The New Generation of Color E Ink: reMarkable Paper Pro Unboxing and Comments
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My reMarkable Paper Pro (hereinafter referred to as rMPP) finally arrived today (2024/09/24)! I believe many people are very interested in this E Ink tablet/reader that uses E Ink Gallery 3 (reMarkable calls it a "Paper Tablet," and I will just refer to it as an E Ink tablet below. Let's not get hung up on the name for now), because it might be the only color E Ink tablet on the market currently using E Ink Gallery 3 display technology [Note 1]. In this article, I will share my initial unboxing of this tablet with all the curious readers.
Table of Content
What's the Difference between Gallery 3 and Kaleido 3?
There are currently two main types of color E Ink display technologies: E Ink Kaleido 3, which is widely used in color E Ink e-readers on the market, and Gallery 3. What are the differences between these two color display technologies? The main difference lies in the breadth of the color gamut. Kaleido 3 can currently display a maximum of 4096 colors (16 cubed), and the color saturation is not very high, which is why it is also known as pastel color. On the other hand, Gallery 3 can display 65536 colors (16 to the power of four). This means that in addition to achieving higher color vibrancy and saturation, Gallery 3 can also display finer details and more beautiful photographs, closer to full-color printing! [Note 2]
So, does this mean Gallery 3 is better than Kaleido 3? Not necessarily. Because Gallery 3 needs to control four colors of ink particles (CMYW, which is also the reason for the 16 to the power of four), the process of moving the ink particles is much, much more complex than Kaleido 3, which only controls black and white particles and uses an RGB color filter to display colors. As a result, the page-turning speed (refresh rate) is slower than Kaleido 3, and there is more flickering during the page-turning process. These are the fundamental reasons why many manufacturers are still observing and hesitant to adopt this technology.
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| Kaleido 3 is essentially a black and white E Ink screen with a three-primary-color filter overlaid for color production. Therefore, it only needs to control two colors of particles during screen updates, resulting in faster refresh speed. The image is from the E Ink official website. |
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| Because Gallery 3 has to control four colors of particles (CMYW), the page-turning speed is slower. However, without the color filter layer, it can improve light reflectance, so the screen is brighter and the white background is whiter compared to Kaleido 3. The image is from the E Ink official website. |
Currently, there's a trade-off with color E Ink technology. Kaleido 3, which has a faster page-turning speed, only offers pastel colors, and the color filter reduces the screen's light reflectivity, making the white background appear dimmer and reducing the color resolution to only 1/3 of the black and white resolution. Gallery 3, which offers vibrant and saturated colors, has a slower page-turning speed and more noticeable flickering, but its color resolution is as good as its black and white resolution. After seeing this, don't you feel that the ideal is wonderful, but the reality is harsh, and a perfect color e-reader is hard to find!
Now that we have a basic understanding of the background information, let's unbox this reMarkable Paper Pro color E Ink tablet, which is said to be a premium product in the E Ink world!"
Purchase Process
I didn't place my order on the first day of the reMarkable announcement (2024/09/04) this time because I was mainly thinking about what I could use this device for, and whether to order the keyboard folio, whether to buy the second-generation or first-generation stylus, and other questions. By the time I had thought everything through, it was already September 8th. I was actually surprised after placing the order because it said it would take about 17 to 25 business days to be delivered. I calculated that because they don't work on weekends, it would take at least 3 to 5 weeks for it to arrive, which seemed way too long! It seems that there must have been a large number of orders pouring in from all over the world in those few short days, and they would need some time to process them, so I didn't particularly expect to receive it before the end of September.
Ten days after placing the order, on September 18th, I received an email from reMarkable saying that they knew many people were anxious, but asked everyone to wait patiently as they expected the goods to arrive around October 12th. Seeing this made me even less hopeful of receiving it by the end of September.
Unexpectedly – well, on the evening of September 23rd, I suddenly received a text message notification from DHL Express saying that reMarkable was in transit and asking me to complete the pre-authorization on EZ Way. After I went in and confirmed the information, I received it at two o'clock the next afternoon! This was a real surprise! It makes me wonder if reMarkable is deliberately playing a psychological game of creating anticipation... Well, if you are someone who has already placed an order and hasn't received it yet, or if you are someone who wants to place an order after reading this article, then just take the estimated delivery time as a reference and be ready to receive a surprise at any time!
