Kindle Scribe brings writing to Amazon’s popular e-reader • TechCrunch

Onerous to consider that, in 2022, the Kindle can nonetheless headline an Amazon occasion — and but, he had been are. We’re anticipating loads of information out of right this moment’s digital Amazon occasion (and barely melancholy that we weren’t capable of cowl it from Seattle), however the firm’s 15-year-old e-reader line is the massive information this day out.

Information of the Kindle Scribe arrives as issues have been pretty quiet on the e-reader entrance. Kobo remains to be kicking, however Amazon has completely dominated the class for some years. It’s the kind of factor that tends to sluggish innovation to a screeching halt, except for the addition of USB-C to the entry-level Kindle and Paperwhite, together with a bump in show res to 300 ppi for the previous.

However the Scribe brings one thing altogether new to the road: writing. For the primary time for the reason that first Kindle was launched in late-2007, Amazon’s added the power to put in writing on-device with a stylus. Its a giant new function for the product, although a few companies have already overwhelmed Amazon to the punch right here, embody Exceptional and Sony, with its DPT-CP1 and DPT-RP1 merchandise.

Amazon’s entry within the house has a ten.2-inch display screen and a design partially paying homage to the premium Kindle Oasis, embody a big aspect bezel (no web page flip buttons, sadly) you possibly can maintain onto whereas studying. It has a battery the corporate charges at “weeks,” maintaining according to its fellow readers. At 433 grams, it’s (predictably) the heaviest Kindle, which might put a little bit of a crimp in these bedtime studying marathons.

The system ships with its personal stylus, which magnetically snaps on the aspect — just like what you see on a number of tablets. The stylus doesn’t requiring charging, and as a substitute depends on EMR (electro-magnetic resistance) — which means, amongst different issues, that different styli will doubtless work with the Scribe, although the corporate cautions towards that (naturally), stating that their very own is tuned particularly for work on the Kindle.

A extra premium mannequin can even be made obtainable with a built-in button for fast actions. These styli enable for quite a lot of totally different line types, although the information are everlasting, in order that’s occurring by means of the on-board software program accessible through a software program toolbar. The corporate says it particularly designed the show/stylus combo to imitate the texture of a pen on paper.

We’ve definitely heard that declare earlier than, and your mileage will range, although we’ll report again after testing the factor. Ditto for latency, which has historically been one of many largest setbacks to this kind of expertise. Unusually, handwriting recognition might be lacking at launch, although the function is nearly definitely on the corporate’s roadmap.

It can, nonetheless, have a newly Streamlined software program providing, permitting recordsdata to be shared off the system by means of the Kindle app, an internet browser or electronic mail. The corporate additionally says it has up to date the notoriously outdated Ship to Kindle function to assist take away among the friction from the method. In the meantime, a cope with Microsoft will convey Phrase performance to the product in some unspecified time in the future early subsequent 12 months.

The corporate says the truth that it didn’t launch a Kindle with this performance earlier isn’t for lack of making an attempt. Reasonably, it was essential it get the tech proper, whereas sustaining key options like entrance lighting and the line-wide 300 ppi show (in comparison with 226 on the exceptional 2). Given the $90 worth bump over the beforehand costliest Kindle (Oasis), it definitely is sensible that the corporate would need to keep these line-wide options. Amazon says it labored with E Ink Holdings (EIH) on the show, which it then personalized to hit these specs.

Preorders for the $340 system begin right this moment, with delivery anticipated earlier than the vacations (assume November). The corporate can even offer up instances that convert to stands through magnets, like the remainder of the road. In addition they have somewhat loop to maintain the stylus in place.

Exceptional has obtained constructive marks for its personal system, although the corporate lately sliced its new premium service from $5 a month to $3, leaving many questioning whether or not the corporate hasn’t been hitting the kind of subscriptions numbers it had been banking on. After all, we are able to’t converse to the standard of the Scribe with out having examined it, however the crew behind Exceptional is nearly definitely assessing its choices after this bombshell.