Kobo stylus 2 better alternatives

[foreverconfused]

Hi everyeone. I am going to buy Kobo Libra Colour soon. However, I am reconsidering whether I want to get Kobo Stylus 2 along with it. I have read from a few people that its nibs need to get replaced every few weeks or so, which is not so ideal for me and their nibs are quite expensive, especially for people who write a lot. Searching the internet, I have found that certain Renaisser models, Microsoft Surface pen and Wacom Bamboo pen (not sure about this one) are supposed to work with Kobo Libra Colour.

I need a few clarifications before I proceed to choose the appropriate pen:
1) Am I right in assuming that they all have comparable writing quality and they all have an "erasing" option?
2) I will have a glass screen protector over Kobo Libra Colour's screen, should the pens still write in this case?
3) I would prefer replaceable batteries, but if it is built-in batteries, how long would they hold a charge and how many cycles (I am guessing around a 1000?)
4) I would also prefer pens with nibs that are designed to last, or wear out over a long period of time. I had an HP active pen which had a nib that wouldn't really wear out even after years of writing.

Please also add other alternatives as I am sure there should be a few more.
Thanks in advance

[Aleron Ives]

All Kobo devices use active pens, so Wacom pens will not work. Using hard nibs can damage your screen, so it's not advisable unless your device was designed for that. The SuperNote family of devices is the only one that supports everlasting ceramic nibs without damaging the screen; every other device needs felt, rubber, or a similar material that wears away so as to not damage the screen.

[foreverconfused]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

All Kobo devices use active pens, so Wacom pens will not work. Using hard nibs can damage your screen, so it's not advisable unless your device was designed for that. The SuperNote family of devices is the only one that supports everlasting ceramic nibs without damaging the screen; every other device needs felt, rubber, or a similar material that wears away so as to not damage the screen.

Thank you, as I said, I will be having a glass screen protector, so hardness should be no issue, provided that glass doesn't prevent pens from working?

With further research, I am very heavily leaning towards Metapen M1 or M2.
I see M2 being advertised with 0.1mm pixel precision and such, in addition to having longer standby times and having a replaceable AAAA battery inside.
However, I cannot completely confirm whether M2 is going to work with Kobo Libra Colour... Are these both of comparable writing quality?

Also, ME-TIP101 tips are claimed to replace 10 ballpoint pens, which is a long enough time to go through: https://www.amazon.com/Metapen-Penci.../dp/B09XHD63RC


On the other hand, both of these pens are named Metapen M1, but they look different. Should I expect both to work with Kobo Libra Color?
https://www.amazon.com/Bundle-Studen...dp/B0BPHJWZJ1/

https://www.amazon.com/Metapen-Micro.../dp/B0B1CS1XK2

[Quoth]

The Kobo pens are NPP/MS type (for MS surface 3 or later), but without the Bluetooth option.

A USI pen will not work, nor an Apple Pencil.

(The Wacom is active, but powered inductively from the host and a different protocol).

Some 3rd party pens do more than one protocol.


A hard nib will damage the screen and some glasses.


A glass (or any screen protector) degrades the matt appearance of the screen (which is expensive). Screen protectors mostly exist to make money as a cover is far better protection and they decrade the reading experiece. Some will degrade touch on some devices. They add glare.

[foreverconfused]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The Kobo pens are NPP/MS type (for MS surface 3 or later), but without the Bluetooth option.

A USI pen will not work, nor an Apple Pencil.

(The Wacom is active, but powered inductively from the host and a different protocol).

Some 3rd party pens do more than one protocol.


A hard nib will damage the screen and some glasses.


A glass (or any screen protector) degrades the matt appearance of the screen (which is expensive). Screen protectors mostly exist to make money as a cover is far better protection and they decrade the reading experiece. Some will degrade touch on some devices. They add glare.

I have decided to get Metapen M1 to take notes. I am willing to add a little bit glare to protect the screen.
On the other hand, I have realized a different concern now.

1. So, Kobo Libra Colour has no expandable storage, which is terrible. If the space gets full, can I export my handwritten notes and move them out of the ereader in a readable format? If I have space issues, I want to be able to take out my notebooks and put them back on demand.
2. If I create say 100 pages of handwritten notes, approximately how much space would it require?