Selling Price
Speaking of which, this thing isn't cheap! I didn't choose the most expensive leather folio, I only selected the Mosaic weave material, and I didn't buy the Type Folio keyboard case which costs 249 euros (equivalent to $283, which could buy another seven-inch black and white e-reader...). Even with this configuration, it still cost me close to $1,000. However, considering it's the latest technology, you have to pay a price if you want to try it out."
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| The above is the combination I ordered. There's currently a 19 Euro discount on pre-ordering the Folio. |
Packaging
Design
reMarkable's packaging is very elaborate. The all-white cardboard box paired with black text gives it a simple and sharp look. Different items come in boxes with different debossed prints, which not only makes them feel more refined but also makes it easy to identify the contents:
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The side also has a debossed printing of the machine's side
profile and indicates the thickness, which is only 5.1 mm! This
thickness is as thin as Apple's current flagship and thinnest iPad
Pro! (However, it is 0.4 mm thicker than the previous generation
reMarkable 2's 4.7 mm, and also thicker than Boox's Go at 4.5 mm,
which shows that E Ink screens are easier to make thin than LCD
screens.)
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The packaging box for the Folio is shaped like a protective case.
It has a deliberately hollowed-out circle in the bottom left
corner, allowing users to directly see the material and color of
the case inside. Below the cutout, the color of the case is
written in different languages. I think the main purpose is to
allow buyers to confirm if the color meets their expectations
without opening the package, thus avoiding returns and exchanges
due to color differences after damaging the packaging.
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Packaging for the Marker Plus
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The debossed design for the Marker Plus is on the side, and you
can confirm it's the second-generation pen from the eraser design
on the end.
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| The way these boxes open is also very elaborate; they deliberately mimic the form of a zipper, giving you the feeling of opening a paper bag." |
Contents
After opening the outer packaging, the inner box reverses the color scheme of the outer box by using a solid black color with the white reMarkable logo. It maintains the same simple beauty. Inside, you'll find the white-framed reMarkable tablet, and its shutdown screen is black to match the box, which is very harmonious. After taking out the device, there are two small boxes below. The one on the left contains the included Type C to C USB charging cable, which also has the reMarkable logo printed on the cable head. The box on the right contains the user manual and a small welcome card.
💡What kind of charging adapter should the reMarkable Paper Pro use?
The rMPP box doesn't include a charging adapter, so users have to prepare their own. However, whether it's in the manual or on the official website, there's no emphasis on which charging adapter must be used. So, can fast charging adapters be used?
Actually, current technology for charging management is very advanced. Therefore, unless the manufacturer has specifically reminded or stated otherwise, most charging adapters are generally okay and safe to use, and won't damage the device, battery, or cause any charging hazards. I believe no manufacturer would naively assume that all consumers should possess electrical knowledge and be able to pick the so-called correct charger themselves. So, if they don't mention it, it means it's not important. The USB Type-C standard itself already regulates the maximum charging power and current, and many manufacturers also have control chips for battery charging and discharging safety control and lifespan management. Therefore, feel free to use the charging adapters you usually use for other E Ink devices, phones, or tablets! (Just avoid buying chargers from unknown sources or those that are unreasonably cheap.) If you are still worried, you can refer to the Reddit article below or Google it yourself.
💡What is the price of the stylus tips?
After opening the stylus box, I found that it also came with a box of replacement tips. The design of the tip box feels very high-quality, with silver foil lettering on the surface that shines in the light, making it look like a jewelry box for necklaces or bracelets. Inside, it contains six replacement tips. I looked it up online, and the official price for 25 tips is 39 Euros, which converts to about NT$55 per tip, which is actually quite affordable. For comparison, a Boox stylus tip costs nearly NT$100, and a tip for the original mooInk Pro is also about NT$65. However, most people who buy a reMarkable are likely drawn to its exceptional writing experience, and if you write frequently, the tips will be used up relatively quickly. The price of these tips, being relatively cheaper than other brands, can somewhat compensate for this.
