You already knew the pen was mightier than the sword. Now, it is gunning for the keyboard. The Kindle Scribe is Amazon’s first e-reader to incorporate a stylus, one that permits you to write immediately on the e-ink display screen. (In your face, paper!) You possibly can add handwritten digital “sticky notes” to books, mark up PDFs and create all method of full-page paperwork: lists, journals, sheet music and so forth.
It is a slick, premium-grade system, one which’s surprisingly nice to jot down on, however it has a price ticket to match: The Scribe begins at $340 for the 16GB mannequin with Fundamental Pen. I examined the $390 mannequin that comes with 32GB of storage and the Premium Pen. Here is my Kindle Scribe evaluate.
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VERDICT: If you’d like an enormous e-reader that is nice for primary note-taking, the Scribe is price contemplating. And because of ongoing updates, it retains getting higher. (Professional tip: Wait on the market pricing.)
- Skinny and light-weight
- Crisp, paper-like display screen
- Very nice for note-taking
- Notes and highlights sync to iOS Kindle apps (Android quickly)
- No page-turn buttons
- Rudimentary note-to-text conversion
- Some limits on doc syncing and sharing
That is an up to date model of my unique evaluate, one which displays a lot of software-based enhancements Amazon rolled out within the months after launch. Lots of them tackle issues or limitations I cited beforehand, leading to a product I can extra wholeheartedly suggest.
However let’s first tackle the flat, rectangular elephant within the room: Why select a Kindle Scribe over, say, an iPad 10.2 and Apple Pencil? Granted, the latter pair would price you round $439, however an iPad presents considerably extra capabilities than a Kindle — to say nothing of a shade display screen. And the Pencil affords not solely note-taking, but additionally artwork creation. (Significantly, it is best to see .)
However, the iPad handwriting expertise is not fairly so paper-like, and battery life is a fraction of the Scribe’s (which guarantees as much as three weeks‘ price of writing, primarily based on half an hour per day). iPads may also be fairly distracting, with video games and movies and whatnot clamoring on your consideration. Simply as an odd Kindle presents a distraction-free studying expertise, so does the Scribe go away you alone for journaling.
The worth facet of my mind says an iPad presents extra bang for the buck. The artistic facet loves the Kindle for its elegant simplicity.
Kindle Scribe: What’s it like as an e-reader?
In the event you’ve used a Kindle earlier than, there’s nothing too revolutionary right here apart from the dimensions: It is a wonderful 10.2 inches, which helps you to see much more textual content without delay. There is a draw back to that, although: As a result of the display screen is wider and taller than most print books, I discovered I did not get pleasure from studying as a lot. My eyes had a tough time adjusting to the additional motion. Fortunately, like all Kindles, the Scribe presents line-spacing and margin changes, which enabled me to create a extra snug structure.
Panorama mode now helps two-column viewing, a function I’ve lengthy loved within the Kindle app for iPad. Curiously, you continue to must enterprise into show settings to toggle between portrait and panorama modes; though the display screen can auto-rotate 180 levels, it can not seem to do 90 levels with out handbook intervention.
No matter orientation you select, the show delivers a crisp 300 pixels per inch (ppi), leading to textual content that is just about indistinguishable from print. Like most different Kindles, it features a “heat mild” possibility that softens the LED lighting to a extra amber shade, good for night studying.
The Scribe feels extremely skinny and light-weight while you choose it up, although it does tip the dimensions at slightly below a pound. Because it occurs, the iPad 10.2 is only a hair thicker and heavier. An entry-level Kindle, in the meantime, weighs solely 5.5 ounces, so it is a lot simpler to carry for lengthy intervals of studying. Though the Scribe has a roomy bezel on the facet that makes for a reasonably snug grip, I did discover myself two-handing the system at occasions.
Whereas that makes this lower than supreme as a straight-up e-reader, the Scribe would possibly show a superb possibility for these with eyesight points: You possibly can select a big font dimension and nonetheless match a whole lot of textual content on the display screen. I do want the system had bodily page-turn buttons, although there’s a lot display screen property that swiping is hardly a hardship. I might say Amazon’s Oasis and Paperwhite Signature Version are in all probability the smarter picks for severe readers, however even the baseline Kindle is a great device as well.
