The Kindle Scribe is a Game Changer! Not What I Expected!

If you're looking for a device that functions as an e-reader and an e-note; the Kindle Scribe is a game changer! In this review, I'm sharing with you my experience using the Kindle Scribe and how it has improved my mental health and productivity. I have been blown away.
I was sceptical at first, but after trying out the Kindle Scribe myself I can honestly say that it's a game-changer! The other reviews I read, made me think this might not be a good experience. Im glad I wasn't put off completely. The Kindle Scribe is perfect for people who need to take notes while they read, but don't want to carry around a physical notepad, But it's as a standalone digital notepad that the Scribe really excels.
I highly recommend the Kindle Scribe if you're looking for a distraction-free device with the best reading experience on the market paired with a quickly growing toolset for writing.
Get it here:
amzn.to/3UYesK3
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0:00 Intro and Expectations
0:42 Other People's Reviews vs Reality
1:27 As an E-Reader
4:31 As a Notetaking Device
7:53 Why it's a game-changer?
8:06 Main working device
8:53 Annotating Books
10:04 Nightime Writing for Wellness
11:02 For the Love of Writing.
11:15 Compared to the Competition
12:26 What We Need Added in Updates?

[@samuelbuckingham]

Have you tried an E ink notepad yet? I had no idea how much I would enjoy it.

[@HarshDivecha_FTR]

Would you consider an ipad with your setup for paper like feel or scribe ?

[@ReadGameCraftCook]

This is the best video I've seen on using this device in every scenario, too many assume it's only useful for someone who needs to take notes but there are many with poor eyesight or who just want more words on a page at once. Thank you, very helpful.

[@samuelbuckingham]

Thanks a lot!

[@kimmysander2447]

Been using my scribe for a year now, taking it with me everywhere and using it all day. Love it.

[@ericw4377]

Thank you, Samuel. Received mine recently and really love it. One other element that is on the Scribe is landscape reading in two columns, which I imagine is on other similar devices, but not sure. It is not on other kindles. However, those other actual kindles (not the kindle app) have the option to adjust the layout to very narrow margins with about a 2" wide reading column. The app (such as one you might use on an iPad) cannot be set to AS narrow a margin even at its most extreme setting. The advantage of having a really narrow margin on non-Scribe Kindles or reading in landscape mode with two columns on the Scribe is that we read faster with narrow columns--your eyes don't have to move across the "page" as far. You can read faster and so you can read more with that setup!

[@samuelbuckingham]

Yeah they added the two column reading on the recent update, I have also moved to this as my main style of reading. I hadn’t put much thought into why it was more enjoyable but the eye movement makes a lot of sense.

[@TeacherSally]

Thank you for the review! You answered all the questions I had about it! I really want one.

[@samuelbuckingham]

Thanks for watching

[@heidis2330]

I owned mine for a month now and love it. i can't put it down

[@goldengriffon]

I got an iPad a year ago, and although I started by using it for a huge variety of things (games, KZbin, internet, email, etc.) over that year I've narrowed down its uses and today only really use it as a notebook and sketchbook. Both of these functions would be better on e-ink, and having an iPad feels like a waste for such few functions that I use out of it. The Scribe seems like a good solution for me (as my current Kindle is getting long in the tooth) and the recent software updates are great, but why I haven't yet made the switch is the drawing experience: Layers and PNG export. If they could do layers (even limited) and could export sketches as anything other than a PDF, I'd sell my iPad and grab the Scribe right away.

[@MrLardyOne]

Top review , very informative. I love my Kindle Scribe and this review rocked all the boxes to reassure me that I hadn’t Wasted my hard earned cash. Thanks!!

[@samuelbuckingham]

Thanks for watching.

[@tiggerish]

A great video which answered all my questions. And a nice cheery voice. Thank you!

[@matthuber3557]

Thanks for the video! Ordering right now!

[@st00fa]

Great video mate, very well made. Hope your channel grows as it deserves to.

[@samuelbuckingham]

Thanks a lot!

[@terriersforever23]

I love the big screen for reading on,love mine.

[@samuelbuckingham]

Yeah, It’s tough trying to go back to a smaller screen once you’ve tried it.

[@cypherf0x]

I feel the same about marking up physical books. It feels sacrilegious to mark up the pages.

[@ValorantRivals]

love this review

[@kulisingh]

Amazing review, and I am very similar to you and having a device like this without distractions is amazing! Great tips here and I loved the review, the best I think - thanks!

[@steverolfeca]

While investigating the various options, I learned about Calibre. Huge improvement in my e-reading in general, and another reason to go to a larger display. Found out just in time to take advantage of the latest bundle discounts. My Scribe arrives today!