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Contents of the Marker Plus Box
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Appearance and Design
Body
The main body of the rMPP continues the simple and beautiful design of the packaging. The choice of materials gives the impression of being very solid, sturdy, and aesthetically pleasing. The back and the four side frames are made of metal with a polished silver finish, which looks very nice, and the metal material feels very strong. The front bezel of the screen is white (as the saying goes, white makes everything better 😄) and is completely flat with the screen, with no indentation. On all four sides, there's only the main power button on the upper left side, no extra buttons, and a USB Type-C charging port on the lower left side. There's nothing else.
A particularly noteworthy design element is the anti-slip pads on the four corners of the rMPP's back. I think the advantage of these pads is that they prevent the device from sliding when writing on a desk without a case, as the body is made of smooth, polished metal. If it were in direct contact with a smooth desktop, the friction might be too low, causing it to slide while writing. Also, if it slides during writing and there's dust on the desk, it could cause minor scratches on the metal body. This anti-slip design shows that the reMarkable team really values the writing experience, paying attention to even such small details (I haven't seen this kind of original anti-slip pad design on any of the many e-readers I've bought before). However, because of this anti-slip pad design, when placed naked on a desktop, the main body of the device doesn't sit completely flush with the surface; there's about a 1 mm gap. This means the center point and center of gravity of the device are suspended. Under normal use, there's basically no issue when placing your hand flat on it to write, as the weight of your hand is limited. But you should be careful not to apply heavy pressure in the middle of the device when it's naked, or stack too many heavy things on top of it, to avoid causing flexure and damaging the screen (generally, E Ink screens using a glass substrate are most vulnerable to bending stress).
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The silver metal body and frame feel very premium and sturdy.
There are soft anti-slip pads on the four corners, the device's
serial number on the bottom left, and the five metal dots on the
bottom right are the connection points for the Type Folio.
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| When placed naked on a desk, there will be about a 1 mm gap between the back of the device and the desk due to the anti-slip pads. |
It's worth noting that on the upper right corner of the metal frame, there is a small gray strip. That area is where the magnet inside the Marker Plus attaches to the main body of the device. Only this part of the metal frame on all four sides is magnetic, so it's a good foolproof design. This is because the Marker Plus needs to be charged! This design prevents you from attaching it to the wrong side and not charging it.
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| The gray strip area is where the Marker Plus attaches magnetically and charges. Only this part of the frame is magnetic, which is a good foolproof design. |
Additionally, the main body of the device has another hidden design: the entire back surface has magnets inside, and the folio case also has magnets across its entire surface. As a result, when the device is attached to the folio, the magnetic attraction is very strong, so you don't need to worry about the device accidentally separating and falling when you only hold the folio.
Compared to the magnetic attachment designs of other brands, such as my Pubook Pro and Boox Nova Air C, the magnetic attraction of these two is very poor because they only have magnets on one 'edge,' and the attraction to the folio is only on that edge. If you don't pay special attention to opening the folio from the back, the entire device can fly out, which is very dangerous. My Boox Nova Air C has fallen this way before; fortunately, I reacted quickly and caught it, otherwise it would have been a disaster. While my Boox Tab Ultra C Pro also has magnets across the entire back of the device, its folio design, in order to be foldable as a stand, only has magnets on half of it, so the overall magnetic attraction is still not as tight and secure as the rMPP.
Having a magnetic attachment design allows for some additional applications. Because the rMPP's colors are much more vibrant and saturated than those of Kaleido 3 readers, it's more suitable for use as a digital photo frame. Therefore, after setting my favorite photos as the standby screen and using my LHiDS wall-mounted storage set at home, I can attach it to the LHiDS board as part of the home decor when I'm not using it. And the effect is quite good.! Seeing my favorite photos when I'm tired of reading improves my mood. As for how to change the standby screen of the rMPP, you can refer to this article: "reMarkable Paper Pro Standby Screen Modification Tutorial"
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By magnetically attaching the rMPP directly to the LHiDS storage
board, it can be used as a digital photo frame. This screen is not
the standby photo, it is a PDF file, and the text is what I wrote
on it using the rMPP's handwriting function.
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You can stick the rMPP on the front door to use as a digital photo
frame.
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You can stick the rMPP on the refrigerator.
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Protective Case (Folio)
The protective case actually comes in three material options: the highest-grade leather folio, the mid-range Mosaic weave, and the cheapest Polymer weave, with a 50 Euro price difference between each material. However, my main reason for choosing the Mosaic weave was the color, as I like blue, so I chose the Cobalt blue.
