Amazon Scribe

[Läsare]

Hi
I have been using an old Kobo reader and Amazon Fire 10s to read ebooks.
Have taken the plunge and ordered Amazon's new Scribe. Will I be able to transfer pub books (DRM free) from Calibre does anybody know.
Any better suggestions for an e reader / note taker?

[BionicGecko]

Originally Posted by Läsare

Hi
I have been using an old Kobo reader and Amazon Fire 10s to read ebooks.
Have taken the plunge and ordered Amazon's new Scribe. Will I be able to transfer pub books (DRM free) from Calibre does anybody know.

Yes, it is possible to transfer epub files to your Kindle, but only through conversion by Amazon's servers, which comes with some important caveats:

1) Not all epub files are recognized and accepted by Amazon, and some which are accepted show up as garbled text. One way to ensure everything works fine is to load the epub in Kindle Previewer; any issue can then be identified and fixed in the epub file before sending it.

2) There is currently an issue whereby the tiles of books sent via Calibre (or via email) in the Kindle library is set to the filename of the file, not to the contents of the "Title" metadata field. As files in Calibre are all named "<Title> - <Author>.epub", the actual title of the book in your library will contain the author as well. One way around this is to use the Send To Kindle app, which correctly uses the metadata.

More info on point 2 can be found in this thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=349444

[JSWolf]

You do not have to transfer ePub via Amazon. You can convert to KF8 or KFX using Calibre and transfer via USB which (IMHO) is a better way to do it that works.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You do not have to transfer ePub via Amazon. You can convert to KF8 or KFX using Calibre and transfer via USB which (IMHO) is a better way to do it that works.

@JSWolf. I agree totally in this case. There are so many different and unrelated issues with Send to Kindle.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by BionicGecko

Yes, it is possible to transfer epub files to your Kindle, but only through conversion by Amazon's servers, which comes with some important caveats:

No, that's the worst way for epub. Best is Calibre or any other method to convert to azw3 (or KFX) and transfer via USB. A PDF is of course best transferred by USB too.

But I have two different models of 10.3″ eink and they are too big and heavy to read ordinary novels on. I think 7″ to 8″ is far better. The Scribe will only be suitable (like all 10" screens) dor PDFs, fixed layout text books and comics in two page spreads (in landscape), not regular ebooks, whether native or converted.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Läsare

Any better suggestions for an e reader / note taker?

For real ebooks, such as mobi, azw3, kfx or epub the best note annotation is any Kobo 6" to 8". Best support for copying the notes into a text editor via Calibre (or even direct USB copy if the extra Export menu item on Kobo is enabled. Only the touch screen keyboard, or on Elipsa & Sage a BT keyboard will work for longer notes, but tends to disconnect between notes.
For free hand scribbling on PDFs any eink with a digitiser works, but only on unprotected PDFs. You can't easily extract the notes, just copy entire PDF.
The Kobo Elipsa and Sage also have separate notebooks with handwriting recognition. Like the reMarkable it's not integrated to the books or PDFs. But the reMarkable's notebooks are just sketchpads, no builtin handwriting conversion. Kobo is using the Nebo app also on iOS and Android (if the tablet has a digitiser).
Turns out that the 8″ Sage is handier for notebooks than the 10.3″ Elipsa due to size. The reMarkable is really just a nice PDF reader with rubbish PC interfacing (no MTP or Mass Storage, only networking!) that lets you scribble on the PDFs.

It's not clear how useful the Kindle Scribe will be to annotate ebooks. For PDF it's better than all the other 10 inch eink right now because of 300 dpi vs 227 dpi (Boox, reMarkable, Elipsa, Sony, Hauwei etc). It will be better for annotation (scribbling) on unprotected PDFs than the reMarkable simply because of easier copy to/from PC. All 10 inch approx eink are better than a reMarkable.

The Sony was poor walled garden and basically PDF virtual paper needing Sony App. The reMarkable seems like a poor copy of it.

I'd imagine the ebook (mobi, azw3, kfx and converted epub) aspect of the Scribe will be very similar to the Oasis3 / PW5 etc except bigger and heavier. I used Kindle for ebooks & annotation of them till I got a Kobo. The Kindles only used to test new ebook styles now. Too restrictive on Annotations, Collections, Series and Firmware versions.

I'd assume the PDF & "writing on them" with stylus is better than reMarkable and at least as good as the Kobo Sage and Elipsa.

