reMarkable, a New eink device with pen support

[leselysten]

I agree. The best takeaway from these reviews is that the hardware seems to be adequate. That was my major concern.

There are a lot of potenial improvement to be made on the software side: given the software background of their CTO (Martin Sandsmark), I am confident that progress will be made.

The most important improvements in my view would be:

- integration with services such as dropbox, onedrive, google drive

This is low-risk development: these services have well defined APIs, and countless other vendors have successfully implemented them.

- improved reading capabilities

I am sure that drawing/writing was the top priority this time: that is now a unique selling point. On the reading side, instead of breaking new ground they simply have to catch up with the existing field. That should be doable. There are also substantial open source solutions to be inspired by (eg KOreader).

- Improved document review functionality

I feel that the Sony product is the leader here. Again, much to be learned from them, and reMarkable seem to be more agile than Sony.

[Philippe D.]

I agree with the above, except I don't quite understand what you mean by "document review functionality"?

[leselysten]

Check the manual for the Sony device.

Some good things there:

1. Can list all annotations/highlights in a document, and let you jump to them in context
2. Can search for annotations and highlights
3. Can vertically divide screen and have document on the left, associated side note on the right
4. Can add handwritten symbols to document from a defined list, which are OCR recognized, then later search for these symbols within and across documents

Since screen real estate is smaller on the reMarkable, perhaps you could have horizontally split panes with top 2/3 for document, bottom 1/3 for side note.

There are various symbol systems for proofreading/editing and marginalia. Imagine being able to define a symbol set and having the notepad recognize and classify handwritten symbols (a limited type of OCR), so that you could search for and list pages or paragraphs marked up with a given symbol.

Imagine reviewing a 100 page manuscript, and at the end being able to say "extract a document containing only those pages that have been marked up", and then mail this extract to your partners.

Just a few examples, I'm sure there must be many more.

[Philippe D.]

OK, I see now what you're referring to. But I'm not sure these are points the Remarkable developpers are likely to focus on; their device is intended as a note-taking/drawing/writing device primarily. Sony is already installed on the large-screen, document reviewing segment, and is likely to be hard to beat there.

This device is a smaller screen, made to be highly portable and pleasant to write on; adding, and improving, reading functionalities is certainly worth the effort because it's such a natural usage, but the Remarkable is never going to be as good as the Sony for things like displaying two pages at once, or doing OCR-like things (I don't think the CPU would have the power for it). So, in a way, it doesn't make much sense (from a developpers' time point of view) to make it marginally better at something there are already other devices that are much better suited for.

This does not mean I don't want the company to improve on these aspects - it's just that it seems likely that they'll spend more resources on things like better cloud integration, which would improve all of their users happier, than on adding functionalities which are unlikely to attract more customers. But then, even this depends a lot on how dedicated the company is to improving their device.

[leselysten]

The two first points on my list are likely to happen.

I am not so sure I agree with you on the likelihood of the third: reMarkable have already indicated that OCR for handwriting is likely to be implemented in the future. Recognizing a limited set of markup symbols would arguably be a much easier task, and should be within the capability of the device.

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by HarryT

This thread has been here - and never out of view on the first page - for the best part of a year.

Well, I guess I missed seeing it during the presale timeframe. I remember reading the thread early on, but then became very busy during the summer and was not subscribed to this thread.

I hope the price comes down in the next year or two, because the current price is out of my budget.

Originally Posted by sonict72

This product reminds me of canceled PlasticLogic Que in 2010.

I followed PlasticLogic ups and downs and rumors for quite some time, hoping they would release a sturdy, unbreakable paper replacement. It seems like ReMarkable is the next best thing. I watched the demonstration videos, and it looks like a fantastic product.

I was disappointed, however, to read that you can't just transfer files to and from your computer - instead having to do that exclusively through the software. I hope that is something that will be changed in the future.

Also, I am wondering about privacy and security. Is there any encryption available? (Either for individual files or for the whole device?) And how secure and private will documents be if they are stored on ReMarkable's servers? Would I be able to safely work on 'sensitive' documents on the ReMarkable? Do all files automatically get uploaded to the cloud? Any way to at least just keep sensitive files local to the device and desktop?

[Begemot]

So far reMarkable looks very promising even though at the current price it is a bit steepish: SECURE YOURS TODAY €629 .

For 629 Euros I do not want to secure a tablet, I'd want to order it and have it shipped to me. If I wanted to secure it I'd have paid the pre-order price.

€15 for a USB cable is a bit funny too :0


blue_skies you mean you can't just connect the USB cable and transfer files?

That it would seem silly then to offer a USB cable.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by Begemot

blue_skies you mean you can't just connect the USB cable and transfer files?

