reMarkable, a New eink device with pen support - Page 17

Question Mark · 12-01-2017, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by machinogodzilla

Hello! Apologies for wedging in. Just wanted to ask for your opinion if it perhaps is time for a new ReMarkable category in order to make the discussion more structured and create one central point for this device as is the case with others?

Think this would be an excellent idea now that they are more than just an idle dream. This is a device with real potential.

Not quite at the stage where they would encourage me to lighten my wallet. But very close. Just need to work out a few kinks and improve the specs with a second generation model.

Definitely a device worth keeping an eye on.

rcaban · 12-21-2017, 03:41 PM

Hi all - received my reMarkable Tablet last week. It pretty mush does the writing and sketching thing almost flawlessly. This is a new era in how we digitally record handwriting and sketching/drawing but it's not without it's flaws.

Battery life - poor, at best. I lose ~10-15% an hour under normal usage, even with wifi turned off as "MAD" user (someone in forum) stated in this forum. I did hear that they are updating firmware to improve that.

Which brings me to [B]Support/B]t- almost non-existent. Maybe the holidays? I know they are overwhelmed. But plunking down 600.00 for this should fetch some urgency to our issues with the tablet

Many, many bugs - I cannot connect to WiFi at the office because we use WPA2 encryption. That's my theory, I could be wrong. I can connect at home, Starbucks, at a friends house (when they tell me the password of course), just not in the office. And the only difference I can see is that my office uses that WPA2 encryption. Additionally, when attempting to connect, and it fails, it does not tell you that if failed. There is no error dialogue, or a prompt that tells you about system issues. This is the case for most issues that have cropped up. Like when emailing notes from the tablet, it does not guide you how to do it and if you input an incorrectly formatted email address, you will not receive a warning or error. I found this to be consistent while performing many functions that may have failed due to me or the limits of the (software).

The stylus feels very cheap however critical to this tablet. Also, it is round, so it constantly rolls off my desk.

The body feels like a throwback to the 1st generation Kindle. Not totally a bad thing, it's more of a focus on functionality rather than design (construction/aesthetics)

Now for the Good

This does exactly what it was set out to do. Take notes. Sketch. It does it well, actually, almost perfect!

Although the battery does not last long, it charges amazingly fast even from my laptop USB port! I would say < 1/2 hour, it goes from 20% to 100%. Hopefully that is a good thing

There are lots of templates to use. They assist in whatever style you want to write or draw in. Bravo!

The screen looks and sounds like writing on paper. No glare, will not crack (not glass) if dropped and no eyestrain. Okay, no back light, but show me a sheet of paper that's back-lit today.

Transferring files from mobile apps and desktop apps works very well, albeit limited to ePUB and PDF.

Synchronization to their cloud works very, yes, I said, very well.

Overall, this is a first generation product. I remember the first generation Kindle, first generation iPhone, and the list goes on and on. I can say, I am using the sh*% out of this tablet, testing it's performance and so to speak - stretching its legs. I take copious notes at my job and find this extremely useful thus far. Has it crashed a couple of times? Yes, but briefly and back on-line immediately. It does not crash consistently. Does it have bugs? Absolutely. I am in the software business and bugs are part of the stream. They do get resolved. So, I am being patient abut this. reMarkable did provide the option to return in 45 days if not happy, and hopefully, I will not need to take that path but it's an option nonetheless.

I hope this review proves useful to all of us new adopters. I'm willing to entertain questions as I have been spending an exorbitant amount of time with this puppy. It is a great first attempt todays firestorm of changing technology.

-Raul Caban

sealbeater · 12-21-2017, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcaban

Many, many bugs - I cannot connect to WiFi at the office because we use WPA2 encryption. That's my theory, I could be wrong. I can connect at home, Starbucks, at a friends house (when they tell me the password of course), just not in the office. And the only difference I can see is that my office uses that WPA2 encryption. Additionally, when attempting to connect, and it fails, it does not tell you that if failed. There is no error dialogue, or a prompt that tells you about system issues.

Just an aside, if your office is using Enterprise WPA2, there may need to be some sort of certificate installed for wifi to work.

rcaban · 12-21-2017, 04:07 PM

Hi sealbeater, good point but my personal laptop and iPhone works with no problem as long as I select WPA2 when setting up the WiFi. I don't think reMarkable advanced their software to allow a choice, yet.

-Raul Caban

sherman · 12-21-2017, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcaban

Hi sealbeater, good point but my personal laptop and iPhone works with no problem as long as I select WPA2 when setting up the WiFi. I don't think reMarkable advanced their software to allow a choice, yet.

-Raul Caban

Note that there are two distinct forms of WPA2. WPA2-PSK (Pre Shared Key) is what most home and small office wireless networks use. This is the form where everybody connects to the network using the same passphrase. Basically any mobile device today can easily connect using WPA2-PSK. I would assume the reMarkable can do this.

