reMarkable Paper Pro is BAD for knowledge management

[@crouchingturbo]

There are so many shills on KZbin. Really appreciate this perspective. When I think about it, I feel like we've been trained to tolerate so many shortcomings and limitations to what we can do with tech products. You are only allowed to do things a certain way, the data lives in a certain format, controlled by a certain company, whose privacy policy you must accept. I've been experimenting with paper notebooks after years of being 100% digital and it feels strangely liberating.

[@OMThinking]

Right? There is a lot of behavior engineering around and sometimes I think we forget that we have more power than we realize. I get what you mean. Analog writing puts me in a more deliberate headspace while feeling empowered at the same time.

[@GaryOliver-my3pp]

Thank you for using knowledge management as the criterion. You pick up its shortcomings!

[@OMThinking]

Thank you! I'm glad you find it helpful!

[@happinessisafulltank]

I love the RPP but I agree with everything you've said. This was a really good and fair review. I'm also disappointed by the Remarkable's features, especially how clunky it is to jump between "notes" (notebooks) and how there is no linking or handwriting search. But I can't help but love it. It's a really enjoyable device to use and I find myself looking for reasons to use it all the time.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for your kind words! I really enjoy RMPP too and I'm constantly looking for new ways to use it :)

[@whiteglitch]

pls review also other eink tablets like kindle scribe, boox note air 4c and viwoods aipaper

[@vincentaravantinos5751]

@@whiteglitch or Supernote. Really addresses some of the shortcomings pointed out here

[@CrueLoaf]

Get the Remarkable 2. Simple black and white. No messing about. Love mine. Ive been writing more Haiku Poetry and exploring ideas and future plans. All in one place now.

[@michaelkeaton32]

I agree with the previous comments that hearing an alternative viewpoint is refreshing. I bought this tablet, and I do like it. I completely agree with another commentor that we've been conditioned to deal with shortcomings, and the speed of swiping through the pages is definitely one that annoys me. I can't help but think if it was a notebook I was using, I could find what I'm looking for much faster. I had the RM2, and I tried to use it as my planner. That was rough for me, so I had to go analog. I think the marketing got the better of me and that's why I bought it again. Thankfully there's a 100 day return policy. :) Edit: Oh, and that was a great video. I loved the editing, too. You have a new subscriber :)

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for your support! It means a lot to me :) Haha yes I've deliberated on RM2 for months and suddenly RMPP dropped out of nowhere. It broke whatever willpower I've left and I bought it immediately. Haha.

[@aussiegruber86]

These things are so ridiculously expensive in Australia, so I brought a yacht instead 😂

[@OMThinking]

Haha now I know where the resale market is ;)

[@AJ-kv1po]

Ikr omg

[@Revanchst]

I enjoyed this video. It was concise yet informative. It addresses some of my questions about the rM pp. Thanks for taking the time to make this.

[@MariodeSa_Music]

Thank you for your opinion. I am attempting to improve my learning abilities by organising a structure to analyse and process information. The whole analog vs digital conundrum places a tricky fork in the road. I definitely agree that manual handwriting is so much more effective than keyboard typing. However the use of notebooks is a field full of landmines. I love the feeling of writing but have so many issues with notebooks: the primary one being the spine of the notebook really affects my hand and wrist placement thereby causing discomfort. I have never heard anyone complain about this but it really takes me out of my zone if I am writing for a considerable amount of time. Was looking in to the Remarkable to solve this issue. Your reference to knowledge management has forced me to rethink my entire approach. I only now see the tremendous benefit that a program like Obsidian brings to the table. Having a structured knowledge management system is crucial for a solid foundation. I am studying the Trivium which classifies the learning phases into knowledge, comprehension and wisdom. Building a robust knowledge system is paramount. Do you perhaps have any insights of using an Apple iPad Pro? I believe that integration with Obsidian for linking and indexing of info would be better that way. Any thoughts on effecient mind mapping software to compliment this process? Great channel by the way.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for this! Have you tried notebooks that open flat like moleskine, Leuchtturm and Midori?

[@XtianApi]

My perfectly beautiful system is fountain pens with high-quality notebooks and obsidian for archival, IT and Technical recording of information that needs to be well-organized. I've tried riding with my iPad and things like that but it just doesn't make sense. Why am I going to write handwriting into a digital format? I'm keeping the slow and not really getting any of the good of typing in obsidian or something. In other words I fully agree with what you're saying

[@OMThinking]

Haha your system sounds amazing!

