There is just one ebook reader brand worth considering. Several businesses have tried to provide ebook readers with devices, but none have been as popular as Amazon’s Kindle line. So much so that for many people ebooks are associated with the Kindle. Where does the new Kindle Scribe stand in terms of performance?
The Kindle’s widespread popularity may be attributed, in part, to its user-friendliness. Its grayscale e-ink screen makes it seem like it was made in the 1990s, in contrast to modern electronics that boast AMOLED displays with 10-bit colours and fast refresh rates. Although it has a touchscreen, it is not the easiest to text on since e-ink displays react to touch somewhat more slowly than LCD or AMOLED displays, and it cannot play films or animations of any sort. It has a very rudimentary browser of sorts built in, but you can’t load any further programmes onto it, so it’s not really useful. Reading books is what a Kindle ebook reader was made for.
As we discussed in a prior essay, it excels at the one task for which it was created. In fact, the Kindle’s inability to do anything else is a bit of a benefit since while you are reading on Kindle, you are not interrupted by alerts or calls, as may happen if you attempt to read on a tablet or a phone.
Amazon has taken some risks with the Kindle’s design and is constantly improving the hardware, but the device’s core capabilities have remained mostly unchanged (apart from switching from type to touch a few years ago).
Extending our literate abilities by composing our own texts
However, that has all changed when Amazon released the Kindle Scribe a few days ago. When compared to previous Kindle updates, this one may be the most significant since the Kindle Touch debuted touch screens in 2011.
When compared to other Kindles, the Kindle Scribe is remarkably different. It includes a 10.2-inch display, the biggest seen on a Kindle ebook reader, and weights roughly 433 grammes – that makes it closer to a tablet than an e-book reader, but it remains virtually square-ish in design.
The previous Kindle, the Kindle DX, was much smaller and meant to be carried in a coat pocket, while this new model is intended to be carried in a bag.
Its size could be the first thing that will be noticed but the Scribe is not simply a bigger Kindle. It is also the first Kindle that comes with a stylus.
Older touchscreen Kindles also allowed the use of snub-tipped capacitive styluses, although these were limited to navigation and the occasional typing session.
The stylus that comes with the Kindle Scribe is a completely unusual one. The pen’s tip is rather pointy, making it ideal for use with an e-ink screen. You may choose between the Standard Pen and the Premium Pen, the latter of which has a convenient eraser on its reverse end (a bit like the Surface Pen). To per Amazon’s marketing copy, “the first Kindle for reading and writing” is the Kindle Scribe because of its bigger display and the ability to write on it.
Release date for the gadget is set for November 30, but we already know that the stylus is a breeze to work with. It may be attached to the side of the Scribe and doesn’t need any power. As of the writing of this article, the Kindle Scribe’s stylus will enable users to annotate books with handwritten comments and highlights.
Also, the stylus may be used to annotate PDFs and add sticky notes to Microsoft Word and other compatible file types. The Scribe may receive these files through the desktop browser or the iOS or Android Kindle app. As to Amazon, users will also be able to transfer MS Word documents straight to the Kindle in early 2023.
Is the Kindle poised to go Pro?
When the gadget is delivered and evaluated, we will know how well the stylus works (no release date or pricing has been announced for India), but based on what we know so far, it is clear that Amazon wants to expand the capabilities of the Kindle ebook reader well beyond just reading books.
In the past, Kindles could read Microsoft Word and PDF files, but their functionality was restricted, and typing on the touchscreen was difficult. It seems that the Scribe was created to solve this problem.
A user using a Kindle Scribe may theoretically make notes not only to books but also to papers delivered to them and write directly on PDF files. The stylus also makes typing much easier than on current Kindle readers (where you tap, stop, and tap again).
Kindle Scribe transforms the value proposition of the Kindle as we know it, transforming it from a very passive reading tool to a more interactive one that enables you do more, and not just with books but with other documents as well.
Previously, anybody reading on a Kindle had an invisible “do not disturb, I am reading” sign hanging over their head. The likelihood of your reading being interrupted by actual work has now increased dramatically.
Big screens are a hit with the masses, and even bookworms like doodling on scraps of paper.
How useful the Scribe is going to be as a note and scribbling tool will, however, depend on the implementation of the stylus. Some e-ink screens have a reputation for being inconsistent in this respect. Amazon has done more with e-ink screens than anybody else, so it will be fascinating to see how it tackles the stylus difficulty. Lenovo’s attempt to include an e-ink keyboard in its Yoga Book five years ago was met with extremely mixed results.
If Amazon manages it properly and makes writing and drawing a seamless and efficient experience, the Scribe might easily emerge as a type of Kindle Pro version, for individuals who want to have the option of the occasional writing and editing session even while away from their PCs.
Many Kindle readers would likely welcome the addition of a stylus that would allow them to make notes and highlight text (which requires a fair amount of patience right now). Magazines and graphic novels often seem a bit cramped on the 6/6.8/7-inch screens of the previous Kindle devices, so the bigger display will appeal to those who want a more spacious reading experience.
The Kindle Scribe’s bigger size necessitates a larger battery, so it can keep up with the Kindle’s longstanding “use for days on a single charge” claim. There is great potential here.
Do we now have a Kindle of the future? (For that price, you could buy an iPad!)
Despite its many strengths, the Kindle Scribe’s prohibitive cost is a major drawback.
The beginning price of the Kindle Scribe is $339.99 ($369.99 with the Premium Pen), which is not only more than twice as much as the starting price of the Kindle Oasis ($179.99), but is also more costly than the starting price of the standard iPad ($329), which does not include a stylus.
While the iPad isn’t quite as excellent for reading books as the Kindle, it’s a more versatile tool for getting work done and can play videos and games as well.
Even though the Kindle Scribe is the most dramatically different Kindle we have seen in a long time, we expect it to remain a complementary product to Amazon’s standard line of Kindle readers (which start at a very reasonable $99.99) for the foreseeable future.
If the Scribe is commercially successful, however, Amazon may decide to include the Pen into future Kindle models, allowing for a wider range of input options and functionality. Remember, it took Amazon three years to equip all Kindles with touchscreens. The Kindle Scribe shows promise as a forerunner to future versions of the Kindle and other e-book readers.
But how well it functions apart from the standard Kindle packaging will determine a great deal. Do ebooks written just for the Kindle represent the future? How things turn out, only time will tell.