Over a year ago I purchased a Remarkable. I enjoyed the writing experience and the limited PDF reading I did on it, but I read more than I wrote. I read a lot of Kindle books on the iPad, so I thought I’d try something I could run the Kindle app on. I also hated the lack of a backlight.
So I bought a SuperNote, the mini-sized one. I enjoyed the Kindle reading experience on the e-ink tablet and still could take handwritten notes, convert them to text, etc. But it was a bit small. Then late last year the Scribe came along with a clearer screen and so much bigger.
So I got a Scribe, and it’s wonderful for reading Kindle books. And it has a backlight. I love kicking back and reading a good book in an armchair. I don’t highlight books, (I rarely read technical books), so don’t use the Scribe’s writing capabilities much. When the software improves sufficiently, maybe I will. But for now, it’s a wonderful e-ink reader.
But I read a lot more than books - technical newsletters, blogs, etc. So I’ve been using the Readwise Reader a lot, on both Mac and iPad, a least an hour a day, often longer. Love that “yellow R” icon in Safari. I do highlight a lot of this kind of stuff, just not books. So maybe I should get an e-ink device that I can write on, run Kindle, Reader, Mail, and is letter-sized, e-ink.
So now I can see the Boox Tab Ultra on the horizon, maybe even the color Ultra C. Looks like I’ll have a Remarkable and a SuperNote (the smaller one) for sale in a few weeks. I’ll probably keep the Scribe!
Yes, they arrived together last Thursday. Testing them both. Alternating day by day. No winner yet. There are times when I’m about the pack up the Remarkable and return it but it is nice to write on and has more pen options.
The SuperNote is definitely just for writing, though I have seen some really clever illustrations. Way more than I want/need.
Because I cannot touch type, taking notes on either when in a meeting is very convenient. Just like using my Leuchtturm 1917s, I can then transpose into OneNote. I haven’t looked into the exporting yet, but will.
I got the premium versions but wouldn’t again, just there’s no need. I would probably get the Staedtler Jumbo rather than the Remarkable premium pen - just to minimise costs.
Speaking of costs, the currency conversion of $30 for each purchase was a bit of a shock (haven’t told the wife! )
Adding templates seems easy enough and as I am creating a course where templates are needed that’ll be something I’ll look into. Will help with planning.
Let me know what specifically interests you and I’ll test drive it.
Importantly, no buyer’s remorse, which I can suffer from. These are worthwhile purchases for me.
@Bill_Aus If you don’t mind, could you let us know if there is any difference between ReMarkable and the Supernote in quality of exported pdfs, as how clear / resolution of the handwritten notes after they are exported and subsequently viewed on a different screen (like on your laptop)?
Also, do you prefer the handwriting / pen feel of one over the other?
So I decided to get the type folio. I wasn’t sure about it but I really like it so far. The build quality and typing experience is very satisfying for a folio keyboard.
It was a little confusing at first to figure out how to fold the tablet to reveal the keyboard, but now I’m getting used to it. It’s heavier but not as heavy as an iPad with Magic Keyboard.
I like the interface and once I figured out the shortcuts I could navigate easily. The UI recognizes the handwriting next to your typed text, so if you hit return, the entire section will move.
I will play with it for a while to see how I like it, but overall I think it’s a keeper. Some people are in an uproar over the cover material, but I think it’s fine and don’t see a problem with it.
If only the remarkable was available in my country , I was on the edge of getting a supernote but I’ll wait because this year they are going to release the next versions.
I spent much of yesterday off work and away from screens due to problems with my eyes, so was pondering e-ink devices a lot. Mostly I’ve just come back to the same conclusion I had last time I’m pondered this. I really really want Apple to make an eInk device. I’d give them my money without hesitation!! The Boox Note Air 2 Plus looks like it does all I want (I want to be able to add a couple of apps to an eInk tablet, so any tablet with a closed ecosystem doesn’t really suit me). BUT, it is not an Apple device, and I’ve never used Android software. Today at least that’s enough to stop me from buying it.
I do think I need to cut down my iPad use though. I use it mostly for reading, browsing the web and some admin. So I think I will be looking at the Boox again soon, or another eInk tablet that runs on Android software so I can download the apps I’d like on an e-ink device (Kindle, Reader, and I do think email would be good). And with prices what they are, the £ what it is, and my eyes what they are, whatever e-ink tablet I choose will probably be the replacement for my iPad in the long-term. I’d much prefer for it to be in the same ecosystem as my iPhone.
Pixel Leaves - Has a supernote and uses it along obsidian and her Macbook
They have a video where the three of them give some feedback to questions of several users. I’ll go with supernote because I only need to read books and take notes.
BTW I’m actually selling my ipad because it was just abandoned and didn’t enjoyed the writing experience (along with eye strain), which with what I’ve seen is limited compared to what Supernote brings to the table.
This is good criteria. I am also not the sharpest eagle here, as my eyesight these days is not wat it never was, but I tried a Boox Max Lumi and while the screen is gorgeous, everything else is so “un-apple” (not only the apps, just setting up my wifi password was a total downer out of the box) that I think I’ll wait until Apple releases something based on e-ink, but I would not hold my breath, this may perfectly never happen. I finally ended doubling up with a 12.9’’ iPad Pro.
