I'm applying for an Access to Work grant for assistive technologies at work, and one of the things I'm considering is a reMarkable 2 tablet (plus keyboard case and, of course, the pen (which absolutely should not be an optional add-on, you cheeky bloody gits)). Therefore, I am canvassing your opinions on the device! I know we've got at least two owners kicking around, @xaser04 and @Gareth Halfacree, but I'm interested in any & all opinions. Right now I'm doing things the "old fashioned" way - i.e. notebook and pen - but digital devices & files are infinitely more convenient and flexible. My first thought was "well, get an iPad Pro - you've used those before, you know it works well". My problem with an iPad however is that it's not just a device for taking notes, it's also a device for: watching videos, listening to music, cocking around on social media, watching cat videos, talking to you lovely lot, etc. In short, it's full of distractions, and eliminating distractions was one of the reasons that I went back to notebook & pen in the first place: I can't fire up Safari and check my watched threads with a fountain pen and a paper notebook*. But a paper notebook means... well... paper, which isn't always convenient for a code-monkey. And the ability to mark-up PDFs and the like would be extremely useful for things like reference books (assuming the device doesn't choke on some of the hefty tomes I'd be using). So... What are they like to actually use in anger? How "responsive" does it feel when hand-writing or drawing? How easy is it to get files on and off the thing?** *Well... Not with that attitude I can't... **Notwithstanding @Gareth Halfacree's issues with the lack of official Linux desktop client. That won't be an issue for me, I'd be using a macOS or Windows client.
They're a lot better than they were - the addition of pinch-to-zoom was a breakthrough, and the latest update has added the ability to "hold" the end of a line after you've drawn it to convert it to a completely straight vector. Biggest drawbacks for me: limited internal memory; the folio case is a bit rubbish 'cos every time I get the thing out of my bag it's dropped the magnetic pen inside and I have to go fishing for it; the pen nibs wear out *quickly*; no front-light, so it's bright room lighting or bust. Oh, and if you install the Android app (and I assume the iOS app) it automatically syncs everything to your phone - not on-demand, automatically. Meaning I end up with nearly 8GB of old magazines on my poor old Nokia. Personally, I'd be seeing if I could give a Kindle Scribe a go - especially if you're already in the Amazon ecosystem. Front-light, more storage, and support for Kindle DRM which the Remarkable can't do. And it's pretty much the same price to boot. Oh, and I wouldn't bother with the Type Cover. It's really heavy, and they still haven't added the ability to create a text document - so you can only really use it for short notes on handwritten documents, which you could do just as well by writing neatly and using the convert-to-text tool. I've literally never used mine since playing with it when it arrived, and I use my Remarkable daily.
I'll chuck my 2 pence in, coming from a partially sighted user. I have a Boox Note Air 2 (there is a 3 out now) similar device to the remarkable but I didn't think I would use it that much so I got this one as it functionally was the same. The good. - Its fairly responsive for writing, I use it every day and have scrapped all my pads, I carry it around a factory with me and I sketch on it, take notes, I have lots of folders for different customers and for different things I've jotted down, as a note taking deivce it is remarkable lol (I had to I'll get my coat later). - I can't say i've noticed much lag when writing and drawing or general not etaking. - The screen is a massive plus over the ipade its a matt finish and feels alot like writing on paper except you can easily erase if you've fluffed it I also regually use a ruler for nice straight lines and can't notice if i've scratched the screen yet even though it is some sort of plastic I think. - The Boox you can change the paper to lined paper, dotted, graph etc.. their are lots of options you can also adjust the line spacing as I write quite big i have it on 16 but again lots of choices and then just keep writing and adding pages, guessing the R2 will also have this feature as well. - It is both a good & bad point that it has very basic hand writing recognition built in R2 might be better in this sense as the boox is slow to convert and again once you've got it in text you can then make it bigger, or bold or what ever makes it easier to read. - Expanding on the screen it's really clear for reading text, however the low resolution display is pants for pictures and drawings but it gets the job done in a pinch, I also have an Ipad Pro for opening PDF drawings on the move but its not as nice to write on an ipad the screen is super smooth and even with the matt finish screen protectors it still doesn't feel as nice as the Boox screen and pen. - The battery last for ever, used daily I only charge it every now and then, usb c charges mega fast for the tiny battery so not really been an issue when i've run it flat by accident. The bad. - It can be slow, if its doing something in the background like updating you'll notice it, its no Ipad for power, if you open a PDF off the web it'll take a few seconds compared to near on instant from the ipad, I've not tried uploading files to the unit but I'm guessing it'll be plug and play as its USB C but it does have access to dropbox, onedrive etc... and you can get apps it just feels slow compared to the ipad doing the same job. - Wish the recognition was faster it is proper slow but that is probably hardware based on the unit I have. - its a bit weird to hold this is something you'll get used to, they are extremly thin and smooth, I have a case that helps but unlike a pad that flexes a little it is like using a clip board all the time. Hope that helps.
