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Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

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Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#121

Post by abawany »

themadturk wrote: post #56
dividedbyzero wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ridiculously absurdly convenient. Someone recommends a book to me or I see one mentioned, I quickly Amazon it, one click to send a sample to my Kindle. Amazon has everything, I can't remember when I last couldn't get something there. When I finish a book, I always have a bunch of samples, and Amazon gives you a decent portion of the book, so they're actually useful. If I like a sample, it's two or three taps to…

As an aspiring author, I believe in paying for books to support authors. I may also believe that I own the books I've paid for. Take from that what you will...

One necessarily doesn't follow the other - people pay for their ebooks and then dedrm them to no longer be locked into the ebook device vendor's ecosystem.

Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#122

Post by AdmiralAsshat »

abawany wrote: post #119
AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon clearly felt threatened by the tens of people with a Kobo Elipsa and the dozens of people with reMarkable tablets.

Tens, plus 1 - the Elipsa is an awesome device esp. when the stock stylus is replaced with a Renaisser.

I've heard Microsoft Surface pens are compatible with the Kobo Sage and Elipsa.

Why did you pick a "Renaisser" over the standard Kobo stylus?

I've got a Sage myself and have toyed with getting a stylus, so if you can offer a compelling recommendation over the official stylus, that would save me fifteen bucks.

Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#123

Post by abawany »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #122
abawany wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tens, plus 1 - the Elipsa is an awesome device esp. when the stock stylus is replaced with a Renaisser.

I've heard Microsoft Surface pens are compatible with the Kobo Sage and Elipsa. Why did you pick a "Renaisser" over the standard Kobo stylus? I've got a Sage myself and have toyed with getting a stylus, so if you can offer a compelling recommendation over the official stylus, that would save me fifteen bucks.

The Renaisser that I picked, the 520C, was Microsoft Surface compatible. It has two advantages: built-in usb-c charge port (vs. the weird "aaaa" batteries the stock and others take), and a felt-like stylus that felt way less slippery compared to the stock stylus. Edit0: also, unlike the stock Kobo stylus, the nib seems much less prone to wear - the former wore down in about a month while the latter is still going fine months later.

Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#124

Post by culopatin »

yamtaddle wrote: post #53
digdugdirk wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could I interest you by chance in an Alphasmart word processor? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart

Right—that, but stick a big e-ink display above it. USB port and bluetooth so you can use an external keyboard (though a compact attached keyboard/stand isn't a bad idea, even if it's kinda a shitty keyboard). Like this, but instead of printing your finished line to paper it "prints" to e-ink: https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY1WDEwMjQ=/z/IA8AAOSwQ59ZZBmO/$... But, you know, not huge.

So… an eInk laptop?

Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#125

Post by jawon »

jawon wrote: post #107
cstross wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Freewrite folks are currently doing a fundraiser on Indiegogo for Freewrite Alpha, their take on the Alphasmart concept, only using e-ink: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/freewrite-alpha-distracti... (I personally wouldn't touch one -- I need multiple lines of text in order to frame my thoughts in context, never mind that I like being able to dive online to do impromptu research as I write -- but I can see it…

Exactly this. About 7 years ago I bought a secondhand Alphasmart and started using it. I loved it for what it was but I had to stop using it because I could not see enough of what I had written. I’m now using a Pi with a monitor in portrait mode and FocusWriter to write. It is a fantastic single purpose writing device. But I would pay money for something similar with reasonable screen real estate I could stick in a b…

Turns out the FreeWrite team make a clamshell style device with a larger screen called the Traveler: https://getfreewrite.com/products/freewrite-traveler

But at $779 AUD I could buy a small, basic laptop and set it up as a dedicated typewriter.

Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#126

Post by jmcphers »

novavex wrote: post #112
jmcphers wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main reason I stick with Amazon is that it has the best integration with my local library, which is where I get 90% of my books. Like most libraries, they are OverDrive based. I can check out a book from the library on my phone and have it appear wirelessly on my Kindle moments later. Last I checked all non-Kindle devices require you to basically download an .epub file onto your computer and then sideload it with…

I've had a pretty good experience with the Kobo Overdrive integration. My process for checking out books on a Kobo is: - check out book on Libby app - go to Kobo - hit the sync button. The last time I tried to check out a book for Amazon (admittedly a while ago) it was - check out book on Libby app - get redirected to Amazon & hit "borrow"

Well, that's sure an improvement from the last time I looked into this! Thank you, I'll check out Kobo.

Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#127

Post by FalconSensei »

tjoff wrote: post #80
dividedbyzero wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ridiculously absurdly convenient. Someone recommends a book to me or I see one mentioned, I quickly Amazon it, one click to send a sample to my Kindle. Amazon has everything, I can't remember when I last couldn't get something there. When I finish a book, I always have a bunch of samples, and Amazon gives you a decent portion of the book, so they're actually useful. If I like a sample, it's two or three taps to…

It really isn't convenient to be locked into an ecosystem. You should test your backup. And the best way to test a de-drmed book is by reading it.

Amazon and Apple and all their users that like being in that ecosystem would disagree with you.

I was never inconvenienced by being on the Kindle ecosystem, since anything I would like is there, and possibly for a lower price than the rest. Plus, the reader syncs to the cloud, and if I'm stuck waiting somewhere for an appointment, I can just continue reading on my phone.

Using Calibre and de-drm-ing books is way more of an inconvenience. If anything ever happens and Amazon wipes out my library, I would just feel like I could get an already de-drm-ed "backup" from someone else, to the same effect as doing the process myself

Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#128

Post by FalconSensei »

dividedbyzero wrote: post #93
kcartlidge wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me the main difference I've found is that ebooks stripped of DRM tend to end up in EPUB form as the presumption is you're ensuring the books remain accessible on future platforms so you're going for an open and 'standard' format. At which point it's then common to tidy up things like the book metadata (eg correct the genre or add a series identifier). That in turn means the DRM-free EPUB version becomes the bette…

Don't other readers support Amazon's format as well, if de-DRM-ed?

as mentioned in another comment: if you are already using calibre and de-drm-ing, you are 1 click away to convert to epub, so yeah, so big deal

Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#129

Post by Tagbert »

bArray wrote: post #87

How I hope it works is that the "PDF mark-up" can be exported as a PDF. This would allow me to insert papers/reports, comment on them and then send them back to students. What I can't do is upload these documents to the cloud - so I hope this is addressed. In terms of cost, I was hoping for something maybe $200. At $400 it's getting close to a relatively good tablet or even a usable laptop.

Close in price but lighter, longer battery life, and less distractions.

Re: Amazon’s Kindle Scribe is an E Ink tablet for reading and writing

#130

Post by Tagbert »

ranger_danger wrote: post #22

Ironic that the original Kindle was already e-ink and had more features, like hardware page-turning buttons and "free for life" (yes I know) cellular connectivity.

Yes, though that original Kindle was an ergonomic nightmare in other ways. It was difficult to hold without triggering those buttons because they were right on the edge of the device. The silver scroll thingy was kind of fun until it stopped working and then the device was toast. The asymmetric wedge shape was a cute reference to some kind of notebook but didn’t work well in the hand.

I went through a succession of Kindles and the recent ones have not buttons but I find that I don’t really miss them. A simple tap of my thumb on the nearest edge of the screen works just as well.

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