Kindle Scribe: PDF Secrets 

Thank you for this! I have pinned this comment to the top of the thread in case this info can be of help to others.

Can you export the annotated PDFs from the Scribe by USB/Calibre or is it bizarrely only through Amazon’s cloud? Planning to get a e-reader that can do some notes, but don’t want to share my note contents to Amazon - thus inbetween this and a Kobo Elipsa.

@@moskari26 I haven't tried moving the PDF from the Scribe to my M1 Mac using Calibre. However, it you use the send feature going through Amazon's servers you'll get a searchable PDF, that is, you can search for your handwritten notes inside the PDF. If you want to convert your handwriting to text, just lasso the text, paste into a Scribe notebook, and send from there. The result is a downloadable OCR editable text file from my handwriting.

This is brilliant, thanks for info.

Wow! Don't really know what to say...except thank you so much for the comment! I'm glad you enjoyed it and it's great if this video can leave people a bit more informed about this device.

Thank you! Really good to hear that you enjoyed the review and I'm glad people have been finding it helpful!

Thank you! That’s so great to hear and I’m glad you enjoyed the review!

Thanks for the comment! I’m also surprised that so many people don’t seem to have thought about the possible data privacy issues on the Kindle Scribe. It makes me wonder why. I’d say it is a nice device to read e-books on, and I’d probably keep it for that reason. Amazon’s ecosystem of e-books is probably the largest out there. However, I’m not sure how much confidential note-taking or PDF reading I’d recommend for the long term.

Thank you! Completely agree Re: PDF reading on e-readers...why hasn't a manufacturer (aside from Onyx Boox devices...and there may be some data privacy concerns there) made PDF reading modes a priority? In my experience, only some Pocketbook devices come close. If you're stuck in a search for a good 10 or 13 inch PDF e-reader, you may want to give the Fujitsu Quaderno (2nd Gen) devices a look. If only Fujitsu sold these devices via Amazon or even through their own online store outside of Japan....sigh.

Thanks for your comment and support! Glad you enjoyed the review. As far as I’m aware, the PDF experience is the same on all Kindle Scribe units…however, those running older software may have different options.

Glad this video was helpful! Regarding potentially better "data security" on the Kindle Scribe, see the top comment by another viewer. This may help...however, I don't have experience using the software he mentioned and cannot speak to the experience of using it myself.

Firstly, thank you for your comment! Nice to hear that you were able to get in touch with Amazon, and it would be interesting to know what their road map is going forward. It would be great if I could just give you a quick answer to your question but, right now, there aren’t many devices in the e-ink market that satisfy all of those requirements. There really should be, but it doesn’t seem to be a focus for most manufacturers. However, I can give you the following information and maybe one of these brands will be of interest in your search. Please see below. Kindle Scribe: I know you said you’ve decided against a Kindle Scribe, and it is hard for me to recommend it because of the aspects I cover in this video, but please see the top pinned comment by another viewer. Apparently using software called Calibre MIGHT improve the experience somewhat….however, I don’t have experience using this software and can’t personally vouch for it. Kobo Elipsa 2E: Here is my full review of the device: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-L-gI32uDDGc.html and here is my most recent follow up review: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i2fz89q8AKM.html Onyx Boox Note Air 3 C: The Air 3C is a 10.3 inch, android OS based, Kaleido 3 screen color e-reader that could probably satisfy most if not all of your requirements. Onyx Boox devices today are some of the most powerful and capable e-readers available. They also offer, in my opinion, probably the most advanced PDF cropping and enhancement options…but unfortunately there is a growing chorus of data privacy concerns around those devices. Specifically, concerns have been raised over the tendency of the devices to “phone home” to the company’s servers in China. I don’t have the technical experience necessary to validate these concerns or dismiss them, but it may be something to be concerned about. Some of the larger e-ink reviewers have essentially just hand waved this issue away, but I would suggest looking into this and making your own decision and if this is something that concerns you. A few videos have been posted to youtube on this topic. One possible workaround I’ve heard people discuss is just using the device completely offline once set up, but that might nullify a large feature set that some are hoping to use. Remarkable 2: The Remarkable 2 is, so far, the best note-taking experience I have had on an e-ink device and has been the most natural to write on. It’s not the newest out there and may have a successor/new additional model coming soon (possibly 2025). You can annotate PDFs on the device with several pen types, use some of the best pen tilt shading in the industry, and even use different layers to write on in your document (including on PDFs). However, at least in past software versions, the one PDF cropping tool available was pretty terrible and didn’t work well. Lately, Remarkable has been tweaking their software, mainly in the area of user experience, and this has produced a very mixed reaction from users. I haven’t been updating my Remarkable 2 unit much as a result. I feel the worst part of the Remarkable 2 has always been it’s companion app and cloud synching system. You can largely avoid this by using the slightly more complicated USB method to import and export PDFs onto the device (support.remarkable.com/s/article/Exporting-files), but you then have less options (ex. fewer file type options on export of the document). But, to my knowledge, the core note-taking excellence and ability to mark up PDFs on the device remains a great experience. A few things have changed since I posted this, but here’s a link to my most recent Remarkable 2 mini review to give you a quick idea of the device’s capabilities: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qTBgLlTYJpY.html Unfortunately, the Remarkable 2 does not feature a color e-ink screen. Fujitsu Quaderno A4 and A5: These devices are the spiritual successor to the Sony DPT-RP1 and DPT-CP1 and come in a 13.3 inch and 10.3 inch screen size respectively. They are both greyscale devices and are not color e-ink e-readers. However, for sheer reliability and simplicity it doesn’t get much better. These can ONLY read and mark up PDFs, but are very lightweight, have decent software, and are said to have a great writing experience. My direct experience is using the (discontinued) Sony DPT-RP1 which, despite some issues, was a truly excellent device which was held back by a badly designed stylus. These units appear to have fixed that issue and really look excellent for simple note-taking and PDF annotation and export. Importantly, these devices allow a split screen mode where you can read and annotate a PDF on one side, and have either the next page of that same PDF, another PDF entirely, or a note pad on the other side of the screen. Very cool abilities if you’ll only be working with notes and PDFs. The main problems with these devices is that they are a) somewhat expensive, and b) are hard to purchase from a retailer that I would consider truly reputable (if you live outside of Japan, that is). Some reviewers have also critiqued the battery life on these devices. However, their methodology in determining this may be questionable. There are indications that certain reviewers may have left the wi-fi connection on the device on at all times when testing the device. Considering the device has NO internet browsing capability and only uses this to transfer files and fetch software updates, it seems spectacularly unlikely to me that most users would use the device this way in real world usage. Other devices that you may want to consider are: -Pocketbook Inkpad X Pro -A 10.3 Black and White e-ink note-taking capable e-reader that is quite lightweight (350 ish grams) -Pocketbook Inkpad EO -A 10.3 Color e-ink device using Kaleido 3 screen technology. -Note: Thought to actually be made by Bigme in collaboration with Pocketbook. -Definitely on the heavier side of most e-readers at roughly 1 pound in weight! -The Mobiscribe Wave Color Kaleido 3 -A 7.8 inch color e-ink note-taking focused e-reader which can also read and annotate PDF documents. Hopefully, this information can give you a better idea of some other e-ink options out there.

I'd say the Kindle Scribe does seem overpriced for what you get. If the PDF experience was less locked to the Send-to-Kindle system the overall price might seem more fair.