Kindle Scribe In-Depth Review

The Kindle Scribe is more than just an XL Kindle.
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Is the Kindle Scribe worth $340? If you like hand-writing sticky notes and like a big screen, this might be the E-Ink tablet for you.

00:00 Intro
00:50 Look and feel
01:40 Scribe Notebooks
02:32 Writing with the Pen
03:04 Writing in books
04:51 Marking up PDFS
05:41 Scribe as e-reader
06:16 Pricing
07:10 Scribe vs the competition
07:23 Kobo Elipsa
08:19 reMarkable 2
09:42 Verdict

[TischTosh]

Thank you CNET for having someone who clearly loves E ink and note taking do this review!

[MVIVN]

I went from being kinda interested in this device to completely losing interest in buying it from this review. Thanks for pointing out all the pros and cons in so much detail, made me realise there are some real dealbreakers which make it a no go for me.

[HiStandardDoubleNine]

It seems like the Scribe's problems can be fixed by software updates, but the hardware is good already. Whereas there is nothing you can do to add lights to the Remarkable (other than buying one they will eventually release that has them) Amazon can always release an update that will allow marking up Kindle books and making PDF marking better. Kobo's main problem is that they are a completely separate ecosystem, and if you already have Kindle investment, it makes more sense for you to get the Scribe.

[ElaineFoster]

I got the Scribe and love it. I wanted the good writing capabilities and I'm very pleased with it. There have already been updates. One is that the pen can write like a fountain pen. My handwriting went from average to great in a split second with this pen option. I have the premium pen and use the special feature to be an eraser, so I don't have to turn the pen around to erase. I'm slowing getting all my scrap-of-paper notes into the Scribe. All updates are free so I expect this cool e-ink device to have even more features before I ever wear it out. But I still love it the way it is.

[timtampa]

Very good video, plenty of detail for features, and covers all the bases of what the ideal buyer would expect to see.
This reminds me of the quality that CNET used to have in most of their videos, and I welcome this level of quality in a CNET video review.
My only feedback for what's missing is charging and battery life, as that wasn't covered.

[nessacristine]

Thanks for the thorough review. Looks like the scribe has a long way to go. I own a remarkable 2 and absolutely love it and have no complaints. I’m a grad student about to graduate and have used it A LOT throughout my graduate studies. My favorite features are
-the live screen mirroring (I’ve used it during zoom study sessions to work math problems and show my professors and classmates how I work a problem)
-writing to text conversion (converts your handwriting to text)
-real time syncing (syncs your documents to an app on your PC, MAC, iPhone, iPad, tablet in real time wirelessly. Done a lot of math homework using this feature and have turned it in on my iPhone while on the go)
-I also use it a lot for PDF note taking and I’ve even downloaded a few of my textbooks on there. The platform is very intuitive and well rounded.
If you need an e-ink asap, I’d get the remarkable 2 but if you’d like to wait a little longer I’d wait and see what Amazon has to offer. I’m sure the scribe will catch up to the other more superior e-ink devices on the market. I’m not a big kindle reader. I read more
PDFs and ePub documents so the whole kindle factor didn’t affect me at all.

[redredrubyred]

Helpful review! I ordered the scribe back in October and am waiting! I don’t write directly on books at all, in fact, cannot stand when library books have underlines or side notes, so just noting things on a sticky seems fine. The kobo looks amazing but I’ve had kindles for years and love them! Again thanks CNET for your trustworthy and smart reviews!

[puargs]

I purchased one, and I really agree with and appreciate the criticisms you mention in this video.

My personal criticisms are:
1) It's EXTREMELY thin and light, which is great, but it's also very worrisome to me when I bring it places without a bag. I am worried I will sit on it in the car and bend/break it.
2) It has no buttons, which I really dislike. The touch sensitivity is great when you're directly engaged with it, but it's frustrating when you're sitting to eat.
3) No pressure sensitivity on the pen? What? That's absolutely bizarre in the current world.
4) I preordered the device and the case won't arrive for another month. Keeping the pen with the device by magnets only is frustrating to say the least.

I think your point about it being a gigantic Kindle is poignant - that's exactly why I purchased it; it checks all the boxes I want:
1) Big, high DPI screen
2) Cool/Warm LED shift
3) Absolutely ludicrous battery time (same as other Kindles - no Android, which can be a downside, but boots super fast and keeps a charge for months)
4) Super thin, super light
5) Very, very responsive page turning and display refreshing (not the biggest must-have, but definitely great-to-have)

I should also note the device came with 4 months of free Kindle Unlimited, which I accepted but which I am unsure I will use (I have eclectic reading tastes).

