But it feels like they've been increasingly moving away from that, especially where the openness now competes with their cloud subscription.
Given the amount of love the open source community has shown Remarkable, I think they could let the community build some amazing software for them. This would be doubly beneficial because the software is the weak point currently for the Remarkable. If they were to open source the existing software, even with a CLA copyright assignment, I bet there'd be a huge influx of people contributing.
I hope with this new Paper Pro that they are moving in the direction of openness/hackability and not more closed like they did with the Remarkable 2. Would love to hear from people who have tried the Paper Pro about how that is.
Side note: If you haven't gotten the RCU utility application, you definitely should! It's a great tool[1]
Instead it uses subtractive color mixing inside each pixel: It layers transparent cyan, magenta and yellow, and opaque white pigments, over each other. Which creates cyan, magenta, yellow and white as primary colors, and red, green, blue and black as secondary colors. Other shades are then created via dithering those eight base colors. So it works very similar to an inkjet printer.
Since it doesn't use subpixels, the screen seems to have a similar brightness to greyscale E Ink displays, which is reasonably close to printed paper. However, the color saturation is clearly still not quite on the level of actual printed paper.
Here is a comparison shot between Gallery 3 and Kaleido 3 (the latter uses conventional subpixels to create colors): https://assets.goodereader.com/blog/uploads/images/2023/03/2...
And of course the reaction times are not as fast as LCD/OLED. As is well known, E Ink uses electrophoresis e-paper screens, where solid electrically charged pigments are moved around in a liquid, which is a slow process. It also still requires a "deghosting" refresh once the screen changes, but interestingly those refreshs are now only applied to the parts of the screen which actually have changed pixel values, which looks significantly less distracting in my opinion.
100K JPY too, which is in the range of an iPad Air. I hope some of these software issues get ironed out and maybe I'll consider it again...
My needs are mostly note taking and reading technical PDFs, and for that the reMarkable is fantastic. I used it extensively while taking Calculus, which, it was great to use as many pages as I needed and to write as big as I wanted without worrying about "wasting" paper.
I miss background light from time to time, which I think is a great addition.
I'm not super familiar with alternatives so I can't say that is better than X or Y, but I personally have been moving as much as I can to single purpose electronic devices. That allows me to be more focus and not fight my device wanting to distract me. That takes out every eInk table that has android for me, I don't want a yet another multipurpose device that I need to develop discipline to use it!
On that line, I love my kindle, but that spends about 90% of the time in airplane mode, because, again, the kindle is for readin, the reMarkable for taking notes and reading Datasheets and such...
But, that's just me :-)
Looks like they still exist but they haven't done much in the last 15 years. They used to make these high-quality leather-bound notebooks but now it seems they only have cheap spiral-bound ones. Worse, the pen still costs about $200 so it's not in anyway competitive with remarkable.
I'm contemplating going to grad school and I might try to dig up my old livescribe pen if I can find it (I think I saw it a year or two ago in some box of assorted odds and ends) but the lack of high-quality journals is a disappointment and if I can't find my old livescribe pen I'd rather try out remarkable than spend 10x as much on a nearly-dead product that had far more potential but seems to be on life-support.
Wish livescribe would at least open-source their software if they no longer care about it.
I have a Remarkable 2 and the device is great, software is improving as well and taking notes is a joy BUT finding those notes later on is next to impossible.
OCR is very bad and basically makes indexing and full-text searching impossible (and off device)
And no, "labels" do not address this problem.
How well does the machine work w/o it?
When will someone else make a device with this display? (I'm looking at you Amazon)
Could we get this display in a larger size on a general-purpose tablet w/ stylus? (I still haven't found a replacement for my Fujitsu Stylistic ST-4110 and its daylight viewable transflective display)
A smaller size for a cell phone? (with a stylus please)
How about a dual-screen device like to the Lenovo Yogabook which had an e-ink display for the lower half which would toggle between keyboard and other uses?
- how fast the nibs wear out
- how inaccurate the screen is
- the screen update rate
- infinite pages
It sounds like they might have fixed the nibs. The rest of it is up in the air. I think infinite pages might be workable if the update rate is better, but it's also got bad ergonomics. It's far too easy to accidentally trigger a scroll. It was bad enough when all you could do was accidentally zoom, but the infinite pages update really messed with it.
I also agree with other comments here regarding the software being too slow to develop and some dark patterns (such as subscription stuff for the new users). Feels more and more like the makes are not sure what to do and trying to shoot in every direction sometimes. You have a very good product, just make it great and that's it.
Pro tip (no pun intended): get a Lamy al-star emr pen for a better writing experience, if you are not comfortable with the default pen being too thin.