After all, the Scribe is not supposed as a straight-up e-reader; it is also a writing pill.
Kindle Scribe: What it is like for taking notes?
The Scribe’s plastic stylus requires no batteries, no charging and no pairing; it simply works. A robust magnet clips it to the facet of the display screen when not in use, however it may simply get knocked free in a handbag or backpack. I may already really feel myself rising involved about misplacing or dropping the Pen, particularly on condition that replacements price $30 and $60 (for the Fundamental and Premium variations, respectively).
As famous, I examined the Premium Pen, which provides a devoted “eraser” (which I found I can not reside with out) in addition to a shortcut button. I favored the circumference and heft; it made scribbling on the Scribe really feel joyously paper-like — and it even sounds that method, too. There’s zero lag between pen strokes and digital ink showing beneath them; the general expertise actually does emulate placing pencil to papyrus.
A small onscreen toolbar, which you’ll be able to collapse when not wanted, permits you to select between pen, highlighter and eraser modes, with a alternative of 5 thicknesses for every of them — loads for easy note-taking. It additionally has useful undo and redo buttons. A latest replace added pencil, fountain pen and marker choices to the slate of drawing instruments, and I used to be happy to find that each one these instruments are pressure- and angle-sensitive: Traces get thicker while you press slightly tougher with the stylus or write at an angle.
One other welcome replace: Though there is no on-device handwriting recognition to transform your notes into precise textual content, you’ll be able to ship any notice through e-mail and have it transformed to textual content alongside the best way. In my assessments this labored pretty nicely, however I want the transformed file may very well be a properly formatted Phrase doc or the like; your solely possibility is uncooked textual content in a .TXT file.
Additionally, there’s nonetheless no possibility to pick and transfer a piece of handwritten notes; you’ll be able to solely erase and rewrite.
The pill presents a beneficiant assortment of pocket book templates, together with quite a few variations of lined “paper” in addition to a dot grid, graph paper, sheet music, a guidelines, day and weekly planners and extra. For anybody asking, “Why is that this factor higher than a pencil and $3 spiral pocket book?” there’s your reply: On a single system you’ll be able to have 18 completely different sorts of notebooks, with sufficient storage to carry actually 1000’s of pages.
In the meantime, you’ll be able to ship nearly any type of file (PDF, Phrase doc, picture, and so forth.) to the Kindle through e-mail (it has a devoted tackle) after which use the Pen so as to add notes. You probably have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you will now discover a “Ship to Kindle” possibility in Phrase, with two out there codecs: one that permits you to write immediately on the web page, one which limits you to including digital sticky notes.
One ongoing disappointment right here is that the Scribe cannot sync with, say, a Google Drive or Evernote account. The truth is, the one method for paperwork to get on or off the system is through e-mail; these you create on the Scribe are despatched as PDFs. And talking of syncing, one other latest replace permits any notations you add to an e-book on the Scribe to be considered on iOS Kindle apps. (Android assist is slated for early 2024.)
Even with these updates, an iPad — in addition to competing writing-tablet units just like the Onyx Boox Notice Air 2 and Exceptional 2 — presents a bit extra flexibility. The Scribe makes doc creation enjoyable and simple, however it nonetheless falls a bit quick on doc syncing and sharing.
Kindle Scribe: Do you have to purchase it?
What we have now right here, then, is an enormous e-reader that is additionally a writing pill. It is higher on the latter than the previous, however it’s additionally enhancing with age.
In the event you’re somebody who reads rather a lot and likes so as to add notes and highlights alongside the best way, the Scribe is a good software. Simply seize the pen, choose some textual content after which scribble your ideas. That is vastly superior to the standard Kindle technique of highlighting together with your finger and tapping a small onscreen keyboard.
As a primary digital notepad, the Scribe additionally has its deserves; anybody who prefers taking notes by hand to tapping them out on a keyboard will love the sleek, straightforward really feel of the stylus and display screen. And though you’ll be able to’t sync these notes anyplace, you’ll be able to simply sprint them off through e-mail.
I just like the Scribe much more now than I did at launch, as Amazon appears dedicated to rolling out common enhancements. Even so, await a sale; Amazon units routinely get discounted, and the Scribe generally dips nicely under $300.
