This was a wonderful, honest, and very thorough review of the Scribe! Thank you! I have had the Scribe for about 6 months now and absolutely love it, but I totally agree with one particular item on your wish list, namely the split screen, to be able to have the e-book and notebook side by side. And, using that option, it would be great to be able to copy and paste a portion of text from the e-book into a page in your notebook, or to be able to highlight the text, and then drag and drop it into the notebook. Ironically, I can do all of this with my older iPad Pro, and that is such an awesome feature, but would be even better on an e-ink display to protect your eyes. The Onyx Boox devices have these features readily available and I have seriously been thinking about upgrading to one of those devices, especially having color added.
Glad you enjoyed it! I totally agree with you (obviously) about the features I wish they would add, especially when it comes to working between the kindle library and the notebooks. Hopefully we'll get more updates this year!
So I just want to mention, that the variety of books on the shelf behind you all being books I've loved, has gotten me to explore more of what your channel has to offer and subscribe, so kudos for wise background choices :)
I'd be happy to have someplace "official" where we (Scribe owners/users) could forward our most wanted upgrades/fixes. For me: 1) split screen 2) ability to use a Bluetooth/USB-C keyboard (for writing a lot of material) 3) abiiity to add our own templates. That's not too much to ask!
@@justinfikestorycastle have you tried the kobo/kobo color? i'd like you to compare it to scribe, and as a potential future author i've seen kobo being better for me based on reviews; along with my research. thank you for a great review!!
Thank you for the exceptional review. I have had my Kindle Scribe for about 7 months. I love it when I use it, but am certainly not using it as often as I should. I need to play around with its functions to become more familiar with it. I look forward to checking out your other content.
Glad you found it helpful! I’ve made a pint of tossing it in my bag when I go out and pulling it out whenever I want to “think out loud” on paper and sometimes just playing around with different notebook setting and styles. It’s been fun 😊
Thank you. Your review was the 1st review that was helpful. I like to take notes about characters, plot points, or research items. I finally understand it can be done but will be annoying enough to make me stop using it.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THE WAY YOU EXPLAIN HOW DIFFERENT TABLETS DO DIFFERENT THINGS, OR HAVE DIFFERENT FEATURES; AND HOW IT IS UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL AS TO WHAT TABLET WOULD BE THE BEST FOR THEM. I ALSO LIKE HOW YOU USE YOURSELF AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU USE YOUR TABLET, AND HOW YOU USE YOUR TABLET ACCORDING TO HOW YOUR BRAIN IS WIRED, AS A WRITER... YOUR VIDEO IS VERY THOUROUGH, AND I ENJOYED WATCHING IT.
Nice review. I agree that you need to know how you’ll use it and buy the correct device. I started with a Supernote and used it for 6 months. I liked it but wanted to read ebooks on it as well. I sold the Supernote and bought the Scribe when it was on sale. I love the Scribe. Not perfect but expect Amazon to listen to everyone’s concerns and update accordingly.
As fiction and non-fiction author I LOVE your review - to be honest, Kindle Scribe was my last choice, I was considering other options, though it will be too large and not comfortable to hold but I looked here and completely change my mind! This is exactly what I need for my work ;)
thanks so much for this awesome review! I see you made this review 10 months ago the new kindle scribe being released next week has some of the items on your wish list! Hopefully they do an update so that people who bought the first generation can take advantage of the upgrades/changes!
Thanks for the honest review! I found all the information you talked about very helpful. I am also and author and have had both Supernote and Boox products and though they are great, I did end up selling them and going back to paper notebooks. Frankly, the disorganization is making me crazy 🤪 I think the Scribe may actually be more of what I personally need. I’ll be buying one for sure now.
For me the scribe was a great investment! I have some rituals I preform everyday. Like my mornings I write a page and a half then before bed I read for an hour. What I love about the scribe is I can do both without having first and last page anxiety because it’s unending. Plus I use my scribe for note taking in classes and even download college books PDFs (which is amazing!) I like to scan college books I buy and turn it into a PDF that goes directly to my scribe. I don’t have to tote around heavy books!!! So in conclusion my scribe is my most expensive tablet but it’s diversity for me as a e-reader, journal, school tool makes it truly an amazing device.
Just want to say that this review was a bullseye for me; you described exactly what I want from an e-reader/notepad so a sincere "thank you" from this very grateful viewer. I'm not an author, but I do read and I do take a lot of notes in meetings - I'm also a non-linear thinker so looking forward to being able to let the thoughts flow in any order and then rearrange them on the page when I'm done. I'll be buying one as soon as the price is right (I've set up an alert!). Bravo!