The design of the folio case truly showcases the reMarkable team's dedication and attention to detail. There are many indentations designed on the inner side of the folio, and the circular indentations at the four corners are for the tablet's anti-slip pads. This allows the entire back of the device to sit flush against the folio, evenly distributing pressure. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. The magnetic polarity inside these four indentations is actually different! Therefore, the device will only attach securely to the folio when placed correctly; if it's not placed correctly, you'll feel weak magnetic force and it won't attach. This seems to be another thoughtful foolproof design! We should really applaud the reMarkable team for being so meticulous.
Additionally, there's a recess on the back of the Folio for the folded pen holder where the stylus is attached. This design allows the Folio to lie perfectly flat on a table even with the pen holder folded back, which is a significant plus score! Many manufacturers (such as Boox and Pubu) don't provide a space for this folded pen loop, causing the folded part to lift slightly when lying flat, making it unstable and prone to slight wobbling when writing on a flat surface. The devil is indeed in the details. This small design makes the user's writing experience even more perfect. It's no wonder they are the most meticulous manufacturer in the E Ink world when it comes to the writing experience.
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The product serial number is also located on the bottom left of
the inner side of the folio. The magnetic polarity within the
corresponding anti-slip pad recesses at the four corners is
different.
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The back of the case is also designed with a recess, which is
where the folded pen holder is placed.
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Also, the folio doesn't have iron sheets inside; it uses magnets. As mentioned above, when paired with the magnets on the back of the device, the magnetic attraction is extremely strong. You absolutely don't have to worry about the device separating from the folio and falling if you only hold the folio. You can even shake the folio left and right with the device attached.
However, I should also remind everyone that since more and more manufacturers are using magnetic folio case designs these days, the most important thing to remember is to detach them on a desk, not while standing and holding the device! Many unfortunate incidents happen after accidentally letting go. Placing it on a desk at least reduces the falling height. With E Ink devices, if you have good usage habits, you generally don't need excessive protection!
Stylus
The design of the Marker Plus also feels very high-quality. The material on the pen's surface has a slightly raised, rough texture, which increases friction and provides good control when holding it. The pen tip material has been specially designed with added carbon, which increases the friction when writing and perfectly complements the rMPP's screen surface treatment, achieving a writing feel similar to using a pencil on paper.
The main differences between the Marker Plus and the previous generation stylus, besides the rougher surface texture, are the addition of an eraser at the end. The eraser is made of a rubber-like material that allows you to simply flip the pen over and erase mistakes, which is much more convenient. However, these two differences alone cost an extra 50 Euros...
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The roughness of the pen body's material increases grip friction
and improves writing control.
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Another noteworthy point is that the new Marker and Marker Plus styluses are not compatible with the older reMarkable 2 stylus! The reMarkable 2 stylus uses EMR technology, and generally, WACOM styluses can be used with it. However, the rMPP Markers all use active capacitive technology, similar to the Apple Pencil. This active technology has a built-in control chip that emits electromagnetic signals to communicate with the screen, so there's a special protocol, and even different manufacturers have their own rules, making it difficult to find compatible third-party pens. (2025/05/26 Update: The stylus comes from a Taiwanese Company called ELAN microelectronics. Same for Boox Tab XC's InkSpire stylus, so you can use Boox's InkSpire stylus to write on rMPP without the need of pairing.)
How much does the stylus weigh? Since it needs to be charged, there's a battery inside, adding to the weight. Plus, both of these styluses use magnetic wireless charging technology, which also adds the weight of the magnet. As a result, they are slightly heavier than most EMR pens. The batteries in both the Marker and Marker Plus are 80 mAh. The Marker Plus weighs 18.4 g, which is 4.4 g more than the Marker due to the added eraser.
To charge, simply attach the stylus tip-down to the upper right corner frame of the device. Give it a slight turn, and it will magnetically attach correctly. Here, I must commend the magnetic attraction of the reMarkable stylus; it's really quite strong. You don't have to worry about it falling off while walking or carrying it around. In contrast, the magnetic attraction of the Onyx Boox's styluses is really not good. Sometimes, they accidentally detach and fall off when you're carrying them while walking, making them easy to lose. (Therefore, I no longer carry my Onyx stylus attached to the side; I put it in my bag separately.)
Additionally, the Marker and Marker Plus are charged magnetically, which is another point I greatly appreciate. When I used the Sony DPT-RP1 or the first-generation mooInk Pro, their styluses also needed to be charged, but you had to connect a USB Type B cable, which required a charging adapter, a cable, and an outlet – very inconvenient. Because of this inconvenience, it was impossible to charge them anytime, anywhere, and I often found myself in the frustrating situation of the stylus being out of power when I needed to take notes or running out of power halfway through writing. Even when using an Apple iPad with an Apple Pencil, you have the same issue. However, the advantage of the Apple Pencil is that you don't need a charging cable and adapter; you just plug the connector at the end of the pencil into the iPad to charge it. But you can't just keep it plugged in all the time; besides looking awkward, it's not easy to carry, and you could easily bump it and break the connector.
The reMarkable stylus's design is really great, significantly improving the user experience. When the pen is not in use, you can always magnetically attach it to the side for charging. It's easy to carry and you don't have to worry about losing it. Every time you pick it up, it's fully charged, allowing you to continue writing for hours without worry. (I haven't yet tested how many hours you can actually write on a full charge, as my recent courses haven't required me to take a lot of handwritten notes. I look forward to seeing if other users share this information, or I will add it later if I get a chance to test it.) Actually, the way the reMarkable stylus charges and pairs magnetically is already a high-end design. You have to buy the Apple Pencil Pro to get the same design, so the Marker Plus is worth its expensive price.
Update on 2024/11/05: I was mistaken when I said that only the Apple Pencil Pro has this design. The Apple Pencil 2 also has magnetic charging and pairing; it's the first-generation Apple Pencil and the Apple Pencil (USB-C) that don't have magnetic charging. However, the Apple Pencil 2 also costs around $134, which isn't cheap either. Thank you to user @Zweistein314 for pointing this out in the comments.
As for how to check the battery level of the stylus, just attach the stylus to the charging position, and a battery level indicator will briefly appear on the screen near the charging area. This indicator only shows up for a short time, so some people might not particularly notice it.
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| After it magnetically attaches, it shows the stylus's battery level. |
If you really miss the short battery indicator display on the right edge, the quickest way is to detach the pen and reattach it. If you're even too lazy to do that, you can actually check it in the system settings. In the General tab of the settings, within the Software section, the percentage displayed to the right of 'Marker' is the stylus's battery level.
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You can also see the remaining battery level of the stylus here.
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Overall Weight
The rMPP isn't particularly light, weighing 525g on its own, which is 75g heavier than the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro (hereinafter referred to as TUCP). However, the rMPP has an 11.8-inch screen, while the TUCP only has a 10-inch screen. The sheer size of the rMPP is larger than the TUCP, so it's understandable that the rMPP would be heavier. Another reason for the increased weight of both devices is the magnetic design. Both have magnets placed inside the back panel, allowing them to attach to magnetic surfaces. Magnetic attachment saves space and makes it convenient to remove magnetic protective cases, but it does require some sacrifice in weight.
Regarding the weight of other accessories, the rMPP stylus weighs 18.4g, and the Folio is estimated to weigh around 250g (the weight varies depending on the material; the Mosaic Weave material I chose weighs 232g). Therefore, the total weight is approximately 800g. This weight is not light for single-handed holding; generally, your wrist would probably get sore after holding it to read for about thirty minutes. However, given the large size, I wouldn't typically hold it with one hand anyway. Most of the time, I place it flat on a table or use a stand for reading. Moreover, most users who buy a reMarkable are primarily after its excellent writing feel, and people rarely hold it with one hand when writing. So, I don't think its weight is too much of an issue in terms of usage. The main problem is that it's a bit heavy to carry around. Its weight is even more than the 13.3-inch mooInk Pro 2C with its case (643g). If you intend to use it as a personal notebook, for example, for bullet journaling, you'd be adding an extra 800g to your bag every time you go out.
