Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/12/07/a-software-update-makes-this-f.html
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Sounds like a V2 of the device would fare even better (hopefully). I’m mildly interested, do you know if there’s plans to do a new gen device?
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I see ads for this from time to time and say “oh, yeah that thing” then I click on it and get sticker shock. Holy crap is it expensive.
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The ads they’ve been running are sort of bonkers, basically promising that reMarkable is the solution to all of society’s problems and claiming that all other devices have put us into a 1984-esqe nightmare. (Oh by the way: you can turn off auto-correct on any Apple or Android with just a tap)
This was the update I’d been waiting for too. I need to dust off my desktop software for this.
I really would like to try that with my handwriting. What really sucks is that I can’t get my hands on one of those just to try it out for a month. I did so with e-ink readers, and so far didn’t buy one because they weren’t worth it: I read a lot of pdfs which come in multi-columns, often with tables or graphics spanning several of those.
No available reader does display this legibly.
If you go to their website, they proudly state they’ve sold 50,000 of them. Is that a success? It seems like a very small number.
Sony also has some very interesting devices in this category.
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I like Sony’s e-ink devices but never seriously considered buying them because the few that did seem neat were overpriced as hell. Granted i haven’t seriously looked into buying something in this category in years.
Oh, neat! That sounds like a really fun way to write.
Do you know if it’s possible to connect a keyboard to one of these tablets? USB or Bluetooth are both fine.
Oh, I missed that.
Not on the reMarkable - the MicroUSB port is for charging and syncing only and there’s no Bluetooth.
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I’ve come to the conclusion that since every e-ink device I’ve seen that is not supported by Amazon’s desire to own you has cost a lot of money that they are in fact not overpriced, they are all priced reasonably, but making e-ink devices must cost a lot of money.
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This thing is pretty rad. Got one for my wife for her birthday, she is studying for a masters’ degree and also doing a lot of personal writing. She absolutely loves it. Anyone serious about studying and writing knows that writing by hand is the best method to develop and retain ideas. Problem is managing piles of paper and notebooks. This device solves that problem very elegantly, and it’s a joy to use. It is also great in that it is free of external distractions; no web browser or other apps for you to lose your focus. And the pen feels better than all the others. And the e-ink display is lovely to look at. Considering buying one for myself…
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The whole point of this thing is to write by hand.
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I picked up one a couple of weeks ago after news of the handwriting conversion capabilities - and like Seamus I find it really, really useful. And the sensation of writing on the screen is lightyears ahead of trying to write on a conventional screen which are always a bit too slick. (Also, the stylus itself isn’t made of the wet soap slippery plastic that Apple uses for its Pencil - you can actually grip it lightly without it sliding between your fingers.
I take a lot of notes in meetings and I’m forever jotting down notes. The reMarkable is much less intrusive than a conventional tablet with a glowing screen or a laptop when working with other people in a room and it is lovely and light to carry around.
The conversion actually works and it is possible to edit the documents either on the device itself or zap them by email to a PC. If they add Evernote (or similar) syncing in a future update it will be just about perfect.
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It’s actually one of the most frustratingly useless gadgets I’ve encountered.
It gets one thing right - drawing is about as paper-like as I’ve seen. OCR might make that even better. But unfortunately, all that means it’s a very, very expensive notepad.
It does not fit into any digital workflow. Up- and downloading documents to and from the device is a gigantic pain in the arse, largely because it doesn’t provide sync with common cloud providers, and doesn’t act as a USB storage device as pretty much any other gadget does.
Consequently, you’re bound to their special tools - and “special” is the operative term here. You connect via ethernet-over-USB to a web interface that doesn’t have UI for adding files, doesn’t let you sort files, doesn’t manage to show progress on uploads, and fails randomly during uploads.
Seriously, this is a piece of shit hardware.
I’m sorry, because I’d like smaller companies to have success, and like the drawing experience. But this is so utterly terrible, that it can’t be excused any longer, after so many years of time in which they could have fixed it.
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I didn’t put the look what I found comment there, BoingBoing did.
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Thanks for finding that - they were out ahead of the curve with that product.
But based on reading the Sony product page, still no handwriting recognition?
at 600 bucks or more? nah. I’m still good with paper.
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I thought Kobo stuff was priced reasonable. B&N was priced reasonably and a good deal more open than Amazon. Just somehow Amazon and e-books have avoided anti-trust-monopoly status which is ridiculous.
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