reMarkable: The Paper Tablet - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: TheAmmoniacal
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 30, 2016, 04:49:13 pm
content: I love the idea, but too expensive and the stylus writing looks slow. What do you guys think?Anyone know of alternatives to this? I personally don't have much of a need or desire for the writing capability, but I've been on the lookout for a replacement to my Kindle DX for quite a while. The Kindles are clearly made for linear reading (novels) and not for the university textbook and journals usage.I want a reader with e-ink display >9" that lets me jump between pages easily, ideally let me pin pages to physical buttons etc. Or even just have a thumbwheel that lets me run through pages quickly.Pre-order is $379 --https://getremarkable.com/

author: ben_r_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2016, 06:24:01 pm
content: I never jump on any new product from a startup company right off the bat, but I will keep my eye on this one. looks pretty cool. Be nice if Amazon made a similar Kindle for less.

author: jolshefsky
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2016, 06:24:47 pm
content: I'm mostly "meh" about this. I have avoided anything "cloud" because I'm a paranoid luddite ... data protection, data loss, data harvesting ... I'd rather handle that myself, thanks. I also like to sketch in color and almost exclusively use the 4-color click pen. I've also never had paper crash or do something I didn't want. And it's ALWAYS "on", not "just a split second away from being on".But other than that, I guess this would be pretty good.

author: TheAmmoniacal
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 30, 2016, 06:27:01 pm
content: Quote from: jolshefsky on November 30, 2016, 06:24:47 pmI have to agree, I don't see any good reason to even have WiFi on it. Drains the battery for minimal gain.

author: dferyance
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2016, 08:12:38 pm
content: I've got one of these:https://onyxboox.squarespace.com/onyx-boox-m96Runs android and is a large tablet with a pen.Drawing for sure is slow on it. It is cool to mess with, but haven't gotten much practical use out of the pen.I use mine for both books that I have scanned and ebooks. Scanned books don't re-flow well so I needed something that could open up a full page PDF with equations and drawings.

author: anman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2016, 07:30:26 pm
content: Professional tool for plagiarism

author: rich
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2016, 10:35:31 pm
content: Quote from: TheAmmoniacal on November 30, 2016, 06:27:01 pmSeems an appropriate way to transfer documents to/from it. It sure beats messing with memory cards or usb in my opinion.I love the idea of the reMarkable to replace dozens of engineering notebooks and scraps of paper. I've tried using an iPad2 for this task but it's just not scribble-friendly (too low resolution and bad pen accuracy/latency). At $379 reMarkable may find a niche if it manages to deliver on its potential but then it jumps up to $716 after release and that puts it into same space as iPad Pro + Pencil or Surface Pro 4, so it better have something special when it releases.

author: E-Ink Tableteer
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 06, 2017, 07:06:49 pm
content: I prefer reading on e-ink tablet than on other electronic device.The Remarkable is a good starter, but it has some shortfalls. One thing is the battery: I need to recharge it often.It's good for reading PDF files or for ePub books and documents.The pen is sensitive and feels almost like a real thing.There is ghosting. I guess ghosting is tolerated for a faster page flipping.

author: Jamieson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2017, 07:16:06 pm
content: At first I thought this was joke promo video of hipsters selling a $300 paper notebook.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2017, 02:21:31 pm
content: The idea is sound, as with e-ink the picture will remain even if the battery or even the whole device fails. The price however, no, absolutely not. I'm not paying almost $400 for something that's basically a remake of an antique e-reader.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2017, 08:27:09 am
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on November 11, 2017, 02:21:31 pm$400 isn't a terrible price. Some of the larger modern ereaders are a lot smaller and cost about as much, while also omitting the pen. I find those are still too small for reading documentation, so a larger device isn't a bad idea.

author: socceref
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 14, 2017, 07:06:10 pm
content: They have created the digital paper. It has the same feel of paper and pen. I am very happy with the reMarkable tablet. Compared to iPads or other solutions it is night and day.In my work a PC chills the conversation. A thick tablet on the table and people think they are being recorded. The reMarkable generates curiosity. My only ask is for an online OCR that will work from tiff or pdf. The Evernote search capability is great. They are limited to search. That engine (or similar) is what I want to use for online OCR.I want to write on ePaper with diagrams and handwriting. I do not want the iPad effect of tap,tap, tap to reach image mode for a diagram. Then tap,tap, tap, to return to handwriting. reMarkable has mastered the ePaper. Please reply if you know of an OCR that would work for me.reMarkable questions? Ask away.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2017, 08:12:37 pm
content: Quote from: socceref on December 14, 2017, 07:06:10 pmAre you in some way associated with the reMarkable or people selling it?

