Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Ah, the joys of a new Kindle! Turn it on and the familiar typeset, newsprint, fountain pen and ink screensavers evoke the days of analog living. I could almost smell the inked paper when I powered up my Kindle Scribe for the first time. Sound familiar? Read on, this quirky new Kindle may be for you. Like many avid Kindle users, I embrace the hints of atmosphere, elegance, and craftsmanship of days gone by, without having to give up the ease modern technology affords. Amazon has always positioned Kindle to beckon to this target market, crafting a distraction-free enclave into which to retreat for the joys of reading. Now if only we could capture the thoughts, ideas, and emotions that reading kindles in our minds (see what I did there?), without having to leave this delightful inner nook! Enter the Kindle Scribe. Not only a portable library of books personally curated to suit your tastes, the Scribe also offers up a clean stack of notebooks, blank pages brimming with potential, spines labeled by content, bottomless sticky notes, and a hardy pen nestled beside them on your virtual bookshelf. And that’s it. The Kindle Scribe is not a tablet, smartphone, or smart anything else. It is a minimalist digital analogue for paper—now not only for reading, but for writing as well. Reviews from users and “experts” I read before my Scribe arrived typically faulted the Scribe largely on the grounds that it is not an iPad or this or that digital notetaking competitor. If you want that kind of comparison, this review is not for you. There are plenty of those already, and I don’t know anything about any of those devices. When I want tablet functionality, I use my tablet. I'm zany like that. Folks seem to miss the point that this is a “KINDLE/Scribe.” It aligns with the Kindle ethos of providing a distraction-free, electronic experience akin to analog that favors simplicity over clutter. Piling the Scribe with excess features would morph it into something else entirely, destroying the Kindle hallmark of cozy enclosure. If you get this, you will likely enjoy the Scribe’s style. If not, you won’t. Here are the top ten things I am enjoying about the Scribe, right out of the box. 1. READING EXPERIENCE is flawless, with most Kindle reading features, such as customizing the view by font, size, alignment, reading progress, Word Wise, and the like. Scribe retains 300ppi resolution despite the increased screen space. Landscape and portrait options are available either manually or via gyroscope, depending on content. Magazines, journals, technical books, and those with hefty footnotes are far more pleasing to take in than a Kindle. Pages turn by a touch or swipe with finger or pen (I use the eraser side to avoid wear on the tip). 2. INDUSTRIAL DESIGN is masterful. Aluminum case, pleasing to look at as well as slim and a joy to hold, despite the larger size. The sleek case made by Amazon is unintrusive and complements the hardware. The cover wakes and sleeps the Scribe. Origami folds have high and low vertical easel positions. 3. KINDLEVERSE. Seamless continuity with my Kindle library, without the need to use an app or third-party software with limited functionality. Borrowed ebooks from library, same. Last page read and non-handwritten content syncs between Kindle devices and apps as usual. 4. BATTERY LIFE is Olympic, given the size and functionality. Mine came charged to 61%, and it is still going despite much testing, syncing, reading, markup, and notebook creation. Too early yet for me to gauge how long one charge lasts with normal use. USB-C port for charging is handy. 5. WRITING EXPERIENCE is outstanding, and feels very much like paper. The pen scritches satisfyingly as it travels across the page, um, I mean, screen. It is smooth, with no noticeable latency and a few options for a nib thickness, highlighting, and erasing. My handwriting looks like my handwriting. The customizable shortcut button on the premium pen allows easy access to the feature you use most. It does not need a battery and clips magnetically to the side of the Scribe. Any Wacom pen works on the Scribe, and vice versa. You can move the writing toolbar to the left or right, or remove it altogether whenever you prefer an unencumbered space. I have tried the Scribe twice now to take notes continuously during a two hour live translation session. It is a dream, and cost me about 15% battery with lights and all features blazing. 6. NOTEBOOKS. So much chatter about dazzling e-note features other, differently positioned devices have and Scribe lacks obscures what is on offer. Eighteen templates: narrow, college, and wide horizontal ruled, each with or without a vertical margin line; vertical ruled with and without header line; blank; square and dot grid; checklist; daily, weekly, and monthly calendars; tracker; storyboard; and sheet music. Naming, storing, and accessing notebooks is easy, and email sharing is a breeze. 7. IT’S LIT! Ambient light sensor, warmth settings, and dark mode foster a pleasant, unobtrusively customized experience—akin to having Jeeves hovering in the wings, silently adjusting lamps or lighting candles for your reading comfort. 8. AUDIBLE AND TEXT TO SPEECH. I love audiobooks and still miss the text to speech functions of older Kindles. The Scribe offers both, via Bluetooth. 