User-Friendliness
User-friendliness refers to how quickly a user can learn and become familiar with the various operations of a device after first getting it. User-friendliness depends on several factors: first, whether the interface design is simple and intuitive and whether the operating logic is similar to most other systems; second, whether the user experience is good; and third, whether there are sufficient tutorials and guides to inform users about the functions of each button and where to find certain features if needed. Generally, users can fully understand the various functions and operations of a highly user-friendly device without spending too much time, and they don't need to put much effort into exploring, researching, or even getting used to its operation.
I think reMarkable has done an excellent job in terms of user-friendliness. Although it's generally easier for pure e-reader and note-taking devices, which have relatively simple and singular functions, to achieve user-friendliness compared to Android E Ink Tablets with complex functions and high freedom, I still think it has done a great job even compared to e-readers from other manufacturers. We can see the dedication of the reMarkable team in this regard through the following images:
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Using graph to show users how to charge the stylus. (It also pairs
when magnetically attached.)
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reMarkable even directly educates users on what the screen refresh
of E Ink is. I think this is very important because
for people who have never been exposed to E Ink, the concept of
the screen flickering during a refresh is very unfamiliar. Some
people might even think they bought a defective product when
they see the screen flicker upon receiving it. Therefore,
educating users beforehand is very important. Many manufacturers
don't really focus on this aspect
[Note 3].
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| Pairing the new rMPP with your reMarkable account is also very convenient. You simply scan the QR code and enter the verification code. |
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After pairing is complete, it informs you that you can enjoy a
trial of the free cloud file storage and synchronization service,
Connect.
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The Connect trial period is 100 days, which is equivalent to more
than three months – very generous indeed! Basically, the trial
period for Connect is the same as the trial period for the rMPP
itself. They will send you an email notification before the trial
period ends to see if you want to continue subscribing or cancel
your subscription, which is quite considerate.
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| After the Connect trial starts, reMarkable directly provides users with download links for their Mobile App and Desktop App, which is very convenient. Unlike some manufacturers, they don't make users search for it themselves. |
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You can choose whether your dominant hand is left or right, which
is very friendly for left-handed people. The main difference is
that for right-handed users, the toolbar will be on the left, and
for left-handed users, the toolbar will be on the right, so that
it doesn't obstruct the selection of tools.
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Almost every icon has sufficient textual instructions and
explanations.
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Finally, reMarkable also tells users where they can find more
detailed instructional guides, allowing users to fully utilize the
device's capabilities.
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User-Friendliness for Non-Western Users
From the previous section, we can see that the rMPP has a very high level of user-friendliness. However, reMarkable does have its shortcomings, namely that since the release of their first-generation reMarkable (in 2016) until the current rMPP, which is eight years later, their system still does not support Eastern languages. Therefore, the filenames of books in the library, or Chinese books in EPUB format, will appear as garbled text and cannot be displayed correctly.
In terms of input methods, there are also no Eastern language input methods. So even though it supports text input in addition to handwriting, you can only use Western languages. Therefore, this was a consideration for me when purchasing, and I chose not to buy the very expensive Type Folio, as I can type very quickly using the virtual keyboard for purely English typing.
I can accept the inability to support Chinese, as many of my books are in their original language, and whether handwritten notes can display and input Chinese doesn't significantly affect me. However, one important point where I feel they haven't done well is that they didn't specifically emphasize this on their purchase page. Although their product specifications page lists the supported languages in detail, not everyone reads the specifications table carefully before buying. If someone doesn't carefully check and do their research online beforehand, they might discover this issue after purchasing and need to return it. Additionally, after booting up, there's no option for Chinese, nor is there any explanation or prompt to inform users that certain languages might have garbled text issues because the system doesn't support them. This could also lead to people who don't understand thinking their device is malfunctioning after seeing the garbled text, and they would have to search online for answers themselves.
Therefore, many users from Eastern countries, after purchasing, either have to make do and use it as is, or they have to find their own way to solve the garbled text issue, which is very troublesome and inconvenient. This has always puzzled me. After all, they do business worldwide and can ship to Eastern countries, so they should have addressed language localization issues. But after so many years, and with many users on online forums giving feedback to reMarkable, why do they still make users obtain root access themselves to install Chinese or Japanese fonts? [Note 4]
Of course, some people might say this is perhaps a racial discrimination issue! But after thinking about it, I feel the more likely reason is because they highly value the user experience, which includes whether the program crashes and the accuracy of text recognition. Because they use a lot of Linux open-source software in their own developed reMarkable OS, and some of this software doesn't fully support Chinese. If they directly applied the modules and allowed users to use Chinese and other ideogram encodings, program errors and crashes might occur in unexpected places, leading users to believe that their software was poorly developed and causing complaints.
