Remarkable 2 is a Solid Product, But Here is Why I'm Returning It
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- čas přidán 20. 07. 2021
- After using the Remarkable 2 for a week and taking over 100 pages of notes in a few notebooks, I've decided to return it. I think it's a well designed product, but not for me.
I got the remarkable 2 after giving it a good deal of thought. I'd used an ipad in the past but writing on glass is not great and constant tapping sound in meetings is a bit distracting. Overall I find the RM2 works well for me in a sales environment. I would like to see a camera so i can take a picture of something and add that into my notes as I could on my ipad but on balance I love it but I do appreciate that it's not for everyone
Maybe an integration with the RM mobile app to import a picture would be a more efficient use of resources, cause you already have a high-grade camera on your phone and we don’t really need a redundant low-grade cost-effective camera on the RM.
I don't really see how people hate so much on this device. I'm a law student and I've bought this for writing my notes during classes and creating summaries and it's been awesome. I write daily for about 3 - 4 hours and i do it all on this device. I haven't had any issues with it. People nowadays have subscriptions for everything for the dumbest things such as watching movies or reading a newspaper and then they would complain about 6 euros a month? Ridiculously hypocrite. If I would have to count how much I spent monthly on paper and pens for my classes, I paid easily more than 15 euros a month. So yea it's a GREAT DEVICE FOR ITS MONEY AND ITS TOTALLY WORTH IT INCLUDING THE SUBSCRIPTION!!!!!!!
Corporate attorney. I use it in meetings myself. Good luck to you
I agree this device has changed my life for the better
Are all the notes searchable? Say I create a note and need to reference it a few months later. Can I search for the note or would I have to scroll through hundreds of notes searching for the one I need?
@@trentgilliam5192 you have to scroll...
Maybe because it is way more expensive than an IPAD with not even half of the quality and features...
I was really on the fence about this. I write stories and thought this would be good for first drafts and story ideas. It's expensive but for me it's worth it. I don't use the cloud just all my notes on the device itself. It creates a quiet environment in which to work. I can't explain this very well but I find other tablets to be just noise and clutter. This is just organised notes and I'm loving it. The first week I was like oh I'm returning this, I'm returning this but when I got into using it in my story writing I started to see the benefits of a distraction free writing space. This is just my experience. I don't know if it will suit your needs but I'm not returning mine.
Just a wee feedback about storing info on the device. I work with PDFs and the low storage capacity is becoming a factor. Once I got to just over 5GB of storage space used, the device began to lag markedly. I had to offload a lot of my docs onto the Remarkable cloud - Connect. I got that space free because I was an early supporter of this start up company. However, to others, you may have to pay for the connection. Alternatively, use the connection to interface with Google or Dropbox so you can use the storage onboard your device for more current and urgent docs. Hope this is helpful to you.
It’s not perfect, but I do like the Supernote A5X. The thing I like about it is I can write in shorthand or sloppy notes during a meeting then go back and refine and compress, which helps with retention.
My A5X is my life! I wonder if the reMarkable has a way to make indexes like the Supernote. It would’ve solved this guy’s problem of organization.
The use case you describe is precisely how I work, too. It’s been my MO for over 30 years. I moved to iPad a few years ago but it seemed to be a bit of a struggle, but it was worth it to get ride of scores of legal pad. Then the iPad Pro and upgraded Apple Pencil was introduced, and it was a huge improvement to the experience. About a year ago I got the Paperlike, and that has essentially mitigated the “writing on glass” feeling. For me now, the iPad Pro experience is very near like writing on a legal pad. I use Noteshelf, and its filing methodology is user friendly and allows the “back and forth” you describe to be a necessary part of your workflow.
Very helpful! Thanks Jim!
I use the paper like and I feel like it still seems like I’m writing on glass plus the iPad battery has to be charged daily. I’m over ir
Busted the pen, damaged the case and then returning ???
A recent firmware upgrade added features to scroll an index of page thumbnails across the bottom of a page with a slider control, making it easy to review all your pages in a glance. Another feature with a swipe at the top of a page reveals the latest documents you opened and a favorites list. Its now so easy to jump around through pages and documents.
Good to know. Thanks for sharing!