[@steverolfeca]

I really enjoyed my time with the Scribe. One of the things that Amazon doesn’t get enough credit for, is the quality of their hardware at this price point. I was also impressed with how fast the updates and improvements are coming. However, in the end I knew that the single-core processor and Amazon’s closed, proprietary operating system meant it would never allow me to run the handful of apps I need. If they ever decide to do a Scribe Fire e-ink tablet that can run the play score and load a few apps, I’ll be back.

[@SheriCarthan-MinistryHelp]

Great review! You’re the first one to say that the basic pen will do well!

[@TheyStoleMyHandleAgain]

I had been waiting for something like a paperwhite, but with a ten-inch screen (I need the bigger size to read clearly) and I will probably try this one. 😊

[@samuelbuckingham]

If that’s what your looking for then you will love the scribe. It certainly makes it easier in your eyes. I only read my oasis with glasses on but could manage the scribe comfortably without.

[@Debixx1]

@@samuelbuckingham I want to try this too. I don't think it's good on smaller device esp when you have to increase the font. I read large print books.

[@remikus]

I just ordered mine with a Thanksgiving special - after trading in my old one and -20% plus special all came out to $191 with a basic pen. Can't wait to put my hands on it :) Good video, mate!

[@nohero178]

Very useful, thanks!

[@princecharmin7208]

+1 for the zoom feature! Lasso has been implemented already.

[@stbrown08]

Despite the comments, I took a chance and got the Kindle Scribe a few weeks ago- so happy I ignored the reviews- I love it! What I'm looking for, is a basic notetaking device where I can read books.

[@samuelbuckingham]

Amazing, yeah it’s really surprised me how much I enjoyed it.

[@anthonyhernandez6230]

How do you get notes off of this device or is it just a minor note taking device not a college reading note taking device?

[@NiallDaly_cspace]

I send my notes as PDF to email address so then available on mac or ipad

[@lynnevans29]

I’ve had my Scribe for about two weeks. I thought when I saw/researched other kindles, that I might go to the Remarkable 2, or the Bigme tab; however, after carefully listening to the Techs describe the Scribe vs the other Kindles, I’ve decided that the Scribe is the right tab for me. The one feature, among others, I enjoy about the Scribe is the built in keyboard. It allows me to type info. that I need without having to attach an external keyboard, which is very convenient. I’d like to see two features added to the Scribe, and those features are: 1. Color, and 2. More memory, 128gb., this would really make the Scribe more fantastic than it already is. Thx for this video. Very informative!😀

[@ftleftie]

You sold me it, Samuel. I was hesitating, but this helped to convince me. So far, so good. I’m with you on not marking books too, seems almost sacrilegious somehow. Good luck with your wish list.

[@devinnagami]

Hey Samuel! Love the videos man. I got a channel of similar size (although you got me beat by just a hair) and wanted to leave a comment cause I love seeing channels that make content similar to mine. Your video topics are interesting, the setup looks professional, and you’re super comfortable on camera. Got a sneaking suspicion your sub count won’t stay under 1K for long. Keep up the grind my friend! See you on the other side (hopefully)!

[@samuelbuckingham]

Thanks a lot Devin, really appreciate that. Just checked out your page, we definitely look at lots of the same things and your doing a great job of it. Thanks for the support!

[@dazbow7573]

The new update today 25/April is really cool Loving the kindle scribe

[@samuelbuckingham]

The update looks good, none of the features I thought would come next but all welcome additions.

[@russellfacey8966]

Thank you Samuel. Great review. Is it possible to import pdf journals into the Scribe and do the notes sync back to the cloud as a back up or do you need to manually transfer the file? Thanks

[@DigiDriftZone]

Great video but Amazon has really been disappointing here. The hardware is great but the software even a year later lacks really simple things: 1) No custom templates 2) Cannot access your PDF annotations from any other device 3) Cannot duplicate a page in your PDF (or delete, rearrange) 4) No layers 5) No quick access drawer 6) No automatic orientation change (or at least a per notebook orientation setting) 7) No handwriting recognition without sending yourself an email 8) Can't move your PDF notebooks to the notebook section (they are treated as books), 9) Lasso tool can't rotate selection 10) Palm rejection isn't great and it loves to go to the next page 11) No straight lines 12) No tap to undo/redo etc, etc, etc - in combination it leads to a really frustrating experience. I wanted to love this device and I really want a backlight, but I've gone back to the reMarkable2.

[@cyclonasaurusrex1525]

The inner dialogue about another person seeing your notes . . . hilarious!!