@26:00 You mentioned using two devices to take notes as though you shouldn't have to do so. I think it is a natural thing to do when using simpler devices with limited screen real estate, and I have done this for about a year with my cheap tablet and my cheap smart phone. It really is a three device solution, including a blue tooth small keyboard in my lap. I find it a satisfactory solution for studying and taking notes. I am even considering getting a
Thank you for such a thorough review. I'm a social worker, and my job consists of interviewing parents and writing reports. I was torn between the Kindle Scribe and the reMarkable 2, but after reading reviews about the latter, I opted for the Kindle. Your review influenced my decision. I placed the order today and can't wait to start using it.
Excellent review. It's one of the only reviews based on really using the Scribe. I've been using the Scribe for a year. You nailed the exact changes I would like to see made. I would like to see quick switching between notebooks and books. This could be accomplished by putting "Your Recent Item" from the Home page into a menu available everywhere. We can now have multiple templates in a notebook! Thanks for the thoughtful review.
Having multiple templates within one notebook has been great! And gives me hope they’ll co time to improve the software over time. I agree that just a simple “recently viewed” menu would go a long, long way
I agree with almost everything you said. I LOVE my Scribe. I’ve only had it a few weeks. But it is what I expected, and a better price point. I completely agree and wish navigation between books & notebooks were easier, split screen is ideal. I also wish I could write in the margins of my ebooks and not have to create a sticky note. Also, as you mention, searchable notebooks would be awesome. I like that i Can have folders and sub folders in the notebook, I wish I had a nested menu instead of clicking through the folders. I love the feel and responsiveness of the writing🎉
Even though Scribe hasn't been released in my country (Brazil) so I don't intend to order it anytime soon, this was a very pleasant review to watch! Very thoughtful and comprehensive.
This was an excellent review. I seldom watch non-fiction videos that are longer than 10-15 minutes, but I watched this until the end. You're review was very clear and concise. I've been invested into the kindle ecosystem for many years. I debated on the Scribe for months because I thought if I went with the Boox or iPad mini 6 I'd get more bang for my buck. While that is true, the writing feature wasn't as comfortable for me as I washed. I have the Boox Tab mini C which is nice but I won't be using the writing feature for journaling. It doesn't "feel" right, which is my best explanation. The iPad mini 6 is nicer, but I bought it mostly to have an iPad. I had an older iPad and bought this as an update. I primarily use Android, but sometimes Apple fits in better. And, i have the Samsung FE (these names run together!). I love it, and have a data plan on it, so if I were to travel I'd likely take this. But, I love the scribe. The lighting is comfortable. The writing is comfortable. I purchased it to journal in. Like you, I love handwriting. I've kept a handwritten journal since I was about 8-9, and I'm 66 now. I've never been one who wants to keep more than one journal. But I've decided to do so, with this being my secondary journal. I write better from my bed, but it isn't easy now because a few years ago I broke my back. Bending over is uncomfortable. Using the scribe is easier because of its large firm surface, almost like a desk. Another reason I'll keep the non-digital journal (besides having a lot of fountain pens to use in it) is because sometimes I'll glue in things. Can't do that in the Scribe. I don't need lots of bells and whistles; they confuse and overwhelm me. I love my scribe. (I also have a case that opens from the side and securely holds the pen. The only thing it doesn't have is a way to prop it up. I purchased a metal reading stand for $8 which is perfect. It even stands on my bed. I'm certain it'll work well when I zoom on my Samsung FE. Sorry if there are typos. Spell check would get a D in spelling class.
Great review, thank you. I'm looking to replace my paper notes with an e-ink notebook, and my choices have been narrowed to the Kindle Scribe or the Boox Note Air 3C . And I'm leaning more towards the Boox, for the functionality of being able to use outside apps.
A good review of the cons and how to get around deficiencies. Also the suggestions for improvements through system updates. The first 6 minutes of this video frustrated me because there was so much bla bla bla which made me impatient for the speaker to finally get to the point, which he eventually did. It got interesting for me around the 17 minute mark. After 5 minutes, by the way, I set the speed of speech on the TH-cam to 1.5 which produced a sound which was rapid but comprehensible. I often do this when I find things going too slowly on TH-cam lectures. Bob and Ray's TH-cam item on Slow Talkers of America, very funny, gave me the idea of increasing the speed of videos. Bob and Ray's video, available on TH-cam is hilarious for me. From the 1950s and beautifully done. I agree, by the way, with the points made about the Scribe by StoryCastle. As I say, for me, the last 10 minutes were the meat of this presentation and valuable for me.
fantastic review, I've watched so many now and this one is the best. Most importantly though, what sweater are you wearing because I must get it for my husband.
I’m happy that you are enjoying your kindle scribe. One thing you need to be aware of is that when you use the send to kindle app to upload PDF files, Amazon is actually uploading the document into their cloud system and converting it into a different format before sending it to your scribe. When you share the said pdf to your email, it loads the changes you made on the non-pdf file onto the pdf file and emails the pdf. I would be very careful about what you upload to the send to kindle app if you don’t want Amazon to have a copy of it in their cloud system.