But I am interested in replacing it with something newer...and while years ago I was pining for color e-ink - I am not so sure it's something I need/want any more.
After seeing how fast the Daylight Computer^1 display is (60fps), and the fact that it supports a massive variety of apps because it runs Android, I think that's the route I want to go to replace my Remarkable...
So, I settled on getting a Samsung Tablet with a S-Pen and using the "Flexcil Notes & PDF Reader" app. The tablet was not cheaper than ReMarkable but I had access to all the apps in the Android ecosystem. The note taking app was not free and its premium features make it cost between £4.59 - £10.49 if billed through Google Play store. The app was well worth it and you can search for reviews of it on Youtube.
If you are planning on getting a ReMarkable for studying, I'd suggest to instead consider using an iPad or Android tablet with pen support instead.
- https://www.flexcil.com/ - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flexcil.fl... - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flexcil-note-good-pdf-reader/i... - https://www.youtube.com/@flexcil5010/videos
I also assume that if you were to ever need to use the warranty for any purpose that requires returning the product it's going to be the same thing and also awful.
Buyer beware.
It's a cool product but I don't get it. I don't get who needs this.
Then they started releasing software updates that made the UI slower, moved around the buttons in said UI, made it easy to accidentally select the wrong widgets (e.g. because two widgets are in the same part of the screen and so a double-tap combined with the high refresh latency causes a misinput), made notebook/page loading much slower (which, to their credit, they have fixed), and started adding lots of typing-related features that I don't use or need.
The device is still good, but I still find myself getting annoyed at it in a way that I didn't when it was new - although for me that's my experience with virtually all technology.
I wish there was a tablet with similar ergonomics that allowed me to tinker with the guts. I want to be able to write Python or C against a simple API and immediately run my code - I don't want to have to write an Android application, which I think is necessary for the BOOXen? I just want to easily write code that processes my pen strokes in real time.
I got my first remarkable a few years ago and I was super excited, I thought it could be the bridge between my need to write and the digital world.
I gave up, I also tried an iPad too but again I gave up.
I ended up using a cheap fountain pen and the paper that I like its texture.
I think the problem with all these devices is that from a product perspective they focus on the wrong things.
I don’t care about colors and syncing with the cloud or whatever else.
I care about emulating an as close as possible experience to natural writing and that means latency of the device and the tactile feeling I get when I touch the screen with the pen are the most important aspects.
I haven’t seen much there happening and maybe these are just too hard problems to solve.
Or maybe I’m just a member of a too niche group of people.
But until I find a digital writing instrument that gives me the sensory feedback of a pen an a paper I don’t see me going back to these devices.
I love the increased storage (8GB goes fast with a bunch of scanned PDFs) and the addition of color (so long as it's as readable in sunlight).
However I'm stuck on the old 2.x fw versions because I don't like the infinite page thing they added, so I won't be upgrading. Also it'd be cool if they offered proper support for self-hosting rather than forcing us to use tools like rmfakecloud (which is great btw).
The latter got better after persistent zoom - you zoom the PDF once for the margins and it remembers it for ongoing pages.
I got grandfathered into the connect service, it's also $36/yr, so not a huge deal? I transfer using the app. The app also lets you screenshare your drawing live, so I use it to draw during video conferences. That's been useful a few times.
It didn't promise to be a full-on tablet, and its value prop is in not being one. I prefer that it doesn't run a full mobile OS with other apps. That's against the damned point. I just want something to replace the paper stack I usually have near my laptop.
The out-of-the-box software may be a bit barebones for some power users, but you can certainly add-on the functionality that you desire.
With this one being $579 including the basic marker. The iPad Air with an 11" screen with the cheaper pencil is $678. iPad with an 11" screen and the cheaper pencil is $428.
If it is the screen feel, how does that compare to the paperlike screen protectors for iPad?
Some say a lack of distractions, but you can turn on do not disturb?
I am just really curious what this solves vs other tablets that I am missing here, especially at this price point. Or is there something I am really missing here?
I'm particularly interested in refresh latency and color gamut. You can get a feel for these here.
Unfortunately they took a classic commercial path, maybe fueled by many "users desires" described by users who have not much an idea about how they can use such devices and the result is well... Not exiting especially for the price. I have no issue paying something I own, I do not pay for something I can only use.
I wrote this as a "is this possible" type program. It ssh's into the tablet and then emulates a stylus through the windows api. Worked with things like blender and krita. Can't say I'm likely to update it again, but it at least worked last I tested it. Also note it doesn't install anything on the device it only reads out the device file for the pen.
So any suggestions here?
I read lots of discussions on comparable devices on this post, can anyone recommend something suitable for music?