[@steverolfeca]

I thought that I probably wanted a Boox tablet, tried a Scribe and liked it, but had Android app envy. A brief Boox NA3C experience convinced me that I actually prefer the Scribe. I’m back with 64GB storage, the premium pen and fabric folio. I like that the Scribe’s feature set improves with each firmware update.

[@LeonSparrow]

Hey Samuel, I like you videos, at first I thought you was shilling, then I saw you was reviewing from the heart. Good Stuff. The Supernote is more like the remarkable than the boox, the Supernote cannot run android apps ; I've not had a look at it either but it is on my todo list.

[@samuelbuckingham]

I really appreciate that!

[@Tschmeez]

I’m so glad I didn’t listen to review videos…. It has a web browser. And audio books. Bluetooth. There’s so many setting. I love the handwriting. It’s the best purchase I’ve made this year.

[@tahirahmed33]

I agree with , I received my kindle scribe today , I ordered it with the special deal on Amazon £329 for 64GB with premium pen. Just ordered the case today

[@Scott-td4fd]

Anxiously await delivery on Nov. 18th. I was offered 20% off and a $30 trade-in for my Paperwhite, so I applied it to a 32GB version which comes with the premium pen in the bundle. An optional cover has been ordered separately. I do have the Kindle app on my Tab A7 Lite, which is my substitute for Paperwhite size, plus it has color if that is important for a specific book. I even have the Kindle app on Windows and Mac computers as well as on my phone, but those are more for a backup means of access (or perhaps interfacing with a printer if necessary).

[@garycroftsmicroscopy]

good video i have been looking at one recently, have a question if you dont mind.. If you add notes whilst reading a book can you copy some of the text into the note and also area you able to view those notes or export them as a notebook instead of searching the book for them? I want to jot down key points from text books whilst reading if that can be done?

[@karlmunford7000]

I opted for the Supernote because it offers exactly what I need, an organised note taking tablet that you can read with, while the Kindle on the other hand is an e-reader you can write with. But what really turned me off Kindle is that to write on many documents, you first have to send them to an Amazon server which basically converts them to their own format, and thats not something I'm prepared to do, putting my work into someone else's hands out of my control.

[@koconnor1963]

At last a positive review that responds to the latest updates, I pick up my scribe on Saturday. I will be using it to record my findings during hospital fire risk assessments. Easy to keep sterile, easy to carry and for someone that needs glasses but are always fogging because of face masks this should make life easier for me. I use a template that relates to legislation such as fire doors must close fully. Can I design a template on word, send it as a PDF and write directly on it or will I need to use sticky notes. As I understood your review I can write directly on to a PDF?

[@samuelbuckingham]

You will be able to do that. The only annoying thing will be that the PDFs sit in your library alongside books, rather than on your notepad folders alongside other writing.

[@johnnylau9008]

Thank you for the review. What is it like listening to audiobooks using this device ?

[@samuelbuckingham]

Thanks for watching, you can use it for audiobooks but if I’m honest I never do. It doesn’t have speaker so you need to pair some Bluetooth headphones, which is easy to do of course but it’s so simple to play audio books from my phone that I always opt to do that instead.

[@davemeadows6688]

Best review I’ve seen so far re Kindle Scribe. Excellent. One question; Do you use a case with it? If so, which one? Thanks. Also, I don’t see a subscribe button for your channel so I can follow?

[@samuelbuckingham]

Thanks a lot. I do use a case but didn’t feature it as it’s not the regular Amazon own case that is often bundled with it and that was my key mistake. I have an independently made fold open case with a plastic mount. The problem with mine is it weighs as much as the kindle itself and makes it very uncomfortable to hold. I spend a lot of time removing it. I would say that the band that holds the pen in place on the cases is a win as the magnetic grip isn’t very strong on the kindle alone. I will likely switch out to the kindle fabric folio at some point.

[@samuelbuckingham]

I just saw the point on no subscribe button, that’s very odd and I’m not sure why, I will be looking into that urgently.

[@Dan-departingin5mins]

Nice review. I tried it in a store today and it’s much too big and heavy for me to be a good e-reader.

[@JoAnn77PL]

For me, the most important queston is - can you and how, hide the left-hand menu/ little hand? I would love to read without those on my screen, just read ona big screen :)

[@gangleweed]

Yes, I quite agree it is a game changer in every sense of the phrase......I've been waiting for 100 years or so to get something I could do sketches and doodles on without consuming wads of scrap paper and multiple sketch books etc......as soon as I became aware of the Scribe I bought it.........I've never read so many books now that the print size is expandable to cater for my aging optics.......all of my notes are now in one place at my finger tips and erasable at the flick of the pen.......Kindle books are so affordable and the list is humungous.