I'm not sure if that is what you want, but when you highlight and take notes, your notes go to a file called "your clippings" that names the book, time and date, and your highlights and annotations. Maybe that will save you sometime going back and forth to notes and books.
Yeah I’ve been experimenting with that. It’s helpful for taking short notes as I read but I still want to be able to switch quickly between the library and a full notebook for lots of different uses
Thank you. Would it be possible to connect the notebook to a monitor so that I could hand write on the Scribe while looking across at the monitor instead of down at the Scribe? I have problems with my neck that are stopping me edit my novel or first draft my second one. I'm learning to type and while I'm confident I'll get quicker it gets uncomfortable quickly.
I have the kindle scribe and I love it, the pages issue you seem to have it minimal. You can make a folder and have separate pages in that folder very well organized you just haven't seemed to organize it good. I just hope that the kindle has an update for a keyboard and mouse. I don't like my handwriting that much and typing notes would look much more professional.
Not an owner but have recently turned my thoughts toward a potential purchase (unfortunately undecided during recent Prime days). Frankly I considered the Scribe a bit gimmicky when it first came out. But your review helped to allay that quite a bit. I’m not a writer either, but I appreciate your review as a writer that would talk up the Scribe’s functionality in a bit more depth from that point of view. As you, having been in the Kindle world for a while, the advantage of mixing a Kindle with handwriting capabilities added is appealing. Whether I can justify the $$ versus just sticking with my Paperwhite is the mental jumble going on in my mind. Perhaps there will be more enticing prices in the Fall that will tip the scales. In the meantime, reviews like yours are very helpful. Thank-you.
Great review. Question : Have you written very long texts, like a novel on the Scribe ? Do the big texts files take a good amount of space on the Scribe, or is it like simple text file on a computer? Would the 16gigs be enough? Thanks.
I haven’t written a single large notebook file, but I have dozens and dozens of 5-15 page notebooks at this point which I’m sure would equal about a novel’s worth of writing. So far I’ve only used up about 500 mbs, and that’s with also downloading a ton of books. So yeah, I think the 16g version would last you a good long while
Thank you for your review of the Scribe. I currently read books on my Kindle Fire but was thinking of getting a Scribe. I read a lot but it drains the battery of my Kindle Fire. I also do note have access notebooks at all with the app. I agree that it would be great if they could do a spilt screen between the ebook and the notebook. Maybe they can do it with an update. Your review sold me on the Scribe! Thanks
Heads up, they just released an update allowing you to finally select a template for a single page in a notebook, woo!! Separately, I have the reMarkable2 with the Book Folio and the Scribe with the Amazon case and I have to say the vertical opening is actually so useful to stand it up, or raise it up and the quality/feel otherwise is as just good as the far more expensive reMarkable2 case. I tried a few third party cases on both and they are all a lot bulkier or feel much cheaper, the first party cases are really the best.
Whaaaaat? That’s awesome! And yeah I tried a third party case which feels sturdier but I found I’ve gotten used to the vertical flip and miss it when I’m at a desk or table. Thanks for the comment!
I agree re the great feeling of writing on the Scribe - using the fountain pen - not quite present in the competition, IMHO. I’ve purchased the Doodroo screen protector to enable using platinum pen nib - safely - we’ll see how that goes.
When I tried an iPad 11" with pencil I was sold (is the same weight with greater capabilities!). If you want non-linear creation, the different pens, colors and speed will be something valuable for you to experiment. Apple has 14 days returns, I believe is worth to try it.
When you’re taking notes in a book, can you later come back to the same page and see some indication that you made a note on that page (like in real books if you were to write something in the margins)?
Yes, there’s a little note icon in the sentence where you placed the note, but it’s not super obvious if you’re scrolling quickly. You can also bring up a summary of all your notes in a book and look at them in a list or export them, which is pretty nice.
I went with the middle 32 gig option and still have a ton of space open. Given that most doc or epub files are only a few megs each I think any of the storage options would work but given that the 32g option is only a little bit more expensive it seems like the best bet
While not ideal (please, Amazon, give us split screen), the Home page includes recently accessed notebooks on the top bar. If you’re bouncing between a book and a notebook, you can do it by exiting to home and selecting the book/notebook. It’s clearly not the best approach, but it’s a workable (barely) solution for now.
I’d like to be able to move PDF’s that I added to the device (which are in my library) and have them in a folder which can’t be done at this time. I went for the Scribe because I can read my Kindle books on it which isn’t possible on the Remarkable 2, unless you want to jump multiple hoops to strip the DRM off the Kindle books. For what I use the Scribe for it works fine… I hate the way you’re forced too share a PDF (via an email that sends a link, and not the document itself). The folio is poor as the magnets are weak and it gets dirty easily.
Absolutely amazing review!. Now pulling my hair since I really wanted a scribe, but it isn't available on my country and its too damn expensive on ebay to justify the price, so I had to cave and buy a paperwhite. One day, maybe, one day....