The other form is WPA2 Enterprise, and uses 802.1x authentication. This is usually used by larger organisations, and can use various different authentication methods such as username/password, certificates, smartcards etc. Connecting to these networks in Linux can be a real PITA (I had to do this on a Raspberry Pi earlier this year, it wasn't fun). It would not surprise me if the reMarkable cannot connect to this type of network.

leselysten · 12-21-2017, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcaban

Hi sealbeater, good point but my personal laptop and iPhone works with no problem as long as I select WPA2 when setting up the WiFi. I don't think reMarkable advanced their software to allow a choice, yet.

-Raul Caban

Perhaps you could try this? Has worked for others.

Philippe D. · 12-21-2017, 05:56 PM

I haven't tried it, but this page may contain the solution to the wifi connection problem:

http://remarkablewiki.com/index.php?..._to_WPA2_Wi-Fi

Otherwise, I fully agree - the writing experience is great, the battery life is abnormally short, and so far response from support is nonexistent.

machinogodzilla · 12-22-2017, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcaban

I did hear that they are updating firmware to improve that.

Thanks for the review. Any news on when the upgrade will be available? When I was still interested they wouldn't say nothing more than that they were working on it, which to me meant they had no idea. The only hints at any sort of timescale I found was in this review.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcaban

Okay, no back light, but show me a sheet of paper that's back-lit today.

I find this a lame excuse :P Show me a sheet of paper that does 'undo', yet RM has it (I think), why not light then? I'm guessing in this case it's because they chose aesthetics over features. The current way of including a frontlight is to have a recessed screen and running LEDs around its edge and RM's screen sits flush with the bezel. I wish they could come up with a way of embedding a mesh of glowing optical fibre in between the layers of the screen. It would have an added benefit that it would work for any size of the screen.

psv · 12-22-2017, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by machinogodzilla

Thanks for the review. Any news on when the upgrade will be available? When I was still interested they wouldn't say nothing more than that they were working on it, which to me meant they had no idea. The only hints at any sort of timescale I found was in this review.

It seems to be coming:
https://support.remarkable.com/hc/en...5005460105-1-2
Yesterday that link contained a detailed description of changes, now they deleted it, but I still hope it's close now.

Lupin · 12-24-2017, 06:35 PM

Great find. Really exited to see how the first update works. Will the OTA be uneventfull or will there be lots of bricked devices? Are there nasty bugs in the update, i.e. how good is Remarkable's testing and quality control.

The battery drains quite fast, most likely because the device has to keep the pen interface active even though you were just reading. It cannot know when you are going to add a comment on your pdf page. I have not had time to tinker with the device. ssh works as does scp. Excellent.

Poremskyi · 12-26-2017, 05:48 PM

Dear all:

I've written a review of my (rather disastrous) reading experience with reMarkable on Medium.

There are lots of things to be unhappy about, and my central point is that the device is not good for _reading_.

I hope it will be helpful to those potential buyers who are still thinking whether or not to buy the device.

Your feedback is also greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Dmytro

Dr. Drib · 12-27-2017, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poremskyi

Dear all:

I've written a review of my (rather disastrous) reading experience with reMarkable on Medium.

There are lots of things to be unhappy about, and my central point is that the device is not good for _reading_.

I hope it will be helpful to those potential buyers who are still thinking whether or not to buy the device.

Your feedback is also greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Dmytro

After reading your article, here's my feedback: I'm going to avoid buying one.

Poremskyi · 12-27-2017, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

After reading your article, here's my feedback: I'm going to avoid buying one.

Thanks for the feedback! A guy in the comments on Medium wrote a review from a note-taker's perspective, but since reading was announced as one of reMarkable's particular strengths, I felt (and still feel) it is unfair towards all those 'paper people' out there.

Socceref · 12-29-2017, 12:48 AM

I am thrilled with the reMarkable. They nailed the ePaper experience. I take a lot of notes. I used iPads and other devices before the reMarkable. Once you use it, you will see what I mean.

Dutchbook · 12-29-2017, 07:15 AM

Poremskyi, I found your review to be too emotionally written. Instead of a general overview of the problems you have had, finalised in a conclusion, and trying to see it 'from the other side'; I found it too rant-ish to be considered an effective review of the Remarkable.

You've tried to write every sentence in a way that reinforces your opinion/conclusion, which is very disruptive for the reading experience. Your view point is already clear from the title, so after that you should throttle it down for the main part. In the current writing style, you run the risk of pushing the reader away from your angle, instead of bringing them in.

By the way, your review left me with a question: Can't you search the device for specific book titles?

