First impressions of the Kindle Scribe

My Kindle Scribe arrived today and I've given it a 1-hour first spin.

The reason I bought a Kindle Scribe was to read ebooks on a bigger screen. (Read about my other reasons in this post.) This box is definitely ticked now. Look at the size of this thing next to my face!

Here is my first impression.

Size and bezel

The device isn't as heavy as Ali Abdaal makes it out to be in his review. He believes it's practically impossible to hold the thing while reading, but I disagree.

Holding the Scribe actually feels better than holding a basic Kindle for me, because it has a whole grippable surface that isn't part of the touch screen. This means I can actually grip it between my thumb and fingers, unlike the tiny bezels on the basic Kindle, which I have to kind of prop up with my fingers at the base, or use an elastic strap.

Screen real estate

I love the 10-inch screen! Normally I fall asleep reading a book within 15 minutes of reading in bed, but today, with the Scribe, I read The Software Engineer's Guidebook by Gergely Orosz for 45 minutes before I started dozing off. I chalk it up to the larger screen, because it's less tiring on my eyes.

Handwriting notes in a notebook

I created my first notebook, which I learn can contain many pages. You create a new page simply by swiping to the right. A page number then appears at the bottom left, indicating "Page 1 of 2" like a classic page counter in a Word document.

You can organise Notebooks into folders. I haven't had to use this yet.

The handwriting experience itself with the premium pen is fantastic. The material is rubbery, making it pleasant on the fingers. The latency is almost imperceptible. Plus, the screen has a satisfying paper-like texture, so gliding the fake pen across the screen actually feels close to writing on paper.

Here's my first handwritten note, which I managed to email to myself within 2 taps from the kebab menu when viewing the note:

One thing I have to call out is the quality of the exported image (it's a PDF, actually). The quality is not amazing. I zoomed in and quickly saw pixels. It's a little bit like an image you'd make in MS Paint with a big canvas. Here's what it looks like zoomed in:

Don't compare this to Procreate on an iPad or you'll be utterly disappointed. The notebook is only good enough for rough sketches, IMO.

But I'm not planning to design graphics on this thing. I do see myself using this for work. I'd use it to sketch user flows and system design diagrams. I'm also curious about using it to plan each day's work, so I turn my eyes away from the backlit monitor a few times a day to look at something that has all the visual properties of paper.

Reading experience

The pages on my Kindle Scribe turn faster than my basic Kindle. As in, the refresh rate is higher on this device. A welcome change, because the basic one lags, sometimes taking up to 1 second to show me the next page, which is extra annoying because the smaller screen of the basic Kindle forces me to do more page flips to read the same amount of text.

Scrolling through my library, which is honestly a terribly designed interface on all Kindles in my opinion, is also more pleasant because of the higher refresh rate.

I read today in bed with a small cushion on my lap and the Scribe propped up on its base. For 45 minutes, I didn't feel pain on the wrist or any discomfort.

One final point about the Kindle Scribe is the warm light. I could adjust the level of warmth for the built-in light, reducing the amount of blue light entering my eyes that I do feel affects my sleep. This is a big plus point. It's not exclusive to the Scribe, but available on the higher-end Kindles.

Verdict after 1 hour of use

The Kindle Scribe gets 5/5 from me. Ticks all my boxes. Let's see if I feel the same a couple of months from now. I've set a reminder to write one, 6 months later.