It honestly works quite well. You need to review it for typos and errors but it generally does as excellent job. There’s an option in the menu of every notebook to email a transcribed file to yourself.
@@justinfikestorycastle Many thanks for getting back to me. I tend to write my novels longhand and then type them up, so this should save me a lot of time. Not that I'll be uploading the whole novel in one go, of course. 🙂
Seriously the whole point of the device to me would be to be able to take notes of the book that I’m reading in my notebooks and it’d be so annoying having to go and find the notebook. I’ll keep myself from buying it, till Amazon adds a shortcut to the last notebook used 🙄
Split screen for note taking sounds like functionality that Amazon will, very much not added, since they even do not provide a option to move the writing tool bar😢and boox provide all functionality you need actually lol
Yeah it's a real shame they didn't put any more effort into making it usable! I’m hoping that some of the new features announced for the new version will be rolled out to existing models through a software update.
As a keen reader and writer I have to confess, I love paper. Although the Scribe looks promising to me, there are some hard facts: the flash memory used in the device has expected lifetime 6-7y, max 10y. The battery the half of it and is not replacable. The hardcopy book will last for centuries. It is sometimes funny how the mankind tries to simulate the simple reality but the hard way. Years of development on Kindle devices and still it is not 100% to reading books and writing on paper notebook. The wishlist for future release is full of new functions, which are dead easy on paper. I think I will rather invest in good OCR and stay on paper.
Wish I could plug in a USB cable and copy the notes to and from a USB storage device. Too much to ask? Come on Amazon Kindle developers, get it together!
I cant express how mortified and downright resentful of the baligerance of Amazon to exciude the facility to use an external keyboard. Why??! How can they hate their customers this much
I suspect it has less to do with hating us and more to do with their calculations about cost vs benefit for adding a feature like Bluetooth. Still, I definitely agree it would be great to have
This was a wonderful, honest, and very thorough review of the Scribe! Thank you! I have had the Scribe for about 6 months now and absolutely love it, but I totally agree with one particular item on your wish list, namely the split screen, to be able to have the e-book and notebook side by side. And, using that option, it would be great to be able to copy and paste a portion of text from the e-book into a page in your notebook, or to be able to highlight the text, and then drag and drop it into the notebook. Ironically, I can do all of this with my older iPad Pro, and that is such an awesome feature, but would be even better on an e-ink display to protect your eyes. The Onyx Boox devices have these features readily available and I have seriously been thinking about upgrading to one of those devices, especially having color added.
Glad you enjoyed it! I totally agree with you (obviously) about the features I wish they would add, especially when it comes to working between the kindle library and the notebooks. Hopefully we'll get more updates this year!
Just about the only review Ive seen tailored for authors, not just note takers - thankyou
So I just want to mention, that the variety of books on the shelf behind you all being books I've loved, has gotten me to explore more of what your channel has to offer and subscribe, so kudos for wise background choices :)
That’s awesome! I definitely spent way too long deciding which ones to use so I’m glad they connected with you.
I'd be happy to have someplace "official" where we (Scribe owners/users) could forward our most wanted upgrades/fixes. For me: 1) split screen 2) ability to use a Bluetooth/USB-C keyboard (for writing a lot of material) 3) abiiity to add our own templates. That's not too much to ask!
I 100% agree with your wish list!
Have you tried to put solar writer app on your phone to connect Bluetooth keyboard to your kindle? I haven't tried, just read about it
Honestly one of the best reviews of this device I’ve seen. This is a proper user review/experience and i appreciate that!!! Many thanks!!!
So glad you found it helpful!
The best & indeed truthfuly "honest" review of the Kindle Scribe... And I have seen/read many in my quest to consider buying one!!!
This was a pleasure to watch. A true review, not TH-cam clickbait too prevalent online.
Thanks! I keep trying to make the kind of content I would want to watch myself so it’s great to hear you enjoyed it too.
@@justinfikestorycastle have you tried the kobo/kobo color? i'd like you to compare it to scribe, and as a potential future author i've seen kobo being better for me based on reviews; along with my research. thank you for a great review!!
Best review I have seen so far.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you for the exceptional review. I have had my Kindle Scribe for about 7 months. I love it when I use it, but am certainly not using it as often as I should. I need to play around with its functions to become more familiar with it. I look forward to checking out your other content.
Glad you found it helpful! I’ve made a pint of tossing it in my bag when I go out and pulling it out whenever I want to “think out loud” on paper and sometimes just playing around with different notebook setting and styles. It’s been fun 😊
great idea of using the split screen for reading and notes.