Also, because handwriting supports text recognition, but ideogram recognition is much more difficult than phonetic language recognition, users using Chinese fonts might also complain about inaccurate recognition. However, my guess still has unreasonable aspects: wouldn't seeing garbled text also cause user complaints and ruin the user experience? So I really don't understand, and I welcome discussions in the comments section!
Actually, solving the Chinese language problem yourself is not difficult. I recently wrote a tutorial article. By following the content of the article, you can make the rMPP display Chinese normally in about ten minutes! If you need it, you can refer to this article: 《reMarkable Paper Pro繁體中文化教學》
After-Sales Service
I think reMarkable's after-sales service is very good, allowing users to feel their dedication and sincerity. I think they have done a great job in the following areas:
100-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
What is this 100-day satisfaction guarantee? It's like the hanging banners commonly seen in Taiwanese street food stalls: "If it doesn't taste good, you don't have to pay." reMarkable provides buyers with a 100-day trial period. If, during this 100-day trial, you find anything unsatisfactory and decide not to use it, you can contact reMarkable. They will arrange for a specialized courier to collect it and provide a full refund! And even the shipping costs are covered! Isn't that incredibly sincere?!
Readers who have seen this, are you tempted yet? Actually, I think the most important thing when buying an E Ink device is to be able to personally try it out and play with it thoroughly at a store to know if you can accept the characteristics of E Ink and whether the device's smoothness and screen display and performance meet your expectations. This is why the Facebook group 《電子書閱讀器討論區》 has the so-called "E Ink Device Roaming Project" for interested members to apply for and try out devices.
However, reMarkable's 100-day satisfaction guarantee is basically even better than the "E Ink Device Roaming Project"! Because this trial is like getting a brand new device. You don't have to worry about what adjustments the previous user made, you don't have to wait in line for a long time, and you get 100 days to play around with it! (And you don't have to write a review report 😆)
For those who are interested in the rMPP, it's really hard to pass up
the opportunity to apply (purchase)! Of course, this approach isn't
without its drawbacks; it's like having to pay a deposit of around
$1,000 for the trial. Those who are interested can read the detailed
explanation of this service by reMarkable:
100-Day Connect Subscription Trial
reMarkable's Connect is their cloud service, providing unlimited cloud storage space for users to store their handwritten notes, documents, and other files in the cloud and synchronize them to their rMPP or other phones and computers with the reMarkable App installed. Although this service used to be free without a subscription, I think it's reasonable to charge a fee to maintain the servers and provide storage space, and it's not expensive – only 3 Euros a month, which is about NT$100, less than the price of a cup of coffee.
When you purchase an rMPP, they will include a 100-day Connect trial. This number of days happens to match the 100-day satisfaction guarantee mentioned in the previous section, so you can enjoy the full version of file management and synchronization features during the device's trial period.
I currently have the reMarkable App installed on Windows, Mac OS, Android tablets, and iOS. Basically, the App is very well-designed, runs smoothly on all platforms, and uploading files is very convenient. The file synchronization speed is also very fast. By subscribing to this service, you can see the updated notes syncing on your computer while you are handwriting on the device (although it might not be very real-time), and you can use your computer to edit them.
Therefore, even though I didn't buy the Type Folio, after localizing the rMPP to Traditional Chinese, I can still use my computer to type Chinese characters in my handwritten notes to organize them. Especially since all my computer screens are now E Ink screens (Bigme 251, Boox Mira), my eyes won't be exposed to any light-emitting screens when I input Chinese characters in my rMPP handwritten notes.
Sending Tutorial Emails Regularly
reMarkable also regularly sends out tutorial emails on how to take notes. These emails explain how to effectively use their notebook tools and also include some knowledge management techniques. For example, they have even dedicated an article to teaching you how to use the PARA file management system advocated by the author of 'Building a Second Brain'. Many studies have shown that the memory retention effect of handwritten notes is much better than purely typing on a computer. I feel that for people who want to properly utilize handwritten notes for learning and managing their lives, these tutorial emails are really quite helpful.
