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The reMarkable as a notebook and eBook reader

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171–180 of 283 posts

Re: The reMarkable as a notebook and eBook reader

#172
I really wanted one ever since they announced the first model, but something has been stopping me. Now that I'm a little older and mature I realize that my instincts not to buy this thing were completely right.

How can a device like this not have an ability to make annotations?... What's worse, the highlights you make on the book are not indexed. To me, it's insane.

I think one can hack this together with Kobo, I believe. But should you really buy a device for $500+ to hack it together?

Once this device supports proper E-Reader features, it will be a great iPad alternative, IMHO. And I'll be a big purchase candidate.

Re: The reMarkable as a notebook and eBook reader

#173
I bought the first generation and returned it sometime 2.5 years ago.

My takeaways:

- my colleagues who loved it back then still love it and have been joined by a few more

- personally I'm still happy that I returned mine and got an iPad instead although ideally I had gotten the iPad in addition instead of as a replacement.

- the writing experience was fantastic! It feels like writing on paper and the results are of similar quality. When someone I know who can draw she made a beautiful drawing quickly and was impressed.

- the return process (at that time) was a case study in bad ux. Not dark patterns as far as I could see (once I contacted them they were very helpful and did not try to upsell me or anything, but I actually gave up trying to register the return myself)

- what turned me away in the end was that 1.) I didn't have budget for both the Remarkable and and iPad and 2.) the Remarkable was then too limited on its own (I use my iPad for notetaking, udemy, virtual meetings over Zoom and what not that I don't want to install on my work machine and probably a few more things) 3. at the time there was no Linux sync and it was bot clear for me how good ssh support was going to be (I still don't know but hear good things). 4. Locking was limited to 4 digit pin.

- an unintended benefit of going for the iPad was that I realized iOS was sufficiently different from Mac that I could actually like it, so I now have a cheap iPhone as well.

Re: The reMarkable as a notebook and eBook reader

#174

Slightly off topic, but what happened to "smart pens"? 15ish years ago,I had a pen that could draw on special paper, and do interesting things. I really thought that paradigm would have progressed by now. Sort of like the original optical mice needed a special pad but now can work on any surface. I like drawing on a paper notebook (I use one with a grid of dots). I'd be fine with all of the "intelligence" coming from…

There are multiple things in this space.

* The Lenovo writing pad device - https://www.lenovo.com/nl/nl/yoga-book/

This thing is different from all other devices on the market. You can write on the device itself, or you can put a piece of paper on top of it and write on that which will simultaneously be digital iirc.

* A smart clipboard, I'm sure there are non-kickstarter variations of this out there somewhere as well

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/clipboard-plus/clipboar...

* moleskine has a smart pen + smart notebook combo that syncs live with your phone

https://www.moleskine.nl/moleskine-smart-writing-ellipse-set...

* Modern pen-only solutions look like this, ie the Neo smartpen m1+

https://www.neosmartpen.com/en/neosmartpen-m1plus/

Re: The reMarkable as a notebook and eBook reader

#175
post #48

If you are not sure which gadget could be the one for you, take also a look at the Supernote[0]. I have been using one (A5X) for the past month with a Lamy EMR and I really really enjoy it. It improves my note taking. I still have 7 Moleskins on my desk right now, but I haven't written in them for the past two weeks. The philosophy of the Supernote is not to replace the notebook, but more to improve it. You can creat…

How does the latency compare to reMarkable? I noticed that Supernote is based on Android, which I would expect to have a higher level of latency.

Re: The reMarkable as a notebook and eBook reader

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ps. I also own a Boox Note Air, and the remarkable quite simply blows it away. When I bought the Boox I loved it, but after getting the Remarkable there really is no competition. I do like the Boox for its novelty value, running weird things on an e-ink display, but I don't use it for notes or reading anymore.

Can you elaborate why? I'm stuck between the two as a purchasing decision. I value the android apps but if the writing and reading experience is way low I may skip out on boox

They are both very good. I really liked the flexibility of the Boox.

The remarkable does have a superior screen writing feel by far. That was much more important to me in the end.

I won’t lie, I miss the Boox ability to customise the UI and install tons of things.

But I find the simple on/off notes and reading with remarkable just works for me.

Re: The reMarkable as a notebook and eBook reader

#178
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most important feature is not handwriting recognition, but the fact that it is a large e-ink screen, where you can comfortably read and write. You don't get that with an iPad. If you read a lot of documents there is really no comparison, because it is a different category of device.

> The most important feature is not handwriting recognition, but the fact that it is a large e-ink screen, where you can comfortably read and write. You don't get that with an iPad. This If these are the killer features you're looking for, the RM is delightful. I've been using mine for over a year, almost every single day. I would love to see the software services flesh out a bit more, but honestly, that's icing on t…

Adding on more praise. I think of it like paper enhanced. I loved takes notes on paper, but I needed to be able to rearrange my thoughts quickly without erasing and rewriting. Remarkable does that really well, and that's all I need it for. Worth every penny

Re: The reMarkable as a notebook and eBook reader

#179
post #8
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a remarkable v2, and I don't use their online services. I just wanted to replace a pen-and-paper notebook, and read occasional PDFs on it. It works fine as an ereader and brilliantly as an e-notebook. If better hardware is the key criterion for you, I'd go for the remarkable and just ignore the services.

Same have had it for a few months have not connected to wifi

The new Google drive intergration also super helps. Great tool.

Re: The reMarkable as a notebook and eBook reader

#180
post #57

Good luck ever getting a warranty or return done on these. Look around at their support. It’s awful. I had to file a dispute after they wouldn’t provide a refund for my return after nearly 30 days of non-movement of the return (their label, their shipping carrier). I would strongly caution you run away. Worst customer support I’ve ever experienced. Edit: I will never understand people that downvote a warning like thi…

Wow, that's a really crappy experience. Personally, I had a pretty good experience with their customer service. My stylus broke after a few weeks (just stopped working for writing entirely). They sent me a new one right away and didn't require me to mail mine back.

I think the way they do returns is pretty unfriendly compared to other electronic companies I've gone through this with. I was going to exchange my tablet after I bricked it, and they wouldn't send a replacement until they received and processed the return. Based on the label, the return center is in Hong Kong (IIRC), so it probably takes a while to get the replacement even if everything goes according to plan. I ended up recovering the device myself (that ordeal's another story, but that's entirely my fault) so fortunately I just had a week without use of it, not a month+.

I would expect it to be beneficial to them to send the replacement first along with a return box, then charge for a whole new device if the return isn't received on time. Maybe that only works if you have the scale and resources to build such a system that companies like Amazon have.

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