I also own:
Kindle Paperwhite (great but too small for my eyes now)
Boox Nova3 Color (smaller, poor screen, takes too long to boot, thick and heavy, feels non-premium - but has color and note taking!)
Kindle Oasis (perfect device except it's a bit too small. The buttons are great, I wish the Scribe had these buttons)
Samsung Tab S8+ (not e-ink, but my favorite tablet ever made)
iPad Pro 11" (again not e-ink, wonderful device but I don't like the iOS ecosystem very much)

I really hate to emphasize marketing, but there was an insert in the Scribe box that had a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson - "I kept always
two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in." Which more or less perfectly describes my use case - I'm a computer programmer, and I like to read when I eat, and I like to take notes throughout the day when they occur to me. I strongly prefer to hand write notes, but I will use other means if necessary. I need a backlight to not disturb my wife's sleep, but I like it to be warm/cool depending on the time of day. My eyes get really bad at night because of my work and I like the larger device. The Kindle ecosystem is good but doesn't really sway me one way or the other.

[djb]

Just got the Scribe. In spite of the fact that I think it’s overpriced, I like it for what I wanted it for… a larger format e-reader. Ever since my Kindle DX died, I’ve wanted another large e-reader. I have the PaperWhite & that’s fine for when I’m on the go because it fits perfectly in my shorts cargo pockets. But when I’m at home I prefer a larger format that is closer to an actual book page size. I also have the Kobo AuraOne (which I prefer) that is slightly larger than the PaperWhite but still fits comfortably in my cargo pockets, and the Kobo Elipsa which is basically the same size as the Scribe. And I think the Elipsa is overpriced too, but those are the only two choices for a large format e-ink reader. The note taking features are nice, but not what interests me.

This is just personal preference, but I like the software features on the Kobo better than the Kindle. But I do like the feel, fit & finish quality of the Scribe better than the Elipsa.

Now if only Apple would just make a dedicated e-ink only e-reader (they won’t) around the same size as the Scribe, that would really interest me. I’m guessing a lot (maybe most) Kindle owners also own either an iPad or Kindle Fire tablet but prefer reading books on a dedicated e-ink reader for the obvious reasons. I think more competition in this space would be a good thing for readers.

[grayorganization]

Okay, I loved this review and I loved the hosts vibe! Clearly presented, and removed any uncertainty I had about which device to pick. Remarkable 2 is on my Christmas list!

[pheriwinkle]

This was definitely the most succinct and thorough review of the Kindle Scribe that I found--and there was even time for comparisons to other devices. Really impressive review.

[Fitforacting]

@5:35 I love how in-depth you go when it comes to the downfalls. Even though it is a smart device hopefully there’s an ability to update it to address those issues so that people can join and maybe they can bring the price point down a little bit something like this I feel like should be around $250

[ivanmartinez]

I could not have asked for a better review of this product. Thanks for all the details, pro and cons, and for providing info on alternatives.

[faye_bulous]

Thank you for your review. I got a R2 & kindle. I thought the 2 combined in 1 would be perfect. For me productivity and practicality’s a must important i need my notes and books/pdf in 1 place and the software must be frictionless. I’ll stick to my R2 for now. R2 now need to improve on 4 areas:
1-have an inbuilt light
2- be waterproof
3-support kindle app
4- stylus with long lasting nibs
Once all the above are complete R2 will be the best e-tablet on the market ❤

[mandioca]

this woman is a great reviewer! give her a raise!

[adrianocavalcanti]

You know what, as a mathematician and heavy reader, I'd much rather stick with my Kindle Paper white and my mini iPad, even though knowing that the light from the iPad is killing my eyes. But, if Amazons allows us to directly scribe on eBooks, I would get a Kindle scribe in a heartbeat.

[mime]

One of the best reviews. Nice to get someone who is clearly in the market for the product. This video is so thorough and really helped me decide to sit this one out. Thanks!

[rbranch]

Thank you. Very good review. I’ll be staying with my Remarkable 2 and my Kindle Oasis for the foreseeable future. The only selling point for the Scribe to me is its large 300 ppi screen, “a first for its size” as all reviewers announce. When going through the features, it falls off dramatically compared to others in the note taking category. I assume these issues will be addressed in the future, when newer versions come out. I’ll wait and see.

[peircedan]

Purchased the Kindle Scribe recently and it does now do conversion to text. I was testing that just a day ago. It also now has different pen types and a pencil tip also. Also, I am quite sure the Remarkable 2 was more expensive than the kindle scribe when I ordered it (Canada).

[DTPIIXART]

I thought I really wanted the Kindle Scribe, but I think I'm going to wait and see what updates they do to it. I've realized that you can't make a drawing, and then copy/paste, or resize it in another notebook like you can on the Remarkable 2. That is a function I enjoy on my Remarkable 2. So I'm going to hang on to my Remarkable 2 for awhile longer, even though I hate that it doesn't have light up screen.