I wrote this assessment on the ReMarkable Paper Professional. What higher option to check it than utilizing it because the distraction-free writing device it guarantees to be? This digital notebook is technically a successor to the ReMarkable 2 that launched in 2020—although the Norwegian firm is presenting it as the “upgrade” model with extra options, commanding a better worth.
This pill now has a shade E Ink display screen, a entrance gentle that makes it seen in the dead of night, and an energetic stylus paired with a extra responsive show, making the entire bundle really feel a lot nearer to the expertise of writing with pen and paper. Contemplating the corporate will nonetheless be promoting the ReMarkable 2 for $399—nonetheless a superb digital pocket book—it is exhausting to say the ReMarkable Paper Professional is well worth the eyebrow-raising $579 worth (minus equipment), and it is in all probability not price an improve if you have already got the ReMarkable 2.
However in the event you wrestle to remain centered on a laptop computer and miss the sensation of pen and paper—which has real benefits for memory retention—the Paper Professional could be a useful instrument. The updates on this mannequin are welcome, and if it means with the ability to write this assessment with out listening to an incessant ping from Slack, then that may simply be priceless.
Shade Me Mine
{Photograph}: Nena Farrell
I like taking notes, whether or not it is on a paper planner or a digital pocket book. The Paper Pro is greater than most of those, with an 11.8-inch display screen, so it feels a lot nearer to having a sheet of A4 paper in entrance of me. It is a good measurement for my crazy handwriting and ever-growing lists, however it’s not so massive that it is uncomfortable to hold round. It is skinny sufficient to stack on my laptop computer or a big ebook as I wander about my residence. It is simply over a pound, which is manageable.
I am additionally an enormous fan of including shade once I can, and that is the headline function right here. Shade E Ink screens have been changing into more common of late—Kobo has a color e-reader and it is protected to count on Amazon to launch one quickly—however ReMarkable says its Canvas Color technology was constructed on prime of E Ink’s shade show and options bodily shade particles that transfer across the display screen. It is not a shade filter sitting on prime of a black-and-white show, which is what you will discover on another shade E Ink screens.
The colours aren’t electrical however muted, type of like coloured pencils fairly than a set of vibrant pens or highlighters. The shades vary from basic main shades of pink, blue, and yellow to magenta and cyan. You possibly can select grey or white too, and the latter solely reveals up in the event you’re writing on prime of one other shade. There are seven totally different pen kinds to select from, much like the ReMarkable 2, all of which have the identical vary of six colours and three neutrals, whereas the highlighter and new shader have barely totally different shade choices.
The colours on the web page are nonetheless straightforward to see and determine. The expertise of utilizing them is enjoyable too; if you initially write it is typically black or grey, after which the Paper Professional begins recoloring the letters after you raise your pen. Typed textual content, in the meantime, can solely present up in black. I preferred utilizing the colours to mark edits I wanted to make when proofreading my typed work or to put in writing color-coded notes. The black pen shade is far darker than any of the colours, a lot in order that I’d use grey as my impartial possibility in order that it would not make the colourful writing look pale.
Energy Up
{Photograph}: Nena Farrell
One other main improve is the built-in gentle. It is not a backlight like your smartphone or pill however a frontlight like on many e-readers—the sunshine faces the show and illuminates it, reflecting it as much as your eyes and making the show readable in the dead of night. In case you’re in a well-lit room, you won’t even discover the sunshine is on—I can barely see the distinction when sitting at a desk with loads of pure gentle. However in darker rooms, the light glow of the display screen jogs my memory of studying on my Kindle at evening. It is nicely suited to writing your novel on a night aircraft trip or taking notes in a dimmed presentation corridor.
