Amazon Kindle Scribe Review: Off to a Good Start

Amazon’s latest addition (AMZN) – Get Free Report The Kindle lineup is the biggest yet with the $339 Kindle Scribe. The giant e-reader has a friendly design and offers a reading experience that’s sure to make its name proud.

But Scribe brings new features to the Kindle lineup. In other words, the ability to write on an eInk display using a stylus. You can take notes, import documents and use the pen. You also get a pen, albeit a basic one, with a base price of $339.

On paper, the Scribe sounds great. But in reality, it feels like a first-generation product that lacks the key features that bring it up to par with its competitors and make it a true competitor.

really big Kindle

Let’s clear this up first. The Kindle Scribe is a really big Kindle at its core. Equipped with a 10.2-inch anti-glare display with a resolution of 300 ppi, text is crisp and clear. In fact, it looks about the same as the Kindle Oasis, but bigger.

Scribe connects and syncs with Amazon’s Kindle store to display your Kindle library on a bigger screen. It has all the premium features you get from the Paperwhite, such as an auto-adjusting front light, and charges via the USB-C port.

Reading with Scribe is definitely something that takes some getting used to. At least if you’re used to having the Kindle in front of your face instead of resting on your lap. I noticed that. It weighs 443g, more than double the Paperwhite’s 205g, and almost triple the standard Kindle’s weight of 158g. Heavy…especially for an e-reader.

There’s a wide section of the body that gives you a spot to hold the scribe without putting your hand on the display and the scribe has auto-rotation so you can hold it with your right or left hand and the screen changes accordingly increase.

Be careful when using Scribe near water. This is because it has no waterproof rating at all. Leave that to Oasis or Paperwhite.

The USB-C port is centered along the left edge of the Scribe, with the power button just below (or above, depending on how you’re holding the tablet). The placement of the ports allows you to hold the Scribe comfortably while charging.

This is just the beginning of your digital notebook

Of course, Scribe not only functions as an e-reader, but also as a digital notebook. There isn’t much competition for devices like Scribe. The reMarkable 2 is probably the best known, but even so, unless someone is specifically looking for a dedicated digital notebook device, I doubt anyone has heard of it.

But thanks to Amazon and Kindle Scribe, the concept of taking notes on a dedicated device and accessing them remotely is sure to pique interest in this type of device.

Scribe comes with 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB of storage and the option to purchase a basic or premium pen. The basic pen, as the name suggests, is very basic and has only one function of writing on the scribe’s display.

The premium pen has a shortcut button that allows you to customize actions, such as changing the pen function to highlighter when pressed. It also has an eraser on one end that you can press against the Scribe’s screen to remove digital ink.

Both models of pens attach magnetically to the right edge of the Scribe. It’s not an overly strong connection.If you bump the pen against your desk or put the tablet in your backpack, the pen can fall out.Otherwise, the pen is always available and ready to use.

The Scribe’s display has a slightly textured finish that adds a touch of friction to the nib as it moves over it. You can’t feel it with your finger when you touch the screen, but it’s definitely noticeable when you touch it with a pen. The end result is an experience that feels like you’re writing on paper rather than on a glass plate. I actually have an iPad screen protector designed to mimic this same experience. It’s called Paperlike and it’s awesome. The fact that it’s built into Scribe’s hardware is a welcome bonus.

Along the bottom of the main interface is a new tab labeled Notebooks. This tab shows all notebooks that can be organized into folders.

All notebooks are synced with Amazon’s Kindle servers and accessible from your iPhone or Android phone via the Kindle app. I don’t know how to access my notebook on my computer.

In the notebook, you can use the pen to write and sketch. There is a small toolbar that expands and collapses to reveal pen, highlighter, or eraser tools. Double-tap the tool’s icon to customize the thickness of your digital ink or highlighter.

I have the basic tools, but I want more. I’ve taken notes with reMarkable 2 and an iPad Mini, both of which have more advanced tools for my digital writing. For example, you can select text and use the selection tool to move it up or down on the page. Scribe has a selection tool, but only for deleting sections of notebooks.

Writing is a smooth process, with very little latency between the pen touching the screen and the digital ink appearing. With Scribe there are no latency issues or latency issues. Equivalent to reMarkable 2, maybe a little slower than the iPad.

Another feature missing from Scribe at launch is the ability to convert handwriting to text. A feature that helps you search for specific items in your notebook.

There are several ways to sync documents to Scribe, both of which are great (although I would love to try more). Currently, you can use the Send to Kindle website to drag and drop documents and sync them to your Kindle device. Alternatively, you can choose to send the document only to Scribe. Another option is to use the Kindle app on your iPhone or Android device.

If Amazon supported some kind of cloud storage service like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, the whole document sharing process would be better.

Once you’ve created a document in Scribe, you can write notes, sign, and use sticky notes. Once completed, you can email the document to yourself or others.

After using the Scribe for a few weeks, I can see its potential as a digital notebook, but it feels like a first generation product. It’s not an outright negative statement, but it does mean that Scribe in its current form isn’t the best digital notebook device on the market. There is room to grow.

Bottom Line: Is Kindle Scribe Worth It?

Kindle Scribe is a great e-reader. Especially when his Kindle with a big screen is a panacea. It has all the features you’d expect from an Amazon Kindle, plus the added bonus of using a pen to take notes. But when used as a digital notebook, the experience doesn’t match the fit and finish of an e-reader.

I’m sure Amazon will continue to improve the Scribe notebook experience through software updates, but buying a product just for that is never a good idea. can Be. And I’m not in the habit of recommending products based on the future.

That said, for those who want a basic digital notebook that doubles as an e-reader, I can recommend the Kindle Scribe. Or is it the other way around? Either way, if you come in with the right expectations of what you can and can’t do, you’ll be fine.

If you want the Kindle experience but don’t want something as big and expensive as the Scribe, the $140 Paperwhite is the best option for many, if not most.

Prices are accurate and in stock at the time of posting.