[@And_Rec]

it need custom templates so you can sync them to other devices as pdf ones don’t sync to ios etc

[@TCamp72a]

Which case have you got that in? It looks very minimal and lightweight!

[@alanbell1821]

Does it act like a regular notebook ,,ie can you turn pages to write another page

[@jayvansickle7607]

Great for Manga….or Manga-like. I’ve been reading The Walking Dead. Looks great on the Scribe. Something to consider with the Premium Pen…you’ll extend the life of your nib, because of the eraser side.

[@godekchen9658]

Can we deactivate the paper like noise?

[@fpark101]

Can we do simple text search on created notebooks?

[@molhuwmartins9723]

Perfect for any reader

[@larslagauw5452]

Hey, do you have one? Im considering but I really need the zoom feature or some kind of scroll so that I can keep writing in the center of the screen and never have to go down with my hand. Is one of these possible yet?

[@sheelmirji5494]

Which watch u r wearing?

[@hotichor]

So i have been using kindle scribe for couple of months and full fledged for a week now with 3 hour daily note making ….1st of all with new updates kindle is getting better and better but just one question i want to ask is that is there any other pen which is as good as premium kindle pen but we dont have to replace its nib like kindle pen…and works great with kindle scribe…?..

[@samuelbuckingham]

As far as I’m aware all of the pen nibs will be eventually need replacing, the reason for this is they need to be made of a material soft enough that it won’t scratch the screen. Though from experience they don’t need replacing very often and one pack of nibs is very affordable. If you still want a different pen , A decent non kindle option at a good price is the Staedtler digital pencil.

[@hotichor]

@@samuelbuckingham hi thanks for your thoughts…but i think it would be better to stick with the amazon pencil if i have to change the nibs anyways…and since right now it’s not much discussed topic that “how much nib life is” then i want to throw little light on that…i have written like 40 pages with one nib and i guess 10 more pages and i need to change…so roughly 50 pages with one nib one can expect…obviously it may differ a bit for other users but yeah 40-60 pages/nib …

[@Manjusinghable]

@@hotichor Your post helps. Please tell me that can I use kindle scribe for writing diary or research paper and then can I save and mail these writings ? If this is not possible then what is the purpose of buying such a pricy gadget ?? Thanks. 🙏

[@hotichor]

@@Manjusinghable it is going to be a perfect device for you …you can write as mich as you want and share instantly with any email id …also with new updates now it is getting better and better ..go for it because it gives very good writing experience and that too without any mess of losing any of your paper sheets… with regular writing of 3 hours it will give you battery backup of around 20 days👍🏻..

[@hotichor]

@@samuelbuckingham yea i concur that it is best to use kindle premium pen and its nib lasts long plus gives good writing experience so i am going to stick with that …thanks

[@mojochopper]

Nice Scribe review. So has this replaced your iPad for your bullet journaling? I admit, I did purchase one of these when it was released, but it hasn’t seen much use since then. Maybe I should blow the dust off of it and give it another go…

[@samuelbuckingham]

Thanks, I would say definitely do dust it off as they have added loads of features. It’s probably the most enjoyable way to do the rapid logging for bullet journals but without the ability to duplicate pages it’s means building each one as you go which is a bit pain. Amazon have said they will be adding copy and paste very shortly that will fix that. At the moment I’m using it for bullet journaling but probably because it’s still fairly new and fun. Hoping those extra features continue to come and it can do all I would need to replace the IPad for it.

[@brookieboydabom]

Is there still no way to get annotations from a PDF back out of the kindle ecosystem? If not, can’t recommend

[@cottojn]

I would like calendar sync and journal template from Etsy.

[@lx5471]

Does anybody know why it still has such heavy bezels? It feels like either the screen real estate could be much more or the device could be much smaller for the screen it has.

[@samuelbuckingham]

It makes for a comfortable way to hold the device without touching the screen. As they are flat to the screen it doesn’t detract much from the experience. I see your point but all the competitors have opted to do the same so it must be neccesary. I think a lot of the battery is in this section aswell so it helps to keep the device thin.

[@dishgarden7692]

I think that the scribe should come with a 100 page blank journal with an option to buy more blank journals. I don’t like that my journal pages are separate and I have to gather them together.

[@samuelbuckingham]

I'm not sure what you mean on that one, you can continually add an extra page and they are all together then. I've got lots of journals with loads of pages and others that are smaller. I think the way of organising them with subfolders and folders works well but you could easily just use one large notebook in the way you've described. