Thank you CNET for having someone who clearly loves E ink and note taking do this review!

I went from being kinda interested in this device to completely losing interest in buying it from this review. Thanks for pointing out all the pros and cons in so much detail, made me realise there are some real dealbreakers which make it a no go for me.

It seems like the Scribe's problems can be fixed by software updates, but the hardware is good already. Whereas there is nothing you can do to add lights to the Remarkable (other than buying one they will eventually release that has them) Amazon can always release an update that will allow marking up Kindle books and making PDF marking better. Kobo's main problem is that they are a completely separate ecosystem, and if you already have Kindle investment, it makes more sense for you to get the Scribe.

I got the Scribe and love it. I wanted the good writing capabilities and I'm very pleased with it. There have already been updates. One is that the pen can write like a fountain pen. My handwriting went from average to great in a split second with this pen option. I have the premium pen and use the special feature to be an eraser, so I don't have to turn the pen around to erase. I'm slowing getting all my scrap-of-paper notes into the Scribe. All updates are free so I expect this cool e-ink device to have even more features before I ever wear it out. But I still love it the way it is.

Very good video, plenty of detail for features, and covers all the bases of what the ideal buyer would expect to see. This reminds me of the quality that CNET used to have in most of their videos, and I welcome this level of quality in a CNET video review. My only feedback for what's missing is charging and battery life, as that wasn't covered.

I purchased one, and I really agree with and appreciate the criticisms you mention in this video. My personal criticisms are: 1) It's EXTREMELY thin and light, which is great, but it's also very worrisome to me when I bring it places without a bag. I am worried I will sit on it in the car and bend/break it. 2) It has no buttons, which I really dislike. The touch sensitivity is great when you're directly engaged with it, but it's frustrating when you're sitting to eat. 3) No pressure sensitivity on the pen? What? That's absolutely bizarre in the current world. 4) I preordered the device and the case won't arrive for another month. Keeping the pen with the device by magnets only is frustrating to say the least. I think your point about it being a gigantic Kindle is poignant - that's exactly why I purchased it; it checks all the boxes I want: 1) Big, high DPI screen 2) Cool/Warm LED shift 3) Absolutely ludicrous battery time (same as other Kindles - no Android, which can be a downside, but boots super fast and keeps a charge for months) 4) Super thin, super light 5) Very, very responsive page turning and display refreshing (not the biggest must-have, but definitely great-to-have) I should also note the device came with 4 months of free Kindle Unlimited, which I accepted but which I am unsure I will use (I have eclectic reading tastes). I also own: Kindle Paperwhite (great but too small for my eyes now) Boox Nova3 Color (smaller, poor screen, takes too long to boot, thick and heavy, feels non-premium - but has color and note taking!) Kindle Oasis (perfect device except it's a bit too small. The buttons are great, I wish the Scribe had these buttons) Samsung Tab S8+ (not e-ink, but my favorite tablet ever made) iPad Pro 11" (again not e-ink, wonderful device but I don't like the iOS ecosystem very much) I really hate to emphasize marketing, but there was an insert in the Scribe box that had a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson - "I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in." Which more or less perfectly describes my use case - I'm a computer programmer, and I like to read when I eat, and I like to take notes throughout the day when they occur to me. I strongly prefer to hand write notes, but I will use other means if necessary. I need a backlight to not disturb my wife's sleep, but I like it to be warm/cool depending on the time of day. My eyes get really bad at night because of my work and I like the larger device. The Kindle ecosystem is good but doesn't really sway me one way or the other.

Thanks for the thorough review. Looks like the scribe has a long way to go. I own a remarkable 2 and absolutely love it and have no complaints. I’m a grad student about to graduate and have used it A LOT throughout my graduate studies. My favorite features are -the live screen mirroring (I’ve used it during zoom study sessions to work math problems and show my professors and classmates how I work a problem) -writing to text conversion (converts your handwriting to text) -real time syncing (syncs your documents to an app on your PC, MAC, iPhone, iPad, tablet in real time wirelessly. Done a lot of math homework using this feature and have turned it in on my iPhone while on the go) -I also use it a lot for PDF note taking and I’ve even downloaded a few of my textbooks on there. The platform is very intuitive and well rounded. If you need an e-ink asap, I’d get the remarkable 2 but if you’d like to wait a little longer I’d wait and see what Amazon has to offer. I’m sure the scribe will catch up to the other more superior e-ink devices on the market. I’m not a big kindle reader. I read more PDFs and ePub documents so the whole kindle factor didn’t affect me at all.

Helpful review! I ordered the scribe back in October and am waiting! I don’t write directly on books at all, in fact, cannot stand when library books have underlines or side notes, so just noting things on a sticky seems fine. The kobo looks amazing but I’ve had kindles for years and love them! Again thanks CNET for your trustworthy and smart reviews!

Just got the Scribe. In spite of the fact that I think it’s overpriced, I like it for what I wanted it for… a larger format e-reader. Ever since my Kindle DX died, I’ve wanted another large e-reader. I have the PaperWhite & that’s fine for when I’m on the go because it fits perfectly in my shorts cargo pockets. But when I’m at home I prefer a larger format that is closer to an actual book page size. I also have the Kobo AuraOne (which I prefer) that is slightly larger than the PaperWhite but still fits comfortably in my cargo pockets, and the Kobo Elipsa which is basically the same size as the Scribe. And I think the Elipsa is overpriced too, but those are the only two choices for a large format e-ink reader. The note taking features are nice, but not what interests me. This is just personal preference, but I like the software features on the Kobo better than the Kindle. But I do like the feel, fit & finish quality of the Scribe better than the Elipsa. Now if only Apple would just make a dedicated e-ink only e-reader (they won’t) around the same size as the Scribe, that would really interest me. I’m guessing a lot (maybe most) Kindle owners also own either an iPad or Kindle Fire tablet but prefer reading books on a dedicated e-ink reader for the obvious reasons. I think more competition in this space would be a good thing for readers.

Okay, I loved this review and I loved the hosts vibe! Clearly presented, and removed any uncertainty I had about which device to pick. Remarkable 2 is on my Christmas list!

This was definitely the most succinct and thorough review of the Kindle Scribe that I found--and there was even time for comparisons to other devices. Really impressive review.

I could not have asked for a better review of this product. Thanks for all the details, pro and cons, and for providing info on alternatives.

Thank you for your review. I got a R2 & kindle. I thought the 2 combined in 1 would be perfect. For me productivity and practicality’s a must important i need my notes and books/pdf in 1 place and the software must be frictionless. I’ll stick to my R2 for now. R2 now need to improve on 4 areas: 1-have an inbuilt light 2- be waterproof 3-support kindle app 4- stylus with long lasting nibs Once all the above are complete R2 will be the best e-tablet on the market ❤

One of the best reviews. Nice to get someone who is clearly in the market for the product. This video is so thorough and really helped me decide to sit this one out. Thanks!

Thank you. Very good review. I’ll be staying with my Remarkable 2 and my Kindle Oasis for the foreseeable future. The only selling point for the Scribe to me is its large 300 ppi screen, “a first for its size” as all reviewers announce. When going through the features, it falls off dramatically compared to others in the note taking category. I assume these issues will be addressed in the future, when newer versions come out. I’ll wait and see.

I thought I really wanted the Kindle Scribe, but I think I'm going to wait and see what updates they do to it. I've realized that you can't make a drawing, and then copy/paste, or resize it in another notebook like you can on the Remarkable 2. That is a function I enjoy on my Remarkable 2. So I'm going to hang on to my Remarkable 2 for awhile longer, even though I hate that it doesn't have light up screen.

You know what, as a mathematician and heavy reader, I'd much rather stick with my Kindle Paper white and my mini iPad, even though knowing that the light from the iPad is killing my eyes. But, if Amazons allows us to directly scribe on eBooks, I would get a Kindle scribe in a heartbeat.

@5:35 I love how in-depth you go when it comes to the downfalls. Even though it is a smart device hopefully there’s an ability to update it to address those issues so that people can join and maybe they can bring the price point down a little bit something like this I feel like should be around $250

this woman is a great reviewer! give her a raise!

Just a note (hehe) : The Remarkable 2 at 300$ doesn't come with a pen. You'll need to add to that to get the pen, plus the cover ... so it's more a 450$ e-ink tablet than a -300$

Fantastic review. Exactly what I was looking for. I am still going to get the scribe since I have a lot of kindle books, and I needed a new kindle.

Traded in my 3rd generation Kindle for 20% off (as a gift card) for my purchase of the Scribe. Also got a trade in value of a whopping $5 for the 3rd generation. Still, I am looking forward to the Scribe. The Supernote is not returnable once the box is opened. The remarkable has a pay wall for those who need those features. Just saying.

Thank you for this video. I have been a Kindle loyal since it was launched some 12 years ago. My first Kindle still works as efficiently as ever. The second kindle too works well. I was about to order Scribe through a friend living in the U S of A. Now I have put the purchase on hold. I am a student for life and currently studying Philosophy, post my master's degree in archaeology. I use many ebooks and PDFs from various web sources and need to make notes for writing my dissertations and essays. Hence a need for an e-ink tablet.

I've had my Scribe for a couple of days now, and your review is spot on. Note-taking is not great. As well as the things you mentioned, the organization of note-taking could be better. You can create a folder and put notes in that folder, but if you are trying to organize a lot of notes, you will want to put folders in folders which you can't do. Also, if you want to insert a page between other pages, that is impossible. You can only add to the end of a note. Since there is no handwriting recognition, tagging, or typing into a note, there is no easy way to search and find notes. I bought it for e-reading and note-taking, so it's OK, but yes over priced given the minimal features. I'm hoping they will start issuing some meaningful updates soon.

It looked good at first but I'm glad you mentioned the better honest options

Excellent video with tons of important info! I almost have this in the cart with Black Friday deal price but now I am thinking twice. I am okay with no cloud integration at this point, but really need to start putting my notes together. May still buy it. Remarkable is great, but I have invested way too much in amazon domain at this point. Nonetheless, good to know about the CNET channel. You got a new subscriber today!

I have one on order and will be using mainly to read books. Most of the shortcomings you described are probably mostly software related and in that respect, the software may add features down the road, but Amazon is abysmally slow in releasing software updates (hardware too). In some respects, I wish that Amazon would be more like Apple.

My original e reader from Sony does in book note taking and overdrive. It’s 10 years old. My first one from Sony was before Amazon and Kobo.

I absolutely love my Remarkable 2. It’s hands down a fantastic distraction free note taking tablet.

Do I want it? I pre-ordered it the first day it was possible. Yes, there's a _lot_ of room for improvements, but what I want _is_ a "big Kindle" with some notetaking capability. (BTW, the best of character recognition SW struggles with my illegible longhand - I don't think reMarkable or Kobo would be any more successful.)

I think I'm going to love my Kindle Scribe. Thank you.

Purchased the Kindle Scribe recently and it does now do conversion to text. I was testing that just a day ago. It also now has different pen types and a pencil tip also. Also, I am quite sure the Remarkable 2 was more expensive than the kindle scribe when I ordered it (Canada).

Excellent review. Kindles have never been great with PDFs, so that doesn't really surprise me. I'm more surprised by how lackluster the implementation of notetaking is. That's the one reason this device has to exist, and it's something they couldn't afford to screw up. All they needed to do was implement a layer system over the ebook. Save the writing on this layer as a separate file, and load it when you open the book again. I wouldn't think this would be hard. The sticky note system they've come up with is absurd. It's also kind of weird to me that they didn't include wireless charging. I have the Paperwhite Signature Edition, and the wireless charging is one of my favorite features. The other thing is the price. Amazon's usual MO when they enter an existing market is to undercut the competition on price, but they decided not to do that here. They could've released a second, smaller device (say, around the size of the Paperwhite) that they could sell for cheaper. That would've at least undercut the competition. Why they didn't do that is beyond me. I can understand the appeal of a larger reader, but I think they also needed the smaller size for people who wanted to write but didn't want to go big. (I fit into this category.)

And now since Boox released the Tab ultra, with Android built in makes more sense to do more than just taking notes. Little bit more expensive than Scribe and remarkable, really depends on what you want to do with this large screen

Look for a newer review. The Kindle Scribe has had a bunch of software updates that invalidate many of her concerns (for example there are multiple pen/tip types now) and qualify some of them (for example of a qualification, there are some books & docs you can write straight onto now, but you cannot write directly in all books yet)

I got a 32g with the premium pen and I love it. All the problems are software related and can be improved. The kobo is inferior on all points and the remarkable 2 is out for 2 years and didn’t have some of the options the scribe have. I think you underestimate the capability of note taking on the scribe. You didn’t mention nothing with the kindle app integration that can be improved and an advantage. It’s easy and very paper like experience. I never take notes on books so it doesn’t bother me at all. For a day to day and agenda note taking it’s more than adequate! And the build quality is very high! I want the text recognition and the possibility to modify my notes on my phone.

