Amazon Kindle

The heart of the brand

We are talking tablets in this post – but Kindle has always – and will remain to be, a brand for those who read. Amazon is very far from the online bookshop that it originally was – but books and reading is still very much in its DNA.

As a result – there are several different models of Amazon e-readers out there. They even introduced a colour e-reader in October of 2024. But let\’s turn our attention to the Kindle Scribe – which is the only model that includes note-taking capabilities.

Models

Kindle Scribe

The kindle Scribe was originally launched in November of 2022. It had a choice of a basic pen or more premium pen – this follows the strategy of just about every e-ink tablet manufacturer out there. While choice makes sense, I can\’t help but wonder whether everyone is just trying to get you to depart with a little bit more cash?

Regardless, the Kindle Scribe is priced very competitively at only $339. I am not sure that the figures are actually available, but it has been said many times in the past that Amazon will sell devices at cost or even below, as they want you to get into the Kindle ecosystem. Make no mistake – the Kindle ecosystem is great and has the widest variety of books available on the planet. But, it is still a closed ecosystem – meaning you can only read books from Amazon on the devices.

Reviews of the original Kindle Scribe concluded that it is actually a device that is more geared toward complementing the reading experience, with the ability to add notes to books easily. It does have a pure note-taking facility, but it is certainly a far shot from some of the other devices, that focus more on note-taking and less on reading. To this point, the Scribe also has a front light – this is a must-have for some people, but it does affect the writing experience (see Compromise: front light vs no front light).

The Kindle Scribe 2 was announced in October 2024, but it is not yet available. The reviews are yet to come out, but it is clear that there has been an effort to make the note taking in e-books more natural. However, the Scribe will certainly still be a device that is very much tied to the Amazon ecosystem.

The Kindle Scribe is a great option if:

• you are already a user of the Amazon ecosystem
• but you want the ability to make notes easily
• with occasional writing and sketching by hand

However, I would recommend waiting for the Kindle Scribe 2. It has already been announced and should be on sale shortly. It has greatly improved features compared to the previous model, especially as far as taking notes on Kindle books are concerned.