There is no clarity on what the Scribe will be like as standalone notebook, except I can say it's too heavy. I can easily write a chapter of a novel, or a journal in on the 8″ Sage, and have it as a word docx with sketches and visio style shapes and maths, or plain text file. The Elipsa is too heavy for long use except on a desk stand. The reMarkable can't do it at all, it's just freehand sketching. Any handwriting to text is after the fact export to the Internet which is inferior to Nebo.

[BionicGecko]

Originally Posted by Quoth

No, that's the worst way for epub. Best is Calibre or any other method to convert to azw3 (or KFX) and transfer via USB.

Very true. I don't tend to sideload much as I read across multiple devices and use whispersync; I somehow forgot that my use case is not everyone's use case!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

No, that's the worst way for epub. Best is Calibre or any other method to convert to azw3 (or KFX) and transfer via USB. A PDF is of course best transferred by USB too.

But I have two different models of 10.3″ eink and they are too big and heavy to read ordinary novels on. I think 7″ to 8″ is far better. The Scribe will only be suitable (like all 10" screens) dor PDFs, fixed layout text books and comics in two page spreads (in landscape), not regular ebooks, whether native or converted.

The weight of the Kindle Scribe (sans cover) is 0.95lbs (roughly). The weight of the hardcover of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is 2.4lbs.With a cover, I don't see the Scribe being heavier then 2.4lbs. I did not find the Harry Potter hardcover to be too heavy. So I doubt the Scribe would be too heavy. Heck the iPad I have is 1.44lbs and the Scribe is lighter. And once I do get a new iPad (someday), it's still going to be heavier. The size is subjective, but the weight is not too heavy.

[j.p.s]

The point at which weight becomes too heavy is very much subjective.

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

The point at which weight becomes too heavy is very much subjective.

Hm let's get out my mother's old Webster's!

... 10.3kg. I don't use it much. It's almost too heavy to lift, let alone open.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

The point at which weight becomes too heavy is very much subjective.

And I was comparing with reading an 8″ Kobo Sage with one hand, not a hardback. Actually I increasingly prefer reading on the Sage to paperbacks or hardbacks. I can't read for hours holding the 10.3″ Kobo Elipsa in one hand.
I do have Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in hard back, also in hardback: Brewer's The Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Complete Mrs Beeton, and many others. Some paperbacks like single volume LOTR or particularly G R R Martin's Dream Songs (1185 pps, 223 x 160 mm) are heavier.

Obviously the Scribe or Elipsa better / more comfortable than those, but a 6.8″ to 8″ eink seems the sweet spot for reading novels. A bigger screen (even if less actual dots as in Elipsa vs Sage) is advantageous for many PDFs, text books and comics. So I'd see any 10″ plus size tablet (eink, oled, lcd) as complementary to a 6″ to 8″ 300 dpi eink, not a sole ereader for novels.

I'd certainly prefer Dream Songs on a Scribe than on my paper copy (btw I also have 1st Ice & Fire before TV and it's rubbish compared to Dream Songs, so I never got more.)

[TheMadBrewer]

I have a Remarkable 2 and I use it daily and would not want to be without, but I rarely using for reading.

Part of that is the software -- while it has gotten better (I had a Remarkable 1) it still isn't as easy to use as Kobo or Kindle.

The other factor is I find it just a bit too big to be comfortable in "casual" reading situations (in bed, on a bus/train, etc.)

I was tempted at first to order a Scribe, but I am going to be traveling the first three weeks of December, so I will wait and see what you think of it

The past years my daily reader has a been a Kobo Aura Limited Edition. I love how it works with Calibre and the onboard software I find easy to use. Especially handling collections and series.

Back in the summer I took advantage of an Amazon promo (and traded in an unused Kindle) for the Paperwhite Signature Edition. My Kobo is getting a bit long in the tooth so I thought check out how the "other side" is doing these days. I was very disappointed, it doesn't seem to do collections well (or maybe that is me). That also puts me off of the Scribe. Oh well, we'll see

[Quoth]

The reMarkable 1 and 2 really only vary much in the 2 dropping the buttons, having a slightly faster CPU and replacing plastic with glass on the front. Same limited 6G Flash with no expansion. Same lack of library functions, just a file browser. Similar PDF reader & Sketch (notebooks), if not identical. The OTA fw update of original reMarkable seems similar to model 2. It's a very nice PDF reader and sketchpad. Appalling to copy files on or off via USB.