Yeah it would be an amazing feature. Let’s hope they add it someday
Thank you. Your review was the 1st review that was helpful. I like to take notes about characters, plot points, or research items. I finally understand it can be done but will be annoying enough to make me stop using it.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THE WAY YOU EXPLAIN HOW DIFFERENT TABLETS DO DIFFERENT THINGS, OR HAVE DIFFERENT FEATURES; AND HOW IT IS UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL AS TO WHAT TABLET WOULD BE THE BEST FOR THEM. I ALSO LIKE HOW YOU USE YOURSELF AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU USE YOUR TABLET, AND HOW YOU USE YOUR TABLET ACCORDING TO HOW YOUR BRAIN IS WIRED, AS A WRITER... YOUR VIDEO IS VERY THOUROUGH, AND I ENJOYED WATCHING IT.
Nice review. I agree that you need to know how you’ll use it and buy the correct device. I started with a Supernote and used it for 6 months. I liked it but wanted to read ebooks on it as well. I sold the Supernote and bought the Scribe when it was on sale. I love the Scribe. Not perfect but expect Amazon to listen to everyone’s concerns and update accordingly.
Good to hear! I’m hoping the keep updating the software
Good review. I think you pretty much covered everything someone interested in this device could ask.
Thanks! I tried to cover everything I wished someone had told me when I was researching options.
Nice job on this. The best review I have seen so far and I have watched many.
As fiction and non-fiction author I LOVE your review - to be honest, Kindle Scribe was my last choice, I was considering other options, though it will be too large and not comfortable to hold but I looked here and completely change my mind! This is exactly what I need for my work ;)
Glad to hear it was helpful! The scribe definitely snuck up on me but I’ve really come to appreciate it as a hybrid reader/notebook
thanks so much for this awesome review! I see you made this review 10 months ago the new kindle scribe being released next week has some of the items on your wish list! Hopefully they do an update so that people who bought the first generation can take advantage of the upgrades/changes!
I agree! I just read that they’re planning to release most of the new software features in a patch
Thanks for the honest review! I found all the information you talked about very helpful. I am also and author and have had both Supernote and Boox products and though they are great, I did end up selling them and going back to paper notebooks. Frankly, the disorganization is making me crazy 🤪 I think the Scribe may actually be more of what I personally need. I’ll be buying one for sure now.
Awesome, I hope it works well for you. Happy writing!
For me the scribe was a great investment! I have some rituals I preform everyday. Like my mornings I write a page and a half then before bed I read for an hour. What I love about the scribe is I can do both without having first and last page anxiety because it’s unending. Plus I use my scribe for note taking in classes and even download college books PDFs (which is amazing!) I like to scan college books I buy and turn it into a PDF that goes directly to my scribe. I don’t have to tote around heavy books!!!
So in conclusion my scribe is my most expensive tablet but it’s diversity for me as a e-reader, journal, school tool makes it truly an amazing device.
Just want to say that this review was a bullseye for me; you described exactly what I want from an e-reader/notepad so a sincere "thank you" from this very grateful viewer. I'm not an author, but I do read and I do take a lot of notes in meetings - I'm also a non-linear thinker so looking forward to being able to let the thoughts flow in any order and then rearrange them on the page when I'm done. I'll be buying one as soon as the price is right (I've set up an alert!). Bravo!
Great to hear! Glad you found it helpful
A very honest review based on experience and use. Love from Bangladesh
Glad you enjoyed it!
@26:00 You mentioned using two devices to take notes as though you shouldn't have to do so. I think it is a natural thing to do when using simpler devices with limited screen real estate, and I have done this for about a year with my cheap tablet and my cheap smart phone. It really is a three device solution, including a blue tooth small keyboard in my lap. I find it a satisfactory solution for studying and taking notes. I am even considering getting a
Thank you for such a thorough review. I'm a social worker, and my job consists of interviewing parents and writing reports. I was torn between the Kindle Scribe and the reMarkable 2, but after reading reviews about the latter, I opted for the Kindle. Your review influenced my decision. I placed the order today and can't wait to start using it.
I’m glad to hear it! I hope it helps you at work
Excellent review. It's one of the only reviews based on really using the Scribe. I've been using the Scribe for a year. You nailed the exact changes I would like to see made. I would like to see quick switching between notebooks and books. This could be accomplished by putting "Your Recent Item" from the Home page into a menu available everywhere. We can now have multiple templates in a notebook! Thanks for the thoughtful review.
Having multiple templates within one notebook has been great! And gives me hope they’ll co time to improve the software over time. I agree that just a simple “recently viewed” menu would go a long, long way
Great review. I agree not having ability to put in more comprehensive notes right after a page in a book, is a major dropped ball.
Great review. Concise and moved along. I watched the whole thing which is rare these days with reviews that seem to wander.
