– Amazon Kindle Scribe (64 GB) – Redesigned display with uniform borders. Now write directly on books and documents. With built-in notebook summarisation. Includes Premium Pen – Jade Metallic

I'd been going back and forward on an e-ink tablet for a while now, but couldn't make up my mind about which one suited my needs best. It's hard because until I have an e-ink tablet, I won't know all the ways that I might utilise it. I'd been comparing a Boox Note Air 4, reMarkable 2, and the Kindle Scribe. What made my mind up was the ease at which I'd be able to read my Kindle library on the scribe, take notes in books that I am reading, and annotate PDFs that I send to the device. In the end I realised that the other options on the market were wither way too overpowered for my needs (Boox) or were missing critical features I didn't want to live without (reMarkable has no backlight). Pros: Lighter than I imagined. Wouldn't want to read a book for a long time holding it, but it's perfectly manageable for reading. Backlight is very clear, auto adjusts and can be set from cool to warm or something in between. The screen is crisp and clear. Even very close to it, the writing looks like actual pen - with little to no pixelation visible. From a standard writing distance, it's indistinguisable. Writing experience is really good. Screen is lightly textured so it's not as slick or 'slide-y' as using a stylus on a tablet or phone screen. There's a pleasant tactile experience to writing, and unlike a stylus on a tablet, I find my writing style being a little slower - which in turn makes it far more readable. There are plenty of writing options; pen, fountain pen, pencil, felt tip, all with different tip sizes to adjust to what you want. It remembers the size setting for each writing implement separately, so if you like pencil at smallest, but pen at medium, it remembers that. I love the pen and the eraser tip. The quick function button is great too (have mine set to highlighter). Summarisation tool is really good, fairly accurate and useful for compressing several pages of my writing into a single page that's more legible (which in turn I can then further write/doodle on). A standard undo option is great for removing an errant mark that the eraser would have trouble removing (without removing something you want to keep, I mean). Battery life is pretty decent. Getting about a week and a half's use out of it before it needs a charge. Web browser is fast and decent. Viewing news websites feels a little like reading a newspaper. Cons: Document organisation. You can create folders and folders within folders, and so on - which is great for creating structure, but that's about it. You can't create shortcuts to notebooks that are several folders down from your current poistion. When you send PDFs or Word DOCs to the Kindle, they appear in your book library like any other book. You can add them to collections to keep them tidier, but that's about it. They'll always be littered among your books in your library. Summarisation can only summarise writing. It can't tidy up diagrams or flowcharts you've created - even if they have text in them. That's not a unique problem with the Scribe. Most other similar devices struggle to understand shapes beyond square, triangle, circle. It also only offers adding the summary page at the very start or very end, with no option to select any other position (although you can immediately open the doc overview and move it whereever you want). Copying across notebooks. You just can't. You can move pages around within a notebook, or select sections with the lasso and move them around with a cut/copy/paste. But you cannot move anything from one notebook to another. It doesn't remember (and has no option to enable this) the last used writing tool in different notebooks. If I switch from note taking with a pen, and go to a book where I've been drawing with a pencil, the pen tool is still selected. I admit this is a minor annoyance. You can't set the quick button on the pen to the eraser. I know you're thinking "Why would you need to, there's one on the other end" but it's a wide tip. Using the eraser tool from the menu and the fine tip of the pen can erase very fine detail that the "rubber" end can't. Again - minor annoyance, easily rectified by using the menu to change tool. Neither Pro nor Con: Not sure if this is a pro or a con, it depends on how you view it I suppose. It's a rather bare bones device in terms of what they've added above what a standard Kindle has. That means no distractions, which is great, but also means it won't have features you might find useful. reMarkable has more writing tools for example, and the Boox has the entire Android store available to add new apps as needed. This one is something they all suffer from: It's hard to draw straight lines. On paper you can use the natural resistance of the material to help. There isn't that here. With a bit of proactise, you can put reasonable boxes around key text you want to highlight.

I have had the scribe for some time now and can honestly say I love it. This gets used every day for notes for work and work documents for reading and also for listening to audiobooks. So why do I use this over my IPad?(which I also love) well ther are few reasons 1. Writing- It feels really good to write on, it gives a pleasant scratchy feel so it isn’t like writing on ice but feels very paper like & I can rest my hand on the pad while writing without it going balmy. 2. Files - I can separate my notebooks, so I have a work day book a scrap pad for making notes while on calls or mapping ideas or presentations, my grandson has his own folder where he can draw and doodle and when I go conferences or specific events I have a note book for these so it dosnt get lost in my work day book, and all this in one device so no more scraps of paper cluttering my desk or car, no loosing notes and most important not carrying different notebooks 3.Kindle & Audible- I use both of these services in my everyday life, it is how I switch off, relax and reset and these gives the use of both, I love the big screen for comics and I am still fascinated by whisper sync the best feature Amazon has ever released, reading of standard books is good the screen is very adaptable so you adjust so you can read without wearing glasses something as a new glasses user appreciates (I can’t get use to wearing them) 4. Documents - this is more for the wider kindle infrastructure but uploading docs is so easy, using the document upload feature is so easy and again this feature means I have access to all my work related docs in one location without carrying 15 brochures in my bag when seeing customers and I never forget the one I need!!! All in all I can’t recommend this product enough and I look forward to the coloursoft version because that will make comic books pop and will be better for my work related brochures.

