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The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

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Re: The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

#21

Post by Jhsto »

I bought the tablet for two reasons:

- I write research papers. I suffer from writer's block when using a computer for a prolonged period of time. I thought that writing by hand would be different enough so that when I get a block on the computer, I could write by hand. This was true. And with the OCR engine built-in, I can easily convert my notes to a format ready to be pasted to Overleaf.

- SVG support lets me draw illustrations for my academic papers. This turned out not to work as well as I imagined, but still good enough to get the point across and recreate the SVGs by hand on a separate software.

I still read books on a Kindle, and I still read papers on the computer. This has more to do with how much easier it is to take and export notes on the devices.

The reMarkable is expensive, but if your job is writing or illustrating, I think it makes sense to invest in your capability to do it more.

Re: The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

#22

Post by Tharkun »

I've stopped using mine. It's gathering dust in a corner somewhere. The hardware is pretty decent, and the writing experience is good. The software, on the other hand, is not good. There have been a couple of updates since I bought it, but they've been few and far between. Everything about it is mediocre. The file manager, meh. The note taking app, meh. The sync, meh. Getting stuff on it automatically is all but impossible. And I haven't been able to read some DRM books on it.

It's too expensive to use as just a notepad, but it's not good enough to use for anything else.

Additionally: the writing experience on the ipad pro is at least as good, and with just a bit less lag.

Re: The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

#23

Post by lima »

rvdca wrote: post #16

I am actually wondering to see I buy one. Here is some links that I find interesting to consider before buying (some of those do answer some previous comments) : * Here is a [previous occurrence on HN]( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16321531 ). * Here is a ["curated list of (code) projects related to the reMarkable tablet"]( https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-reMarkable ). * Here is a [framework]( https://g…

There's a pretty active developer community!

Main community resources are on Reddit and Discord:

- https://www.reddit.com/r/RemarkableTablet

- https://discord.gg/n89uDN

You can use the tablet without the proprietary cloud platform by using the built-in web interface to transfer data.

Re: The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

#24

Post by moonbug »

vertnerd wrote: post #17
ThePadawan wrote: post #3

I bought and returned one a year ago. I found that the two use cases I wanted most...: * quick note taking * syncing and reading long books didn't work out that well. As the author says, APIs for syncing are no fun. I also found that the tablet didn't keep up with my writing quickly enough at all. It also didn't really allow for "let me just jot this down and then check it out later on my PC". Like, all I wanted was…

I bought one almost two years ago and sold it about a year later. I wanted to use it for doing math but the inability to see more than one page at a time while I was working made it painful. Ability to copy across pages would have also solved the problem, but that still doesn't appear to be possible. There is simply no way to keep developing an expression, line by line, beyond the bottom of the page.

yeah, infinite scroll is much asked-for

Re: The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

#25

Post by hsivonen »

I wish someone did a light A4-sized eInk device with these software features:

* PDF reader

* epub reader

* well-maintained paged-media mode Web browser (well-maintained meaning timely security patches for the browser and the base system)

* no app, just standard MTP over USB and whatever the Bluetooth file transfer protocol is called

* reasonable privacy stance (not collecting what documents are read)

When looking for the above, which doesn't exist, I settled on Sony Digital Paper (DPT-RP1) instead of ReMarkable. (My recollection is that the Sony device had a larger display and didn't assume a cloud component, which could shut down.)

Sony has the hardware side solved albeit in U.S. Letter size instead of A4. However, of the other points, it only does PDF.

Sadly, despite being based on Android 5, which meant they could have gotten the standard file transfers for free, Sony disabled that stuff and forces the use of their Windows and Mac app to load the PDFs onto the device. At least back when I bought the device (which was before the GDPR came into effect), the terms of service for the app were unreasonable: The terms claimed the content of the PC running the app as fair game for telemetry. Nope, nope. I've never connected the device to the network and I run the app in a manner that blocks it from accessing the network. One shouldn't have to take steps like this. The app and the terms for the app make even less sense considering that the marketing target of the device is doctors and lawyers, who even in the U.S. have specific document confidentiality obligations.

