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Promotional image for the Kindle Scribe: The device will be launched on November 30th
Photo:
Amazon
For the first time in the history of its popular e-book readers, Amazon has introduced a Kindle that allows for handwritten notes.
The new device, to which Amazon supplies a stylus, is called the Kindle Scribe and will be released on November 30th.
There are three variants of the device on the market, with either 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes (GB) of memory.
The 16 GB variant costs 370 euros to start with, including a "standard pen".
Alternatively, you can get it with a “premium stylus” for 30 euros more.
The devices with more memory cost 420 and 450 euros, here the “premium input pen” is included in each case.
According to Amazon, the difference between the pens is that the premium model has a "special eraser on the top" and a shortcut button.
With it you should be able to quickly set whether you want to use the input pen like a classic pen, like an eraser or in the style of a highlighter.
In principle, digital erasing can also be done with the »standard pen«.
Both pens don't need power.
A device that you want to try first
Technically, the new Kindle itself offers a 10.2-inch display, which Amazon calls Paperwhite, and a pixel density of 300 ppi, making it Amazon's largest e-book reader to date.
The Scribe weighs 433 grams.
It has a front light and can be charged via USB-C.
The battery life is only roughly given as "months".
Only a practical test will show how good writing on the 5.8 millimeter thin device really feels.
Amazon itself boasts of “reading and writing like paper”.
The company points to the possibility of making notes in e-books, managing to-do lists and working on diaries.
Incidentally, pages from books in the Kindle shop cannot be scribbled directly: If you want to make a note, a Post-it-like field opens on the display, according to an example clip, in which you can then write.
Apparently there is more freedom with content that can be transferred from the smartphone or computer to the device via the "Send to Kindle" service, for example in PDF file format.
Here, for example, you can also write directly on the existing text.
According to Amazon, no handwritten notes at all are possible in the manga and magazines obtained via the official platform.
The notes end up in the cloud
It remains to be seen how easy Amazon will make the digital management of self-created content and book annotations for the user, even beyond the Kindle.
The announcement states that it will enable the export of documents and notes via email.
According to Amazon, "all notebooks are automatically stored in the cloud for free".
They should be accessible via the Kindle app from early 2023, i.e. some time after the release of the device.
The Kindle Scribe should receive software security updates for at least four years.
In addition to the Kindle Scribe, Amazon also unveiled other devices on Wednesday, including new Echo Dot devices, the next-generation Fire TV Cube, and a new Alexa voice remote.
mbo