As an all time Goodnotes user on iPad, I was looking forward to kindle scribe. But the ability to draw shapes and straight lines, resize objects, and importing images are so important for my everyday usage. Maybe Amazon will include those features in future updates. Until then, I'll reply on my iPad. Thank you for the review.

I walked into Best Buy hoping to buy a remarkable two but they didn’t have it. They only had the Kindle scribe. So I watched your video and decided I still want the remarkable!

Loved this review and how it went into issues (with zoom in PDF, note navigation, etc.) that are usually glossed over but have a big impact on quality of life with real/regular use. Been using other brands of e-ink note-taking tablets for a while and this offering is pretty bare, to say the least! Hopefully Amazon is working on adding more features in the coming year.

Thank you! This was an excellent review! It made me hesitate purchasing this device. Perhaps Amazon will add new features in future models that will enable it to do everything that is lacking in this model.

Thank you for your review. I am looking for an e-ink tablet to read academic journal articles - something that is not easy to do with smaller screens. So the Scribe does not seem to be the device for this, at least not in the current iteration. I'll look at the options you mention to see if they will work.

You could do an updated review. I believe they've made multiple updates to this device.

I ordered one a couple weeks after the announcement after owning every single Kindle model since 2009. It seems like the embargo on reviews was to protect Amazon and not the consumer. In the past I've used an Onyx Boox device and it had more features than the Scribe. This is also the first time I've seen the cover and ordered that as well, not impressed. A bit confused on if I should cancel the order. I did trade in two previous Kindles to offset the price and be environmentally responsive. These were functional units. This is bittersweet, at least now I can weigh the reviews in on my decision.

This was a phenomenally in depth and well thought out review, that’s so rare and enormously appreciated

This is clearly a product for those who read a lot of ebooks and do some note taking. If you want what you suggest, buy a Remarkable 2 and you 'll get something you can spend all day writing your equations, etc. Of course, if you want to read anything but documents from your boss and coworkers, you'll be out of luck.....unless you have a kindle, ipad, etc to switch to when you get home. For me, this will replace my Boox 2 (I think that's the model #) & I'll be happy.

I get mine in a few days, and I’m looking forward to getting it… mainly for the large format book but also to use to fill out PDF’s like my timesheet and purchase order forms. I would have preferred a Remarkable 2 but, as you said in the video, I can’t use it for my Kindle books so I’m willing to take the compromises I will have to make with the Scribe. Things will, I’m sure, improve as Amazon puts out software updates over time.

My biggest issue with the scribe is it doesn't support one drive. Sadness. But I still love it. I also think Amazon will upgrade the software to include some of the features it's currently missing. One can hope anyhow...$567 tax Inc in Canada.

Thank you so much for a great review. I love my Kindle Paperwhite for reading, but after this review I think I'll stick to my iPad for writing / taking notes. The gap between some of the features available from premium note taking apps (Notability, Goodnotes and even Apple Notes) and what is the current state of e-ink based writing tablets is too much for me, at least for now. I hope that changes in a few years.

I found the Ratta Supernote A5X for the best for note taking and writing experience and no replacing nibs. Also very robust I dropped mine from 3ft on to stone floor and zero issues, you can chuck that thing around like an A4 notpad oh and has Kindle app. The only downside, no back light.