Sadly, I have no idea what kind of business model would enable a well-maintained paged-media mode Web browser. Taking an existing Web engine and making its print-oriented paged-media capabilities work well in the interactive case would be a major project in itself. And top of that, actually keeping up with security patches would be hard work. (I have used a continuous-media Web browser on eInk, and it's not a good experience.)

Anyway, I wouldn't go back to not having a Digital Paper device, but I feel dirty about Sony having gotten my money despite me having to deal with their PC-side app and its terms.

Re: The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

#27

Post by 19f191ty »

I've been using reMarkable for more than a year now. It's a very mediocre product with major software problems, BUT, I still will not trade mine with anyone for one simple reason: it allows me to disconnect and think. iPad, surface are all better in terms of features, but I get easily distracted. When I have to write something I am having real difficulty with, reMarkable works much better. Can't precisely explain why, but my guess is that it allows me to focus more deeply, like a blackboard or notebook.

Re: The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

#28

Post by ACS_Solver »

I'm a fairly early adopter of the RM, and bought it for keeping handwritten notes. I don't produce a great amount of notes as a student might, but I find that the experience of writing really helps me think. Some thoughts on the device:

* The writing experience is top notch. It feels like pen and paper. I recently had the chance to try Onyx Boox Max 2 (very briefly), and it's nowhere close to the RM as far as the tactile feeling goes. This is the main selling point of the RM, and it's very good.

* It's an open-source Linux-based device but not entirely. The actual UI application isn't open source. But as others have said here, it has pretty good hacking potential, and it's definitely more open than most commercial devices. The company's support of open-source was another reason for me to buy it.

* The on-tablet software started out really bad but has improved. The first version had a bug that dramatically reduced battery life. It took a few more updates to get essential features like inserting a blank page in the middle of a notebook.

* The off-tablet software is bad. There's a file manager webapp with remarkably poor UX, the cloud sync API isn't particularly convenient for automation, and so on.

* As a reader, it's mediocre at best. PDFs formatted for large screens look good, but rendering is slow, navigation is poor, etc. I would absolutely not replace my Kindle with the RM.

To summarize, I think the RM is a very good device if you treat it as a digital paper replacement. That's what it is for me, and I'm happy. But if you want a good e-book reader, or any advanced software at all, this isn't the right device.

Re: The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

#29

Post by fatso784 »

Bought mine a year ago, and love it. It’s fundamentally changed how I read and write —no more papers, easy to get PDFs and textbooks onto it through my Mac or phone. If you’re an academic and read a lot, it’s an invaluable way to do your eyes a favor and also eliminate distractions. Had an Ipad and disliked the backlight. Also, not sure what people are saying on here, but the writing fidelity is some of the best I’ve ever seen (used to work in pen-based interfaces). It’s not a glossy screen like ipad, it’s matte, there’s friction. The size of it too makes it perfect for reading academic PDFs and textbooks galore. Yes it can be slow, but I’m not on it to play games or whatever. I’m on it to read.

Re: The ReMarkable Tablet: A Review

#30

Post by cassowary37 »

Here's my use case: as a scientist, I'm often in the position of needing to review multiple 20+ page grants or manuscripts, resulting in hundreds of pages at a time. I find it far easier to read closely and retain info when I can write directly on the documents, then circle back to collect my comments, vs typing directly. At a certain point, looking at reams of paper coming out of the printer made me feel slightly sick to my stomach. Plus, I appreciate that I'm not left with those stacks of paper sitting on my desk.

(Before someone does the inevitable HN calculation about why the materials used to make the Remarkable are far worse for the planet than all the trees killed to print grants - yes, you're probably right. YMMV.)

I had tried the various ipad and equivalents, and the RM's big advantage is that it feels like reading/writing on paper, mostly - something about the matte screen and stylus, though the stylus is sort of craptastic.

As others note, the software is clunky with annotations moving around on the page, and there's a bit of lag. But, I have yet to find anything better. I do wish there were an easy way to collect all the annotations in one place, but my handwriting as an MD is appallingly bad so that may be an impossible task.

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