@@TroyDoucet The new Boox Note Air2 might be another choice, however as I don’t have one, I can’t tell you if it has similar features. It does have a good search feature and is capable of searching on written text which is impressive.
I want to buy one for my school. We work with pdf documents, so i wanted to know if its possible to add new pages to a pdf document? and is it possible to copy and paste things that you painted before?
You gave me an idea, Troy. I am going to use my tablet to capture the notes that I write in my paper notebooks. That way, I still enjoy the feel of turning pages in the paper notebooks (which is also much faster than trying to flip through electronic pages).
Good idea! I’d just keep a lower resolution or the photos will eat up your storage.
You might like the RocketBook - write on paper with a pen and then take a photo on your smartphone. From there, you can direct the image to a cloud folder or email. It is an interesting approach. The one major downside is that you have to carry the cloth that you use with water to wipe the writing off the pages. So, you end up carrying a sometimes damp cloth in your bag.
Exactly my thought about this product, and thanks for confirming my issue before I buy it or similar E ink product. I do lots of sketches for different things, and just didn't like the ideas of mixing every thing in one notebook, and this was my initial reasons considering this product, was to be able to create different note book for each related project or ideas and for just note taking random note to be saved in separate note book, but the slow refresh rate moving between pages, and scrolling, or zooming was really off putting and deal breaker. and came to the conclusion that I should get decent tablet instead and keep my sketch book/note recording and just take snap for each sketch and start work on it. perhaps if they fix this annoying refresh of the screen or lag moving around page I may consider it, but it just too expensive for what it is and what it offer. those E ink maker think they can charge this amount of money as other brand that use much faster components in their devices, it is just pathetic!
Great review and reasoning. Being a young millennial, I tend to use devices more for note taking, and want a clean dedicated device to help me maintain & organise memories. I always end up losing track of paper as I’m more used to digital file structures, but I value the pencil for creating more significant memories and to edit text into mind-maps to reflect on
This is what I call a useful review. Having notes drawn and gone is a huge problem. Being able to quickly, and I mean swiftly reference them is the (theee) most important thing about them, and having the device making this tedious is a deal breaker. At lest for quick "referencers" for a lack of a better word. For anyone who just wants to read and annotate here and there and sketch, this device is probably the best one out there (as of now).
What would you recommend ?
Ehm no. You know the issue he has with the pages is... Like listing to my grandma trying to navigate a smartphone. With remarkable you can display all pages and log then in different folders like your computer. Even se a document page by page. You can line each page side by side and navigate them easily. This review is laughable at best.
@@maxenmpsi8246 Supernote
Would this problem be solved with using a planner type template? A template with closet links on each page ton go back and forth to to-do lists
He forgot a cookie on it/ in it and it's somehow remarkable's fault! You should totally do stand up comedy 🤣
Honestly? My guess is you've been writing in notebooks and refining your mindset & workflow around "pen + paper" for decades. Taking this product ---- which really is a paradigm shift that needs to be approached as such --- and giving it all of 1 week, and trying to shoehorn your existing habits into a radically different space... it speaks maybe to some unrealistic expectations? I'm in no way saying you're not making the right call for you, I'm actually speaking to anyone thinking of trying this product out for similar reasons.
This device is not a replacement or substitute for pen and paper, any more than an iPhone is a replacement for a landline... that's the 'phone app' on the iPhone. This thing is a virtual space that collapses a physical space into a single plane, it consumes the old completely and moves on from there. You have to be willing to change (evolve) your deeply ingrained, mostly-unconscious habits and be willing to learn how to leverage the new possibilities. Or not! But giving it a week, and trying to make it do what the notebook did, I'm thinking you didn't really want to change, you wanted all upside and no downside, no learning curve. Been there!
I have never Seen anything so passionately written for an electronic device.
@@dopegod987 ahahah
@@dopegod987 was pretty solid lol
@@dopegod987 Almost appears this person has a vested interest in the company…maybe someone who works for the company!?!?
@@salinaj5976 This person has a valid point though, vested interest or not.