Great review, with certain serious problems in the review, for which stay tuned. Thanks for such a thorough look. I always wanted the combination of Oasis clarity with the Kindle DX size. I loved the Kindle DX and hated that it was phased out without another large-form alternative. I don't expect to do a lot of writing in and around my books and when I do, the sticky note function is fine. I do intend to use the latter sometimes and I think it will be quite useful. But most of the time I will luxuriate in reading an ebook at the size and scale that serious books are meant to be read. This review touches just lightly on the reader experience, as if it is merely equal in importance to note taking. When you think about it, reading is many times more important than note taking. When you do write on a sticky note, just jot down the title and chapter of the book, abbreviated, and you will know precisely where it should go without matching it up to the page it came from. Even if I could write in a margin, how would I read it clearly without talking many steps to enlarge it. Viewing a virtual sticky is so much easier. If the Scribe had in-margin editing and no stickies, C-Net might bemoan the lack of sticky notes--and be correct in doing so! The reviewer sometimes shares an opinion of one, which is of limited utility to an audience of many,

Back to waiting for something great. E-readers (all of them) are in need of some breakthrough product to revolutionize their market. I had hopes, but sadly I see this is not it. They are ALL still thinking inside the box. They all feel cumbersome to me.. compared to just having a paper book with notes in it and highlights --- I just want something that transfers those notes into a modify-able document -to save and file away in one place and/or share, etc. This doesn't seem like too much to ask with technology today, but I can't bring myself to buy yet. Every one of these devices seem cumbersome to say the least than a good ol' book laying open on the desk in front of you. I canceled my order on this KIndle Scribe just a few days after purchasing back when it was first announced. After watching this video, I feel so much better that I did. Helpful video.

Excellent review, this clarified everything I have been wondering about since the announcement.

I appreciate that this review is focused on usage rather than specs. Really disappointed that the book annotation experience is so clunky. What else would be the point of having this?

Stop promoting the Remarkable. They are predatory and they are not worth the hype. Supernote, Kobo, Book . . . those are real e-tablets.

300 ppi definitely makes a big difference for me. I use Tab s8 ultra for note taking, nothing can beat that.

I am not shopping for this particular device, but I have been curious. This video goes into excellent detail on details I would like to know about. Fantastic video!

I'm already deep in Amazon's ecosystem so personally I'd pick the Scribe over the alternatives. For my needs it's fine. I want it more for the large screen than the note taking capabilities but they do serve as a nice added bonus

This is a great review. Very well produced and hits all the major points 👌🏽

Question: one of highlight of Scribe is PDF reading and writing. However is there a convenient way to transfer PDFs between Scribe and Laptops?

Great review! I agree with most of these criticisms, especially on PDF handling. Sadly, I don’t think Amazon will ever fix this because it’s been like this ever since the Kindle 1.0 was introduced.

Forgot to add…I loved the review!

I just bought a kindle paperwhite last month and I love it!

I understand niche companies charging a lot for these, because they don’t make them in high volume to cover costs. Amazon could have charged $200 for this and it would have flooded the scene. It seems like it’s compromised as just an E-reader too. My Onyxboox is getting a bit long in the tooth after 4 years, so looking for an upgrade, and was hoping this Amazon one will be a good replacement. Oh well… money saved 🤷‍♂️

This is one of the most thorough reviews I’ve seen for a product!

I think a lot of us are using it as a replacement for our now defunked DXs. I bought and returned the Kobo. I am waiting for mine for comixology. I just wish it had an LTE option.

idgaf about not taking i’ve just been wanting to read on a bigger screen. i’m so excited

thanks for this honest review. Can't believe there's no handwriting recognition, and what a crappy note-taking tool

I wanted an oasis, but I got the case, premium pen, and 64gb model for $280 in US, so I think I’m happy there

Ok this is a real review with actual good insight and answers all the questions. That's why I've loved cnet since the old Mp3 player days!

Thank you for an awesome review! Shows pros and cons. I finally ordered scribe after foundering for it for a year.. Because it's on sale. Lol If I can write directly on the book, I would have paid a full price. 😂

Bummer I would have been all over this if you could write directly on the pages. Big miss in my opinion I’ll definitely be passing on this, hoping for a new oasis release

Very informative and well delivered, I wish the intonation was slightly flatter, the frequent high pitch is a bit distracting other wise great reviewer! Look forward to seeing more from her!

Thank you for adding the comparison at the end so now the answer is no, I'll get the Remarkable 2.

Thanks a lot for the comparison with other tablets.

Aready pre-ordered. I wanted something to help consume more books and take the occasion notes when reading so the scribe fits most of my requirements. See how to actually turns out to be. The hand written notes to text feature would be nice for searching through notes. Fingers cross on a future update.

