A remarkable way to make writing fun 😍

Warning: contains beer.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

​ Hey, I'm writing this email while (whilst?) sitting at a lovely little clifftop bar, using a rather wondrous little device which I picked up in October to boost my productivity. Turns out it makes work more fun as well – and I'm not just talking about the beer. You see, with all the disruptions I've had over the last year or so, time has become pinched and I've a lot of catching up to do. So I've been looking at various ways to get more done in the time I have available, and if it can make the process more enjoyable too that's a sweet bonus. It's the perfect time of year to do it too, what with Black Friday approaching in a few short weeks. Kindle Scribe Announcement During this bout of introspection, Amazon announced the new Kindle Scribe – a very nifty looking device which takes the flagship Oasis model and adds the ability to "edit" documents, something which made this writer's ears perk right up. Although do note those scare quotes, which I added after some consideration. Anyway, on hearing this I ran to Facebook intent on sharing the news, whereupon I was immediately schooled about an entire range of such devices, some of which may be superior, depending on your particular needs. After much research, it was ultimately an alternative – the Remarkable 2 – which won my heart (and dollars). There's a lot of interest in this crop of devices right now, especially with Amazon getting into the market, so I'm planning to do a video review so you can really see the Remarkable 2 in action. I may also pick up a Kindle Scribe to see what's what, and then do a side-by-side comparison. For now, though, no one has their hands on the Kindle Scribe quite yet – I believe it starts shipping a couple of days after Cyber Monday – but it sounds like it will be similar enough to the Remarkable 2 in what it can and can't do… with a couple of key differences. A Remarkable Alternative The Remarkable 2 is a very swish device – there is much cooing when you first open the box. It's best thought of as a digital notebook in the truest sense, i.e. an actual digital replacement for all those notebooks authors cart around, but one which can do some really cool tricks. It's a paradoxical thing, given that half the attraction is what it can't do, rather than what it can – one which seems to have been designed from the ground up as something to work on, without getting distracted. "Look at all the things you can't do!" is a weird flex, perhaps, but one which totally worked on me from the get-go; I am a distractable cat. Because this is a premium e-ink tablet – in terms of build quality, but also price, which I'll get to – it's sleek like an ultrabook but its battery lasts forever, and you'll never fill up the storage. There's a limited-but-intriguing functionality here, not unlike a larger-screened Kindle, and the whole shebang is surprisingly light. This combo allows me to easily edit documents on the fly, even in the glare of the sun like I'm doing right now, he says, rubbing it in further. ​ Setting myself up to work at a table with a view – where a kind gentleman brings me a very small beer as soon as I raise an eyebrow – is pretty painless too. One click in Word sends any document to my Remarkable. Then I can write up my edits wherever the mood strikes me. Which is handy as I'm working outside the house a lot at the moment, with all the construction work going on around me. Plus, the sun is shining and there's beer. The other cool feature is that it can convert your handwriting into text – yes, it works surprisingly well even with a messy scrawl like mine. But you'll have to take my word for that until the video review drops. Honestly, it feels amazing to write on this device, and especially so to sketch on it – there are a range of brushes and pencils and so on. I'm not much of a doodler, but this device is very encouraging! ​ It's not just marketing guff, they truly have designed it quite cleverly to mimic that feeling of pencil and paper; it's just a joy to use. The killer drawback: it can't do those two features together. In other words, I can't send my WIP to the Remarkable, hand-write my edits on it, and automagically convert those handwritten edits into text which is then incorporated live into the document. Frustratingly, it can do those two things separately, but not together, certainly not in any kind of seamless way. However, I've been enjoying simply using the Remarkable to mark up my pages (before typing them up later) and it works really well in this more limited use case. It's also nice not to waste so much paper and even more satisfying to stop paying tithes to the criminal gang which seems to run the world's ink supply. The Kindle Scribe, by the way, is not the killer device which will bring these two features together under one roof; indeed, it seems to do a little less than the Remarkable on that front because from the previews it looks like you can't scrawl directly on documents – one of the nicest features of the Remarkable – but rather append Post-It like notes to any point of the text of a book (and note you might be restricted to DRM-free books). BTW, if doing those two things together – i.e. marking up docs, and then having your handwriting converted and inserted immediately into those docs – is the overriding priority then it sounds like you should check out a third device called the SuperNote, but be aware that is considerably more expensive. Cost is something important to flag, even in a quick review like this one. The Remarkable 2 isn't cheap, starting at $399. European types can pick it up quite a bit cheaper at €349, as it's a