And how do you plan to return it with a chipped pen and a stained cover??? Am I missing something?
in usa you can return everything
I have the remarkable 2 and I agree with the issue of accessing all pages by flipping a physical book. I do believe some of it is an illusion. When flipping through a physical book of notes and finding a note in digital form turn out to be not that different. It is more about upbringing. Which means a younger generation may disagree with being able to flip through a physical book is easier. I would keep it and allow time to change your thoughts.
What a wonderful honest and pertinent review. On your point about the redundancy of rewriting and moving forward of the notes. I could make a case that the act of reviewing and rewriting would help remember and clarify the content. My big turn off to this is the subscription. Product subscriptions will stop me 90% of the time in buying a product.
very fair review. The main issue was not being able to scroll through / to pages quickly, and just not having the pages to look at / flip through.
It took me about 4 months to get used to it, it sat on the shelf during that time. Now the lightbulb went on and I don't leave home without it.
For the flipping through pages, there's a great feature that brings up a snapshot of each page (numbered) and you just click to your page. About 12 page snapshots to flip through. I think it's great.
Automation is always better. But good and fair review.
Can you add pdf forms and can you get e signatures. Or edit forms?
Can you tell me how the notebook works when you get to the end of a page? Do you have to interrupt your thought flow to make another page to continue or is it a seamless process?
It is seamless. You just swipe to the left and a new page appears.
I think we have the same ‘notebook’ system and now I see that I would have the same issue with Rmk2. So your video saved me purchasing the device unnecessarily. I think iPad is still a better option for digital note taking. It is super fast in terms of going back and forth through your old notes/folders. Paperlike helps a lot too.
I noticed Paperlike and thought that looked interesting. What app do you use? Does the iPad give you any trouble if you rest your palm while writing? Also, what writing tool do you use?
@@TroyDoucet I really recommend Paperlike. I switch between MS OneNote (for work) and Apple Notes (personal), Procreate for drawing. No palm problems on iPad while writing.
for me the remarkable wins, I have a tablet as well but it just doesn't feel as good. plus if I'm going to spend 1000€ on a beautiful tablet screen I dont wanna worsen the colour accuracy and "resolution" with that kinda thing.
Have you used the app that lets you review your notes on your smartphone or tablet (like iPad)? Reviewing past notes on the app is faster than reviewing it on the RM2 itself. It also lets you review past notes on the second device while writing new notes on the RM2.
Thanks Ben!
great tip
This is a tremendously helpful review. Thank you for taking the time to make it.
Cookies and daughter playing with your pen is nothin to do with the product 😆. But I agree, I wouldn't like scrolling the page to look other parts of the note. After all, I guess I stay with paper and pen.
You are 100% right. Ipad is better in a way. Good Notes, Notability or similar apps will help in search. It has OCR.
Just keep the brightness to the minimum and it will simulate an e-Ink reader. For media, you can bring the brightness back.
Also if you buy a Mini you can use it on the go as a note taking tablet while you have access to the files created in the MIni on Ipad pro etc.,
The price for the functionality is great value for money.
E-Ink no use. Especially you cannot access what you write.
Did they let you return it after using it and damaging it?
Yes. I would have considered both these things warranty issues otherwise. The pen should not have broken after a week. I would have been ok absorbing the portfolio cost, but the did refund it. The entire return process was smooth and as the promised. Interestingly, I sent it back to Hong Kong via prepaid label, so they don’t appear to have a US based manufacturing address.
Here are some reasons of why you can't go paperless
1) Legal documents - such as passports, birth certificates, court rulings, insurance claims force you to have a physical paper copy (whether you like it or not)
2) When signing contracts - Do you take out your apple pencil? or do you use an actual pen?
3) When posting packages - Do you take out your apple pencil? or do use an actual pen?
4) When sitting school exams - Do you take out your apple pencil? or do use an actual pen?
This is why I stick to pen and paper because it WORKS in EVERYDAY LIFE in all SITUATIONS. Hope this helps.
PS: I have 2 journals. 1 small for note taking on the go and the other big for mathematics. The best pen I've found so far is Refyne EP1 Titanium bolt action pen. Uses a Parker style refill and fits perfectly in your hand. Only need to swap out the refill once a year. Perfect setup
Ok. You did it. I was undecided between a remarkable or a iPad Pro. Gonna go with the iPad. Thanks for the review.