That it would seem silly then to offer a USB cable.

Perhaps the USB cable is just used for charging the device.

Or perhaps blue_skies meant that you can't drag and drop files onto the device in the same way that you can for many Android tablets... If that is the case, it would severely limit its usability in my opinion. I hate having to go through the cloud or proprietary software on a desktop to simply load files onto a device.

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by Begemot

blue_skies you mean you can't just connect the USB cable and transfer files?

That it would seem silly then to offer a USB cable.

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Perhaps the USB cable is just used for charging the device.

Or perhaps blue_skies meant that you can't drag and drop files onto the device in the same way that you can for many Android tablets... If that is the case, it would severely limit its usability in my opinion. I hate having to go through the cloud or proprietary software on a desktop to simply load files onto a device.

Yes, I meant that you can't drag and drop files onto the device, according to this ReMarkable review:

https://venturebeat.com/2017/09/15/r...ur-a5-notepad/

The “Documents” section is where your PDF files are stored, and they can only be imported through the desktop or mobile app — it’s a shame you can’t “drag-and-drop” them by plugging your ReMarkable into your PC. Similarly, the “Ebooks” section is where you’ll find all your EPUB files — again, they can only be imported through the ReMarkable app.

[leselysten]

Actually, you can drag and drop documents onto the reMarkable.

Das Remarkable Tablet taucht allerdings nicht als Wechselmedium im Windows Explorer auf. Stattdessen müssen wir im Browser direkt die IP-Adresse des Gerätes anwählen. Dann erhalten wir eine Übersicht, in der wir unsere einzelnen Notizbücher herunterladen und Dateien per Drag-and-Drop hochladen können. Die Funktion soll in den kommenden Versionen des Betriebssystems ausgebaut und verbessert werden

Or in plain English:

1. Connect your reMarkable to the PC/Mac by USB
2. Find the IP of the reMarkable device
3. Input the IP in your web browser address bar
4. You should now get a document listing in the browser where you can download documents from the reMarkable and upload documents to the reMarkable using drag and drop

From this review.

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by leselysten

Actually, you can drag and drop documents onto the reMarkable.

Or in plain English:

1. Connect your reMarkable to the PC/Mac by USB
2. Find the IP of the reMarkable device
3. Input the IP in your web browser address bar
4. You should now get a document listing in the browser where you can download documents from the reMarkable and upload documents to the reMarkable using drag and drop

From this review.

Well that's good to know. I hope that works well. (It wasn't mentioned in the user manual I downloaded.)

I'm looking forward to hearing from more people who have the device soon.

[Begemot]

leselysten, that is good to know. Better than Sony RP1 at least

Still that is a strange procedure.

Why would IP connection care whether you are connected to the PC/MAC by USB? Usually IP address is used when you configure your devices (router/printer etc) from your computer when connected by Ethernet cable not USB.


Generally, when you connect your devices by USB to your computer they do not acquire an IP address in your local network.

That is unless the Remarkable has a built in USB -> Ethernet adapter (those are commonly used in laptops without an Ethernet port).

2nd option is that ReMarkable is on your network via wi-fi(ala wireless printer etc), but then USB connection would not be necessary.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Begemot

Why would IP connection care whether you are connected to the PC/MAC by USB? Usually IP address is used when you configure your devices (router/printer etc) from your computer when connected by Ethernet cable not USB.

Linux has supported IP over USB for many years. (Without need for an USB to ethernet adapter.)

IP can be made to work over just about any communication channel and the very nature of unix make it possible for software and hardware to work together without specific prior effort by either the developers of the hardware or the developers of the software.

Originally Posted by Begemot

Generally, when you connect your devices by USB to your computer they do not acquire an IP address in your local network.

That is unless the Remarkable has a built in USB -> Ethernet adapter (those are commonly used in laptops without an Ethernet port).

2nd option is that ReMarkable is on your network via wi-fi(ala wireless printer etc), but then USB connection would not be necessary.

[leselysten]

The point here is to provide a robust service: IP over USB will work even if the reMarkable cloud service is gone, and even wifi service is non-existent. It is also not dependent on installing any software on the computer, and is therefore OS-independent.

You will be able to enjoy your reMarkable even in the post-Apocalyptic world. A comforting thought.

For the extremely security conscious I guess a physical connection might feel more comforting than wifi as well.

[Philippe D.]

I got an email from reMarkable that my ordered 3rd batch unit (previously scheduled to be shipped late october) would be delayed, most likely to the 2nd or 3rd week of november. Not the most pleasant of news, but I like it that they try to keep customers informed.

(Apparently some part of the units that were scheduled for late october will still be shipped in time)