The Kindle Scribe

Over on the socials, Lee asked whether anyone had any experience with either the Kindle Scribe or Remarkable 2. After posting a reply I thought of a few more things to say. This is not a review per se, but a collection of thoughts and observations after a year using the device.

• The 16GB version ($370)^[1] would have been plenty, but the incremental cost made the 32GB version ($390) seem like a good choice.^[2] At present I have 35 books downloaded and I’m only using 3GB of the available 26GB.

• The larger screen (relative to a standard Kindle e-reader) comes in handy. It’s better for taking notes and making sketches, but it’s also nice for reading books. I can crank up the type size to accommodate my old-ass eyes without having to flip the page every three seconds.

• The large screen is also really nice for reading manga. My Kindle Unlimited subscription includes a lot of comic and manga content.

• Despite the larger form factor, I still find it convenient to travel with.

• I initially bought the folio cover ($60) which has the virtue of being very low profile. But I didn’t like the way the pen just sort of floated there loosely, and I was afraid I’d break or lose it. I ditched the folio cover in favor of a third party case cover ($30) that has integrated pen storage. Much better (and cheaper).

• After going through 6 replacement pencil tips in about 8 months, I bought titanium replacement tips instead. Pretty happy with these, although you have to be more careful than with the plastic tips not to scratch or gouge the screen. They have a sort of unnatural feel to them, but I don’t mind.

• Transcribing notes and getting them back to my desktop is a bit of a pain:

  1. I upload the document to Amazon from the Kindle, specifying whether I want text format (better for transcription) or PDF (for a mix of drawings and text).
  2. After the document is prepared/converted, I receive an email with a link.
  3. I click the link to download the document.
  4. If I want the document for work, I have to email the document to my work email address.

• Every once in a while, under circumstances I can’t consistently reproduce, the page will turn while I’m writing or drawing with the pen. I think it’s something to do with the way I position my hand when I’m about to begin writing. This is highly annoying, but doesn’t happen too often. I haven’t taken the time to diagnose and correct.

• The premium pen ($60) has a built-in eraser, which I like because flipping to erase comes very naturally to me. The button comes in handy sometimes too. The basic pencil ($30) doesn't have either which means a visit to the drop-down menu any time you want to change functions—e.g. to highlight or erase. I think this would get old fast. Glad I sprang for the premium.

I suspect (though I have not done extensive testing) the Remarkable might be a better purpose-built device for notetaking, but I like the Kindle Scribe as a multi-function device. Definitely recommend if the flexibility is important.