Kobo is discounting two of its best e-readers. The Kobo Elipsa 2E, a competitor to the Kindle Scribe, is available for an all-time low of $349.99 ($50 off) from Rakuten Kobo and Target. Meanwhile, the Kobo Libra Colour is available for $209.99 ($20 off) from Amazon, Target, and Rakuten Kobo. The sale runs through July 10th.
The Kobo Elipsa 2E is my top pick for taking notes while reading. Its spacious 10.3-inch display lets you write directly on ebook pages — whether in margins, between lines, or wherever inspiration strikes — giving you a natural, paper-like experience. While Amazon’s Kindle Scribe supports on-page writing, its tools are far more limited; you can’t freely annotate, circle text, or mark up pages with the same ease. For anyone wanting an e-reader that doubles as a digital notebook, the Elipsa 2E offers a more intuitive and versatile experience.
Meanwhile, the Kobo Libra Colour is worth a look if you want something smaller but still feature-packed. Like the Kindle Colorsoft, it features a compact 7-inch color display that makes highlights, annotations, and comics pop compared to monochrome screens. Although the Colorsoft’s hues are slightly more vibrant, the Libra Colour provides a pleasant, easy-on-the-eyes experience. It also includes physical page-turn buttons and stylus compatibility (sold separately), allowing you to mark up text or jot notes — features that the Colorsoft lacks despite costing more.
Kobo’s main drawback is the lack of native Kindle book support, but it makes up for this with broader file format compatibility and support for direct borrowing from public libraries through OverDrive. Plus, if you don’t mind a few extra steps, you can always convert Kindle books for use on Kobo devices.