Unboxing Summary
This unboxing review mainly focuses on the product design and user experience of the reMarkable Paper Pro for readers who may find it useful. In summary, reMarkable is truly excellent in both product design and user experience, as you can see from the efforts the team has put into these aspects throughout this article. Sometimes, seemingly insignificant details are precisely what can help a company outperform its competitors. If we were to call reMarkable the high-end brand of the E Ink world, it would be well-deserved. As of writing this unboxing review, I have been using the device for a month, so I have also conducted some hardware and software tests on the rMPP. However, due to the sheer length of this initial piece, I will divide the hardware and software aspects into several articles for further writing and discussion. Those interested can continue to follow.
Updated on 2024/10/31: Today,
I completed the hardware performance review of the reMarkable Paper Pro.
The article link is here: "
Frequently Asked Questions（Q&A）
Question: Can Chinese fonts be installed on the reMarkable Paper Pro?
Answer: Yes，please referring to this article: 《reMarkable Paper Pro 繁體中文化教學》
Question: Can EPUBs with vertical Chinese text be displayed?
Answer：No, reMarkable's built-in reader cannot parse some commonly used EPUB hypertext tags. The only way to display vertical Chinese text currently is to convert the EPUB file to PDF format.
Question: Can content be displayed side-by-side (e.g., manga in double-page spread)?
Answer: No, reMarkable does not allow setting EPUB files to landscape mode. Even if it were possible to set it to landscape mode, there is no option for a double-page spread display. Therefore, to achieve this, you would also need to convert the file to PDF format beforehand.
Question: Can styluses from other manufacturers be used?
Answer： Yes, the stylus comes from a Taiwanese Company called ELAN microelectronics. If your machine's stylus is made from them, It can be used. Such as the InkSpire stylus of Boox Tab XC and Kobo will also adopt the active capacitive stylus from ELAN in the near future. So you can use Boox's InkSpire stylus and the future version of Kobo stylus to write on rMPP without the need of pairing.
Further Reading
(The articles below are not yet translated to English, you may need to use built-in translation tools in browsers.)
Note
Note 1: Last year (September 2023), Bigme did attempt to launch a 7-inch Gallery 3 color E Ink reader called Galy through crowdfunding. However, because the fast refresh color effects were not well-tuned and the colors were not beautiful enough, it was not favored by the market and sales were stopped in April of this year. Pocket Book also attempted to release a demo device with only a high-definition mode and no fast mode. I felt that the colors were as vibrant and beautiful as the reMarkable, and the page refresh flicker was actually similar to the reMarkable's. Unfortunately, they probably thought that users would not accept this kind of page refresh flicker and did not actually launch the product on the market. ⤴️
Note 2: reMarkable's display mode uses the standard mode of Gallery 3 (page refresh speed of 750 ~ 1000 ms), rather than the best mode (page refresh speed takes 1500 ms). Therefore, the color gamut does not actually reach 60,000 colors. I asked an E Ink engineer at Touch Taiwan before, and I was told it should have more than 20,000 colors. The reMarkable official website also confirms it has more than 20,000 colors. They don't call their display Gallery 3; instead, they refer to their technology as Canvas Color Display, which is based on Gallery 3 but with special tuning to present more than 20,000 colors. ⤴️
Note 3: Unfortunately, they didn't mention the issue of ghosting. Although you can basically see very little ghosting when using the rMPP, it does occasionally appear a bit. Therefore, I think it would still be good to inform and educate users in advance that ghosting is one of the characteristics of E Ink. Additionally, so far, I haven't seen any manufacturer educate users on how to properly use the front light of an E Ink device. Even many engineers within these companies still don't understand what the maximum brightness of an E Ink front light should be or how the automatic light sensor's adjustment logic should work (it should be based on medical perspectives). However, this is another topic worth writing an article to explore in depth. ⤴️
Note 4: The reason for saying 'allowing users to solve it themselves' is because they provide a way to obtain root access, which is different from modifying the device through jailbreaking. ⤴️
About the Author
Jack Black
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Driven by a passion for physics, science, and engineering, I seek to leverage my medical experience to advance human health and environmental sustainability. |
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If you liked what I wrote, feel free to support me. It'll give me more motivation to create. Thanks! |
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