I'm glad it worked for you! I get annoyed by rambling reviews as well :)
I agree with almost everything you said. I LOVE my Scribe. I’ve only had it a few weeks. But it is what I expected, and a better price point. I completely agree and wish navigation between books & notebooks were easier, split screen is ideal. I also wish I could write in the margins of my ebooks and not have to create a sticky note. Also, as you mention, searchable notebooks would be awesome. I like that i Can have folders and sub folders in the notebook, I wish I had a nested menu instead of clicking through the folders. I love the feel and responsiveness of the writing🎉
Very intriguing! Excited to see additional videos on it, I'm a real estate agent using Boox 10.3 for notes.
This is an Awesome Video!!! You did an AWESOME Job!!!
Thank you for talking about palm irritation when writing! That’s why I don’t want to use an iPad the feeling ok the hand is horrible.
Even though Scribe hasn't been released in my country (Brazil) so I don't intend to order it anytime soon, this was a very pleasant review to watch! Very thoughtful and comprehensive.
I'm glad you find it useful and enjoyable
This was the best review I have seen and fits my use case exactly ! Thank you.
Glad to hear!
This was an excellent review. I seldom watch non-fiction videos that are longer than 10-15 minutes, but I watched this until the end. You're review was very clear and concise.
I've been invested into the kindle ecosystem for many years. I debated on the Scribe for months because I thought if I went with the Boox or iPad mini 6 I'd get more bang for my buck. While that is true, the writing feature wasn't as comfortable for me as I washed. I have the Boox Tab mini C which is nice but I won't be using the writing feature for journaling. It doesn't "feel" right, which is my best explanation. The iPad mini 6 is nicer, but I bought it mostly to have an iPad. I had an older iPad and bought this as an update. I primarily use Android, but sometimes Apple fits in better. And, i have the Samsung FE (these names run together!). I love it, and have a data plan on it, so if I were to travel I'd likely take this.
But, I love the scribe. The lighting is comfortable. The writing is comfortable. I purchased it to journal in. Like you, I love handwriting. I've kept a handwritten journal since I was about 8-9, and I'm 66 now. I've never been one who wants to keep more than one journal. But I've decided to do so, with this being my secondary journal. I write better from my bed, but it isn't easy now because a few years ago I broke my back. Bending over is uncomfortable. Using the scribe is easier because of its large firm surface, almost like a desk. Another reason I'll keep the non-digital journal (besides having a lot of fountain pens to use in it) is because sometimes I'll glue in things. Can't do that in the Scribe.
I don't need lots of bells and whistles; they confuse and overwhelm me. I love my scribe.
(I also have a case that opens from the side and securely holds the pen. The only thing it doesn't have is a way to prop it up. I purchased a metal reading stand for $8 which is perfect. It even stands on my bed. I'm certain it'll work well when I zoom on my Samsung FE.
Sorry if there are typos. Spell check would get a D in spelling class.
Thank you for the very detailed comment! I’m glad you found the review entertaining as well as informative.
@@justinfikestorycastle I found it clear and concise. I wouldn't say entertaining...
Very informed review. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it 👍
Thank you for this level of detail! 🙏🙌
Definitely! I tried to cover everything I wished someone else would have told me 😂
Great review, thank you. I'm looking to replace my paper notes with an e-ink notebook, and my choices have been narrowed to the Kindle Scribe or the Boox Note Air 3C . And I'm leaning more towards the Boox, for the functionality of being able to use outside apps.
Yeah if there are apps you’d like to use then something from the Boox line is a great choice
A good review of the cons and how to get around deficiencies. Also the suggestions for improvements through system updates. The first 6 minutes of this video frustrated me because there was so much bla bla bla which made me impatient for the speaker to finally get to the point, which he eventually did. It got interesting for me around the 17 minute mark. After 5 minutes, by the way, I set the speed of speech on the TH-cam to 1.5 which produced a sound which was rapid but comprehensible. I often do this when I find things going too slowly on TH-cam lectures. Bob and Ray's TH-cam item on Slow Talkers of America, very funny, gave me the idea of increasing the speed of videos. Bob and Ray's video, available on TH-cam is hilarious for me. From the 1950s and beautifully done. I agree, by the way, with the points made about the Scribe by StoryCastle. As I say, for me, the last 10 minutes were the meat of this presentation and valuable for me.
fantastic review, I've watched so many now and this one is the best. Most importantly though, what sweater are you wearing because I must get it for my husband.
I’m happy that you are enjoying your kindle scribe. One thing you need to be aware of is that when you use the send to kindle app to upload PDF files, Amazon is actually uploading the document into their cloud system and converting it into a different format before sending it to your scribe. When you share the said pdf to your email, it loads the changes you made on the non-pdf file onto the pdf file and emails the pdf.
I would be very careful about what you upload to the send to kindle app if you don’t want Amazon to have a copy of it in their cloud system.
That's a good point! Definitely won't be sending my social security number and passwords to myself.
I hope they use all of your ideas for improvements. very well thought out.
I'm not sure if that is what you want, but when you highlight and take notes, your notes go to a file called "your clippings" that names the book, time and date, and your highlights and annotations. Maybe that will save you sometime going back and forth to notes and books.