[@wendycoates943]

As a reminder, it is to replace paper, it is not to replace an e-reader or iPad or laptop. It's useful for people who have a laptop and still use paper pads to write notes. This allows you to take notes without the carrying pads of paper.

[@gregsilverman170]

I am a big fan of the PaperPro so I think that the headline of this video is misleading. You mention in your video that RPP does not meet your way of handling knowledge. I felt this a little bit as well at first. However, instead of criticizing the device I change my approach to Knowledge Management. I now use the PARA method and make use of the tagging system in RPP. My focus and productivity have never been higher and I am a pretty old guy 60+.

[@OMThinking]

Hey! Thank you for your feedback! It’s a great reminder that focus and productivity aren’t limited by age :) I hear you and I see where you are coming from. I've also adjusted my use case for RMPP and I do like using it. When this need for adjustment happened, one of the questions I had was the relationship we have with our tools - are we supposed to work with them or are they supposed to work for us. And for people who returned their device, I get it. There is no reason to compromise when a tool doesn't fit your workflow.

[@mattinaddibpour]

You can adopt a hybrid approach by keeping your Bib/Lit notes in Remarkable, as you would with index cards, and then using ChatGPT to convert them digitally for your PKM in Obsidian. One suggestion is to include a picture of your handwritten notes in the digital version as well. This can help reinforce memory by preserving the context in which you originally wrote the note, which is often lost in a purely digital format.

[@OMThinking]

Hey! Thank you for the suggestion! I'm actually doing half of this haha. I thought to skip OCR/digital conversion as I would rather keep the reference section as frictionless as possible and focus on perm notes instead. So it'll just be an image archive with basic metadata. My stamina is pretty bad heh.

[@LaurenceGiddings]

Thank you for an excellent and thought provoking video. Your observation about the niche -niche nature of the rMPP also stands true for the RM2. I've replaced A4 pads I used for taking meeting notes, with an RM2, for 3 years now and similarly I've also been able to replace my old A4 week-a-page diary by using "Deep Guide's" My Daily Organiser (Massive Fan). In my type of sales work (multiple clients, multiple sites, in-situ note taking, site & solutions sketching, etc), I've eliminated my old paper usage completely. I've also become adept at swapping between the desktop remarkable app and my RM2, when I return to the office, similar to split screening...For instance having the diary open on the RM2 and using the desktop app to organise notes into folders or to take "Quick Sheet" pages and to generate new meeting notes from there into my folder hierarchy for clients, etc. Personally I fit the niche - niche work flow that the remarkable is brilliant at, as you say "If it works for you, use it!". But I really don't need a Paper Pro, my RM2 is entirely capable. However, I would totally use the Paper Pro's back light option if I had one, seeing my highlighted notes in colour rather than grey-scale would be useful too and if the new Paper Pro Marker also eliminates the common nib collar breaking problem of the RM2 Marker. I'll be very tempted to get a Paper Pro as soon as I can justify the cost of replacing my perfectly serviceable RM2.

[@OMThinking]

Your workflow sounds amazing, I'm envious! Haha I've read about the RM2 nib issue, have you tried third party pens? I think Lamy and Staedtler are both highly recommended. I'm patiently waiting for RMPP's heh.

[@LaurenceGiddings]

@@OMThinking I tried a Lamy, but I'm happy with the RM Marker/Erasers. However, FYI Remarkable are currently replacing my original marker for the 3rd time! Each time I've sent photos and an explanation of what I was doing and they've replaced the Marker with in a few days, no problem. So I can't fault the service, but they obviously cant fix the marker nib issue.

[@nanabai329]

I got it the beginning of November and you are spot on. I thought I could read pdfs and even tried comics just to see if the colors would be useful amd I dont even read comics but its so bad the text contrast and clarity and for reading the front light is too dark for color eink and I always use no to dim light on my small eink devices. Thank you I will also test it out for writInf use cases and if still doesn't work for that I will return. Its not good for reading with the 229 dpi of only color.

