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Supernote A5x Vs Kobo Elipsa

Supernote A5x Vs Kobo Elipsa 2e

Ratta Supernote A5x Vs Kobo Elipsa 2e

Kobo Elipsa 2e is Kobo’s third foray into the world of e-notes, following their initial model and the Sage. It’s evident that Kobo is taking e-notes seriously, investing more heavily in them than some of the major competitors, like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. But what sets the Kobo Elipsa 2E apart? And is it better or worse than the Supernote?

Here we will be comparing one of the popular E ink tablets Ratta Supernote A5x with Kobo Elipsa 2e. Though both of the devices are great yet different in a lot of aspects. These devices are suited for a specific target audience and personally I love both of them. To cut it short:

If you intend to use this device primarily for taking notes, journaling with a satisfying writing experience then Supernote is best suited for that. The Note Taking UI of Supernote is far superior.

If you need a device primarily for reading and note taking is secondary, then Kobo Elipsa 2e with it Ecosystem and experience in the E Reader market is a better choice.

Let’s dive in and find out which device suits you better

Comparison Table Supernote A5x Vs Kobo Elipsa 2e

FEATURES ONYX BOOX TAB ULTRA SUPERNOTE A5 X KINDLE SCRIBE REMARKABLE 2 ONYX BOOX NOTE AIR 2 KOBO ELIPSA
Release year 2022 2020 2022 2020 2021 2021
Display
Screen type Carta HD Mobius Carta Carta 1200 Carta Carta 1000 Carta 1200
Screen size 10.3" 10.3" 10.2" 10.3" 10.3" 10.3"
Screen resolution 1404 x 1872 1404 × 1872 1830 x 2460 1404 x 1872 1404 x 1872 1404 x 1872
Pixel density 227dpi 226dpi 300dpi 226dpi 227dpi 227dpi
Hardware
CPU 1.8 Ghz octa-core 1.3 GHz quad-core 1Ghz 1.2Ghz dual-core 1.8 GHz octa-core 1.8 GHz quad-core
RAM 4Gb 2Gb 1Gb 1Gb 4Gb 1Gb
Storage 128Gb (Expandable) 32Gb 64Gb 8Gb 64Gb 32Gb
Battery 6300mAh 3800mAh 3000mAh 3000mAh 3700mAh 2400mAh
Thickness 6.7mm 7.2mm 5.8mm 4.7mm 5.8mm 7.6mm
Weight 480g 375g 433g 405g 445g 383g
Connectivity Wifi + BT Wifi + BT Wifi + BT Wifi + BT Wifi + BT Wifi + BT
Stylus  Wacom/ Ceramic Tip Wacom/ Ceramic Tip Wacom/ Cardboard Nip Wacom/ Graphite Tip Kobo Only
Software
Operating system Android 11.0 Chauvet (Android-based) Linux Linux Android 11.0 Kobo (Linux)
Google Play Store
Handwriting recognition
Other Features
Backlit Screen
Speakers
Microphone
Auto-Rotate
Waterproof

Aspect of Consideration

  • Design
  • Display
  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Stylus
  • Notetaking Experience 
  • Reading Experience
  • Service
  • Pricing

Design

Kobo Elipsa 2e and the Supernote A5x are both very well-designed and pleasing to the eyes. The feel is minimalistic and premium. Apart from the slightly different dimensions the major difference of Kobo Elipsa 2e from Supernote are the size and location of the bezel

Personally I find the color and design of Supernote A5x a breath of fresh air and a bit more appealing.

Supernote A5x

  • The Supernote A5x has a wider bezel at the bottom with a touch slider on the right bezel.
  • It has a plastic casing and screen, which makes it very light (375g ).
  • Supernote A5x is a bit thicker (7.2mm)
  • The USB-C connector on the Supernote is located centrally on the bottom edge and the power button is on the top right edge

Kobo Elipsa 2e

  • It weights under 400 grams in weight, and its not the lightest device in the market
  • The device is made of plastic with a textured finish.
  • Power button and the USB-C port are on the side
  • Though quite thin its still thicker than the Supernote A5x at 7.5mm.

Display

The Kobo Elipsa and Supernote both features a 10.2-inch monochrome display with 226ppi resolution.

The Kobo Elipsa 2E shares a similar design to its predecessor. The screen comes with back lit screen and warm lights making it perfect for reading in low light conditions.

Both devices still have their transflective properties, so if you’re in a room or area with lots of light, it will look great. 

Supernote

  • The Supernote A5x uses a plastic Mobius Carta screen. Its more flexible and lighter. Supernote A5x claims that its screen never breaks making it a better option for careless forks .
  • Comes with 226 ppi so the text isn’t as crisp as kindle
  • The device has no backlight, which is big problem when using the device in low light.

Kobo Elipsa 2e

  • The device and dual front light both warm and cool.
  • The 10.3” screen has 225 PPI which is standard in this segment of E Ink Tablets
  • It has auto-brightness too, so can adapt the brightness of the display to match your environment.

Hardware

Supernote A5x was launched in 2020, so the hardware is a bit outdated when compared to Kobo Elipsa 2e but they run perfectly fine for their intended job. Yet when it comes to additional features like backlit screens, light and g sensors than Supernote  is lacking behind Kobo Elipsa 2e. Both of the devices aren’t waterproof. 

Supernote

  • Supernote lacks key features like backlit screen and g sensors.
  • Runs on Quad-core processor with 2 GB of memory and 32Gb of storage.
  • Supernote A5x has a larger battery (3800mAh). However, both devices work have almost the same standby time.

