Remarkable is one of the most popular e-notes in the world, and last week, they announced a new folio case with a keyboard. It connects to the Remarkable two via magnets and allows users to type in their notes instead of exclusively relying on the stylus. The Kindle Scribe is a brand-new product category for Amazon. The company has always focused on consumer-driven e-readers for the purpose of reading books which they sell. They make lots of money marketing their Kindle Direct Publishing program, where anyone can submit a book and have it listed on the Kindle store. Amazon should release their keyboard for the Scribe and turn it into a must-have product for authors who want a distraction-free device that is great for writing.
One of the downfalls of Remarkable 2 is that you have to sideload in your books since Remarkable does not operate its bookstore or do business with a 3rd party bookstore. Many people need help knowing where to download books they want to read without resulting in piracy. One of the big selling points of the Kindle Scribe is that Amazon operates one of the world’s largest digital bookstores, so there are plenty of bestsellers to very niche books. Amazon also owns Comixology, the largest company that is in the digital comic space. Amazon incorporated the entire comic catalogue into the Kindle Store, and they look amazing on the 10-inch Scribe with 300 PPI. Not to mention magazines.
A keyboard for the Scribe would be a good idea. Amazon announced a deal to have Microsoft Word incorporate Send Kindle functionality. This future update will be pushed out to the Scribe, in addition to Word users on PC and MAC. Users with an active Microsoft 365 subscription can send ebooks wirelessly they are currently writing to see how they would look on a large screen. Keep authors productive on the Scribe, and a keyboard would allow them to edit and make changes to the book without having to copy it back to the computer to make changes.
A proprietary keyboard with a case, would be great for the Scribe. It would protect the Scribe from the rigors of the world, during transport. Sure, Amazon already has a case for the Scribe, but an all-in-one keyboard and case would be the ideal solution.
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.