[@Maisonier]

Amazing review. I'm trying to see the difference with TVE Onyx Boox Note Air 4C where you can use Obsidian. Could be awesome to see some comparison of yours.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for your support! I'm glad you find this useful :)

[@MateuszPolkowski]

I own a reMarkable 2 and agree with you. I stopped using it, because I realized that it's worse than paper at paper things and worse than a laptop at digital things. It gave a promise of the best of both worlds, but it seems like you're getting the worst of both worlds. It's hard to explain, but lets say you're in a meeting and need to write stuff down and you can either use paper, a laptop or a reMarkable. The cool thing about paper is that you get the whole story about the progress of the meeting. You talk about A, B and C. You get to D and realize that B does not really work. So you cross B out and rewrite it. Or maybe you draw an arrow from B to a space below D and add some context for B. When you return to your notes a few weeks later you not only have A, B, C and D. You have additional context of a B-variant that does not work because of D. You can have a "oh yeah, that was a thing" moment. With reMarkable you are more likely to just fix B by erasing it and writing it and moving C and D down if more space for B is needed. So you may lose context coming back to your notes weeks later. You could argue that one could just use reMarkable just like paper and you would be right, but in that case why not just use paper? Another thing that is great about paper is that it comes in many forms. I use a small pocket notebook with perforated pages for quick notes and ideas I want to jott down that I later reflect and expand on. When the idea has grown it's ready to move to a better place. Maybe it's a just a idea that should go to my journal. Maybe it's a project and I should use a dedicated project management system. Maybe it's just a thing that I wanted to write down to remember later and it's now done. So in the end the notes in that specific notebook get removed. At the same time I use a larger A5 bound notebook for journaling. In addition to that I use an even larger A4 notepad with removable pages for brainstorming sessions. I have written on pages, removed them, ripped them in smaller pieces and rearranged then on a table or a magnetic whiteboard before. What I'm trying to say is that paper is really flexible while the reMarkable limits you to the size of the device. Sure you can zoom out but that's not the same as a big table with all of your ideas. Also, paper will not run out of battery. What about if you would like to look at two full pages of different notest side by side. You would need to flip back and forth, buy a second reMarkable, or print one note to compare it to the other one on the device. On the other hand if you're in a meeting that is not brain storming focused, but rather a progress update where you want to pin tasks to specific people, assign deadlines and send a summery, then a laptop with a dedicated project management system or even just a plain text file is faster and more convenient then writing stuff by hand in reMarkable, converting it to typed text with it's OCR and then trying to send it out with the device.

[@xbr123]

It is probably based on a movement against killing trees, managing waste and space. Also hand writing is good for humans brain, especially in this computer keyboard age.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for your thoughtful comment! I share your experience so I've scoped down my use case, but I guess that brings about another question of whether it's worth the price point.

[@elijay2648]

i am looking at these tablets as an easy substitute for my thousands of sketchbooks, rather than simply note-taking, so not all of these issues are relevant to my concerns - HOWEVER this video is extremely informative and thorough, and really helpful even if it's for a different use case. thank you for providing a balanced perspective.

[@OMThinking]

Hey, thank you for your kind words! I've tried doodling with it and I love the experience :) I'm just not very good at it and it made me very self-conscious in public haha. Have fun!

[@ScholarsRest]

Good review. I was considering a Remarkable for PDF reading and annotating (scholarly journal articles in particular), but it seems the device is more focused on the writing and note taking side of things, which I would not take full advantage of. Perhaps a Kindle Scribe makes more sense for me.

[@OMThinking]

Hey you! I think RMPP works better with text-based PDFs. I've only tested with image-based for magazines, but scholar journals and annotations sound like the use case for RMPP. Take the 100 days trial maybe? :)

[@SoerenMagMoehren]

Hey, I'm thinking of buying this device to use purely for screen sharing. I am an online math tutor and could use it to write down math problems and show drawings for explanation. I've always used a simple drawing tablet for this, but I find it extremely unwieldy and impractical. I would prefer something that feels more like paper. Something that also simply allows smaller writing on a larger surface, which is still legible without having to zoom in, so that a lot can still be seen on the screen at the same time. So it's not even about saving the fonts online, it's all about screensharing and then capturing and livestreaming them. The fact that I could also use it offline at university and on the train would be a bonus, but that's not the main point. Do you think the Paper Pro is a good choice for this? So far, no drawing tablet has convinced me and I don't need the functions of other tablets as it would really be purely for this purpose. Is the screenshare function good enough for this, or is there a high delay, for example? If anyone knows of alternatives for exactly this purpose, please let me know...