Oh - I forgot another Remarkable downside: there's a monthly subscription now. It's not much, but it's not nothing. (I forgot 'cos I'm grandfathered in as an early adopter and dont have to pay.)
For now at least. Like most lifetime grandfathered subscriptions, it ends well within your lifetime, sometimes even in the lifetime of the product.
@Byron C - I would echo Gareth's comments above with our Remarkable. I have actually taken it on full time from my wife as she is now using the Flow - it works much better for her workflows as being a Windows tablet it can have both her actual writing software and scribbles at the same time. I primarily use the Remarkable for note taking so the Type case isn't of much use to me (Gareth is quite correct about its limitations though, seems such a simple thing for them to fix as well... just add the ability to create a "word" document) and we have a third party folio case which keeps the pen/pencil on the back so it doesn't fall out. Either I write really hard or the tips are bit naff but they do wear out quickly. I can't comment on other similar devices but I would imagine this isn't something unique to the Remarkable itself. The tips are cheap to buy so don't consider this a real issue. Its real strengths are in the ability to have it up and running in the same moment you want to start making a quick note - this is why the Flow wasn't working for me as a note taking device. The lack of a backlight isn't an issue for my usage but I can see it being an issue if you wanted to use it without direct overhead lights. The complete lack of any other distractions from the device (no other apps etc) can be seen as both a negative and a positive depending on what angle you are looking at it from. For me its perfect as I can easily distracted in such a scenario. All this being said, the Kindle Scribe is cheaper, has more memory (base model) and can act as a giant Kindle if you want it to. It does the basic writing things as well as the Remarkable (last time I used one it was more limited when it came to layers and templates but I understand things have improved) and it has a backlight. The writing aspect is slightly diminished by the inclusion of a backlight (only really obvious if you use the two devices back to back). Only thing to watch out for is some of the case designs have magnets which can mess around with the pen/pencil when writing (the one I had did this). Overall I would now lean more towards the Kindle Scribe unless you can get the Remarkable for a better price (last I checked it was around £80 more once you add in the pen/pencil.
First off, thanks for all the opinions/feedback so far, it's reallty helpful to hear from actual owners! Budget is not a concern. This is going to be paid for by a grant (if approved); that doesn't mean I'm going to go out of my way to spend as much as I possibly can, but it means that stretching the budget for the right product is not necessarily a concern. Having read a lot of reviews, opinions, etc, I think at the moment I'm coming down on the side of the reMarkable 2. From what I gather, it seems that the Kindle Scribe is a very good Kindle with note-taking features added, whereas the reMarkable does a much better job of being a "digital notebook". The fact that it doesn't have any extra features or frills is actually a positive thing for me. One of the things that attracted me to using a physical notebook in the first place (aside from the tactility of pen on paper) is that I can't use it for anything besides writing stuff down. So when it comes to a digital replacement, I don't want any extra features because they will be a distraction. One of the things that was mentioned about the Kindle Scribe is that there is apparently a slight gap between the writing surface and the actual display itself, whereas on the reMarkable that gap is imperceptible. That niggling little detail is the kind of thing that would drive me crazy. I've used a lot of "stylus" input devices in the past and that kind of thing has indeed been very off-putting: it just doesn't "feel" like writing on paper. If I do actually get on with it, it's very likely that I will buy a different "pen". Lamy have an EMR "pen" that I've seen mentioned a few times: https://shop.lamy.com/en_gb/digital-writing-lamy-al-star-emr.html#stylus_nib=7576. I currently use a Lamy Safari fountain pen and I really quite like the feel of it (although I really need a fine nib for it).
