Amazon Kindle Scribe review

Amazon is credited with popularising the eReader with its first Kindle in 2007, however the firm has been sluggish to embrace change throughout the line-up.

Most Kindles are iterations on older fashions, with the newest variations merely being smaller and lighter units designed to solely learn books purchased direct from Amazon.

However e-ink know-how can be utilized for lots extra. There are a number of profitable note-taking e-ink tablets from firms like reMarkable, which introduce a Wacom layer below the display to allow pen enter for notetaking. Goodbye, paper pocket book.

I’m stunned it has taken Amazon till 2022 to launch its first notetaking Kindle, the Kindle Scribe. I’m additionally a bit of disillusioned with the product – given Amazon’s dominance within the eReader market I really feel the Scribe is half-baked, with annoying software program and a few baffling restrictions.

It appears like the results of Amazon’s monopoly. If you’re the undisputed eReader chief, perhaps you don’t need to attempt that arduous.

The Kindle Scribe is an effective product, but it surely’s not an awesome one. The actual fact it’s a greater eReader than notetaking pill can also be fairly damning.

Design

Whereas Amazon’s different Kindles usually look to shrink the eReader to the smallest attainable dimension, the Scribe goes in the other way. This can be a luxuriously giant design that manages to pack in a giant display into a skinny and comparatively mild physique.

The machine is simply 5.8mm thick and 433g, made out of 100% recycled aluminium. It’s a stunning feeling factor, although you’ll need two arms to comfortably maintain it to learn on for any size of time.

It’s asymmetrical with a thicker bezel on the left or proper relying which method up you maintain it, because the software program can inform and flips the orientation for you. It appears a bit of like a bigger Kindle Oasis, although the Oasis has web page flip buttons on its bigger edge – the Scribe doesn’t. The Scribe can also be one thickness whereas the Oasis is a wedge form.

That large display is there for use with the brand new pen, which could be very fortunately included with all fashions in any respect costs. You’ll be able to both get the fundamental pen with the 16GB model or the premium one I used to be despatched for evaluate with 32GB or 64GB. The premium pen has an assignable shortcut button on the aspect and an eraser nub on the highest.

The pen is properly matt and grippy and by no means wants charging. It may well clip magnetically to the skinny bezel fringe of the Scribe when not in use, although you too can purchase a case for the Scribe which has a pen loop on it for safer storage.

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Offered individually, the case is near a needed buy. It protects the display, stows the pen, and may prop up the machine for writing or studying due to the folding design. The Scribe attaches magnetically to it, and you may get it in cloth or leather-based.

There’s only one button on the Scribe, an influence/wake button, subsequent to a USB-C port for charging. Fortunately Amazon has deserted the traditional microUSB port.

Show

The design all revolves round a stunning large 10.2in display. If you would like a bigger eReader, look no additional.

This can be a superb e-ink show with 300 pixels per inch – that’s excessive definition for the know-how, and phrases look simply as sharp right here as they do on any smaller Kindle or Kobo eReader accessible.

As there are not any web page flip buttons, it’s essential to faucet the display to show pages, simply as it’s essential to to work together with it to make use of the on display keyboard, scroll by way of menus, or faucet into books or notebooks. It’s responsive and fends off fingerprints due to its matt end.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

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I devoured a novel in a day once I first received maintain of the Scribe such is its inviting, word-filled canvas. When you’ve ever thought eReaders had been too small and also you need to get much more phrases on the web page, the Scribe is for you.

On the flip aspect you might need impaired imaginative and prescient, so the big display is perhaps welcome as you’ll be able to modify the font dimension a lot bigger. With a show this large you’ll be able to nonetheless match an honest variety of strains onto it.

The Scribe additionally advantages from 35 LED entrance lights, probably the most on any Kindle ever (the present most cost-effective Kindle solely has 4). This implies you’ll be able to learn or write at midnight, and there’s an auto-brightness perform so that you don’t need to hold adjusting the degrees. You can even set the sunshine to a hotter tone for much less harsh blue mild.

Studying expertise

Studying books on the Kindle Scribe is a pleasure. Regulate the font dimension to your liking and away you go – the gorgeous simplicity of the eReader stays, even in a Kindle this huge.