[@OMThinking]

Hi! I've never tried but it's pretty pricey just for screen sharing. Have you tried tablets such as ipad or galaxy tab? You'll have a lot more app options and capabilities. There are also quite a few textured screen protectors so it feels more like writing on paper. Alternatively, you can always try RMPP for 100 days :)

[@markmoreno7295]

Screen sharing? I have the rMPP and I have been unable to connect it to my computer. So how you would use it to screen share I don’t know. I suppose you could write on it while it sits on an overhead projector. I like Hagoromo chalk for math (trig) on a real slate board.

[@cnschu]

one of the first truly honest reviews of a remarkable product. Thank you.

[@alexisjesusgonzalez5074]

Excellent video I love this kind of reviews because they offer you a raw, honest and realist perspective. THANK YOU!!

[@Najeebster]

I love the structure of your review and how you relate the device's capabilities to the more complex realities of replacing paper. Great video. Thank you.🤟

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@vincentaravantinos5751]

Excellent review. That's exactly why I don't like the RM and why I went for Supernote (this doesn't fix all of the above issues for sure but navigation across notes and interlinking is a huge argument for it).

[@OMThinking]

Thank you! Yes I think discovery is very important for note-taking devices.

[@PriscillaLau_now]

You put a lot of my suspicions about RMPP nicely. Thoughtful and concise.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you! I'm glad you find it helpful.

[@JMaxwell1000]

Excellent assessment and insights! I agree wholeheartedly, and you've touched on several truly profound aspects of knowledge acquisition.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad you find this helpful :)

[@Ermude10]

Thank you for this review! These were the things I was looking for, but which no one seems to mention. Personally, if I were to get one, I'd like it to not only replace the writing aspect on paper, but also the reading and finding information within a book or notebook. For now, it seems to be too clunky for that. Let's see in a couple of years if there's a significantly improved version or not.

[@OMThinking]

Hey! Glad it was helpful! Yea I'm also hopeful about the e-ink tech. Fingers crossed!

[@Alicornriderm]

Do you think it would be useful for taking notes at school?

[@OMThinking]

I feel this is really subjective, you can always leverage their 100 days trial :) Good luck for school!

[@FoolsFollyUnltd]

Thank you. I use mine for about 70-80% of what I was using paper for previously -- meeting/discussion notes, game notes/planning, project planning, doodling, quick notes, etc. I still do personal journaling and my calendar on paper. I also use note cards for reading and speaking notes. I had the r2 for awhile I til it broke and really missed it. I got the Pro instead of a new r2 mostly for having color in game books and character sheets. I also read a novel on it, which was quite satisfying, especially since i could read in bed with the light.

[@OMThinking]

Hey! Thank you for sharing your use case! It's very helpful :) I've never thought of using RMPP for game sheets so thanks for the idea! I'm guessing you create custom templates?

[@FoolsFollyUnltd]

@OMThinking you're welcome. I don't yet create my own. Most roleplaying games have fans who make their own and sell or make them free. Just started GMing Troika and I found 6 free sheets for then players to choose from.

[@MarkMarengoPrivateLife]

Just returned mine, main issue was contrast even with backlight on, which defeats the purpose. Colour e ink tech is just not there yet, also size was issue just too heavy to read on. I suspect rm2 is ideal but it’s old tech, will be buying a kindle scribe.

[@pablogonzalez2009]

boox go 10.3

[@OMThinking]

Yeap RMPP is really quite bulky. Let me know how the scribe works out for you!

[@kestorr]

Hi there. Judging by your accent I presume you are from south east Asia :) Got myself a RPP too. Not sure whether you have figured out a way to handle the notes taken in the RPP in a PARA or Zettle system? Would love to hear from you. As linking “analog” to a digital workflow is something I had not quite figured out.

[@OMThinking]

Hey you! PARA will work much better because RMPP doesn't have linking function. While it has tags, it doesn't create connections between notes for a Zettelkasten setup. if you're looking to set up a digital Zettelkasten, I will recommend something with bilateral links like Obsidian. But it sounds like you're looking for a hybrid set-up? Or integrating digitally handwritten notes?

[@kestorr]

@@OMThinking looking at a hybrid workflow. From my own perspective and experience, I’m capturing bullet journal style on RPP as a way to filter what notes goes into my digital system. I currently use Evernote for PARA, but certainly feel Obsidian would be better in KM.