I'm a massive fan of eink devices. I have been using Kindle e-readers since the beginning and have been waiting for the Amazon to release a large screen e-reader since they discontinued the DX. I have been using the Supernote for the last couple of years and wouldn't be without a device like that. It has the Kindle app and does an amazing job as a digital notebook. I am largely comparing the Scribe with that. As an ebook reader... I'll start by saying I love the bigger screen. I've always felt the normal Kindles are a great size for taking with you in a small bag or when hitting the beach / pool side on holiday. However, I much prefer a bigger screen the rest of the time... which is most of the time. As a result I love the Scribe. I love Kindles in general for reading and am fine with the Amazon ecosystem. The reading experience here is everything I love about the Kindle just on a bigger screen. As a notepad... The note taking functionality is definitely still in the early stages of its lifecycle. My Supernote is miles ahead. Having said that, the Supernote didn't release with all its current functionality. I would also argue I don't really use much of what it is capable of. You can add headings that can be navigated. This is really cool and I used it loads at the start. I still mark headings but I can't remember the last time I actually navigated them. Useful but not essential. General navigation is much better on the Supernote as it's much easier to jump between notebooks, especially if you have them in folders. But as is the way of digital notebooks like these, simplicity is a feature. The feature creep on the Supernote means it is now not the simple device it once was. I'm actually enjoying the simplicity of the note taking on the Scribe. Having said all this, I'm only talking about notebooks. I do not and therefore have not written notes on ebooks. The current implementation of inserting blocks into the page and wrapping the text around them seems like a terrible idea. They need to go back to the drawing board on that one. The pen is probably the next thing to discuss. I really like writing on the Scribe. I wish the stylus was more like a real pen, like it is on the Supernote. I want the feel of a pen and I want a cap like a pen. The eraser on the back end is really good and feels great to use. There is just enough resistance to almost feel like a pencil eraser. I also wish it didn't need replacement nibs. The Supernote uses ceramic tips and a special screen protector on the device. Not the end of the world to replace the tips but I'd rather not have consumables. All in all this is a very good, if simple, note taking device. I really like it and will happily continue to use it. It is my favorite Kindle for reading books. Having both in one device is really cool. There is still lots of room for software updates to improve things, and I expect Amazon are focusing on the notebook side as it is the USP for the Scribe.

Absolutely incredible for work - it's made it so much easier to read and take notes on documents, books and PDFs. Notebooks can be converted to text and emailed on so ideal for a lightweight device to take notes or work on the move. Beautiful design and really easy to write on - the screen has a really good brightness variation for those who like it light or dark. Battery lasts several days of continuous use and is just all around ideal.

Definitely not worth the money Stuck on the same page for over 19hours now I bought this device hoping it would be a reliable tool for reading and taking handwritten notes for my studies. Unfortunately, my experience has been extremely frustrating. The device freezes at times and recently became stuck on the restart screen and would not turn on properly, even after charging it for hours and attempting the recommended resets. Because of this, I cannot access any of the study materials and notes that were saved on it. What makes the situation even worse is that I am currently travelling and cannot receive a replacement in time. This means I have lost access to important information I needed while preparing for my exams. I purchased this specifically to organise and rely on my study notes, so it is very disappointing to discover that it is not dependable. For a device that is promoted as a digital notebook, it is concerning that it can freeze or suddenly stop working, leaving you unable to access your own notes. Based on my experience, this is not something I would recommend relying on for important study or work. I expected much better reliability.

I tried the original release of the scribe and returned it as I could barely do anything with it. So when they released this upgrade I was tempted to give it a try. My use case is both as a kindle reader, and as a self study student. The device itself feels amazing on the hand, love the light feel and quality build. Only part of the build I hate is the white bezel. I think they were trying to make it look like a note book page, but honestly to me it just looks tacky YMMV. Writing on it is amazing feeling. Not quite writing on paper, but pretty darn close! As a kindle reader it’s a solid experience. It has all the issues I’ve come to expect with the kindle os, issues I wish they’d fix. However one of the biggest issues is the device is underpowered, when doing anything it can take ages to get a response from the ui. Downloading is as hit and miss as it is on any other kindle device, this is especially true of larger files. I have some that are over 1st and kindle has never been able to handle them properly. Sometimes I need to redownload the files multiple times to get them to go from 99% to 100% If you’re only going to be reading normal novels, get a paperwhite. However if you’re going to be reading manga, magazines, comics then you’d may well be better off with this. Now, let’s talk the main use. Writing. A lot of the texts I’m studying can either be directly bought on Kindle or uploaded. So there’s a big advantage there to being able to do it all in the eco system. The inline writing still needs some refinement as it’s a bit clunky and dosent always go where you want it to. However for my usage as self study and essay writing it works a treat. I can make all the notes I want in the text books and then add them to my actual notes. So far after a month of constant use I’ve found it very valuable and worth its investment. However I do still find I go back to my Paperwhite for reading in bed or on the bus. How does it compare to the likes of Remarkable? Honestly I prefer it. I have owned both the Remarkable 2 and Remarkable Pro Color. The problem with both those devices is you can’t get your text books on there. For a corporate setting they may be ok, but for a student I think the Scribe has more versatility. I do hope Amazon work on the OS kinks and bring more functionality to the writing side