Yeah I’ve been experimenting with that. It’s helpful for taking short notes as I read but I still want to be able to switch quickly between the library and a full notebook for lots of different uses
@@justinfikestorycastle that would be ideal. Unfortunately, Amazon seems to put zero effort onto their software..
Thank you. Would it be possible to connect the notebook to a monitor so that I could hand write on the Scribe while looking across at the monitor instead of down at the Scribe? I have problems with my neck that are stopping me edit my novel or first draft my second one. I'm learning to type and while I'm confident I'll get quicker it gets uncomfortable quickly.
Sorry to hear that! I'm not sure about using an external monitor with the Scribe but that would be great if it worked. I'll definitely look into it.
@@justinfikestorycastle Thank you.
You may want to look into either a Supernote or Boox device for that function. I’ve had both of those and they had that functionality.😊
@@MrsBennett67 Thank you o much, I will look into both those.
I have the kindle scribe and I love it, the pages issue you seem to have it minimal. You can make a folder and have separate pages in that folder very well organized you just haven't seemed to organize it good. I just hope that the kindle has an update for a keyboard and mouse. I don't like my handwriting that much and typing notes would look much more professional.
Not an owner but have recently turned my thoughts toward a potential purchase (unfortunately undecided during recent Prime days). Frankly I considered the Scribe a bit gimmicky when it first came out. But your review helped to allay that quite a bit. I’m not a writer either, but I appreciate your review as a writer that would talk up the Scribe’s functionality in a bit more depth from that point of view.
As you, having been in the Kindle world for a while, the advantage of mixing a Kindle with handwriting capabilities added is appealing. Whether I can justify the $$ versus just sticking with my Paperwhite is the mental jumble going on in my mind. Perhaps there will be more enticing prices in the Fall that will tip the scales. In the meantime, reviews like yours are very helpful. Thank-you.
Yes I can see how it might be harder to justify if you already own and use a kindle
Great review. Question : Have you written very long texts, like a novel on the Scribe ? Do the big texts files take a good amount of space on the Scribe, or is it like simple text file on a computer? Would the 16gigs be enough? Thanks.
I haven’t written a single large notebook file, but I have dozens and dozens of 5-15 page notebooks at this point which I’m sure would equal about a novel’s worth of writing. So far I’ve only used up about 500 mbs, and that’s with also downloading a ton of books. So yeah, I think the 16g version would last you a good long while
@@justinfikestorycastle Great. Thanks a lot.
This is a fantastic review. Great job 😊
Really great review! Thanks
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it
Thank you for your review of the Scribe. I currently read books on my Kindle Fire but was thinking of getting a Scribe. I read a lot but it drains the battery of my Kindle Fire. I also do note have access notebooks at all with the app. I agree that it would be great if they could do a spilt screen between the ebook and the notebook. Maybe they can do it with an update. Your review sold me on the Scribe! Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Heads up, they just released an update allowing you to finally select a template for a single page in a notebook, woo!!
Separately, I have the reMarkable2 with the Book Folio and the Scribe with the Amazon case and I have to say the vertical opening is actually so useful to stand it up, or raise it up and the quality/feel otherwise is as just good as the far more expensive reMarkable2 case. I tried a few third party cases on both and they are all a lot bulkier or feel much cheaper, the first party cases are really the best.
Whaaaaat? That’s awesome! And yeah I tried a third party case which feels sturdier but I found I’ve gotten used to the vertical flip and miss it when I’m at a desk or table. Thanks for the comment!
Another Pro of the Scribe: It allows you to escape from Internet Insanity, especially social media.
True! Although you could say the same of a book 😆. I definitely appreciate that they didn’t try to cram in a browser or something.
They did but it's bad apparently@@justinfikestorycastle
Great review, very comprehensive.
Thanks! Glad it was helpful!
Great review. I didn’t like the flip folio case much either. I bought a book/journal style case and much prefer it.
Yes I’m planning to upgrade to something like that soon
Bravo❤ . User from Romania .continue the good work.
Thank you!
As a lefty I would like the option for the space on the left side to change it to the right side.
You can turn the scribe upside down and the screen will flip so you can have the bezel on the other side
I agree re the great feeling of writing on the Scribe - using the fountain pen - not quite present in the competition, IMHO. I’ve purchased the Doodroo screen protector to enable using platinum pen nib - safely - we’ll see how that goes.
Nice! I considered a screen protector but I really like the way the premium pen feels so so far I haven’t been using one.
When I tried an iPad 11" with pencil I was sold (is the same weight with greater capabilities!). If you want non-linear creation, the different pens, colors and speed will be something valuable for you to experiment. Apple has 14 days returns, I believe is worth to try it.