[@OMThinking]

Hey! I think Evernote rolled out backlinks so it sounds like you don't have to change your tool if you already have substantial notes in there. Similar to your workflow, my RMPP notes are also "first level" notes. I take bib and lit notes on RMPP, process what stood out to me into perm notes on index cards, and archive the RMPP note as an image in Obsidian. For me, I feel that once you've extracted the high-value ideas, the initial notes are primarily for verification on a need-to basis. Hope this helps!

[@kestorr]

@@OMThinking that’s a great workflow. Distilling the key points into digital system, while keeping the original RPP as reference if needs be.

[@garrick2781]

I would like to be critical on two of your points. First, when it comes to the irreversibility of paper writing, if the intent really is that meaningful to you, you are free to restrict yourself to not use the eraser, and only allow yourself to cross out the words. Also you can certainly apply the same criticism to note taking on a laptop, where you can just delete whatever you have typed. Second, you mentioned that notes are unsearchable. Things also goes the same for normal paper writing, you can't search texts on paper. And when it comes to note taking/annotation on PDFs, there is just no simple way for you to create a searchable note, even when using a laptop. The e-ink tablets are trying to blend the usage of paper and laptops, it will inherit some of the strengths of both media, but is also bound to inherit some of the deficiencies of both media. It seems like both of your points are just criticizing the inherit problem of the original media, and blaming it on the e-ink tablet seems to be a bit unfair.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for your thoughtful critique! I agree that tools are only as effective as our habits and intentions. On searchability, some e-ink devices do feature this functionality and I felt it was important to highlight this, not trying to apportion blame!

[@badajoz711]

Great review, very insightful and well made. Thanks, instant sub 😊

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for your support! Really appreciate it :)

[@Tharsis879]

Thank you for giving a useful presentation on the deeper experience of this device, I have been wondering what is beneath the hype.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you! I'm glad you find it helpful :)

[@MrKlawUK]

I agree Remarkable gets an odd ‘apple like’ presence online. there are lots of e-ink tablet options out there but RM gets the lions share of attention. Perhaps just smart marketing from the RM company but it can be distracting. Some thoughts so far in your video - in your impressions you mention the size - and then show an A6-ish notepad. compared to that, the RM is big. but I use an A5 notebook normally, and bought an A5 e-ink tablet from boox so the size is much more comparable. You can also buy A6 e-ink tablets if you prefer smaller size. Options out there. - you mention lack of text search but this seems mainly limited to RM. Both Boox and Supernote (the two other brands I was considering) allow you to search handwritten notes and the latest software allows you to insert links to pages/documents and insert TOC or other searchable tags too. I agree here - without searchable notes any digital notebook is more archival/journalling than reference so I ruled out the RM2 for this reason.

[@OMThinking]

Hey! Thanks for the thoughtful feedback and recommendations! Yea I think RM has fantastic marketing and branding, and I agree the lack of searchability really limits RMPP's use case. I think this is a big missed opportunity since RM leans so heavily into the note-taking niche.

[@stephensmith4296]

For knowledge management, I think you missed the utility of expanding PDF margins for notes, the tags tool, and the quick swap to move between a PDF and a notepad.

[@kutthroatgaming1925]

I do no have a RMpp, i have a boox note air 4 c. While i agree withsome of your points, i do not agree with what you say about analog writing. While yes there is permanent, the same thing goes for digital as well. Its still permanent. You can lose physical stuff just as easily as digital. My only gripe with analog is the fact that it takes up so much space, and the fact that if you do mess up you have to go through so many extra steps to fix it (whiteout) or you have this ugly scratched out word on your page. With e-ink, its as easy as erasing whatever it is you messed up. I like the fact that everything i have written down is in one place, and i can have virtually unlimited writing space at the tip of my fingers in a small form factor. In the end. It all really comes down to personal preference. I truly enjoy using an e-ink tablet over a notebook.

[@kutthroatgaming1925]

To add i feel like for me when I write in my note air I write with more intent than as I do on paper. I do also have ADHD, when I write in it I feel like I focus more than I do when writing in a notebook.

[@byte.raccoon]

great review. and yes, rm is just a paper replacement. it's not an easy task to include this device into any complex note taking workflow

[@OMThinking]

I'm glad you find it helpful! Yea the minimalism makes it more useful for linear tasks.

