Comparing the E Ink tablets

Remarkable has revealed the Paper Pro, the first paper tablet from the popular brand to feature a colour display.

How does the Paper Pro compare to Amazon’s own digital notebook offering, the Kindle Scribe? Although we haven’t reviewed the Paper Pro yet, we did review the Kindle Scribe and gave it a 3.5-star rating. 

To help you decide which paper tablet might be better suited for you, we’ve compared the specs of both and noted the key differences between them below.

Price

The recently launched Remarkable Paper Pro has a starting RRP of £599/$579, however the price will depend on which accompanying pen you opt for. There’s the standard Marker stylus or the Marker Plus which features more sensitivity and a built-in eraser, which can be added for £40/$40 extra.

The Amazon Kindle Scribe has a slightly cheaper starting RRP of £329.99 and, like the Remarkable Paper Pro, also comes with a choice between two pens: Basic or Premium. The latter bundle starts at £359.99, as the Premium stylus offers an additional shortcut button and an eraser option.

The Paper Pro is the first Remarkable paper tablet that includes a colour display. Powered by Remarkable’s own Canvas Colour technology, the display supports nine different colours which can be blended and layered together when writing and doodling. That’s pretty impressive compared to most colour E Ink tablets that put a filter on top of its black and white display to produce colours.

Unlike LCD or LED screens, the Canvas Colour doesn’t use bright, flickering lights to produce colours and instead has a low-glare display that reflects natural light, for a more comfortable reading experience. 

For sheer screen real estate, the Remarkable Paper Pro dominates the Kindle Scribe with a hefty 11.8-inch display compared to the latter’s 10.2-inch. 

Whether you favour a larger or smaller display is down to your personal preference, however it’s worth noting that in our review of the smaller Kindler Scribe, we noted that it isn’t “an e-reader you can hold with one hand”. With this in mind, the Paper Pro may be difficult to hold for casual use. 

The Paper Pro is not only thinner than the Kindle Scribe but Remarkable claims that it’s the thinnest device of its kind in the world. While the Paper Pro is 5.1mm thick, the Kindle Scribe is a slightly thicker 5.8mm. 

Even so, the Paper Pro is significantly heavier than the Scribe, weighing 525g compared to the latter at 433g. Its weight alongside its large screen may result in the device being difficult to use for casual reading, but we’ll confirm that once we go hands-on. 

The Kindle Scribe uses the Kindle store

If you already have a Kindle or favour the Amazon Kindle store for ebooks then you should opt for the Scribe, as the Paper Pro doesn’t support Kindle files. This is because Kindle ebooks are DRM (digital rights management) protected, so can only be opened on Kindle-supported devices. 

Otherwise, you can import ebooks onto the Paper Pro that are EPUB, a format that’s available from other ebook retailers. 

On the other hand, the Kindle Scribe is somewhat limited in its software. There’s a lack of optical character recognition (OCR) which means you can’t search through your handwritten notes, which is a feature that you can find on Remarkable devices.

Although you can use Paper Pro without needing an additional keyboard, there is the option to purchase the Type Folio which works as a full-size, wireless keyboard. At £179/$199, it’s pricey and also not a necessity as the Paper Pro does have an on-screen keyboard. 

The Kindle Scribe isn’t compatible with any Amazon keyboard, nor does it have a Bluetooth connection, which means it can’t be paired with any third-party keyboards either. If you prefer to type your notes, then you’d be better off opting for the Paper Pro instead. 

Early verdict

There are pros and cons with both the Remarkable Paper Pro and the Amazon Kindle Scribe. While the Paper Pro features a larger and thinner display that boasts a colour screen, the Kindle Scribe weighs less and utilises the Amazon Kindle store. 

The Paper Pro is also much more expensive than the Kindle Scribe, especially if you decide to add on the Type Folio.