12-21-2017, 03:41 PM	#242
rcaban Member Posts: 13 Karma: 2252706 Join Date: Dec 2017 Device: reMarkable Tablet	I received mine and using it heavily Hi all - received my reMarkable Tablet last week. It pretty mush does the writing and sketching thing almost flawlessly. This is a new era in how we digitally record handwriting and sketching/drawing but it's not without it's flaws. Battery life - poor, at best. I lose ~10-15% an hour under normal usage, even with wifi turned off as "MAD" user (someone in forum) stated in this forum. I did hear that they are updating firmware to improve that. Which brings me to [B]Support/B]t- almost non-existent. Maybe the holidays? I know they are overwhelmed. But plunking down 600.00 for this should fetch some urgency to our issues with the tablet Many, many bugs - I cannot connect to WiFi at the office because we use WPA2 encryption. That's my theory, I could be wrong. I can connect at home, Starbucks, at a friends house (when they tell me the password of course), just not in the office. And the only difference I can see is that my office uses that WPA2 encryption. Additionally, when attempting to connect, and it fails, it does not tell you that if failed. There is no error dialogue, or a prompt that tells you about system issues. This is the case for most issues that have cropped up. Like when emailing notes from the tablet, it does not guide you how to do it and if you input an incorrectly formatted email address, you will not receive a warning or error. I found this to be consistent while performing many functions that may have failed due to me or the limits of the (software). The stylus feels very cheap however critical to this tablet. Also, it is round, so it constantly rolls off my desk. The body feels like a throwback to the 1st generation Kindle. Not totally a bad thing, it's more of a focus on functionality rather than design (construction/aesthetics) Now for the Good This does exactly what it was set out to do. Take notes. Sketch. It does it well, actually, almost perfect! Although the battery does not last long, it charges amazingly fast even from my laptop USB port! I would say < 1/2 hour, it goes from 20% to 100%. Hopefully that is a good thing There are lots of templates to use. They assist in whatever style you want to write or draw in. Bravo! The screen looks and sounds like writing on paper. No glare, will not crack (not glass) if dropped and no eyestrain. Okay, no back light, but show me a sheet of paper that's back-lit today. Transferring files from mobile apps and desktop apps works very well, albeit limited to ePUB and PDF. Synchronization to their cloud works very, yes, I said, very well. Overall, this is a first generation product. I remember the first generation Kindle, first generation iPhone, and the list goes on and on. I can say, I am using the sh*% out of this tablet, testing it's performance and so to speak - stretching its legs. I take copious notes at my job and find this extremely useful thus far. Has it crashed a couple of times? Yes, but briefly and back on-line immediately. It does not crash consistently. Does it have bugs? Absolutely. I am in the software business and bugs are part of the stream. They do get resolved. So, I am being patient abut this. reMarkable did provide the option to return in 45 days if not happy, and hopefully, I will not need to take that path but it's an option nonetheless. I hope this review proves useful to all of us new adopters. I'm willing to entertain questions as I have been spending an exorbitant amount of time with this puppy. It is a great first attempt todays firestorm of changing technology. -Raul Caban

12-21-2017, 04:07 PM	#244
rcaban Member Posts: 13 Karma: 2252706 Join Date: Dec 2017 Device: reMarkable Tablet	WPA2 for reMarkable Hi sealbeater, good point but my personal laptop and iPhone works with no problem as long as I select WPA2 when setting up the WiFi. I don't think reMarkable advanced their software to allow a choice, yet. -Raul Caban

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12-21-2017, 05:56 PM	#247
Philippe D. Addict Posts: 276 Karma: 3600000 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: France Device: Kobo Aura H2o; reMarkable; Onyx Max 2 Pro	I haven't tried it, but this page may contain the solution to the wifi connection problem: http://remarkablewiki.com/index.php?..._to_WPA2_Wi-Fi Otherwise, I fully agree - the writing experience is great, the battery life is abnormally short, and so far response from support is nonexistent.

12-24-2017, 06:35 PM	#250
Lupin Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Finland Device: Bookeen Cybook Muse HD, ReMarkable	Great find. Really exited to see how the first update works. Will the OTA be uneventfull or will there be lots of bricked devices? Are there nasty bugs in the update, i.e. how good is Remarkable's testing and quality control. The battery drains quite fast, most likely because the device has to keep the pen interface active even though you were just reading. It cannot know when you are going to add a comment on your pdf page. I have not had time to tinker with the device. ssh works as does scp. Excellent.

12-26-2017, 05:48 PM	#251
Poremskyi Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 1196 Join Date: Dec 2017 Device: Sony PRS-505, Sony PRS-950 Daily Edition, PocketBook A10	Dear all: I've written a review of my (rather disastrous) reading experience with reMarkable on Medium. There are lots of things to be unhappy about, and my central point is that the device is not good for _reading_. I hope it will be helpful to those potential buyers who are still thinking whether or not to buy the device. Your feedback is also greatly appreciated. Regards, Dmytro

12-29-2017, 12:48 AM	#254
Socceref Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: remarkable	I am thrilled with the reMarkable. They nailed the ePaper experience. I take a lot of notes. I used iPads and other devices before the reMarkable. Once you use it, you will see what I mean.

12-29-2017, 07:15 AM	#255
Dutchbook Zealot Posts: 102 Karma: 937960 Join Date: May 2017 Device: DPT-RP1	Poremskyi, I found your review to be too emotionally written. Instead of a general overview of the problems you have had, finalised in a conclusion, and trying to see it 'from the other side'; I found it too rant-ish to be considered an effective review of the Remarkable. You've tried to write every sentence in a way that reinforces your opinion/conclusion, which is very disruptive for the reading experience. Your view point is already clear from the title, so after that you should throttle it down for the main part. In the current writing style, you run the risk of pushing the reader away from your angle, instead of bringing them in. By the way, your review left me with a question: Can't you search the device for specific book titles?

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