The Remarkable 2 is one of the most prolific and well-known digital writing slates in the world. The company has sold over a million units for their first and second generation models, making over a billion dollars in revenue. Amazon has just released the Scribe, the first digital note taking device and has captured the hearts and minds of hundreds of thousands of users. The Kindle, is synonymous with e-readers, but will the Scribe turn into the de facto market leader? Will the Remarkable have have a chance against the Scribe?
The Remarkable 2 is built around a few different key selling points. It has one of the best PDF editing software in the business and likely has the best freehand drawing experience. This is due to their plethora of advanced options, such as layers, lots of different pens/pencil types and their stylus has 4,096 degrees of pressure sensativity. Their stylus supports pressure sensavity and is the only one that has tilt recognition. The Remarkable drawing system is compatible with multiple cloud storage providers such as OneDrive and Dropbox. Many companies who got into the e-note business have borrowed heavily from Remarkables writing options.
Remarkable has a few different drawbacks. It does not have a front-lit display or a warm light system, so you are reliant on environmental light to get any work done. Although their ebook reading software is top notch, users have to sideload in all of their digital content, since Remarkable does not operate their own digital bookstore. However, many people do not use the Remarkable to read books, but to stay productive.
The Kindle Scribe is the only 10-inch writing slate on the market that has a 300 PPI display. The Kindle bookstore and Audible audiobook store are on this device, which means books, comics and manga will have top notch resolution and image quality. Amazon is also employing the latest generation E INK Carta 1200 display panel, which ups the performance, making it a little more responsive than the Remarkable.
Amazon has only a few options for drawing. Their freehand drawing system, although responsive, pales in comparison to the Remarkable. You can only select different line thickness for the pen and highlighter, since the Amazon pen has hardly any pressure sensativity. You can edit PDF files, although you have to load them on the Scribe via Send to Kindle, and cannot sideload them with the USB-C cable. One of the big advantages the Scribe has, is being able to take notes in DRM-Books that are purchased from the Amazon Store. You can draw in a pop-up window or use the keyboard to manually type in a note. Amazon is the only company in the world to offer this type of system. The Remarkable can only read DRM-Free books.
The Remarkable has the advantage over the Scribe when it comes to freehand drawing and viewing and editing PDF files. The Remarkable is simply more accessible for new users and eventually they will be employing all of the cool advanced features that artists, drafters, students and professionals need. Being able to download and save to popular cloud storage providers is also beneficial. The Scribe only supports Send to Email for freehand drawing or edited PDF files.
The main of the Scribe is how accessible it is. You can buy one and Amazon will standby their product. They have an easier return policy. The 300 PPI display and Carta 1200 makes a noticeable difference. The Scribe has Bluetooth, which can be used to listen to audiobooks via Audible. You cannot discount the Amazon ecosystem. They have millions of books, manga, magazines, newspapers, comics and all sorts of other content. The Amazon Kindle is the most popular and beloved e-reader brand in the world, so for ease of use to buy and read, the advantage is clearly in the corner of the Scribe.
Amazon has promised that in the future you will be able to easily sync your notes, edited books to other Kindle devices in the future, and also promise Send to Kindle functionality with Microsoft Office. However, right now, the Remarkable 2 is the better buy if you want a product to take notes and edit PDF files, their system is lightyears ahead of Amazon and I don’t think the Scribe will ever catch up.
The Scribe is billed as two different things. A note taking device and big-screened ebook reader. The Remarkable is billed as an e-note, first and foremost.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.