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The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

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Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#511

Post by lurquer »

_carbyau_ wrote: post #441
Johnny555 wrote: post #436

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My handwriting sucks too, and much of it is nearly illegible, but I find that I have much better retention if I keep written notes rather than typing. Even if some of my notes are difficult (or even impossible) to read, it's still sufficient to help remember what I felt so notable that I wrote it down. I realize that everyone's not the same, but studies have shown that writing leads to better conceptual recall (but t…

My wife's version of a shopping list is a bunch of lines of "running writing Ws". The typed approximation being Wwwwwwwww Wwwwwwwww ...etc At the shops, I have no idea but she knows what she wrote.

I’m familiar with that language.

I think it’s intentional.

We’re being tested somehow...

(I particularly like, when I’m sent to the store, reading “Wwwwwwwww” followed by a legible “etc.”)

ProTip: always bring home some flowers; it seems to distract them.

Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#512

Post by colecut »

codethief wrote: post #488
colecut wrote: post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will add, it probably isn't the ideal device to learn how to sketch, because it isn't as expressive via pressure as normal pencils, or able to do different levels of shading, but at least I am trying now.

Having used the RM2 for a month, I would actually say the RM2 comes very close to a regular pencil and is actually more flexible than one, as it comes with additional brushes.

Yes, with a Remarkable you get a several different "tools" (Pen, Pencil, Mechanical Pencil, Marker, Paint Brush etc).

However I think each of these is much less expressive than actually having the Pencil, Marker, Paint brush etc..

These don't provide nearly the versatility, such as levels of shading, that the real tools do, but the convenience of having some form of all of them in one small "pencil" is extremely nice.

If your end goal is to produce good art on paper, I would probably not start here, but for having fun and developing an interest it's been fantastic.

Now that I think about it, maybe it is the "Undo" feature that sells me =)

Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#513

Post by hackshack »

CosmicShadow wrote: post #260

I'm always super intrigued by the reMarkable 2, but I think it's because it paints an image of the type of person I think it'd be cool to be, someone who can just write down notes and draw stuff with a really cool, slim device. Someone who carries around moleskines and uses them, instead of just buying so many of them in different shapes and leaving them in a drawer packed to the brim with notebooks. The problem keep…

There are some great suggestions in this sub-thread... don't get a gadget for the sake of getting one. That said, if you have a considered need for one, here's my take: I "think by writing" and unfortunately my textfiles are more organized than my physical papers. The reMarkable 2 was worth it for me. The thing eliminates all my paper clutter and is so close to paper it's effectively identical. There's tooth to the paper and drag on the "pencil." It OCRs your handwriting and is searchable. Options: I recommend absolutely spending the money on the eraser-equipped stylus. Otherwise you have to manually switch tools using the slow eInk UI and it would be a nightmare. I got the grey cloth cover and it's a great understated look compared to the leather. Just looks like a notepad. My reMarkable 2 had an odd build quality issue where the back was bumped out a little. I got an early one. The device goes past the uncanny valley right into a paper replacement. I had to stop myself setting a coffee cup on it because I forgot it was 'lectronic. Re: durability, I still use paper pads at the electronic or mechanical bench due to worrying about scratches on the reMarkable. The screen has not scratched yet for me but I do worry about it.

Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#514

Post by codethief »

fouric wrote: post #239
Grumbledour wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me just add that I am not talking about a powerful all purpose computing device, because I think we pretty much have this with modern tablets/laptops. But I do feel the computing part could be much more utilized to make taking notes and reading text better. I am thinking of Hypertext, drawing tools like sketchpad, simple programming tools etc. Not a device that does as much as possible badly, but one that could r…

> But I do feel the computing part could be much more utilized to make taking notes and reading text better. I am thinking of Hypertext, drawing tools like sketchpad, simple programming tools etc. The problem is that even those "simple" things are a massive amount of work to get right (where "right" means bug-free, performant, well-documented (or intuitive - pick at least one), flexible, and with an ergonomic interfa…

> Also, the reMarkable is open - you can add all these things yourself, if you're sufficiently motivated.

Since I had bought (and later returned) the RM2 largely due to misleading statements here on HN about it being "so very open", I'd like to add a warning to anyone reading the parent comment:

The RM2 is open in the sense that anyone with a background in reverse engineering might be able to modify a few things. It is far from being an open platform, though. Remember how some people complain that Android is not really open because Google controls it, source code often gets released with a delay and some libraries are proprietary? Well, I've got bad news – in terms of openness Android is still light years ahead of the Remarkable software stack.

Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#515

Post by codethief »

michaelmior wrote: post #494
codethief wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Pricing seems about the same really. Especially when you consider the bundle of table, folio, and pen together for each. Fair enough. On the other hand, the Supernote comes with more features than the RM2 and gets updates much more frequently, so one would have to price that in, too. > I was disappointed to see that the standard Supernote pen does not include an eraser and the LAMY pen which does lacks the ceramic…

I recently saw that in a firmware update last month there was a new "gesture eraser" feature added. Supposedly if you hold two figures down elsewhere on the screen, then drawing turns into area erase. Curious if you've tried this and how well it works.

Oh, I hadn't heard of that feature yet! Thank you, I'll check it out and let you know!

Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#516

Post by m463 »

CosmicShadow wrote: post #260

I'm always super intrigued by the reMarkable 2, but I think it's because it paints an image of the type of person I think it'd be cool to be, someone who can just write down notes and draw stuff with a really cool, slim device. Someone who carries around moleskines and uses them, instead of just buying so many of them in different shapes and leaving them in a drawer packed to the brim with notebooks. The problem keep…

I have one.

The really good thing is that it's open. Like you can ssh into it from day one. No cloud forced on you. refreshing.

I think my #1 use is to jot down notes during a phone call. It is like an infinite stack of post-its. Jotting does not get in the way of a phone call.

#2 is reading ebooks and pdfs. It's a little slow working with .epub books, but with pdf files it is fast.

Actually I convert ebooks to pdf format using calibre. It's a pretty good experience. I've figured out the fonts, font sizes, margins and so forth, and made that my calibre conversion default. Works well for me.

Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#517

Post by maxcan »

CosmicShadow wrote: post #260

I'm always super intrigued by the reMarkable 2, but I think it's because it paints an image of the type of person I think it'd be cool to be, someone who can just write down notes and draw stuff with a really cool, slim device. Someone who carries around moleskines and uses them, instead of just buying so many of them in different shapes and leaving them in a drawer packed to the brim with notebooks. The problem keep…

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

On a serious note, this comment resonates so well. I actually bought a RM2 but returned it since the transcription & syncing was nowhere near what I expected. But, also what you wrote. Turns out, I'm near a laptop often enough that typing in Notion works pretty damn well for me. Coupled with all of Notion's rich document structures and fast navigation there's no way a RM2 can compete.

Also, for the record I have an iPad Pro and basically have one, very specific use case. I'm a private pilot and use the iPad extensively for flying. Writing down instrument flight rules clearances which I get over the radio from the tower has been the only persistent use case for the stylus that I've found. Cockpits are too cramped for the keyboard and there's too much information to write it with a finger.

Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#518

Post by galambo »

I am surprised no one has mentioned E Ink phones. My daily driver is an E Ink Hisense A5 phone that is modified to run Google Play. It can run all Android apps without any major issues.

The E Ink display has two advantages over LCD: it consumes very little power and it looks great under bright sunshine. I also get less eyestrain reading eBooks and RSS on the matte E Ink display.

I love E Ink so much I doubt I am ever going back to LCD, but the E Ink display is not perfect: it is black and white (there is a color version but it is very grainy), and the E Ink display is also less responsive than an LCD.

Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#519

Post by rchaud »

swiley wrote: post #508
rchaud wrote: post #507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might be better off with an e-reader running full Android. I use Syncthing Fork, and it lets me do two-way sync between my tablet and a Macbook, which acts as a local server. No middleman cloud service required.

If you run syncthing on android you lose its power management. Also it's a horrible OS for long running services for other reasons, one of the largest being how huge apps are and how it quickly kills things when memory gets low.

I am using Syncthing Fork from F-droid, and you can configure it to respect Android's power saving features. Besides, you can turn sync off entirely if you choose.

Re: The rise of E Ink Tablets and Note Takers: reMarkable 2 vs Onyx Boox Note Air

#520

Post by dont__panic »

squarefoot wrote: post #281
dont__panic wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No offense, but the article discusses 10" ereaders heavily (that's the screen size of both the reMarkable 2 and the Note Air). There's also the Kobo Elipsa if you'd like something that's totally focused on reading. I've been using a 7.8" Nova 3 myself for a few months now, and it's a dramatic improvement over the 6" Kindle I was using before. I love having a screen that's closer to the size of your average hardcover…

Thanks. They seem really nice devices, especially the Remarkable2. The problem with working online is that most of these devices phone home regularly, and while I wouldn't mind if they read with me an electronics magazine or book, that would be different since I'd also use a reader for displaying medical prescriptions and/or other personal documents. Broadly speaking, device manufacturers (TVs, home appliances, etc.)…

I don't use a Boox account or sign into any cloud services on my Boox, FYI -- the device isn't crippled in the slightest as a result. While I usually use Snapdrop to transfer files for convenience, I also sometimes use a USB connection. Both are essentially "offline".
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