[Quoth]

Nebo on Android or iOS will import them (not vice versa).
But I never used the "basic notebook" except for sketchs.

You can also export to local storage as png, html, pdf, txt, docx and copy to computer via USB, the best format depending on Notebook type and content.

Nebo on the iOS or Android is far better for notes, and the Nxtpaper 40 (not 5g) phone or NxtPaper 11 is far better than Colour eink and massivce run time, nearly as as good as mono eink. The iOS/Android Nebo has real time text preview and PDF import with handwriting to text. The Nebo on the Libra Colour, Sage and Elipsa is cut down and poor due to eink latency.


The Kobos don't need a screen protector. Nor really does anything, they are practically a scam.

I used the Notepads on an Elipsa and then a Sage. Now I only use the Kobo Sage to read.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by foreverconfused

2. If I create say 100 pages of handwritten notes, approximately how much space would it require?

Depends if basic or advanced notebook and if converted to text or not and size of writing.

You can export (png best for Basic and docx best for Advanced) to local storage, copy to iOS/Android /Mac/Windows/Linux via USB, backup copy, delete exports and delete originals.

It's also very slow to operate or export compared to a decent tablet. On the tablet I can export via K9 mail to my computer via email or to Viber Chat (either My Notes or other people).

[foreverconfused]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Nebo on Android or iOS will import them (not vice versa).
But I never used the "basic notebook" except for sketchs.

You can also export to local storage as png, html, pdf, txt, docx and copy to computer via USB, the best format depending on Notebook type and content.

Nebo on the iOS or Android is far better for notes, and the Nxtpaper 40 (not 5g) phone or NxtPaper 11 is far better than Colour eink and massivce run time, nearly as as good as mono eink. The iOS/Android Nebo has real time text preview and PDF import with handwriting to text. The Nebo on the Libra Colour, Sage and Elipsa is cut down and poor due to eink latency.


The Kobos don't need a screen protector. Nor really does anything, they are practically a scam.

I used the Notepads on an Elipsa and then a Sage. Now I only use the Kobo Sage to read.

1. My goal is that if my storage gets full, I wanna be able to export my notes as pdf, but when I export it back, will it be treated the same way? If yes, I think I can live without having expandable storage.
2. I asked various AIs and they suggest that 100 pages of handritten notes would take around 50-100 MB depending on its complexity, is that a good ballpark?
3. Regarding screen protectors. Can I then be sure that me writing on the screen using metapen M1 will not damage the screen and leave scratches? I am going to be careful with the device as to not hit the screen otherwise.

[Quoth]

PDF is the most useless format, except for print.

Forget about asking so called "AI", because it's just a bad search engine. Info scraped from Internet.

I know nothing about the M1 pen. If it is for MS Surface and has a plastic tip it's likely OK.

You can only Export from Nebo on Kobo (Notebooks on Kobo). You can backup the actual notebook files.

Advanced Notebook, Convert text as desired and export to docx is best, but you can't import docx, PDF, HTML, txt, png or iOs/Android Nebo notebooks. There is NO import.

You can of course convert a docx to PDF or epub, add to Kobo and then annotate. It's not a notebook and epub annotation by pen is useless, only keyboard annotaion is useful to export.

The PDFs on Kobo can't be keyboard annotated and the pen is simply an image layer on unprotected PDFs, there is no handwriting conversion

You can copy the actual notebooks from one Kobo to another and they are added (not an import) as if a restored backup.

None of the Kobos are much good for 100s of pages of notes because it's eink.

[foreverconfused]

I am sorry, but I didn't understand your explanation.
What do you mean that Kobos aren't good because they are eink?
If they have a stylus, why can't I take notes with it?

In short, I wanna be able to move my handwritten notes out of the device to a laptop and put them back when I need that. Does Kobo Libra Color support that?

Alternatively, I am considering getting Bigme Inknote Color+ Lite. It seems to have better features compared to Kobo Libra Color in addition to having expandable storage.
My main goals are reading books and being able to take handwritten notes. Can I expect to export import my notebooks there?