I wrote this evaluation on the ReMarkable Paper Professional. What higher solution to check it than utilizing it because the distraction-free writing system it guarantees to be? This digital pocket book is technically a successor to the ReMarkable 2 that launched in 2020—although the Norwegian firm is presenting it because the “improve” mannequin with extra options, commanding a better worth.
This pill now has a coloration E Ink display, a entrance gentle that makes it seen at nighttime, and an lively stylus paired with a extra responsive show, making the entire package deal 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 most likely not price an improve if you have already got the ReMarkable 2.
However if you happen to wrestle to remain targeted on a laptop computer and miss the sensation of pen and paper—which has actual advantages for reminiscence retention—the Paper Professional might be a useful instrument. The updates on this mannequin are welcome, and if it means having the ability to write this evaluation with out listening to an incessant ping from Slack, then that may simply be priceless.
Colour Me Mine
{Photograph}: Nena Farrell
I really like taking notes, whether or not it is on a paper planner or a digital pocket book. The Paper Professional is larger than most of those, with an 11.8-inch display, 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 giant that it is uncomfortable to hold round. It is skinny sufficient to stack on my laptop computer or a big guide as I wander about my house. It is simply over a pound, which is manageable.
I am additionally an enormous fan of including coloration after I can, and that is the headline function right here. Colour E Ink screens have been changing into extra frequent of late—Kobo has a coloration e-reader and it is protected to anticipate Amazon to launch one quickly—however ReMarkable says its Canvas Colour know-how was constructed on high of E Ink’s coloration show and options bodily coloration particles that transfer across the display. It is not a coloration filter sitting on high of a black-and-white show, which is what you may discover on another coloration E Ink screens.
The colours aren’t electrical however muted, form of like coloured pencils reasonably than a set of vibrant pens or highlighters. The shades vary from basic major shades of crimson, blue, and yellow to magenta and cyan. You possibly can select grey or white too, and the latter solely exhibits up if you happen to’re writing on high of one other coloration. 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 coloration choices.
The colours on the web page are nonetheless straightforward to see and determine. The expertise of utilizing them is enjoyable too; while you initially write it is typically black or grey, after which the Paper Professional begins recoloring the letters after you carry your pen. Typed textual content, in the meantime, can solely present up in black. I favored 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 coloration 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 at nighttime. Should 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 mild glow of the display jogs my memory of studying on my Kindle at evening. It is nicely suited to writing your novel on a night aircraft journey or taking notes in a dimmed presentation corridor.
