Amazon announces the Kindle Scribe - 10.2" Kindle with stylus support

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

But I'd suggest waiting until someone has a demonstration one before assuring everyone what a slice of heaven on Earth it will be.

Especially since the screen module is still completely unknown.
300 dpi sounds good, but what about the refresh, or the speed?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Especially since the screen module is still completely unknown.
300 dpi sounds good, but what about the refresh, or the speed?

I think screen update speed has been the reason there have not been any 300dpi on devices with 10 inch and larger screens until now. Presumably amazon or eink were able to make it work. If it was eink, amazon is able to place large enough orders to be first in line.

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Especially since the screen module is still completely unknown.
300 dpi sounds good, but what about the refresh, or the speed?

I would also be worried about the contrast. Will this use Carta 1200/1250 or an equivalent? Will the paper feel of the screen mean (as it does for Onyx devices) that the contrast suffers?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by kandwo

Will the paper feel of the screen mean (as it does for Onyx devices) that the contrast suffers?

That's certainly a possibility.

[WillAdams]

I put in my pre-order, and am now waffling on whether or no I want a case.

It'll work well w/ my Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ and Book 12 (aside from the matter of the stylus not being pressure sensitive --- but I managed switching styluses on my NCR-3125 and Wacom ArtZ, so should be okay).

Things I'm excited about:

- large screen, 300ppi
- ability to annotate/make notes
- ability to write/create documents

Things I'm hopeful will eventually be added, whether through a software update or a future device:

- handwriting recognition
- pressure-sensitive stylus option
- SVG drawing program w/ shape recognition --- something like to Corel's Grafigo would be awesome

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

Things I'm excited about:
- large screen, 300ppi
- ability to annotate/make notes
- ability to write/create documents

Things I'm hopeful will eventually be added, whether through a software update or a future device:

- handwriting recognition
- pressure-sensitive stylus option
- (SVG) drawing program w/ shape recognition

Kobo's 8" Sage is 300 dpi and Kobo Elipsa10.3" is 227 dpi
They have now:
- ability to annotate/make notes
- ability to write/create documents
* handwriting recognition
* pressure-sensitive stylus option
* Sketch /drawing program w/ shape recognition inc Maths. It's Nebo as per premium version on iOS and Android.
* export notes/sketches, depending on type, as PDF, png, txt, HTML and docx

Also
* epub natively. (Send to Kindle is a bit broken)
* Covers, Collections and Series data via Calibre. (Kindles are poor).
* per ebook export of text (via user added extra menu item) and export to Mac/Windows/Linux per ebook.
* Dropbox
* Ability to add 3rd party apps without jailbreak.
* BT Keyboard, but only for epub annotations, Notebooks use stylus.
* BT page turning.
* page turn buttons on Sage
* 32 G Byte Flash.
* No need to give Kobo any address or payment details.
* PDF zoom now locks for page turn with margins cropped.

Stylus is MS Surface compatible and 3rd party ones are about $25

The BT audiobook feature isn't great and can't play while reading.

There are other note-taking eink ereaders with Android and ability to install apps from Playstore.

The ONLY innovation on the Kindle Scribe is 300 dpi rather than 227 dpi for larger than 10" eink.

[Cactus Chef]

Unfortunately, I don't think the Kindle Scribe really needs to innovate in order to capture the market. It just needs to do everything that came before it reasonably well, and be in the Amazon ecosystem, and I predict it will become the de-facto standard within a year.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

Unfortunately, I don't think the Kindle Scribe really needs to innovate in order to capture the market. It just needs to do everything that came before it reasonably well, and be in the Amazon ecosystem, and I predict it will become the de-facto standard within a year.

Especially if it has a bigger battery than the Elipsa.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

Unfortunately, I don't think the Kindle Scribe really needs to innovate in order to capture the market. It just needs to do everything that came before it reasonably well, and be in the Amazon ecosystem, and I predict it will become the de-facto standard within a year.

Because Amazon has 92% or more of English Language ebook market and most people have no idea how to read an ebook from Amazon without Kindle App, Fire or Kindle. So i'd say 2 months, not a year. This is no lemon like the DX/DXG was.

Though the market for 300 dpi 10.2" with note taking is more offices, Education, PDFs etc, not fiction regular ebooks. Universities were the idea of market for the 9.7" DX and its screen upgrade, the DXG, but it was far to slow for PDFs and at only 167 dpi far too low resolution. The SW / fonts / language support was and at the last (2.5.8) abysmal for the era for regular users and worse for people juggling text books.

All the marketing by everyone else put together would be small change for Amazon. As is their entire book, ebook and Kindle operation. So they can afford to market this. Even if the 5th place in features and SW quality it will "win" because it's Amazon if it does close to claims and doesn't go on fire.

Few people research and buy the most suitable product for their needs.

So it will be big success and the more negligible 10"+ size products will die. Some competitors will eventually also use the 10.2" 300 dpi screen. I've bought a lot of ereaders. Unless Amazon Kindles become as open as Kobo and work as well with Calibre and support epubs, I'll only pick up the odd bargain Kindle.