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2017, 08:53:53 pm
content: Quote from: socceref on December 14, 2017, 07:06:10 pmYou must be kidding , my friend.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2017, 10:15:27 pm
content: Sure wished I had one of theseLook at ebay:https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2060353.m570.l1311.R1.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xremark.TRS0&_nkw=remarkable+tablet&_sacat=0A lot of people with money also want one.

author: Gregg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2017, 01:06:32 am
content: Not worth considering until after AvE reviews it, shows that it chooches and declares it skookum!

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2017, 07:33:33 am
content: Quote from: Gregg on December 15, 2017, 01:06:32 amThat's a fairly expensive replacement for the cutting mat.

author: gocemk
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2017, 08:02:01 am
content: I have been doing pretty much the same for years on Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 with an S-Pen and the Lecture Notes app on Android. Not sure what's the advantage here, except for the longer battery life, which isn't too bad on the Samsung either. It's 3-4 years old, and i still recharge it only 2-3 times a week.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2017, 10:07:41 am
content: Quote from: gocemk on December 15, 2017, 08:02:01 amE-ink isn't quite the same as a regular screen, which is both good and bad.

author: gocemk
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2017, 01:23:00 pm
content: Quote from: Mr. Scram on December 15, 2017, 10:07:41 amAgreed. In the end it's all about what one needs/wants from such a device.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2017, 01:49:59 pm
content: €629That is a little bit on the expensive side. Though it looks like a cool gadget. I could definitely use it on the daily basis.But the Sony DPT-RP1 is almost the same price.I guess I'm not gonna be an early adapter.

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2017, 01:02:58 am
content: Quote from: NANDBlog on December 15, 2017, 01:49:59 pmA little bit? It's at the scam level of overpriced! You could get a resonable computer for that price! Instead you get an antique E-reader (Mr.Scram, overpriced BW E-readers are scams too). That's basically like paying for a modern smart phone but getting a monochrome PDA!Socceref, tell your bosses to slash it down to around $100USD, which is still expensive for it, but it's more reasonable then $400.

author: garboui
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2017, 01:10:43 am
content: I have been keeping my eye on these a lot recently for professional use. However from a business standpoint it needs Wi-Fi that can sync to some local server based document system. it would be fine if it still had to touch the internet for updates and whatnot.In my case if it had Wi-Fi and onenote integration id buy a dozen tomorrow. I know 'onenote and surface' but the surfaces are not a writing pad! and $$$

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2017, 09:37:33 am
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on December 16, 2017, 01:02:58 amThe display technology is something that they dont mass produce. It is not the traditional e-ink. Maybe they made 100K of that tech total, and someone spent millions developing it. I get that it is expensive. Once a tech like this enters the mass market, and not the early adapters one, it will come down in price. I believe the SONY started above 1000EUR.I wouldn't compare it with the kindle. That is probably sold below cost, it has a small and low-tech display compared to this. That being said, I like my kindle.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2017, 04:51:03 pm
content: Quote from: Cyberdragon on December 16, 2017, 01:02:58 amYou're not being very realistic. Calling it "overpriced" could be a matter of debate, but calling it a scam is a bit silly. Supposing they could be sold for $100 is just being ridiculous, if I'm honest.It's obviously not just a tablet or PDA with a monochrome screen. It's a screen technology with some very distinct qualities that surpass any other screen technology. If you happen to need or prefer these qualities, they're not unreasonable devices. Having a screen being perfectly readable in broad daylight, being a lot closer to paper than any other screen meaning less eye strain and it being very energy efficient under the right circumstances, which means you can read for months on a single charge are feats no other technology can match.E-ink is relatively expensive, but that's a matter of simple economics. It's not a huge market, like is the case with LCD and OLED screens, so the cost per unit goes up. Have a look at what LCD televisions and flat computer screens cost when then they first hit the market. You paid stupid silly amounts money for technologically atrocious screens. Only when the numbers game turned in the customer's favour, flat displays became good and cheap. If they can barely bring a large numbers small size Kindle to market for $100, there's no way they can bring a much larger unit with added pen technology which is sold in much smaller numbers to market for anything close to that.

