Amazon’s Kindle Scribe Colorsoft won’t replace your notebook — or Kindle

I wanted to love Amazon’s $630 Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. It has everything I aspire to. E-ink display with front illumination and color. Pressure sensitive pen. The ability to take notes and comment on my existing library of e-books. A distinct lack of distracting apps. And for a certain type of person, it’s the sweet spot between an iPad, an analog magazine, and a regular e-reader.

I am not that person. I thought I might as well, as I was looking for a tool that would allow me to read books while taking handwritten, downloadable digital notes. But for a whopping $629.99, I’ll stick with my Kindle Paperwhite and Hobonichi roofThank you very much.

Here’s the problem: Colorsoft devices are excellent, as long as you’re okay with the limitations that E Ink imposes. For example, there are always some pixels, the colors are not as vibrant, you will always see some Ghosting after page refresh – although Amazon has done a great job of minimizing this. Battery life is great. I didn’t even think about charging during the week I tested it. Using the included Premium Pen is surprisingly fun. I say that as someone who has a ridiculously specific and extensive collection of pens, pencils, and markers. As a gadget geek, a little part of me is like, “Oh wow!” Every time I use it. But as a diary fool, amateur calligrapher, and bookworm, it still doesn’t quite work.

For me, the best thing about e-readers is that they are very portable. It doesn’t matter if I’m wearing a fanny pack, a purse, or a backpack—my Kindle Paperwhite easily fits into them all, so I can read my books anywhere I go. The Colorsoft is ultra-light and thin, weighing 14.1 ounces and measuring 5.4 mm. (This is much thinner and 1.5 ounces lighter than my Hobonichi Techo Cousin notebook). He thinks This means it’s a great device for commuting. But with an 11-inch screen, it doesn’t fit in my small bag. Without a case (or PopSocket-type grip), the thinness makes it difficult to read the subway or bus with one hand. Forget the annotation. We also good luck finding the special pen if you’re using it on the go. It may attach magnetically on the right side, but you’ll end up having to dig around the bottom of your bag looking for it.

This isn’t a big deal if you’re lying on the couch, on your knees, or reviewing documents at your desk. It just means that this is best as a device at home or in the office.

Funny thing: Colorsoft doesn’t do that needs Color unless you’re the type to color notes, annotate, draw, or read comics/graphic novels. Otherwise, color is limited to screensavers and book covers. But if you He does Color coding, drawing, or reading comics, it’s a mixed bag.

On the one hand, it’s nice to read color comics on E Ink! E-ink colors, on the other hand, are inherently muted due to the current limitations of the technology. (You can see our website Explanation of electronic ink To go deeper.) You can’t convince me that the orange highlighter in Colorsoft isn’t brown, for example. This gives everything a newspaper-like feel, and has its own charm. But it’s not ideal for reading modern graphic novels, especially those with strong art styles. The same applies to drawing. It’s okay if you like pencil or charcoal drawings or doodling to clear your mind. But if you want to do any kind of digital art, the lack of color options here makes this less versatile than an analogue sketchbook and marker, or a more art-focused tablet.

Color was very helpful when annotating. While reading Feminist hood Written by Mickey Kendall I was thrilled to be able to use the blue highlights for topics, the yellow for the facts I wanted to read the most, and the pink for writing that made me say “wow.” As an avid journalist, I use bright colors to decorate and divide sections and color-code tasks in my notebooks. I was happy to finally replicate that in some test notes on the Kindle.

Unfortunately, I can’t confidently replace my analog notebooks with Colorsoft. This is partly because, despite Amazon’s best efforts, this can’t compare to writing on paper. Using a real pencil, brush tip marker, or eraser, I still have more control than with a pen. But the biggest reason is that this is an Amazon product. Ultimately, he prioritizes Amazon’s services.

Annotating my Kindle books was fun. Documentation, less so. Amazon directs you to its site Send to Kindle outlet. Sure, it’s fast, but it comes with Amazon Terms and Conditions. Send to Kindle documents are sent to your device with end-to-end encryption, but are still considered “information provided to Amazon” under their privacy policy. This means Amazon can use that data for recommendations, ads, and personalization. You can also import and export certain files from Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Microsoft OneNote. But again, these terms are subject to their own terms as well as Amazon’s terms. If you have a job that involves confidential documents, this is a security no-no. You can sideline them, but it’s another example of having to overcome Amazon’s attempts to entrap you into its ecosystem.

Meanwhile, importing these files is easy, but exporting them again creates difficulty last file because you’re not actually syncing via the cloud. My messy folder system can’t handle any more clutter. Although Kindle books have all the benefits and features of annotations, the same cannot be said for all types of documents. For example, regular PDF files are not supported by Amazon files Active fabric Feature that allows you to write parallel to text. There’s an AI summary and search feature that works in your own notes, but it doesn’t exist in documents. The AI ​​is good for quick cleaning up or digging through messy handwriting, but I appreciated it more when annotating a recent 48-page contract.

None of this is insurmountable. that it only Annoying enough to make the Colorsoft’s price point a bigger hurdle.

If I were to describe the ideal Colorsoft user, it would be a super commentator who is desperate to collect the stack of papers scattered across his desk. They found that the color limitations of E Ink are a feature, not a bug. They’re not particular about the types of pens they use, they take relatively simple notes, they don’t mind having their documents subject to Amazon’s terms, and it doesn’t bother them that this isn’t the most portable e-reader. Reading books probably isn’t the main reason they want a Colorsoft, anyway. They may be a manuscript editor, a lawyer, a researcher, or a professor. Maybe a simple bookworm keeping a diary.

For these people, the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is the perfect choice. But for me, the search continues.