Kindle Scribe Review

From the first moment that the news of the new kindle was coming out, I am sure many of us, was more than excited. It’s been a while since a brand new line of Kindle was released. And this was a big release, at least for myself, in that this kindle was much bigger and does some things that we haven’t seen in a Kindle before. I will be honest in that, at first, I was like am I really going to want this? I don’t do much annotating to be honest, but I decided to go for the plunge as this was a new kindle, and some of the features of it really appealed to me. I have to say that I was super excited to get the scribe even though it took a while to receive it, it was definitely worth the wait on this.

I have been using this kindle for about a week, and I am truly love this new device. Now I know the price is expensive, it wasn’t that much more than the Oasis, so I was good splurging and this is my Christmas gift to myself for the year. There are multiple options that you can get upon ordering the scribe. So what options did I choose.

So the scribe that I received is:

16GB size, with a premium pen, and the Premium Leather Case in color Tungsten.

So first off I want to discuss the size that I recommend that you get. To be honest, I don’t think that you need anything more than 16GB, but it depends on what you are using the Kindle for. I just read romance, so I am not using a ton of space. When I bought the Oasis I bought the full space and I have had it for 3 years, and only have used like 10% of the storage. One aspect of the kindles is that everything goes into the cloud, and if you want to download, it will stay downloaded for a few weeks, and then it goes back into the cloud. So technically you don’t need anything with a lot of storage. Now if you read graphic novels, or plan on downloading lots of PDFs and doing lots of work with those with the Scribe, then get more storage if you can. But if you just are reading fiction, I honestly don’t think you need more than that. Now I received some questions on Instagram, about screen protectors for the Scribe. I have NEVER used a screen protector for the kindle, I didn’t even know that they had them. I will say this, you don’t need a screen protector. I mean, this is up to you, but I had the voyage for like 2 years, and the oasis for three years, and my screens lasted and never a scratch. Personally, you don’t need a screen protector. And I have had my kindles in and out of their cases all the time and no issues at all. Now I do recommend getting a good case if you can, but it depends on you as well and your personal situation, like if you are around kids, you might want a thicker case haha.

I purchased the Premium Leather Case in Tungsten (and most likely in spring I will grab up the Dark Emerald color). I will say that I LOVE this case so much. I really like the leather cases that Amazon has done for their kindles. I personally love using premium leather, and it smells amazing like I probably look like a drug addict with how much I sniff my case haha I know the case is pricey, it comes at $99. So yeah it’s expensive, and I figured since I was going all out with the scribe I should get a premium case to go with it. Now if you get the bundle deal with the scribe and case, you can get $40 dollars off I believe. I didn’t get the bundle, because I would have had to wait until after Christmas to get the Scribe, and I just wanted it before Christmas. I really like what the case does though. It’s completely magnetic to the Scribe. So you just have to pop it into the notches as you see below I have a video of what it looks like here. The feel of the case is super supple and soft. and smooth. It does have certain notches in it, to prop it up at certain angles. It’s similar to some of the Ipad cases that have those lined indents. I know that there might be some concerns revolving around the sides being open. The sides of the case go over the scribe, I don’t feel like there is any risk of damage and less protection because it does over the edges, it’s done in a way that keeps it secure. Now there are no determined edges on the case that it goes into, as the case is completely magnetic. But I completely shook this thing haha and it didn’t pop out. The reason I plan on two cases is to switch them out to prevent the magnetic seals to wearing out faster.

Lets discuss the premium pen that comes with it. Now you have two options on the type of pen to choose from. One is either the regular pen or the premium pen. Now with the premium pen it’s just for more convenience. With the premium pen you can erase what you write with the pen whereas with the regular, you will have to manually do it on the Scribe. Also with the premium pen there is a button on the side that you can press to switch to highlighter, eraser or pen function. The pen is also magnetic, so you can attach it to the scribe directly if you don’t want to put it into the loop on the case. (Most if not all have the loop for the pen). As you write it does make a sound that makes it sound like pen on paper which is pretty cool. It doesn’t have the clicky against plastic feel that you get with the pen on the Ipad.

