Reading and Notes: reMarkable vs Max2 vs Note vs iPad Pro 10"

[alvises]

Hi guys,

I have all these devices for few days and going to return, at least, two of them (probably reMarkable and Max2). Bought them to choose which one is the best for reading and note taking (mainly math formulas).

Are you interested about a video comparison ? If yes, what are you interested about?

Thanks

Alvise

[leojab]

Yes.. surely a comparison would be very informative

[alvises]

Originally Posted by leojab

Yes.. surely a comparison would be very informative

Any particular question or something that isn't mentioned, checked in the other reviews?

Since there are many reviews of these devices, I'd like to only focus on a comparison based on node taking and pdf reading.

[citytrader]

I think you really don't have an idea of what are you looking for, you are comparing eInks with an Ipad, very different devices.

[alvises]

Originally Posted by citytrader

I think you really don't have an idea of what are you looking for, you are comparing eInks with an Ipad, very different devices.

Interesting you don't see what is called a "trade-off". People that want e-ink, want to try to be paperless without loosing the feeling of paper with all the advantages of e-ink compared to LED displays.

The main issue I see with these e-ink devices is the software. This is why I talk about "trade-offs". LED display devices in general are completely different devices BUT you can't ignore that choosing note,max2,remarkable right now, you are deciding to "trade" some great software (and support like Apple) in exchange of the advantages of e-ink.

So please, don't even try to use the argument "don't compare iPad with a e-ink device" because honestly, to me, it does make a lot of sense when you compare the different goals: taking notes, reading, paper experience.

[Philippe D.]

You can compare them all you want, but because these trade-offs are pretty steep, the comparison will often be meaningless for anybody who doesn't have exactly the same needs as you do.

I know the limitations of the software on both the Remarkable and Max 2 (I own both, as well as an iPad - not the Pro though). In my experience, note taking on the iPad is just a huge no-no; even with the wealth of software you can use, the smooth glass surface is unusable for writing for me.

[alvises]

Originally Posted by Philippe D.

You can compare them all you want, but because these trade-offs are pretty steep, the comparison will often be meaningless for anybody who doesn't have exactly the same needs as you do.

I know the limitations of the software on both the Remarkable and Max 2 (I own both, as well as an iPad - not the Pro though). In my experience, note taking on the iPad is just a huge no-no; even with the wealth of software you can use, the smooth glass surface is unusable for writing for me.

For note taking (not drawing) do you prefer remarkable or max2 ?

[Philippe D.]

Originally Posted by alvises

For note taking (not drawing) do you prefer remarkable or max2 ?

Remarkable, definitely. The stylus feeling is better, the software is better. The device size is better too - the Max2 is actually too large for comfortable note taking, at least in my experience.

(The software on the Remarkable is still far from perfect in this - the inability to copy/paste notes from one page to another, or from one file to another, is really a huge missing feature. Just yesterday I had to take notes during a series of interviews; at some point I mistakenly changed documents... and ended up taking my later notes in the wrong document. Well, as far as I know, the Remarkable has no options to let me correct this...)

[alvises]

Originally Posted by Philippe D.

Remarkable, definitely. The stylus feeling is better, the software is better. The device size is better too

I agree with you. I really like the feeling of writing notes on it. I like the templates too. The problem is the pdf-reading software, it converts pdf to images and the experience is terribile. I just received the Boox Note today and I think that the overall experience is the best one. Great for pdf and really good for notes. Is it better than remarkable for notes? Definitely not! But again.. it's a trade-off..

So, you use remarkable for note taking and max for reading ?

[citytrader]

Originally Posted by alvises

The main issue I see with these e-ink devices is the software. This is why I talk about "trade-offs". LED display devices in general are completely different devices BUT you can't ignore that choosing note,max2,remarkable right now, you are deciding to "trade" some great software (and support like Apple) in exchange of the advantages of e-ink.

You are mixing apples with oranges
Eink devices are like when the first tablets appeared in the market, you buy it for the screen only not for the rest: old hardware (much worse for reMarkable), old OS with mostly no updates, buggy software, etc, the Note has a processor that is even inferior to the Ipad 2 and you want to compare an eink with the Ipad pro...

It´s not a tradeoff, einks are for reading and doing some other little things, imposible to compare with an Ipad (and I don´t like the IOS OS)

[mdp]

Originally Posted by citytrader

* are for *

Pretty please, find a solid expression for that. Non confusing, controvertible, suitable to be handled as logical elements instead of artistic expression.

EDIT: I wrote 'incontrovertible' by mistake, driven by thirst. I meant a different thing. It is of course good if it is truthful, hence possibly incontrovertible, but in this case I stress that it should be at least controvertible - as a statement must be meaningful to be so.

Originally Posted by citytrader

and doing some other little things

Operating in natural light - not much really.

[Philippe D.]

Originally Posted by alvises

So, you use remarkable for note taking and max for reading ?

Yes, that's it exactly. Note that I don't do much file transfer from the remarkable to my PC; mostly the files stay on the device, and sometimes I just remove some of them. It would certainly be different if I had any kind of talent as an artist, but mostly I use the device as a notebook.

Originally I thought the remarkable might serve for my PDF reading needs, but when I got to try it out I realized the screen was a bit small and the software was really not very good for it, which is why I ended up also buying the Max2. I'm not sure I would have bought both if I had gotten the Max2 first.