[@rush48192]

hand writing search no, but tags are, learn the remarkable's benefits and it's short comings will take you much further with the device

[@carlosauza1087]

The product has made me more productive and way better note taker. Matter a fact a whole lot better. You don't like return it. I love it.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for sharing your experience! I actually enjoy using it, just not for some tasks :)

[@PqV72MT4]

Paper is better than digital always.

[@EverGreenElephant]

Oh the scrolling delay is a deal breaker for me! To me it seems that it rather combines the cons of paper with the cons of IT, not their strengths. I rather stick to Notion plus Notebook.

[@erichufflepuff2252]

Amazing critical review of superb quality! Love the flow and logical structure!

[@OMThinking]

Thank you! Glad you find it useful!

[@joemorin3329]

I feel that reMarkable had a huge budget for the Paper Pro marketing with all the paid reviews from tech users on KZbin. I really love your honesty on the review. Food for tought for sure.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for your support!

[@brittca]

So refreshing. Thank you for your honest and thoughtful review.

[@OMThinking]

Thank you! I'm glad you find it helpful!

[@liketheduck]

The fact of modularity is important.

[@adangranados4009]

It still doesn’t have linking features…

[@OMThinking]

Yea ):

[@kmozhui3294]

Whoa! Remarkable paper pro has no function to search for handwritten notes?? Surprising. Onyx and Supernote has those capabilities

[@OMThinking]

Yea sadly ):

[@lifebarier]

The way you hold pen made me really confused.

[@franktse131]

👍 true things

[@OMThinking]

Thank you for your support!

[@sintobillo8570]

nice review thank you

[@OMThinking]

Glad it was helpful!

[@meaningofreason]

No shot right? Anybody should be able to figure out that a technology cannot help you with your own learning, you can do a lot with a book, paper and a pen, you don’t need special tech to be productive in your learning

[@OMThinking]

I agree, tools are only as good as our habits!

[@whytheory3251]

Very impressive for a woman and for someone whose native language is not English, well done! 👍🏽

[@OMThinking]

As impressive as your comment I hope :)

[@ParkCharlie]

RMPP is paper … you need ebook and iPad separately

[@OMThinking]

How are you using your RMPP?

[@garolstipock]

why was my comment removed?

[@OMThinking]

Ah? No comments were deleted.

[@jotjotzzz5357]

iPad is much better! iPad mini for the win.

[@111naive]

i cannot like this review. the way is speaking here. is negative from the very first second to last with the tone of the voice. this is bias because of that alone

[@Maisonier]

This review is great. Maybe you are a remarkable fanboy....

[@111naive]

@ no. The tone of the voice and the way it explain is completely wrong since is only in one direction only. When you want to do a normal review. It is different. I DO NOT OWN A REMARKABLE. your opinion brakes at this moment for that reason alone

[@OMThinking]

Hey that's cool! Have a great day!

[@MateuszPolkowski]

@@OMThinking I just wanted to tell you that I like your review and the way you have executed it. You have an firm opinion on a product and have explained your reasoning perfectly well. I do own a reMarkable and find your video completely valid and correct. Thank you for sharing.

[@LethalBubbles]

"knowledge management" is the most disgusting thing I've heard all day. I hope you go bankrupt.

[@OMThinking]

Ouch, very lethal indeed.

[@goemboeck]

Solid information, thank you!

[@OMThinking]

Glad you find it helpful!

[@MrKlawUK]

I agree Remarkable gets an odd ‘apple like’ presence online. there are lots of e-ink tablet options out there but RM gets the lions share of attention. Perhaps just smart marketing from the RM company but it can be distracting. Some thoughts so far in your video - in your impressions you mention the size - and then show an A6-ish notepad. compared to that, the RM is big. but I use an A5 notebook normally, and bought an A5 e-ink tablet from boox so the size is much more comparable. You can also buy A6 e-ink tablets if you prefer smaller size. Options out there. - you mention lack of text search but this seems mainly limited to RM. Both Boox and Supernote (the two other brands I was considering) allow you to search handwritten notes and the latest software allows you to insert links to pages/documents and insert TOC or other searchable tags too. I agree here - without searchable notes any digital notebook is more archival/journalling than reference so I ruled out the RM2 for this reason.