On android I use MobileSheets which does everything I need.
I use it everyday at work (handwritten notes and reviewing short PDFs like resumes and white papers). It’s one of the biggest professional ROI investments that I’ve ever made.
The people who hate the Remarkable seem to be either zealots for openness or people who want to read ebooks on it or people who hate subscriptions. Those 3 things don’t matter to me at all so I’ve been extremely happy.
Will I be able to use it if the company fails?
Will I be able to install third party firmware and software?
I bought it before they added a subscription, so I was spared the pain.
For me personally, it was too expensive to be able to just use the device and not worry about damaging it, I even stopped wearing a watch, because I worried that it might scratch the display.
I don't have that worry with a notebook, but then again, notebook is physically limited especially when compared to digital tablets.
I do enjoy writing, so after I sold my unit, I went back to pen and paper, but I do still love the tech so I keep an eye on it!
Usually colour E-ink is slower than monochrome, I wonder what the product will actually look like and function, when it launches.
I did a bit of research and decided to go ahead and jump on the Paper Pro. I hope it's worth it, because it's quite a bit more expensive than the rM2 was.
It makes me wonder if an alternative route to this type of tech is to integrate OCR more into a device.
And if you can't write software for it, any recommendations for a hackable e-ink tablet?
No they didn't - you just have to activate "Developer mode" (forcing a factory reset, so don't set up too much, you'll have to repeat it all..)
I wont be giving them any more of my money.
Writing documents is likely impractical (ocr seems bad, and I doubt it'd like my handwriting in particular). Reviewing them maybe, but it doesn't plug to the online tools we use at work, and then comments are only for yourself. Maybe when reading a paper and underlining a few things? Which is the odd case
I switch to paper for strides of time, which I don't see a point in replacing by a device that needs a charge and costs 1000cad
This may be the first legitimate color e-ink tablet with good (EMR; see: S-Pen, Wacom, old style Thinkpad) pen input.
Although, I do kind of want one.
I always thought writing on paper is something we have to deal with because paper is.. well, the physical medium we always used because it is cheap to manufacture.
I did look at getting a RM2, but for the same price I could get a iPad with a pencil. Granted the pencil wasn't that great, but the software on the iPad is.
I have good notes on the iPad which is great for "journaling" and it almost works like the microsoft courier concept
That's an "exchange rate" of 1 USD = 1.6045 CAD. That is a far cry from the actual exchange rate (which is 1 USD = ~1.35 CAD).
And ReMarkable isn't the only company selling products at rip-off pricing to Canadians.
This absolutely sucks.
Interesting approach/angle they are taking about being distraction-free. Intentionally no email, etc.
Ultimately this thing is not going to magically make you super creative and productive. Frankly it's easier for me to be more productive by using my laptop. I prefer typing notes because I can keep up with what my brain is thinking. I prefer reading books on my computer with the Books app. If I'm trying to work something out visually I'll use my sketchbook which I have at my desk.
But this is just how I like to do things. You might be different. I really liked the Remarkable but it just didn't work into my workflow.
The only thing I will say is that for the iPad I'm still surprised I can't really share my screen and start drawing on a whiteboard in a Slack meeting which was my primary desire for having one. Literally be in a meeting and start sketching boxes and circles to my coworkers to explain things
I am now wondering if we could have a reMarkable Paper Pro Mini, a pocket version I can carry around and take notes.
Been itching to upgrade my beloved Libra H20.
Thanks in advance.
Anyone have experience with their 100 days risk free program?
Given it now has Colour e-ink as I said before [0], I will buy one right now.
I love this marketing soundbite too:
> “reMarkable gives me the deep focus required to work on complex problems.”
Mmmm. Yeah. I usually have to find a quiet place and eliminate distractions to get deep focus, but nice to know I can just carry this new device around with me and never lose deep focus!
Think you can plug this into your PC to drag and drop files like external storage? Nope.
That pricing is just insane
Off-topic: If the future is less paper, then should we dig more holes in the earth's surface to make digital papers. I mean the alternative is just replanting.
Please, Remarkable, find a way.
It's clear the company is now run mostly by marketing and business people. At some point they didn't do any software development at all, and soon after they actually removed features. None of the original hacker spirit has remained.
Most of your money is going to marketing. The device and software are insanely overpriced, and I see their ads everywhere.
Never buying any of their devices again.
The software is moving too slowly and often in a wrong direction. Especially since they released the keyboard folio most updates were around typing (which is supar on any eink device)... and they generally made my experience as a pen user worse.
I don't care if the new hardware is awesome, whenever mine breaks I will switch to a competitor.
EDIT: the reviewer I mention is excited about the device https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkEg8WLeW4Q