The Screen: The screen is a 10.2 size, with 300 PPI. This is actually the first e ink reader at this size that has such good quality in the resolution. The screen itself I will be honest feels smoother than even what we have with the Oasis and Paperwhite. I really am loving it. The screen is also glare free like all the kindles have come with. The front light is BETTER than what the Oasis and Paperwhite actually have. It just has more extensive colors to the warm light. I have really enjoyed what it does more on the scribe, as I don’t need as much warmth as I needed on the Oasis. Also there is no blue light on the regular light which is different I believe from previous versions of the kindle. It also has the dark mode like other kindles have as well. I am really in love with the size of the kindle scribe. I know for some of you, it might seem to big. But if you read on a Ipad, you can easily read on this one. I tend to at night while reading in bed, just read it horizontally and rest it on my stomach or prop it up with the case, if I am reading on my side. It is a bit heavier than the Oasis, because its way larger haha however, I am not noticing that much. I tend to read mostly propped up so its working fine for me. I do like that the case allows you to prop it up to read easily on. I have below the difference of the size of the kindle scribe with the kindle oasis so that you can see the comparison. Although I will say if you read on your ipad, you will adore the bigger size of the kindle scribe.

So let’s discuss the biggest feature of the Scribe, which is the notetaking abilities and how it all works. So there are multiple functions for writing on the Kindle. The first is the sticky notes, which is what I will use them the most for. I really like this function. I know it’s not something everyone likes, but it keeps the reading experience cleaner. You literally just need to click any word on the page, then make a note and a box appears and you just write whatever you would like. So for me personally, I have been using this to make notes for my reviews and organize my goodreads shelves. So as I read a book I will write whatever tropes, character types, themes or anything I want to mention in my reviews. But there is no current function to have it be translated into text. I am hoping that Amazon will update it in the future to allow that capability as that would be more convenient. The next ability is to write and annotate any PDF. I haven’t used this function, and to be honest, I don’t plan to. But this is the only way to write directly on the page itself. I know many annotators of books would like this in the actual kindle books, hopefully, they will allow this function in the future. Then the final element is the Notebook section. This is located at the bottom tab, next to the library section. And this is where you literally can create any folder or notebook and write, draw or format whatever you would like. They have 18 templates for various types of paper that you can use. I am not sure I will be using this one that much but we shall see what I do in the future with this. Currently, the function I am using the most is the sticky notes as I read. Its really up to you how you use all these functions and what works best for you. But I will probably start using the notebooks to start making to be read lists or books I want to buy, etc. I really do like all the tools that is included

Battery Life: This was one of the more major aspects that drew me more to the kindle if I am being honest. The Kindle Oasis doesnt have great battery life. Now I have been on the Kindle Scribe for a week now, been reading on it since Sunday Afternoon. Each day I have been on it between 3-6 hours, and so far with the WIFI on fully, I am only at 50%. Now once my battery life gets down to 15%, I will test it without WIFI being on and if my experience with the Oasis is any indiciation, the battery life will most likely last 3x that amount. So I bet it will last at least 2-3 weeks without having to charge if the WIFI is off. With the Oasis however, with how much that I read daily, I was having to charge it almost every day but that is with the WIFI on. Without the WIFI it would be every week or so. The thing with myself, is I just forget to turn the wifi off. But with the Scribe I think I would like to be better about that.

The processor of the Kindle Scribe: One last thing that I have noticed. Is the processor on this one is faster than the Oasis. For the main screen, there are faster uploads, so I have noticed that it works so much faster than other kindles so I think users will really enjoy that feature as well.

Now there are some cons that some readers and users might find with the device. One, the size might be too big for some especially if you are used to a kindle and being able to fit it in your pocket or purse. You definitely can’t do it with this one, although it depends on the size of your purse. The other aspect is the sticky notes aspects. While you can drawn on PDF’s you CANT drawn or annotate directly on the book pages themselves. So I do think there will be a confusion on that. The magnetic uses on the case and everything might be a drawback, I don’t think it is but it might be for some. I don’t really have any issues with the Kindle Scribe. I know its still early, I have only had it for a week. But my impressions so far has been I am really loving it. I know its not getting the best reviews, but I am loving it.

So tell me what do you think of the Kindle Scribe? If you have it, what are your thoughts on it so far? Let me know in the comments below!