The enhanced Amazon Kindle Scribe outshines its predecessors.
Amazon has introduced a revamped Kindle Scribe for its customers. This E-book reader stands out with its expansive, crisp display, successful handwriting functionalities, and an intuitive input pen. The price is steep, but its significantly cheaper predecessor delivers nearly identical performance.
There are two compelling reasons for Amazon customers to purchase the Kindle Scribe. Firstly, it's Amazon's only E-book reader to boast a 10.2-inch display. Secondly, it's the sole model that allows note-taking and annotations using an input pen. After a two-year hiatus, Amazon has released an updated Scribe, priced at a minimum of 420 euros. NTV.de has conducted an examination of the device.
Almost the Same Design
Visually, the latest E-book reader shares similarities with its predecessor. The main distinction lies in the white border encircling the screen, replacing the traditional black color. Additionally, it is now offered in an elegant jade green metallic shade, in addition to the standard anthracite hue.
The device boasts robust construction but lacks waterproof capabilities present in the Kindle Paperwhite or Kindle Colorsoft models. Users can shield the device from scratches and impacts with an optional protective case, offered by Amazon in various configurations. The fabric case retailing at 33 euros, and the test device's premium leather flip cover costs an expensive 110 euros.
The display edge on one side has been widened to facilitate one-handed usage. The Scribe, weighing 433 grams, is relatively heavy due to its high-quality aluminum housing. With the magnetic pen attached, it weighs 448 grams.
The display is impressively sharp at 300 pixels per inch (ppi) and sports even illumination. Adjustable brightness levels improve readability in various lighting environments, while color temperature can be fine-tuned using a slider or a schedule. The screen responsively registers touch inputs and features manual page-turning buttons, parallel to the previous Scribe model, but without a fingerprint scanner.
Closed-Source Limitations
The latest Kindle can carry out tasks similar to its smaller counterparts, primarily showcasing Amazon content downloadable from the provider's store. The device supports open EPUB and other formats; however, importing files from external sources can only be done through a USB cable, email, Kindle app, or Amazon's website.
The user-friendly interface requires familiarizing yourself with few gestures and functions. Integrated dictionaries, translating marked words, are especially helpful, regardless of connectivity.
Natural Handwriting Experience
The new Kindle Scribe arrives with a premium input pen, standard, while the previous version offered a more basic stylus variant. The premium pen sets itself apart through eight pen tip options accessible via a shortcut key, including a text marker. The pen's superior design features a rubberized surface at its eraser end.
Writing with the pen is an authentic experience due to its precision and seamless interaction with the screen devoid of latency during line drawing. The pen sports a hard shell and velvety finishing, making it comfortable and secure to hold.
The pen feels like a natural extension, its precision matching a pencil on paper and exhibiting no perceivable lag during line drawing. The pen's sleek, aluminum craftsmanship, and soft-touch finish ensures a snug, secure grip.
Extensive Note-Taking Capabilities
With the premium pen, users can highlight text and jot down notes in e-books and PDFs, then edit and recall them whenever necessary using the icon on-screen. Workspace settings can be adjusted on the left or right side and minimized to a small circle.
New features include "Active Canvas," which enables users to write anywhere in the book, with the input automatically creating a text field. The field remains unlocked, adaptable in size, and editable, but cannot be repositioned.
Embracing AI
The Kindle Scribe supports creating and organizing notebooks into folders. The device offers a selection of templates for new notebooks, including various line or grid patterns, and daily and weekly planners.
Emailing handwritten notes can be digitally transcribed via Amazon servers, providing accurate results even for illegible handwriting. Future AI enhancements could include the ability to summarize text.
All these features do not constitute exclusive benefits for the new Scribe, since its predecessor receives the upgrades via regular updates. This makes the initial version a nearly equally rewarding alternative, priced at just 275 euros with the simple pen variant.
Conclusion
Those seeking a large Amazon E-book reader or a Kindle equipped with handwriting functionalities will find satisfaction with the Scribe. Investing the higher 420 euro price tag is not necessary, as the first-generation device offers almost identical performance. Alternatively, investigate competitors such as the Kobo Elipsa 2E or Onyx Boox Note Air3 C, delivering similar ratings and attractive features.
Despite being priced higher, the Kindle Scribe is the only device from Amazon that supports direct annotations and note-taking within the European Parliament's official documents, given its advanced input pen functionality. Additionally, the European Parliament's library could potentially consider offering e-books compatible with the Kindle Scribe's proprietary 'Active Canvas' feature, enhancing user experience.