Norwegian company and we get to dodge the import/shipping fees for once. However, there are more costs which aren't immediately obvious. You won't get far here without a special pen to write with, and your device will likely get quite damaged if you don't swing for a cover well. And the official extras are definitely pricey. The official Remarkable Marker costs a hefty $79/€79, or $129/€129 if you want the fancier version with the magic eraser. And then when it comes to the official covers you have a bunch of options ranging from $69/€69 for a polymer weave sleeve to as much as $159/€159 for a fancy leather book-style cover. I should also note that a year's subscription to Connect is bundled with the device – which is what powers that impressive OCR tech transcribing your handwriting in the cloud. It costs $2.99 a month normally, but at least you get to test it out for a year for free before deciding if it's worthwhile. I went for the fancy marker and a cheaper polymer weave book-style cover, and I was happy enough with the products, but they do feel on the expensive side. If that's a concern, you can get really good quality off-brand alternates on Amazon for less than half the lowest prices quoted above. I'll cover those (and everything else) in more detail in the upcoming video, as there are advantages to getting the official gear, even if it feels a little overpriced. But the main advantage to getting the pricey official pen over something like a Staedtler EMR pen off Amazon for less than half the price is simple: that wonderful sensation of writing on the Remarkable isn't quite the same with a replacement pen, as the official one has some rather clever wearable nib technology – which creates that magical feeling of pencil-and-paper friction. Perhaps the official cover is less necessary – I was just concerned about it fitting snugly so I didn't drop my new baby but maybe I'm overly fretting; the magnets seem strong. If you are an OG tech adopter, you might remember early devices like the Blackberry or the Palm Pilot or a variety of other attempts to make writing or pens work in some form on mobile devices, none of which ever really stuck the landing. Being a grizzled veteran of that era, I was amazed how different the feeling was of writing on this thing. Gone was the feeling of pushing a weird rubber stick across a glassy surface – the Remarkable 2 couldn't be more different, and it achieves that unique feeling through a variety of interesting (and controversial!) design choices – and I'll definitely get into that in the video too. I was wondering if the joy (note: I keep using that word) of writing on this device would wear off once it was no longer a novelty. But I've been using it for a month now and I still smile every time I switch it on. It's that feeling which led me to the Remarkable 2 over the Kindle Scribe or the SuperNote, but maybe you value other things. You might read this and think that what you need more is a device which can carry more water, specifically perhaps one that can double as your main e-reader. And while the Remarkable 2 is serviceable enough for reading EPUBs, if that's a priority, then you should definitely get the Kindle Scribe (which is similarly priced). Or the Kobo Elipsa if you hang out in that ecosystem – Kobo does make very good e-readers, and the Elipsa will allow you to annotate as well. But maybe your priorities are different again. You might really need the ability to have handwritten edits incorporated immediately in your documents – if so, check out the SuperNote. I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, but the videos online look cool (but remember that it's twice as much). Or if you don't want any of these pared-back distraction-free devices, and just want a fuller-function e-ink tablet, then perhaps look into the Onyx Boox range, which even has one with a front facing camera now if you are struck with the sudden urge to take a selfie while crying about edits, but don't want to take your phone out. Seriously though, this kind of purchase will be driven by your personal preferences as much as your budget. What do you really see yourself using it for? Where the Remarkable 2 wins out over the alternatives – in my very subjective opinion – is the simple sensation of writing on it. There's a deliberate little bit of friction which recreates the feeling of writing on paper, and it's something you really must try. Something curious about this sensation just makes the act of writing so much more enjoyable. And if that sounds more important to you, then definitely check out the Remarkable 2. In fact, you can test it out in quite a risk-free manner as they have a 100-day moneyback guarantee – and a 3-year warranty if you decide to keep it. If you are still on the fence – and most of you probably will be given the cost, which is totally understandable – then wait for my video review. But if you already know you wish to purchase, then hit Reply to this email and I'll hook you up with a discount code for $40/€40 off, which makes the cost a little more bearable. Full disclosure: that is a referral code so I will get a small commission if you decide to buy a device and keep it for more than 100 days. Even more important: your discount gets applied after that 100-day period, presumably to prevent shenanigans and tomfoolery. Just be aware it won't be applied immediately at checkout! That's it for this week, I'm going back to my view (and my shiny new toy). Full review to come, which will almost certainly contain a lot of oohing and aahing. Dave P.S. Writing music this week is Sophisticated Boom Boom by The Goodies. Broomfield Business Park, Malahide, Co. Dublin K36 AT04 ​Unsubscribe | Update your profile​