Kobo Elipsa 2e

  • Its slightly better in hardware specification than the Supernote A5x.
  • Comes with backlit screen and a G sensors
  • 2 Ghz processor with 2 GB of memory and 32 of storage.
  • The battery is smaller 2400 mAH but works really well especially for reading.

Software

Supernote runs on android but Google play store is not supported. However, Supernote A5x has started adding third-party apps, beginning with Kindle. More apps and developer support are in the works.

Kobo Elipsa 2e has its own tailored Linux based OS. Which is really fast and part of the Kobo ecosystem, so no third party apps can be installed in it.

Stylus

The Supernote stylus application is more customizable and give a better writing experience, making it ideal for those who want to personalize their note-taking experience. 

On the other hand, the performance of the Kobo Elipsa 2E Stylus represents a mixed bag. While the device’s potential is evident, the use of an active pen and the challenges associated with it may limit the overall writing experience.

With regards to the writing experience, the Supernote and the Kobo Elipsa both have very different tactile feel. Yet aspects like Latency, Pressure sensitivity and tilt function are almost similar. 

Personally, I love the writing experience on both devices, however, the Supernote feels a bit better to me with its pen and paper feel.

Supernote

  • It uses hard ceramic tips that do not wear down and never need to be replaced. The feel is more like a gel pen over a high gloss printed paper but it feels good in its own way.
  • Supernote A5x stylus is magnetic, the tablet itself is not. Therefore, a case/folio with a pen loop is needed to keep the tablet and stylus together.
  • The pen comes with a cap so the nip is more secure.

Kobo Elipsa 2e

  • The included stylus comes with an eraser. The button is thoughtfully placed and indented.
  • The stylus is rechargeable via USB.
  • The Nibs used are different to what we find with E Ink Tablets.
  • There tracking precision, line quality, and overall writing responsiveness needs improvement
  • The stylus is not Wacom supported, which is an unfortunate oversight.

 

Note Taking Experience

The Supernote A5x and Kobo Elipsa both offer useful features for note-taking, but the Supernote offers more flexibility in terms of a lot of features and its primary function is note taking. 

The Kobo Elipsa is more focused on reading. While it satisfactory at taking notes, it might not be the best choice for extensive sketching. It’s worth noting that copying and pasting passages into the notebook is restricted due to copyright reasons.

Supernote

  • The note taking UI has multiple brushes, shades and templates.
  • It has folder/sub-folder hierarchy and files can be sorted by name, modified date and size.
  • The tagging system is much advanced with keywords set at the notebook page level. You can search by folder/filename, file type and keywords.
  • The annotations function includes actual text extraction. Also you can read & edit word documents as well
  • The text recognition while note taking is in real time
  • Navigation on the Supernote A5x is made even easier with the side touch slider.
  • You can view and compose emails and a calendar app that syncs with Google/Outlook calendars.
  • The Supernote can export notebooks as PDF, PNG, DOCX or TXT file formats. These are stored in an EXPORT folder, which can then be synced or shared.

Kobo Elipsa 2e

  • Kobo Elipsa 2e has hand writing recognition
  • Kobo’s mathematics support lets you handwrite complex equations, which it then digitizes for you.
  • Notebooks have various background styles, and users can choose from different pen types, shading, and sizes.
  • Users can write directly on ebooks and view their handwritten notes when resizing the text.
  • The Elipsa 2E also supports cloud backup for notes.
  • Notetaking offers advanced features like as adding diagrams, equations, and converting handwritten notes to text.
  • The built-in notebook feature seamlessly syncs with cloud services like Dropbox and, soon, Google Docs, making it an efficient digital notepad.

Reading Experience

When it comes to reading experience, there is no match for Kindle Scribe. Kindle has improved its Reading UI over time and added so many features that remarkable lacks. Amazon just has so much experience in the e-reading market and has had several years to develop and refine its Kindle reading app.

The device provides clear instructions on using the Kobo stylus while reading, including highlighting and erasing. However, there’s a slight lag in responsiveness when writing or highlighting, and the precision of what you’re writing could be improved.

Changing formatting, such as line spacing and margins, is easy and responsive, ensuring a smooth reading experience. The device preserves your annotations, which is a valuable feature, but it’s essential to note that exporting annotations might still be a challenge.

Overall, the Kobo Elipsa 2E’s performance as a reader is impressive, offering a responsive and enjoyable reading experience.

Supernote

  • Supernote A5x supports ePub, PDF, and Word documents, as well as PNG and JPG image formats.
  • However, you can install the Kindle app on the Supernote to get access to almost all of these reading features
  • There is no backlit screen, light and G sensors in the device.
  • You can also scribble notes on them and annotate them
  • The weight is lesser so its more comfortable for prolonged reading sessions

Kobo Elipsa 2e

  • Kobo’s expansive catalog is huge catering to a wide range of reading preferences.
  • You can also sideload your own ePubs and annotate them.
  • It panel view functionality, something available on other devices.
  • You can annotate on EPUBs
  • Stylus works well for annotation, but responsiveness and precision is not consistent.
  •  

Pricing

In terms of pricing, both of the devices fall in somewhat same category. But the entry level Kobo Elipsa 23 is quite cheaper than Supernote A5x. 

Before You Go…..

More Comparison Of Supernote. Supernote Vs reMarkable 2 or  Supernote Vs Kindle Scribe.

Check Out review for Kobo Elipsa 2e & Ratta Supernote A5x

Find Out The Best E Ink Tablet to Buy  right now

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