Kindle Scribe

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by untilyouarrived

I’d take this news with a degree of scepticism. The Good EReader Blog is the only outlet reporting that this shutdown has affected Scribe deliveries, and they are not known for being particularly reliable.

Indeed. It doesn't track with the shipping dates reported on this thread, and we're not dealing which huge volume of product like iPhone (which has modest delays at this point).

Of course there are ongoing lockdowns there due to rising COVID cases and also driven by the political interests of an increasingly authoritarian government. That will have some impact.

https://news.yahoo.com/china-covid-p...235207128.html

[jhowell]

I assume that the shorter delivery times for new orders indicates that either production has ramped up or that it is less popular than Amazon anticipated.

[tomsem]

Interview with Kevin Keith, VP of Amazon Devices:

http://thekindlechronicles.com/tkc-700-day-1-in-seattle

And no, Kindle Scribe is not running FireOS. Sounds like they will add handwriting recognition next year some time.

[Quoth]

So basically a bigger Oasis with "sketching" on unprotected PDFs. Better than a reMarkable, but only better in terms of the 300dpi vs 227 dpi screen for Elipsa.
No doubt you'll be able to copy back an "annotated" (scribbled on) PDF like you can with every other 10″ approx size PDF, but using USB MS rather than inferior Android MTP (does Fire use MTP?) or terrible reMarkable USB Networking.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Interview with Kevin Keith, VP of Amazon Devices:

http://thekindlechronicles.com/tkc-700-day-1-in-seattle

And no, Kindle Scribe is not running FireOS. Sounds like they will add handwriting recognition next year some time.

Thanks for sharing this. At the beginning he mentions that he's getting a review device and he will have a video review coming up. I'd like to see a real hands on of the Scribe.

[innocenat]

Originally Posted by Quoth

(does Fire use MTP?)

Fire use MTP. To implement USB MS, you need to freeze the entire OS when connected which is infeasible for complex OS.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by innocenat

Fire use MTP. To implement USB MS, you need to freeze the entire OS when connected which is infeasible for complex OS.

No, you don't, but there are apparently other reasons why MTP is used by Android. I read somewhere it was developed for the Zune originally. With USB MS you see part of the filesystem. With USB MTP you don't. USB Networking, like reMarkable uses, is simpler and only one step up from a USB Serial port, by adding TCP/IP. My understanding is that Fire OS is essentially a slightly customised Android.

[salamanderjuice]

MTP wasn't developed for the Zune. Microsoft developed it but it was in use in portable media players prior to the Zune like the Creative Zen Portable Media Center back in 2004. MTP grew out of the older Picture Transfer Protocol designed for stuff like digital cameras but with support for more than just photos.

MTP doesn't need to expose the filesystem to the computer which means the device doesn't have to use a FS supported by Windows to work. It also can help with file corruption from users not properly ejecting devices and can stop users from mucking about with system files on the device that they shouldn't be doing.

Remarkable's system is incredibly flakey and requires their app to work from I've heard.

[innocenat]

Originally Posted by Quoth

No, you don't, but there are apparently other reasons why MTP is used by Android. I read somewhere it was developed for the Zune originally. With USB MS you see part of the filesystem. With USB MTP you don't. USB Networking, like reMarkable uses, is simpler and only one step up from a USB Serial port, by adding TCP/IP. My understanding is that Fire OS is essentially a slightly customised Android.

Technically, you don't, but the OS must not do anything to the exposed storage block. Practically, it means freezing the OS like Kindle does.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

MTP wasn't developed for the Zune. Microsoft developed it but it was in use in portable media players prior to the Zune like the Creative Zen Portable Media Center back in 2004. MTP grew out of the older Picture Transfer Protocol designed for stuff like digital cameras but with support for more than just photos.

So similar to what I thought, an MS idea.

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

MTP doesn't need to expose the filesystem to the computer which means the device doesn't have to use a FS supported by Windows to work. It also can help with file corruption from users not properly ejecting devices and can stop users from mucking about with system files on the device that they shouldn't be doing.

I think DRM features was one aspect, but yes MTP does have some advantages.
However disabling the GUI on gadget while connected to Host isn't onerous.

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

Remarkable's system is incredibly flakey and requires their app to work from I've heard.

It's just TCP/IP over USB. It's very limited, but once enabled you put the IP on GUI into your Browser and can drag & drop ONE file at a time to Browser. You can download a file. You need to create any new directory/folder via the tablet GUI's file browser. Otherwise it's actually reliable.
No need to use their app, unlike Sony Digital Paper. It seems to me like a slightly poorer copy of Sony Digital Paper Tablets (DPT).
I have the reMarkable cheap S/H but never bought the Sony DPT because I doubted it would work on Linux, it seemed awkward, and it was very expensive.

[tomsem]

I wonder what the chances are that Amazon will add Print Replica format ('PDF in a container', used for many textbooks) support to Scribe. They'd be idiots not to, screen is arguably large enough to be adequate, and they must know people want these to read PDF's on them.

It's not currently included in the technical details.

[untilyouarrived]

Originally Posted by JoeC

Thanks for sharing this. At the beginning he mentions that he's getting a review device and he will have a video review coming up. I'd like to see a real hands on of the Scribe.

Indeed. An interesting listen.

The review embargo is lifted at the end of November, so hopefully we'll be able to read / watch about it more following that.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I wonder what the chances are that Amazon will add Print Replica format ('PDF in a container', used for many textbooks) support to Scribe. They'd be idiots not to, screen is arguably large enough to be adequate, and they must know people want these to read PDF's on them.

It's not currently included in the technical details.

Maybe eventually, but seems like at release it's just the same as current eink Kindle firmware, but with writing (scribbling) on unprotected PDFs, no doubt added as graphics layer so you can copy PDF back to laptop/PC/Android etc.

I doubt it does anything not listed and expect the listing of features is a bit misleading.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Maybe eventually, but seems like at release it's just the same as current eink Kindle firmware, but with writing (scribbling) on unprotected PDFs, no doubt added as graphics layer so you can copy PDF back to laptop/PC/Android etc.

I doubt it does anything not listed and expect the listing of features is a bit misleading.

Yeah, I expect it would be an update.

While obviously the rendering engine is there (for PDF), they'd need to add the Flashcards, thumbnail view, and other features conferred by the Kindle apps.

Interestingly, Kindles currently have better support in some respects than the Kindle apps, which don't even let you search or annotate personal document PDFs. So if they are going to let you view your PDF scribbles in the Kindle apps, they've got some work to do. Hopefully this will also pertain to any personal document PDFs one might have added.

[
Recall that after they dumped Adobe Reader SDK (used in first kindles for PDF rendering) they made an investment in Foxit:

https://www.foxit.com/company/press/1569.html

I assume this is still what Kindle is using.
]

Ideally they'll eventually support editing or adding scribbles in the Kindle apps as well. It'd be a natural on iPad or Samsung devices with S pen.

[WillAdams]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Ideally they'll eventually support editing or adding scribbles in the Kindle apps as well. It'd be a natural on iPad or Samsung devices with S pen.

Editing PDFs can be a difficult thing.

Annotation/markup fortunately is easier --- there are some nice apps for it such as Drawboard PDF (which I use w/ my Samsung Galaxy Book 12 and Staedtler Noris Digital Stylus).