It’s a good selection in case you do most of your studying at dwelling or sitting down for lengthy durations as you’ll be able to maintain it with each arms or cradled in your lap. When you learn so much in your commute, you may desire a smaller machine to be held in a single hand or simply positioned in a jacket pocket.

So far as studying books purchased from the Kindle Retailer goes, this is similar expertise as you’ll get on another Kindle, simply bigger! Although most individuals might be served wonderful sufficient by the most affordable Kindle or the Kindle Paperwhite, so you actually will need to be taking notes to justify the spend on the Scribe.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Writing expertise

The true variations are in relation to writing, because the Scribe is the one Kindle with a pen. The pen has glorious latency, which suggests the strains are drawn rapidly with out delays onto the display.

The concept is you’ll be able to write notes in books you might be studying or individually create notebooks during which to make notes on no matter you need. The underside line is you are able to do this, however neither expertise could be very effectively optimised.

A serious concern is you can not notate straight onto books (although you’ll be able to straight onto imported PDFs). On rival merchandise just like the Kobo Sage, you’ll be able to write with a pen straight onto e-books such as you may onto the web page of an actual e book. On Kobo, your notes are saved even in case you have rented a library e-book, and can seem in your copy if you find yourself shopping for that e book.

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Not so with Kindle Scribe. If you wish to make a remark in a e book you’ve purchased, it’s essential to faucet on a phrase or spotlight a passage after which faucet on the hand icon that’s completely on the display and choose the word icon. You’ll be able to then write within the pop-up sticky word which then attaches to the spotlight you’ve made.

I discovered this technique clunky. If scrolling by way of a e book it’s simple to overlook the place you’ve made a word because the icon that seems within the passage is tiny. It’d be a lot clearer in case you may write onto the e book over phrases or within the margins. Having to spotlight and faucet a number of occasions to make sticky notes is a jarring factor to do and takes the circulation out of notations.

You’ll be able to’t even add sticky notes to purchased comedian books or magazines, an enormous oversight for my part.

Higher is the pocket book perform, which Amazon has added as a tab to the Kindle’s dwelling display software program. You’ll be able to create notebooks and choose one in every of many alternative lined templates to put in writing away to your coronary heart’s content material.

Because of the matt display and matt pen nib, it feels as near as writing on paper as digital know-how will get and is miles nicer than utilizing an Apple Pencil on a easy iPad display.

With good palm rejection I discovered I may write for a number of minutes straight with no points. There are 5 pen thicknesses to select from and a highlighter, however no pencil possibility. With the premium pen you’ll be able to flip it round and use the highest as an eraser, which works very effectively.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

However the software program help for the writing a part of the Scribe is missing. There’s no handwriting conversion software program, one thing discovered on the reMarkable 2 that works effectively. You can also’t draw straight strains in notebooks, and whilst you can create pocket book folders, you’ll be able to’t put folders inside folders like you’ll be able to on the reMarkable.

This massively put me off making the Scribe my day by day pocket book machine as a result of as soon as the notebooks begin piling up, the submitting system will get very messy as you’ll be able to’t organise it effectively. You can also’t insert pages halfway by way of notebooks, one other primary characteristic on different e-ink noting merchandise that Amazon hasn’t thought of.

It means writing on the Scribe feels one way or the other each releasing within the truth it may be carried out, but additionally very restrictive within the belongings you think about it ought to be capable of do however can’t.

I got here to consider the Scribe as a Kindle with a pocket book in-built – I barely ever used it to put in writing notes in books.

Amazon can also be lagging in relation to word syncing. With reMarkable there’s a refined smartphone app for viewing your notes in your cellphone or pill, and early performance to make notes on these units that then sync with the notes on the pill.

All notes made on the Scribe can solely be edited on the Scribe. You’ll be able to view your notes by way of the Kindle app on smartphone or pill, however you’ll be able to’t edit them – you view them as a picture file. You’ll be able to e-mail notebooks to your self from the Scribe too, however there should be a greater system than this.

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Specs & efficiency

The Scribe has glorious efficiency with rapid response to web page turns in books, and it strikes by way of menus as fast because the page-refresh nature of e-ink permits.

