As Amazon has just announced its first Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, we’re intrigued to see how its initial specs measure up to the Remarkable Paper Pro.
Before we get our hands on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, we’ve compared its specs to the Remarkable Paper Pro and highlighted the main differences between the two e-readers below.
For more on Amazon’s recent launch, visit our guide which details all the new products announced. Otherwise, if you want more information on e-readers, then our best e-ink tablet guide should have you covered.
Price and Availability
At the time of writing, Amazon hasn’t officially revealed the exact launch date for the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft in either the US or Europe. Instead, Amazon has just said that the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft will be available “later this year” in the US and “early next year” in the UK and Germany.
Otherwise, Amazon has confirmed the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft will have a starting RRP of £569.99/$629.99.
The Remarkable Paper Pro is in a similar price range, with a starting RRP of £559/$629. Plus, much like the Pro Move, you have the option to upgrade to the Marker Plus for an additional £40/$50.
Although it’s not a huge size discrepancy, it’s worth noting that the Remarkable Paper Pro has a larger display compared to the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, at 11.8-inches compared to 11-inches.
Despite being larger, the Paper Pro is slightly thinner than the Scribe Colorsoft too, measuring at 5.4mm compared to 5.1mm. However, to counteract that point, the Paper Pro is considerably heavier at 525g whereas the Scribe Colorsoft weighs just 400g.
Otherwise both displays promise to be glare-free and to, naturally, mimic the feel of writing on paper.
Kindle Scribe Colorsoft
Remarkable Paper Pro
As touched upon earlier, while the e-reader comes with a Marker stylus, there’s the option to spend around £40/$50 more and upgrade to the Marker Plus instead. Essentially, the Marker Plus stylus has a built-in eraser at the reverse end, which is a seriously useful tool for neatening up your notes.
The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, on the other hand, only comes with one choice of stylus which is included with the device. Not only does Amazon promise the pen will feel natural when writing or doodling but it also offers the ability to write, draw and annotate in one of ten colours and highlight in one of five. Users can now also create smooth gradients with its new shader tool too.
Canvas Color vs Colorsoft display
The biggest similarity between the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and Remarkable Paper Pro is obviously that they both sport a colour, e-ink display. Unlike traditional LED or LCD tablets, although the two e-ink displays don’t quite provide as many colours, they promise to be much easier on the eyes.
As we haven’t reviewed the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft yet, we can’t comment on how its display holds up. However, Amazon does promise that thanks to its custom-built Colorsoft display technology which has a colour filter and light guide with nitride LEDs, colours should appear enhanced without feeling washed out.
This is especially promising, considering we found the original Kindle Colorsoft to struggle with exactly that issue of feeling washed out.
Instead, the Paper Pro sports a Canvas Color display, which Remarkable explains is made up of millions of ink particles, divided into four colours, which is a similar way to how colours are mixed for newsprint. These four groups can then be combined into different solid colours to create a range of natural tones and “more sophisticated blending” too.
We seriously enjoyed our time with the Paper Pro and hailed that note-taking with the display feels “more eye-catching and engaging”.
Kindle Scribe Colorsoft has access to the Kindle Store
The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft boasts access to the Kindle Store, which is easily one of the biggest e-book, audiobook and magazine hubs around with access to over 15 million titles globally. Amazon also explains that among the 15 million titles are exclusives you won’t find anywhere else, alongside bestsellers and titles you can make notes in too.
In comparison, although you can read e-books on the device, annoyingly the Remarkable Paper Pro doesn’t provide access to the Kindle Store nor any similar library. Instead to access e-books you’ll need to import epub files using the accompanying desktop or mobile Remarkable app.
In a similar vein to tablets like the iPad Pro or Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, the Remarkable Paper Pro can be paired with a Type Folio keyboard and turned into a makeshift typewriter. In fact, when connected with Type Folio, the Paper Pro supports the ability to combine handwriting and typing on the same page. Plus, there’s the ability to convert your handwritten notes to typed text too.
Early Verdict
Both the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft and Remarkable Paper Pro are undoubtedly appealing options, thanks to their respective colour displays and digital notebook prowess. However, with both starting from around the £550/$630 mark, investing in either won’t be a quick and easy decision.
As the Remarkable Paper Pro doesn’t have its own ebook storefront, it’s perhaps a better suited model for someone who solely wants a digital notebook – albeit one with a high price tag.
We’ll update this versus once we’ve reviewed the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.