It really is a niche product. Great to hear what you thought about it.
It's writing ... niche? I suppose.
@@t0dd000 Writing is not a niche, if that’s what you’re asking. People wanting to write on this product is a niche set of people.
This was a great review and highlighted all the concerns I had about his product. I think I will stick with paper.
What's the painting in the background? I love it
Glad you asked! The artist is Christopher Burk. His website is www.christopherburk.com/
@@TroyDoucet awesome thanks! Shades of Hopper. Love it
I wish there was a full-fledged tablet with color e-ink display and high refresh rate...
Agreed!
Defaults are created by habits. Defaulting back to the notebook is simply because of habit. It’s just what we get used to. Habits change as you use a different method more and more.
The supernote A5x is what you want to go for.
It isn't perfect either but would certainly serve your needs better
Seems that the Supernote product would be more suitable for you, as they have a good system for making tables of contents, viewing multiple pages in miniature at once, creating tags, etc.
So you stained it and broke the pen and then just expect to send it back?
You returned it after damaging it?
Thanks for this information and honest review
As a user myself, I use the PC app for that specific purpose of going through hundreds of past notes..
Thank you for this video.
For me it will be used as a companion device for my full-fledged tablet, I just don't want to use paper anymore period and there is just not a device out there yet that can do it all
good review. i have the first generation remarkable and the only thing i really care about is reviewing and marking up pdf documents for my work and it's good for that. the kindle scribe looks like it might have a deal breaker in that you can't write directly on pdfs and use some stupid post-it note system. thanks for sharing your thoughts
Thanks for your thoughts, I enjoyed the video. I'm not sure why you received so many dislikes. I love how instinctively you rejected that call, I can tell that you do that a lot 😂
I think the downvotes are due to his mention some really petty things. He dropped the pen and chipped it, well that is on him not the product. He got cookie crumbs and used an alcohol swab to clean the folio and stained it, that is on him not the product. Neither of them are relevant to the use of the product. It really detracts from his review to bring these "issues" up. Short version is he is a journaler and likes to write on paper. He could adapt to this if he put the effort into it, but he does not see the advantage of it over the way he is doing things now. That is a relevant critique and should be part of anyones purchase calculus.
I love your sport jacket, I want one
You can buy the accessories separate on the website
Thank you for the update!
@@TroyDoucet Mine is supposed to be here on the 11th! I'm super excited and think the fact that it is so minimal in what it does is a huge plus for me. I use a Tab S6 lite at the moment and writing on glass and the glare has not worked well for me. Solid review by the way.
@@randycook6500 Awesome! It sounds like you'll put it to good use switching over.
@@TroyDoucet well here's an update for you. I used it two complete days and I am returning it. For me the current level of its functionality the price point should be around $200 I'm going to keep using my tab S6 Lite and OneNote
@@randycook6500 I hear you.
They should have a feature where you upload what note documents you want to their website, and they send you a nicely bound printed notepad/book that you can label and sift through easily
That’s an amazing idea!
Terrific review. Hope you found something that works for you
This is exactly why I prefer physical books over digital. It’s so much easier to flip to any page with a physical book.
great review but did you seriously return it after damaging it? lol!
I think the Supernote eink device would work for you!
How long did you wait for your refund?
About a week after shipping, which went back to Hong Kong, so I'd rate it quick. The return process was well handled.
Oh I LOVE MINE
The scroll is skitchy!! For sure it is not an iPad...you drop your pen and shattered a pièce... It can happen too if you drop your iPad on the Floor too.
I bought a remarkable and soon realized how much I appreciate writing on real paper.
I think what you need is an iPad with a notebook app, its faster but you will be writing on glass.
Works well for me. I find notebooks tedious.
Mine chipped off at the rim too!
I think if it had better navigation and overall speed it wouldn’t be so unremarkable
Great review. I too use real note books and you can’t get a better random access device than a pen and book. Thanks for your honesty about returning to pen and paper!
dont leave your cookie there then :)
I'm just afraid I'll crack it or break it in half or damage the screen. I don't have to worry about that with a real notebook.