Regardless of being the most costly Kindle the Scribe shouldn’t be waterproof in any method, which I discover disappointing. There’s additionally no possibility to purchase one with a free mobile connection, one thing Amazon appears to be phasing out of the Kindle lineup. Wi-Fi should suffice.

You’ll be able to go for 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB storage. Even the bottom possibility might be sufficient for hundreds of books and notebooks. A motive to get extra is in case you obtain a variety of audiobooks from Amazon-owned Audible as these MP3 information take up far more exhausting drive house. With no headphone jack although you’ll want to attach Bluetooth headphones.

Software program & options

Organising the Kindle is a doddle as Amazon permits you to do it by way of the Kindle smartphone app. This makes it so much simpler to attach the Scribe to your Amazon account and get it related to a Wi-Fi community.

The most effective issues about all fashions of the Scribe is that none include lock display advertisements. On different Kindles, it’s essential to pay for fashions with out these irritating advertisements. For some motive, the Scribe escapes that destiny.

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Sadly, Amazon has not ever actually improved the Kindle’s software program within the 15 years of the product line’s existence. The dimensions of the Scribe’s display, coupled with the brand new pocket book stuff, amplifies that.

It’s not intuitive at first, and I dislike how Amazon spams the ‘House’ tab with algorithmic suggestions for books, comics, and different content material.

Given there at the moment are notebooks to suit into the equation, it’s a faff to modify between capabilities. There needs to be a faster option to flick between completely different notebooks, however it’s essential to crawl again by way of menus by way of a again button that may be a faucet away.

You must faucet twice simply to search out the brightness slider – this sums up the clunkiness of Kindle software program. It’s a bit simpler to disregard on easier Kindles however when the Scribe is supposed to take action far more, it makes day by day use irritating.

Getting paperwork comparable to PDFs onto the Kindle can also be a bit of annoying utilizing Amazon’s Ship to Kindle software program. You’ll be able to obtain smartphone, PC, or Mac apps for this, or use a devoted web site.

Battery life

The Scribe’s battery life is excellent, although you’d count on that from the scale of the factor. Amazon guarantees ‘months’ on a single cost however I can solely assume that is with Wi-Fi switched off.

I used the Scribe on daily basis for per week with Wi-Fi on and brightness pretty excessive when in use, and the battery went from 100% to 58%. That is nonetheless glorious, however if you wish to final a number of weeks you’ll need to flick airplane mode on.

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Value & availability

The Amazon Kindle Scribe prices from $339.99/£329.99 for a 16GB mannequin with the fundamental pen.

That is costly, however an affordable worth for an e-ink notetaking machine. The reMarkable 2 is the very best notetaking e-ink pill available on the market, but it surely prices $279/£279 and not using a pen that prices at the least $79/£59. It additionally has no backlight, and no direct connection to an e-book retailer – it’s not designed to be an eReader.

For all of the Scribe’s software program annoyances, it’s nonetheless nice as a result of it’s a Kindle. Studying is a pleasure on it, and books are simple to return by.

The Scribe goes all the best way as much as $419.99/£409.99 for 64GB with the premium pen.

You should buy it from Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Verdict

The Kindle Scribe feels very very like what it’s – a first-generation product. It’s as if Amazon knew it needed to problem different notetaking e-ink units however determined to do the naked minimal.

The Scribe does what it says it may well do, however not in considerate or intelligent methods. It highlights how lazy Amazon has all the time been with Kindle software program, reeking of an organization that doesn’t need to attempt that arduous as a result of it already dominates the eReader market.

When notetaking e-ink merchandise like reMarkable exist, the subsequent model of the Scribe should attempt so much more durable with easy additions like folders in folders, cross-device word modifying, and even the straightforward skill to put in writing straight onto books. These are issues that may very well be added to this Scribe with a software program replace, too.

For easy notetaking and doodling, the Scribe is nice. It additionally is perhaps my favorite Kindle for studying books due to the luxuriously giant, high quality lit display and insanely good battery life.

However when judged for what it units out to do and in opposition to different merchandise, the Scribe falls brief.

Specs

• 10.2in 300ppi e-ink show
• Wacom layer for pen enter
• 35 LED entrance lights
• USB-C charging
• Wi-Fi
• 16/32/64GB storage
• Amazon Kindle Retailer
• 5.8mm thick
• 433g