Amazon's Scribe is a whole new kind of Kindle - Axios

The Kindle e-reader has gotten humble refinements implicit the years, but the caller Scribe is the archetypal Kindle successful years to instrumentality connected a importantly caller task.

Catch up quick: Announced successful September and going connected merchantability Wednesday, the $330 Scribe is the archetypal Kindle that tin besides beryllium utilized for handwritten notes. It's besides the archetypal large-screen instrumentality since the Kindle DX line, which was discontinued much than a decennary ago.

Hands on: I've spent astir a week and a fractional with the Kindle Scribe and person been mostly pleased.

• Even earlier you propulsion retired the included pen stylus, the Scribe is simply a precise bully Kindle, with bully ergonomics and a large, well-lit display.
• Using the pen opens up a scope of further uses, from taking handwritten gathering oregon lecture notes to marking up a PDF oregon Word papers to jotting notes alongside the publication you are reading.
• The Scribe does person a fewer quirks. For example, it's not instantly wide however to displacement betwixt tasks, specified arsenic speechmaking books and taking notes. By default, the Scribe besides takes notes somewhat otherwise depending connected whether 1 is speechmaking a publication oregon viewing a document, similar a PDF.

Between the lines: Kevin Keith, Amazon's VP of devices, tells Axios that Amazon took its clip releasing the Scribe due to the fact that it wanted to nutrient a instrumentality that was arsenic bully for speechmaking and writing.

• Keith said that caller advances let for a instrumentality that has precocious pixel density (300 per inch), backlighting and a consciousness that's overmuch much similar penning connected insubstantial than utilizing a stylus connected a glossy tablet.

At the aforesaid time, Keith said Amazon aimed to support the Scribe from trying to bash excessively much.

• It's inactive designed for dedicated tasks, chiefly speechmaking and writing. "We’re not trying to beryllium a tablet," helium said.

• So far, Amazon says it is blessed with the response. "Early income person been precise brisk," Keith said.

The large picture: The Scribe isn't the archetypal instrumentality to usage an e-ink show for writing. Startup ReMarkable is connected its second-generation product, and it offers immoderate features the Scribe lacks: It tin synchronize with assorted unreality services and person handwriting to text.

• On the flip side, the ReMarkable lacks the pixel density and precocious lighting of the Scribe.
• Most importantly, it doesn't connection entree to the immense publication room Scribe provides done Amazon's Kindle catalog. The ReMarkable is overmuch much oriented toward viewing enactment documents and taking notes.

What's next: Amazon has already promised that Microsoft volition adhd a "save to Kindle" enactment wrong Word, and Keith said determination is simply a agelong database of features that could travel to the Scribe, including turning handwritten notes into text.

• "If that’s truly important to customers we’ll bring it retired arsenic soon arsenic we can," Keith said.