Kindle Scribe (2024) vs Kobo Elipsa 2E: Strengths & Weakness
Naila Syifa
Updated January 2025
The Kindle Scribe and Kobo Elipsa 2E are direct competitors in the digital note-taking and e-reading market, retailing at the same USD 399.99 price tag. However, they come with different sets of features that may appeal to different users. Before making a decision, it's important to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each device.
Key Takeaways
The Kindle Scribe boasts a higher display resolution, longer battery life, and features like Active Canvas and AI Summarization, but lacks robust sharing options and keyword search for handwritten notes. Meanwhile, the Kobo Elipsa 2E offers seamless cloud integration, keyword search, and library book borrowing, though it has lower-resolution display and shorter battery life.
Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024)
A Kindle and a Notebook
✓ 10.2” Glare-Fee Display
✓ In-Book Writing
✓ AI Summarization
✓ Premium Pen
Kobo Elipsa 2E
Versatile E-Reader
✓ 10.3” Glare-Fee Display
✓ Search Handwritten Notes
✓ Borrow eBooks from Public Library
✓ Dropbox & Google Drive
Design & Display
Kindle Scribe
Kindle Scribe and Kobo Elipsa 2E have a similar appearance, it's just that the upgraded 2024 Kindle Scribe model now features a white border for a more notebook-like aesthetic. They are also almost similar in size, though the Kobo Elipsa 2E is noticeably thicker but slightly lighter than the Kindle Scribe.
Kobo Elipsa 2E features a 10.3-inch glare-free E Ink Carta display, which is slightly more spacious than the 10.2-inch glare-free Paperwhite display of the Kindle Scribe. However, in terms of display quality, Kindle Scribe is superior thanks to its sharp 300 ppi resolution, while the Kobo Elipsa 2E is still limited to 227 ppi.
One common design feature is the addition of a front light on both devices, allowing you to adjust brightness levels along with color temperature for comfortable reading in various lighting conditions.
Writing Pen
Kobo Elipsa 2E
Both e-readers come included with a pen for writing and highlighting, respectively the Premium Pen for Amazon Kindle and the Kobo Stylus 2 for Kobo Elipsa 2E.
Both pens have a built-in eraser and a button, but the button in the Kobo Stylus 2 is dedicated to highlighting, while the button in the Kindle Premium Pen can be customized for various functions.
The Kindle Premium Pen is also battery-free and never ever needs to be recharged, a step forward compared to the Kobo Stylus 2, which requires regular charging.
Features
Kindle Scribe
Kindle Scribe and Kobo Elipsa 2E have their own native bookstore which offers ebooks and audiobooks, making reading (or listening) a seamless experience. Both e-readers feature no built-in speakers, so a connection to Bluetooth headphones or speakers is required for audiobook listening.
If you don't want to buy or subscribe to the proprietary content ecosystems, both devices support sideloading of common ebook formats like EPUB and PDF.
Kobo Elipsa 2E also supports borrowing from public libraries via Overdrive. All you need is a library card and Wi-Fi, then you can borrow and read ebooks from public libraries worldwide, including public libraries in Singapore, Canada, US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and more. Such capability is absent on the Kindle Scribe.
As you read using either e-reader, you can highlight passages, draw on the page, or even add handwritten notes. The approach of adding handwritten notes is a bit different though.
On Kindle Scribe, when you write on the book (or Word Docs and other reflowable documents), the Active Canvas feature will automatically move away the text to create a dedicated space for your handwritten notes, so they look neat and organized. If you change the font size or style, the layout dynamically changes to keep the handwritten notes in their designated space.
In contrast, with the Kobo Elipsa 2E, you write directly along the text, with no dedicated space for handwritten notes. And once the book layout changes because of changing font size, the handwritten notes will be hidden inside a bracket. You'll have to expand the bracket first to view the handwritten notes. I think this approach is less seamless compared to the Kindle Scribe's Active Canvas feature.
Kobo Elipsa 2E
Now let's move on to note-taking features. On either device, you can create notes from a range of templates and then have your handwritten text converted to typed text for easy sharing.
The difference is that you can directly find your handwritten text within notebooks using the Search tool on the Kobo Elipsa 2E. Simply type the keyword and it will surface the page containing that keyword.
On Kindle Scribe, a direct search for handwritten notes is currently not available. You have to first convert the handwritten notebook to PDF (by sharing via email), then search within the PDF file. That's a lengthy process just to find your keyword.
On top of that, sharing and cross-device syncing feel more robust on the Kobo Elipsa 2E, thanks to its Dropbox and Google Drive integration. Kindle Scribe typically uses email for sharing notes with no third-party cloud services integration.
However, Kindle Scribe has an AI summarization feature, which automatically generate key points from your notes so you can quickly review and get prepared for your next meeting or class.
Battery
Kindle Scribe
The Kobo Elipsa 2E is equipped with a 2400 mAh battery, which provides weeks of battery life depending on your usage. If you use it for around two hours per day, you can expect around two weeks of battery life before needing to recharge.
We don't know the battery capacity of the Kindle Scribe, but it definitely lasts longer than the Kobo Elipsa 2E. For 30 minutes of writing per day, it can last for up to 3 weeks and for 30 minutes of reading per day, it can last up to 12 weeks on a single charge.
Kindle Scribe vs Kobo Elipsa 2E
Final Thoughts
Kobo Elipsa 2E
The Kindle Scribe has a better screen, longer battery life, and some nice features like Active Canvas and AI Summarization. However, it has limited sharing options and doesn't have a search function for your handwritten notes.
The Kobo Elipsa 2E, on the other hand, works better with cloud storage like Dropbox and Google Drive. You can search your handwritten notes for a keyword, and you can even borrow books from the library. But its screen isn't as good and the battery doesn't last as long as the Kindle Scribe.
Every device has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the choice ultimately depends on your specific needs and preferences.
If you like to read more about E-Ink Tablets, check out our other relevant guides here:
Best E-Ink Tablets Singapore
Kindle Paperwhite vs Scribe
Supernote Nomad vs Kindle Scribe
Remarkable 2 vs Remarkable Paper Pro
Remarkable 2 vs Kindle Scribe
Remarkable Paper Pro vs Kindle Scribe
Kobo Elipsa 2E vs Libra Colour
Author
Naila Syifa
Content Manager at Synced. She crafts insightful content on the latest trends in technology, consumer electronics, and smart home gadgets.
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