I definitely considered that! I’ll look at getting one this year to test and review
Does it run the pocket app so you can read saved web articles. I had an old kobo reader that did this and would catch up on saved reads on holiday
As I understand it doesn’t run any third party apps
Great review! Greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷
Obrigado! I’m glad you enjoyed it
When you’re taking notes in a book, can you later come back to the same page and see some indication that you made a note on that page (like in real books if you were to write something in the margins)?
Yes, there’s a little note icon in the sentence where you placed the note, but it’s not super obvious if you’re scrolling quickly. You can also bring up a summary of all your notes in a book and look at them in a list or export them, which is pretty nice.
how about the storage capacity, which one did you choose?
I went with the middle 32 gig option and still have a ton of space open. Given that most doc or epub files are only a few megs each I think any of the storage options would work but given that the 32g option is only a little bit more expensive it seems like the best bet
While not ideal (please, Amazon, give us split screen), the Home page includes recently accessed notebooks on the top bar. If you’re bouncing between a book and a notebook, you can do it by exiting to home and selecting the book/notebook. It’s clearly not the best approach, but it’s a workable (barely) solution for now.
Great tip! I hadn’t noticed that before. Still not ideal like you said, but definitely better than the way I’ve been doing it.
I’d like to be able to move PDF’s that I added to the device (which are in my library) and have them in a folder which can’t be done at this time.
I went for the Scribe because I can read my Kindle books on it which isn’t possible on the Remarkable 2, unless you want to jump multiple hoops to strip the DRM off the Kindle books.
For what I use the Scribe for it works fine… I hate the way you’re forced too share a PDF (via an email that sends a link, and not the document itself).
The folio is poor as the magnets are weak and it gets dirty easily.
Definitely agree about migrating pdfs to the notebooks section that would be a great feature
Terrific review thank you. I'm tracking sales.
Can you hook it up to a printer to print notes?
I’m not sure if you can connect it directly but it’s easy to email your notes to yourself as a pdf so you can print them from your computer.
helpful review, thank you
You’re welcome!
Absolutely amazing review!.
Now pulling my hair since I really wanted a scribe, but it isn't available on my country and its too damn expensive on ebay to justify the price, so I had to cave and buy a paperwhite.
One day, maybe, one day....
Ugh I’m sorry! That’s definitely frustrating
The Kindle refreshes faster than the remarkable, so youre not missing anything :)
Great review but not sure how good it is at converting handwriting to text and how you do that.
It honestly works quite well. You need to review it for typos and errors but it generally does as excellent job. There’s an option in the menu of every notebook to email a transcribed file to yourself.
@@justinfikestorycastle Many thanks for getting back to me. I tend to write my novels longhand and then type them up, so this should save me a lot of time. Not that I'll be uploading the whole novel in one go, of course. 🙂
Seriously the whole point of the device to me would be to be able to take notes of the book that I’m reading in my notebooks and it’d be so annoying having to go and find the notebook. I’ll keep myself from buying it, till Amazon adds a shortcut to the last notebook used 🙄
Yeah it seems like a very weird oversight to be honest. Hopefully they’ll add it in a future update.
Split screen for note taking sounds like functionality that Amazon will, very much not added, since they even do not provide a option to move the writing tool bar😢and boox provide all functionality you need actually lol
Yeah it's a real shame they didn't put any more effort into making it usable! I’m hoping that some of the new features announced for the new version will be rolled out to existing models through a software update.
I’m sorry this is unrelated to the review, but you need a second light for the left side (your right) of your face.
Ok thanks for the tip!
Well done.
Great review! My brain thinks on paper too.
Thanks! It's nice to have a space to write/think things out.
As a keen reader and writer I have to confess, I love paper. Although the Scribe looks promising to me, there are some hard facts: the flash memory used in the device has expected lifetime 6-7y, max 10y. The battery the half of it and is not replacable. The hardcopy book will last for centuries. It is sometimes funny how the mankind tries to simulate the simple reality but the hard way. Years of development on Kindle devices and still it is not 100% to reading books and writing on paper notebook. The wishlist for future release is full of new functions, which are dead easy on paper. I think I will rather invest in good OCR and stay on paper.
Wish I could plug in a USB cable and copy the notes to and from a USB storage device. Too much to ask? Come on Amazon Kindle developers, get it together!
More or better search in general has become one of my biggest wishlist items
Sorry too much waffle, not for me
The Scribe is terrible.
I tried to write a romance novel on mine, and it came out as a history of Arizona.
Very disappointing.
I'm not sure I understand how that relates to the Scribe itself? Do you mean that you found it hard to write and stay organized on the Scribe?
What an odd non sequitur
I cant express how mortified and downright resentful of the baligerance of Amazon to exciude the facility to use an external keyboard. Why??! How can they hate their customers this much
I suspect it has less to do with hating us and more to do with their calculations about cost vs benefit for adding a feature like Bluetooth. Still, I definitely agree it would be great to have