I made an error on that. It’s OneDrive, not OneNote. Apologies. That said, I think you can export to OneNote via email. I did sync the reMarkable with Google Drive which worked as expected.
Emailing from both devices works well enough though reMarkable’s seems easier. Still to fully test the Super Note.
Export images/quality @UnderTheLionRock the exports are of similar quality. Both vectors so you can zoom in to your heart’s content. (see images) These are two different images.
Pen “Feel”
Handwriting-wise, they are different so preferences will be personal. I do like both but the Super Note has ceramic nibs on their pens, so never need replacing. That’s a win for me. You may prefer the pencil on paper feel of the reMarkable.
The Return
Another “win” for reMarkable is their return policy. I have returned the reMarkable (@svsmailus) and their process is outstanding. I returned it last Wednesday and got an email on Saturday saying they had received it. The funds are back in my account already. It is a “win” because if I change my mind I know I can re-purchase a reMarkable with a great amount of confidence.
Super Note’s return policy adds a “restocking” fee of 20-30 USD. Not the end of the world but just not as good as reMarkable’s.
I’m I missing something or is the Boox just way more expensive than the remarkable and supernote?
I’ve been looking at these devices and realised you also need to factor in cost based on location. The Boox is available on Amazon, but much more expensive than the other two.
I’m in the uk and the supernote is available only from either the US or France. Ironically buying from the US is way cheaper than the EU. This also creates issues with warranties and sending back. It makes the remarkable pretty much the only realistic option in the uk IMO.
I’ve had a reMarkable 2 for a while now and like it a lot for handwritten notes. The new keyboard is nice too, although the cover material looks and feels cheaper than the folio cover I purchased with the tablet.
What is disappointing is the lack of a straightforward way of extracting plain text. Hand written notes can be converted to text with good, but not perfect, accuracy, but the only way to send the text to another application (eg Logseq, Obsidian) is to email it to yourself and cut and paste it from the mail message. Not very convenient.
With the introduction of a physical keyboard I had hoped the reMarkable desktop application might now include an option to export to plain text; it doesn’t. One can cut and paste from a page, but for some reason the white space between words is a tab, not a space character. Exporting a page as PDF, opening it in PDF Pen Pro and exporting as plain text is the same — tabs not spaces.
The moral, if you’re seeking to integrate a reMarkable tablet into a text/ markdown based PKM system: perhaps better to wait for the software to catch up with the use case.
The Kindle Scribe is finally getting some basic OCR capabilities which is good news. I’m disappointed there’s no OCR on book notes. Using Readwise to ingest OCRed notes attached to Kindle highlights would be an awesome feature.
I’m in the UK too. It depends what you’re looking at. I priced up as follows:
Boox Note Air 2 Plus - £460 on Amazon, includes pen and shipping (it’s on offer down from £500. As I hadn’t looked before last week I don’t know if that’s usual). It’s out of stock on the Boox site.
Remarkable 2 - £300 direct from them (although caveat that the price is in Euros so your bank will add a charge too, maybe £10-30 and we’ll probably get hit by customs charges too). Doesn’t include a pen - if you bought theirs it’s another £110, bringing the cost to £410 plus bank fees and customs.
Amazon Scribe - £380, including pen
Supernote I didn’t look at properly because it costs a lot more (euro is €715 for the A5 model, which is £620 even before bank charges, taxes and shipping )
Boox therefore worked out maybe equal with Remarkable, depending on how customs handle the package (their handling fee itself is I think maybe £14, then the tax is % the value of the package, so could be eye-watering, but it depends how it’s labelled up - I’ve had expensive parcels go through with no customs at all, and ridiculously cheap parcels of a value <£10 get hit with a handling fee that costs more than the actual item. It is a mystery.)
It’s a shame neither ao, Curry’s or John Lewis carry e-ink tablets, because they often have good discounts (John Lewis is great for Apple products! Last month I bought a 2022 iPad as a gift with £200 off and their warranty!).
The update that allows lasso cut/copy and paste works well and was, for me, while drawing a few diagrams, extremely helpful. Made me feel very productive and happy.
In addition to the Super Note staying and the reMarkable being returned, I’ve also added the Scribe to the stable. (it’s on its way) I’d like to experience the 300dpi screen plus the backlight as a benefit, when using it in darker areas or in bed at night/morning without disturbing the other half.
Plus, initially, people were skeptical of Amazon’s commitment to updates but these seem to be rolling through quite regularly and, with the funding available, you’d think/hope it’d be a killer contraption in the in near future. Time will tell, of course.
It has become a “killer contraption” for me! In addition, to the new Lasso and OCR features, Amazon has made the experience of reading PDF files on the Scribe much nicer. For most technical articles and books, the text becomes comfortably large when you read in the landscape orientation and enable margin clipping.
It somehow makes my handwriting look a lot nicer, especially when I use the fountain pen tool. I got it on sale, and I’ve been loving it as a big reader and replaced my travelers notebook.
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, I was on the edge of getting a supernote but I’ll wait because this year they are going to release the next versions.
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