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

Onerous to imagine 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 in the present day’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 large information this day trip.

Information of the Kindle Scribe arrives as issues have been pretty quiet on the e-reader entrance. Kobo continues to be kicking, however Amazon has totally dominated the class for some years. It’s the form of factor that tends to gradual 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 because the first Kindle was launched in late-2007, Amazon’s added the flexibility to write down on-device with a stylus. Its an enormous new characteristic for the product, although a few corporations have already crushed 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.1-inch display and a design partially harking back to the premium Kindle Oasis, embody a big aspect bezel with web page buttons you’ll be able to maintain onto whereas studying. It has a battery the corporate charges at “weeks,” retaining in keeping with its fellow readers. At 430 grams, it’s (predictably) the heaviest Kindle, which might put a little bit of a crimp in these bedtime studying marathons.

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

A extra premium mannequin can even be made out there with built-in buttons for fast actions. These styli enable for quite a lot of completely different line kinds, although the guidelines are everlasting, in order that’s taking place via the on-board software program accessible by way of 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 actually heard that declare earlier than, and your mileage will differ, although we’ll report again after testing the factor. Ditto for latency, which has historically been one of many largest setbacks to this form of expertise. Unusually, handwriting recognition will likely be lacking at launch, although the characteristic is nearly actually on the corporate’s roadmap.

It’s going to, nonetheless, have a newly Streamlined software program providing, permitting information to be shared off the machine via the Kindle app, an internet browser or electronic mail. The corporate additionally says it has up to date the notoriously outdated Ship to Kindle characteristic to assist take away a number of the friction from the method. In the meantime, a take care of Microsoft will carry 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 attempting. Moderately, 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 value bump over the beforehand most costly Kindle (Oasis), it actually is smart that the corporate would wish to preserve 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 machine begin in the present day, with delivery anticipated earlier than the vacations (suppose November). The corporate can even offer up circumstances that convert to stands by way of magnets, like the remainder of the road. In addition they have just a little loop to maintain the stylus in place.

Exceptional has obtained optimistic 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 form of subscriptions numbers it had been banking on. In fact, we will’t communicate to the standard of the Scribe with out having examined it, however the staff behind Exceptional is nearly actually assessing its choices after this bombshell.