mind color. The KLC is plenty fast and has good battery life.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Alastair_S

Given what you have written in the rest of your post shouldn't the above be "you won't easily see the difference"?

A 150 dpi screen like on a DXG has 1/4 of the dots on same size font as the 300 dpi. You will notice the difference with a serif font. Some Sans fonts are not so noticeably poorer.

You really notice the difference on scanned PDFs, because the 9.7″ DXG is actually worse than a 300 dpi 6″ Kindle (Voyage, PW3, Oasis 1).

[cellaris]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The 227 vs 300 depends on font.
with epub ebook at same size font or pdf at same size zoom, the PW3, Libra, Libra 2, Boyue Likebook Mars and Sage (all 300 dpi) were all sharper / clearer on fussy serif fonts than my reMarkable or Elipsa (same 227 dpi). They are also slightly better than the original Aura HD H20 (267 dpi?) which I had then too.

If you are using an old font optimised for screens rather than quality paper printing you probably won't notice the difference.

I considered a Scribe but as you say the 227 dpi to 300 dpi isn't compelling when you have two 10.3" ereaders already, and given the issues of PDF annotation, I decided not.

In the end I passed on my Elipsa and reMarkable (both too heavy & large, yet inadequate for PDFs). With good glasses the Sage (more pixels!) beats them for PDFs. I also passed on the original H2O as the Libra H2O and Libra 2 make it obsolete.

So in conclusion, for fine serif fonts for paper, or multicolumn scanned Magazine PDFs (or some text books) you will easily see the difference between 227 and 300 dpi. However if you are reading with Georgia or any font for 150 dpi to 166 dpi screens rather than for paper, you'll easily see the difference.

I think much more than 8″ is too big and heavy for novels and 10.x″ is still too small for PDFs. I now regard a 14.25″ 3:2 or 4:3 aspect screen as a minimum. The 13.x″ eink are stupidly expensive and in the past even lower than 227 dpi, but might be about that now.

I have a portable 16″ screen that's QHD (but sadly 16:9 and no internal power, it's ONLY a screen that looks like a tablet) and it's not too bad. Works on Pi or 11" Chromebook (both natively running Linux). The best all-in-one so far for PDFs is my 14.25″ Nxtpaper 14 (3:2 aspect).

It all depends on what you want a 10.3" e-reader for. If the main function is to read novels on a larger screen, my advice is to forget about the differences in resolution because you would need exceptional eyesight to notice the differences. If you did a blind test, I am convinced that many people would be unable to tell the difference. I like reading on the Kindle Scribe, but if you ask me if I do so because it has 300 ppi compared to 227 ppi, I would say no. I read just as well on the Kobo Elipsa 2e or the PocketBook InkPad X (I use the Georgia font on all of them).

For comfortable reading at home, I prefer 10" screens. You don't really need to hold the e-reader, just rest it on your lap if you're sitting in an armchair or on a stand if you're at a table. I don't consider weight to be an issue. It varies greatly from one e-reader to another. The InkPad X weighs about the same as an 8" reader, while the Scribe is heavier. But compared to printed books of the same size, they are all lighter and less bulky. Anyone who is used to reading should have no problem with a 10" e-reader. I don't know, every day on the tube I see people reading books that are much heavier and more awkward to hold. The size and weight of an e-reader is so subjective... Personally, I have no problem with either a 6" or a 10" e-reader. It's more a matter of habit than anything else (unless you have some kind of physical problem).

[Quoth]

Yes, if you simply need the same about of text in a much larger font then that implies you won't see the difference.

There is though a difference in the issue of weight reading for say 1/2 hour vs 4 hours. If you are reading normal paperback book sized text in single paper portrait mode that is reflowable then 10″ is much too big. If you are reading a multi-column magazine in PDF then 10″ is far too small.

This is why choice is good and it's handy if you can afford multiple sizes. Even having 6 different ereaders and tablets takes up very little space.
See https://www.theguardian.com/books/pi...acking-cartoon

So a shame Kobo has no 7″ mono. They are easily a big enough company to have colour and mono 7″ models as they do for 6″. It's baffling that they killed the Libra 2.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by Quoth

It's a puzzle. Rakuten is huge company*. Only Amazon, of ereader sellers, has more resources. Pocketbook and Onyx are the next two and much less resources. Bigme, reMarkable, Meebook and others are tiny.

[* Rakuten once #2 OEM TV maker]

It's unclear how much of that they share with Kobo, though. My experience with acquisitions is that the acquired company is expected to flow money upwards to the parent company, but rarely does money flow down from the parent company to help support it.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by cellaris

For comfortable reading at home, I prefer 10" screens. You don't really need to hold the e-reader, just rest it on your lap if you're sitting in an armchair or on a stand if you're at a table. I don't consider weight to be an issue.

Obviously you don't have a cat who likes to sleep in your lap. Resting an ereader on my lap would often not be possible for me, I have to be able to hold it in my hand. So anything above 8" is out of the question. And as I don't like to read on a 6” screen, this means 7" or 8".