You should just use an ipad. At the moment, e-ink tech is not advanced enough to give you the experience you anticipated you would get from this product. It's a 100 times faster than the kindle e ink reader I used to own a couple of years ago though, in terms of when I use the rm2 as a doc reader.
Thanks Nim!
What about the horrible glossy display on the iPad that hurts your eyes when you read?
Sounds like you are looking for 2-in-1 laptop + OneNote + Obsidian.
Haha classic, so the pen did break.
rM2 has a great core to it but it’s really limited and fragile and expensive. But with time at least the software is slowly getting better and there’s no other e-ink that is that flat and fast in writing or has that strong of a magnet.
"It's great, I wanted to keep using it, but paper's cheaper." "I definitely like the rest of the features, but they're not useful enough to keep them" There you go. Saved you 10 minutes of your life.
I suppose that the only true reason why we should all have one is to save trees..
Does it save trees, though? Surely the endeavour of retrieving the raw materials to make these e-notebooks is hugely environmentally damaging? You can't sustainably grow plastic. Trees are another matter.
Remarkable review actually.
Agreed, well done.
Frustratingly I think these digital notebooks are over engineering what some users want. I would love a stand alone digital notepad that is one screen, one pen and I can write what I want. Then I create a new page and a new note e.t.c. Then if I wanted to I could scroll backwards and forwards through the pages just like I could with a notebook, deleting pages that I no longer needed. I just want to reduce the amount of paper I'm using, I'm not bothered about syncing with another device or digitising my notes to present on a computer. Can someone make me one please? :)
Hi Sally, you might like the Remarkable2 if that's what you're after. What you've described pretty much sums up the tablet. I didn't have to sync to keep my notes and it could hold thousands upon thousands of pages. I know they just went to some kind of sync service with recurring costs, but I don't think you are required to get the service if you don't want it. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
@@TroyDoucet Thanks for the reply Troy, the remarkable is also quite big, I like to use reporter style notepads, so would prefer something a bit smaller. I'm just looking at the Onyx tablets now, but they are quite pricey. Maybe I'll stick with the notepads for now :D
@@sallyowens1394 You could take a look at the Supernote A6X.But beware, you may have to pay import taxes depending on your region.
Remarkable lover here ✍🏼 but i see it‘s not for everyone
Some poor sap is going to receive that well-used bullshit after Remarkable swaps the stained cover and re-boxes it.
Good luck returning that!! 😂😂😂😂😂
Now as a bonus you have to pay $100 a year otherwise it stops working.
Yes, it’s not for me too. Based on promotional posts and videos I purchased it 2 days ago and at the first hour of arriving I found it’s so far away from what I was expected! So weak main software, so slow speed to respond, so mush limitation for writing, editing, viewing, saving and sharing, etc. the only positive issue is natural feeling of paper writing which is achievable on iPad easily if you know what screen protection to chose! With this amount, instead of remarkable 2 I can buy iPad mini 8.3” or 10,2-5” normal iPad with tunes of features and facilities. However I found even returning and asking to refund has very complicated process, it’s so disappointing!
SUMMARY
Not the ideal client persona for this device.
NOTE: Any business owner should write this off as an expense. Annoying to hear people talk about price.
I will never buy a Remarkable because they added that subscription sync plan. What a garbage idea. It reeks of some VC jagoff looking to squeeze every last drop out of the consumer.
I thought the same thing but the sub comes with 3-year extension on the warranty, so 100 bucks for 3 years extended warranty
These paid amazon agents getting out of hand lately arent they?
🤦
This guy talks so fast, the closed captions are just gibberish. Ha.
🙄
Too much money..
A hate ramble. Thumbs down on this guy.
Not having the ability to easily add images/videos, having a very slow refresh rate and the absence of shortcuts on the pens (like the Apple pencil 2 has) made it blatantly obvious to me that this product is simply not worth the price. I'd pay max 100 pounds for the tablet. It's not a bad product per se, but for this price they give you a piece of sh!t.
Terrible review! All the issues were of his own making!!
I agree! Why complain about issues you created. Also, should have really investigated the device before purchasing.
Why not fully embrace technology and just type your notes on a computer?