- Kobo recently expelled a fully redesigned reading application for iPhones
- Several new features have been added, including a listening bar for audiobook control, vertical displacement and guest mode
- Instapaper Integration will arrive soon to replace the pocket support in Kobo Ereaders
I have been a big fan of Kobo since I began to use the Kobo Glo a long time ago when. I have always preferred the company’s user interface owned by Rakuten about Kindle, although I will admit that I was not particularly interested in its telephone application, whether iOS or Android.
It could be inclined to test the reading application now, since the iOS version has been completely redesigned, its first important review since it was launched in 2010.
Several new features have been added, including vertical displacement. By behaving more like Infinite Scroll on the web pages, you can now read a complete book simply moving down and the pages will continue to load. This, in my opinion, is a more perfect reading method on a phone, although I think I could still prefer the touch of turn in an iPad (it is not that I use one, read in the Kobo Ellipsa 2E).
Other features include a new listening bar for audiobooks that ‘freeze’ the controls instead to facilitate access, even if you move away from the listening panel to explore the rest of the application.
A new guest mode will allow you to “navigate the books, save progress and discover your next reading” according to the Japanese-Canadian Ereader manufacturer, without needing to log in to your Kobo account. This, in fact, is an ingenious way to bring new customers to the Kobo ecosystem.
Kobo also says that he will no longer need to manually synchronize his notes, more outstanding aspects and markers, should be done automatically. There is still an important feature in the application: there is no way to find your handwritten notes in the application.
And, finally, to replace the integration of pocket, which was a fantastic service to read in the form of a web article, the brand is associated with Instapaper and the support will be implemented for all Kobo Ereaders at the end of this year. A confirmed date has not yet been announced.
Take note, Kobo – We need a new ellipsa
As much as I appreciate the Kobo application recently redesigned for iPhones, I wonder if the Ereader Maker will launch a new hardware this year.
Around the joyful month of May, it is typically when Kobo has announced new Ereaders, with the pound color, clear color and clear BW that arrive in time in 2024. This year, there has been a radio silence, although it could be possible that the company is waiting for the integration of Instapaper to be completed before completing new devices.
That would be wonderful because it is time for Kobo Ellipsa 2E to receive a review. In fact, I would not care a new version of the Kobo Sage too, but I am partial to the largest EPAPper writing tablet.
Compared to the newest competition models, such as the various Boox options and the Kindle Scribe (2024), the Ellipsa 2E, which was launched in April 2023, feels very outdated now. They have a better performance thanks to the newer processors and the screens also feel cooler, more clear and better optimized.
I would love to see Ellipssa adopt the screen and ink letter 1300 (the current 2E model uses letter 1200) that also has an environmental light sensor, as well as the Kindle Scribes 2024, and has a 300ppi resolution (currently is 227ppi). I would also prefer a softer tip than the Kobo Stylus 2 that it currently uses, since it can subtract value from a soft writing experience, but that is a minor objection.
While I would not like to change a lot in the user interface, and I am still a fan of Kobo’s advanced notebooks, the only request I have is to allow subfolders within the library collections to organize electronic books better.
Pretty, please, Kobo, I am asking well to be able to fall in love with the ellipsa again.