Great video ! Love the diplomatic shade at the end lol

Between the three E-ink branded options mentioned, it's unfortunate that we have to choose which shortcomings we can live with the best. I think I'll keep waiting and continue using my regular tablet that does everything but isn't ideal for that pen on paper feel.

Here is the language from the refreshed Amazon scribe webpage that explicitly talks about future updates; they should have led with that!: “Coming Soon: Kindle Scribe provides regular, free software updates that include new features. In the coming months, Kindle Scribe will add more writing tools, including new brush types and copy/paste tools, additional notebook organization options, and the ability to send documents to Kindle Scribe directly from within Microsoft Word.”

Thanks for this video. I was very close to purchasing the Scribe, but your video has made me rethink the purchase. I will look at the ReMarkable and the SuperNotes for my e-ink tablet purchase.

After watching this, I’ll wait for future models. Great review

I was ready to buy until I saw your review. I think I’ll wait for some improvements before I invest.

At 3:53, when you show multiple notes, it appears to show the referenced sentence and then your note; however, you state that it doesn't show the reference. Just wanted to clarify that.

From this review, I think I will consider other device for doing note taking. Boox lineups seem more interesting to me for an e-note. Ah yes, just so you know, i own a paperwhite which i use daily and i love it

Lack of physical page buttons is a shame. I was interested as a larger version of the Oasis but no buttons is an immediate no from me.

Great review!!! I would rather using PDF Expert on my iPad Mini6

Remarkable 2 user here. I've been using a Remarkable for all my work notes for about five years. This was a good review but failed to mention one advantage of the Remarkable v. what the Scribe appears to offer. Remarkable doesn't have bookmarking - it has something better in my opinion - tags. Folders, documents and pages have a descriptive tag assigned to them. I'll use this to track what pages of my bullet journal are for project X, or about product Y. Multiple tags can be applied, and I can search for all the pages in a document, or all the documents in a folder that have a given tag. I no longer keep a bullet journal index. I use tags.

I enjoy the Mediatek chipset-equipped Kindle gadget. It has wireless charging and 32GB storage as well.

Thanks for the thorough review. And I appreciate the comparison to other products. Just the info I was looking for. And sadly, the scribe is prob a no for me. Time to look more closely at the Remarkable 2.

Excellent real-world review, thank you. It would be great to know how this pen compares to *other stylus'* beyond e-ink (eg: Apple Pen & MS Stylus).

Thank you for the great review. I was looking at the Kindle scribe for writing on PDFs for work. The remarkable 2 looks like a viable option since I don’t need backlight as well as cloud sharing storage. I don’t know how an iPad Pro would work, since the screen is much bigger and far more powerful.

Im completely satisfied with the smaller Kindle.

I got the remarkable and packed it up to return it within an hour - the lack of internal light adjustment was a dealbreaker for me. Sure, it was cool to be able to mix templates within one notebook but what good is it if I can't see it? And the lighting in conference rooms isn't always enough. I just received my Scribe and absolutely love it. I just need a central place for my notes, and don't need the PDF or book markup feature.

I would buy if the price were $200~$250 only for reading on a larger display. It seems that Amazon put writing ability just to justify the price.

Great review. No faff and every stmt was super clear. Not like so many of the annoying clickbait 'reviewers' aka influencers.

Thanks for the review. My Scribe is on its way and I think Amazon will address some of the issues you mentioned with a firmware update. Remember, Amazon is customer centric :-)

She's good, Let her make more videos!

This was a seriously good review!

I already have a reMarkable 2 a Boox Max Lumi, and a Kindle Oasis. I bought this Scribe specifically for reading. The resolution of the Lumi and reMarkable disappoint me when compared to the Oasis, and for reading, I wanted essentially a Lumi with the crispness of my Oasis. That’s what this promises. I’ll probably keep all 3 and use them for different things since each has features distinct enough from the others to serve their own niche. reMarkable is the best for writing, Scribe is the best for reading large monochrome pages, and the Lumi is by far the most flexible (Android and the ability to use it as a computer screen).

Thank you for the review. I thought that the kindle scrible could be a valid option to read, highlight and annotate scientific articles, but guess not

Amazon Fire are up to the 12th gen. They haven't been branded Kindle Fire since the 4th gen, almost 8 years ago.