9. STICKY NOTES. This feature, used to annotate ebooks, has limitations, but is far more pleasant than keying in notes on a regular Kindle. Notes from one book or document can be exported into a single file. 10. LIMITED DISTRACTIONS. No apps. No videos. Barebones internet browser. Basic notebook functionality means it is easy to learn. Just as my first Kindle gave me ready access to a curated library everywhere, the Scribe keeps my notes at my fingertips, even when I am too far—or too lazy—to access my (many, many) notebooks. I’ve even started using storyboards and mind maps because of the available templates. In short, the Kindle Scribe enhances my reading experience through modest writing features that mimic analog usage. Call me crazy, but I think that is implicit in what a “KINDLE/Scribe” is meant to do. I look forward to improvements to make the interface even better. For example, there is no way to customize the Home screen, which devotes far more space to purchase recommendations than my ebooks—Amazon will be Amazon. Some glitches could use attention, like using a back arrow in some areas and a close box in others to move out of a particular function. Landscape orientation activates by gyroscope for some interfaces, and manual selection in others. Moveing the writing toolbar happens within the shortcut, but you have to go to the general dropdown menu to remove it. It is cumbersome to move between ebook to notebook, and impossible to use notebooks while listening to Audible audiobooks. It would be great to send audiobooks borrowed from my public library to the Scribe, like ebooks (a feature that depends on collaboration with library software providers). Amazon Customer Service agents I contacted with questions seemed even less knowledgeable about Kindle Scribe than I am. In addition, I think Amazon would have done well to premiere the Scribe with features that snuggle well with the Kindle spirit. Here is my top five wish list in that regard: 1. STICKY NOTES. Currently, sticky notes that happen in Scribe, stay in Scribe. This is the most egregious omission, to my mind. Syncing notes, highlights, bookmarks, etc. across devices is a cornerstone of Kindleness. Yet non-Scribe devices or Kindle apps cannot edit sticky notes. They cannot view them. In fact, they give no indication they even exist. You have to wonder who thought this was okay. Sticky notes need to be accessible across Kindle devices and apps in some way. 2. NOTEBOOKS. The notebook system should be robust, with nesting subfolders, using different templates within a single notebook, inserting and moving pages within notebooks, default cover page selection, custom templates, and easy switching between notebook and ebook, audiobook, or PDF/document view. Kindle apps can view notebooks, but I have not find a way to access them on Kindle devices. Add text recognition with search, sort, share, and related functions. 3. WRITING. Give me scribble, markup, and highlight options in ebooks, not just sticky notes. Lavish me with pen nib styles, thicknesses, and sensitivity options. Basic drawing too. 4. FILES. Let “Send to Kindle” be an option rather than a requirement for e-note functionality in PDFs and documents other than Kindle books. 5. WATERPROOF. I often write with coffee, tea, or water beside me. Enough said. Had I paid less, these missing pieces would be less troublesome. At this price point, I don’t want to have to repurchase a new generation in a year’s time. Even with the trade-in discount, the Scribe is twice the price of the Oasis. Apparently, the days when Amazon underpriced its devices to snag a big chunk of the market, or even carve out a new niche, are behind us. I’m not sure how wise this is in a field already populated by similar and successful devices (I’m looking at you, Fire Phone). It seems Amazon took the Scribe market for granted and went lazy on the software. Or perhaps the plan was to release a supersized Oasis and at the last minute, they figured they toss in some writing features, despite being half-baked. Nevertheless, Amazon certainly has the heft to polish an already lovely device into a spectacular one in harmony with the Kindle aesthetic. Interestingly, the sleek climate-pledge packaging features an image of a handwritten note on a Scribe that reads: “Transformation => small consistent changes.” A harbinger of things to come? I like to think so. For now, the Scribe is a delight to use and a welcome addition to my bookish toy box. Don’t let the naysayers with a bone to pick or undue eagerness to gather likes and followers sway you. This is a quirky little cubby for Kindle readers who write. No other device serves this niche this well. Since I have a penchant for naming items that I use often, my Scribe is called Edith, after the “ugly duckling” middle sister of Downton Abbey who blooms into the swan she always was as time softens her rough edges and reveals her many undiscovered merits. Time will tell whether Scribe imitates art … TWO WEEK UPDATE: Endearing is not a word I typically associate with electronics, but without a doubt, I find the Scribe to be precisely that. Despite the lacunae on the enote side of things, the Scribe is such a joy to use that I find new ways to incorporate it daily. Even without welcome upgrades to the software, I already cannot imagine being without the comfortable screen for reading and the surprisingly useful enote functionality. It complements my Voyage nicely and then some. If you are on the fence about the Kindle Scribe, it is well worth giving it a try. ONE MONTH UPDATE: Still enjoying it, though it definitely feels like Amazon was planning to supersize the Oasis and then tacked on the writing features at the last minute and changed the name to Scribe. Enough to get out of the gate, but it could be a truly stellar product with a few adjustments. For Kindle readers who love the feel of pen and paper though, or those who benefit from the larger reading surface, it is hard to beat. On another note, watch for price reductions. On January 6, 2023, barely a month after releasing the Scribe with no discount, Amazon offered about 15% off the various options, including bundles, refusing to credit original purchasers who paid full price. Odd choice for "Earth's most customer-centric company," but there it is. If you are willing to take the chance that Amazon will not undercut the price at your expense shortly after you purchase, go ahead and pay full price. Otherwise, consider a competitor's product or wait until Amazon issues another promotion, nearly guaranteed on Prime Day, if not sooner.