author: Tsippaduida
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2018, 08:41:35 pm
content: I actually happen to have reMarkable tablet. Writing and doodling with it is so close to real paper, that I do not keep regular notebook with me anymore. Expensive, yes, but I really like the device. It looks to me that writing on this tablet does not disturb people as much as using a laptop, where you seem to be hiding behind the lid. Naturally if I'm having meeting with programmers the laptop is ok, but meeting with not so tech savvy people seems more natural when using the remarkable.I also have an e-book reader based on e-ink display, I absolutely love it. Remarkable paper tablet is rather successful as a notebook. As an e-reader it is not that good. Some e-pub's seem to cause trouble. Also, I don't think we are going to get support for something like Adobe DRM. I think most of the slight problems with e-pubs are going to be addressed in coming updates, but for me reading e-pubs with this device is not a high priority. As I already have an e-reader, I wanted to have bigger display for those pesky PDF's which are hard to read on smaller screen (my normal e-reader). For that purpose remarkable seems to work bigger screen really helps my aging eyes. DRM ridden content I can deal with the regular reader.Now that the device has shipped, you can find reviews about using it for one month and so on. Another reason for buying this was that it runs GNU/Linux and the manufacturer seems to be taking open source rather seriously. Android based e-readers and other e-ink devices tend to have better specs on the processor and memory. Android seems to require more oomph to achieve same thing as base Linux.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2018, 10:06:18 pm
content: Quote from: Tsippaduida on January 15, 2018, 08:41:35 pmYou lucky dog. About an hour ago I thought about this - the first time since Dec16th ummm

author: Decoman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2018, 12:29:02 pm
content: I looked into maybe buying the re-markable tablet, though I am in no hurry.• I got the impression that this tablet does not allow a bluetooth connection, which I would prefer.• The tablet seem a tad expensive.• A reviewer pointed out that the tips (you get a box with the tablet afaik) wear out, and I guess that is ok, as long as it doesn't seem silly, I wouldn't know for sure myself until I tried it out.• Their local office didn't take any of my two phone calls, which annoyed me. If they were on vacation or otherwise busy, they could have left a message.• I am unsure if a pen can have 1-100% darkness, or if limited to just a few gray scale ranges. I don't know if there is a very light (non dark) pen stroke feature.• The size seem ok I guess, but ideally I would want an A4 size tablet.• The tablet seems mostly for drawing (totally ok), and less for viewing text files.• This product is based on a kickstarter campaign afaik.• The resolution seems good to me, though I don't have any personal experience other than having owned computer monitors.• Afaik this tablet has no expandable memory, though for drawings, I guess you will never get to run out of free space for saving your drawings. So, not a big issue I would think for drawing at least.I guess if ever got the opportunity to try this tablet, out I might very well decid to buy one for myself.I think that any professional artist will probably have to investigate to learn if the drawing tools for this tablet is good enough for them.

author: Tsippaduida
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2018, 09:02:12 pm
content: @DecomanBluetooth is not supported. haven't checked if it actually has required hardware, but at least software does not support it.My Financial (or what ever it is in english) teacher once said "It's not expensive, it just feels like it if you don't have the money". He did not get friends from us students.Tips wear down, same for the sony's device. Even the tip replacement package seems same including the replacement tool.Never tried to phone, just used the webshop ("shut-up and take my money" -button)There are only few darkness levels, at least for now. It seems to me that the technology limits this, could not confirm it via rapid googling.Yes, it isn't quite A4, I would also liked that size more, but maybe the next version?Not based on kickstarter, but a crowd funding project in any case. Contrary to many such projects, this one delivered nearly on time and a working product at that.Resolution is enough, it is not the highest you you can get on e-ink, but quite good, imho. E-ink has excellent contrast which makes the display look crisp. My e-reader has slightly higher ppi. High resolution e-ink -displays have quite low ppi if you compare them to ordinary displays.I also suspected that the internal storage would run out in an instant, but I was wrong. Naturally if you want to keep everything you create in the device, you will eventually run out of space. But transferring files between the device and a laptop (I use Linux) is relatively easy.If you have a change to try out Sony's devices you could then use one of the reviews "Sony vs. reMarkable" to help decide which one to get.I do not draw, well given ruler and compass I can do a thing or two, but freehand? Perhaps my stick figures are passable. I get by as reMarkable has plenty of templates you can use. I like e.g. Isometric template for some of the technical doodlings I occasionally need to do.

author: Tsippaduida
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2018, 09:28:21 pm
content: E-ink displays typically have only 4 bit gray levels.E.g.:http://www2.eink.com/sell_sheets/carta_spec_sheet.pdfreMarkable -tablet does not offer so many, at least not yet. I guess it is because they wanted to have that nearly instant response when you write with the pen. Maybe they are are able to optimize and we get more shades of gray along with the software updates. Not likely a high priority thing, if at all doable.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2018, 01:55:43 am
content: Quote from: Tsippaduida on January 16, 2018, 09:28:21 pmYou can certainly get more, but I suspect they're just using an off-the-shelf controller and thickly abstracted (i.e. bloated) software stack that doesn't let them exploit the display to its fullest potential. Otherwise it would be pretty easy to hook up a touchscreen to an e-ink display and some minimal glue logic that basically darkens the pixel(s) at the current touch position a little bit on every refresh, giving a crude approximation to pressure sensitivity (actually more like time sensitivity --- like a fountain pen.)