[cellaris]

It is not incompatible to have a lot of e-readers and to like Kindle devices. I have owned more than 50 e-readers of various brands and I still like Kindle devices. I find it more difficult to understand why a person who doesn't like certain devices still insists on buying them. Why buy a Kindle if you don't like it? For that you already have other brands. I still haven't found (and I hope I never do because it would be very boring) the perfect e-reader. There are things I like about Kindle and things I don't, and the same goes for Kobo, PocketBook, Onyx Boox, Tolino or Boyue. But if I didn't find anything interesting in them, I wouldn't buy them.

The Kindle Scribe is intended for Kindle users who want a large screen reader, not for Kobo or Onyx (or any other brand) users who already have their own devices. I don't see what the problem is.

[WillAdams]

Quoth wrote:

>Stylus is MS Surface compatible and 3rd party ones are about $25

NTrig is a non-starter for me --- I'm still annoyed that they switched away from Wacom after the Surface Pro 2. Every time I've tried using the stylus on my son's Surface Book 2 I've wanted to throw the system against a wall (the Apple Pencil incites similar feelings for me) --- I have a Toshiba Encore 2 Write 10 which I need to find a new battery for, and which I need to then find a use for.

I would have bought a Kobo unit, but they dropped off my radar when they switched away from Wacom --- I loathe the lower hover distance, and need another battery to charge like I need a hole in my head.

I really hope that it's possible to install Nebo.app on the Kindle Scribe, and I'm similarly hoping that the Premium Pen and the 64GB unit is actually pressure-sensitive.

That said, all I need are:

- large-screen, high-resolution Kindle (curious when the first 13.75" or so device will be released)
- Wacom stylus (I've had to switch in the past between pressure-sensitive and not, and can do so again if need be)
- notes of some sort in Kindle books w/o having to resort to an on-screen keyboard (handwriting, even un-recognized w/ a stylus covers that)
- freeform annotation and drawing on top of PDFs (which will hopefully map to existing markup/annotation standards and which is easily exported)

Hardware things I'm hoping for in the future

- a smaller device w/ a stylus (I'd love to see a basic cell phone w/ a Wacom stylus and e-ink)
- pressure-sensitive stylus (I'm still hoping that this is either a software limitation on the Kindle Scribe and that pressure-sensitivity will be added in a software update or something implemented in the Premium Pen and 64GB unit which will later be enabled by software)
- a larger device --- I _really_ want to see something which was letter or A4 (or an intersection of those two sizes --- it's a neat proportion which gets used for TeX documentation in PDF format sometimes)

[Quoth]

The Wacom is inferior for a portable device, big power draw. Also there is nothing wrong with either the Kobo Pen, or the MS compatible "Adrawpen" on Sage or Elipsa. An £18 Apple compatible Pencil is fine on the iPad.

I've have the Wacom EMR on a reMarkable and it's no better. I have a Wacom Bamboo and also an unknown Wacom on a Lenovo laptop/tablet convertible (64 bit).

Perhaps it's just the MS Surface that's poor?

MS bought the company than developed the current stylus they use because it's superior to the Wacom EMR. I first used a serial interface Wacom tablet in 1990s.

The Wacom EMR, MS/Kobo Pen and Apple Pencil are all pressure sensitive.

The Kobo Sage and Elipsa include Nebo software similar to the premium Nebo app (I've used it on an iPad). You can use the Nebo files on Mac, Windows, Android or IOS. Nebo needs a pressure sensitive high resolution digitiser. Only some Android models and probably all iPads since 2018.

There were phones with high resolution stylus for handwriting and drawing (and PDAs in 1990s) but the very low resolution capacitive touch Apple iPhone killed that off. There are now some models of phones with digitizers, not not eInk. One model of a phone without a stylus had LCD and an eink on rear. A failure. The only mass market for eink is reading.

[JSWolf]

The best feature is NO BUTTONS!

[WillAdams]

Having yet another battery is a big problem for me --- the slight reduction in battery life in a battery for a device which has to have one is workable for me.

As noted, I've tried every stylus technology out there --- Wacom EMR has always been the better option, and the current generation is the best yet (short of a Wacom Cintiq, and my next big splurge will probably be a Wacom Cintiq Pro display).

As noted, I'll be pairing the Kindle Scribe w/ my Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ and Galaxy Book 12 --- so long as the Premium Pen works on the latter two devices (even w/o pressure sensitivity) I'll be fine so long as I can read books and take notes on the Scribe.

As regards why not just use the Book 12? If it had a daylight viewable display as my Fujitsu Stylistic ST-4110 did, I would, and I wouldn't need the 3rd device.

[Quoth]

The battery in the Kobo Pen (and Adrawpen compatible) may last 6 months and can cost as little as 30c. So low a power consumption that the rechargeable versions of the MS Surface pen make no sense.

We won't know more till some realistic users here report on the Kindle Scribe.

Galaxy Note Pen
https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/m...-s-pen-unique/

I'd not assume the Scribe pen works on a Galaxy Note. My three current Wacom stylus are incompatible: Bamboo USB tablet, Lenovo X200 screen and the eink reMarkable.