This review was written on the new Kindle Scribe, and the handwriting was converted to digital text. It has not been edited except for paragraph space 'g. The Scribe was bought to replace a tired early Paperwhite, and as a notebook. It is larger but no more difficult to handhold than the Papucolite The larger screen improves the reading experience as it presents text that is more like the page of a physical paperback. Writing on it is straightforward, as is the conversion to digital text; just send it to an email address and download from the link provided. I would prefer a little more friction for the pen as I feel it would give more control and allow me to better form my handwriting. Nevertheless it recognised my scrawl from the outset. I just need to refine it to improve the recognition. I have many of my best ideas at night and I needed a way capture them with out disturbing my wife. A normal tablet did not work so when I needed to replace my kindle reader the Scribe seemed to be the way to go-especially with the 20%+ £5 trade in discount for my old kindle. Still a bit pricey though but I think it will be worth it. So, a couple of weeks in I am very satisfied. It serves both needs very well. As an aside; I did not go for the colour version as I am only using it to capture thoughts; Any serious writing or content creation will be produced on a keyboard.

The AI note summary and handwriting tidying were added with a firmware upgrade, and they work. Also added was an optional margin at the side of ebooks (though not PDFs). The notebook feature works well with the pen, and is easy to use. There are a number of page templates supplied, but each page in a notebook must use that single template. I find the eraser useful, and the side-button is not something I seem to press accidentally - in fact I find it quite awkward to keep it pressed whilst (for instance) highlighting. In my previous work as tutor, I would've found it very useful for creating imagery in one-to-one tutorials or in meetings, etc. These days, I'm less inclined to reach to another device just to take a quick note. So that leaves the pen's main use as marking-up of texts. And this is where I got my biggest surprise. Many documents that I'd want to do this with (for instance a research paper) are protected PDFs, and the Kindle Scribe isn't capable of creating a non-protected 'notes' layer. There is a work-around if you know the password to open the PDF initially (some courses do this) as you can decrypt before sending to the Kindle. The freestyle mark-up does work well with an unprotected PDF, and I've started producing documents for my own use with the Scribe's dimensions (around 18 x 24 cm) rather than A4 so that they display at a good size on the Kindle (though most 10-12 pt typefaces even on an A4 document are readable). The other main area that the Scribe should excel at is of course displaying documents at a larger size than other Kindles, and would be perfect for those Kindle store reference books that save you having to lug heavy paper/ hard back version around. EXCEPT that many of those type of books are sold in the Kindle store in a format cannot be viewed on the Scribe (yes - even bought in the KINDLE store!) No rationale is given - just that it's not capable of being viewed on a Scribe. This leaves the illogical situation where that same Kindle book can be read on a tiny iPhone screen using the Kindle app or on an iPad that is not much bigger than the Scribe, but it cannot be viewed on any Kindle device, Scribe included. That's my biggest gripe - the Scribe has potential that's not been realised, and that feels like a poor design choice. The general e-books mark-up is fine using the boxed-in note-taking (though I'd prefer that there were not a fine border around each note). You can still just highlight text and have hidden notes. It's hard to imagine how free-flowing text could consistently work any other way, and this is an OK solution. The white screen surround doesn't particularly push my buttons - I don't really get it, and it is even slightly jarring if you use warmer backscreen. It also does not interact properly with all the screen - when reading in the dark with reversed reading mode, there is a distracting bright vertical slither of light all the way up one side of the screen (depending which way up you are holding the device - see photo). I tend to turn the device so that my thumb can cover it as I read. Otherwise, in both low and bright light it's lovely to use, though obviously heavier - it leans on a pillow in bed eventually as one-handed use can get tiring. Backlight auto-adjustment is a bit erratic - but that's easily re-adjusted to suit. For me, with trade-in from a Kindle Oasis, this purchase made sense. That would have been much less so at full-price, and at replacement in 4-5 years may well change e-reading eco-system to non-Kindle if the issues aren't addressed/ acknowledged. My summary is that I've returned to using a Kindle now that I've got a screen that is as big as many fiction books. This is great. Viewing and marking-up unprotected PDFs is good, but not being able to view some Kindle books from the Kindle store is very bad. A solution is needed also for marking-up protected PDFs (something like a side-car file with a notes overlay for each page). Speed of the hardware is, on the whole, as it should be - no issues there.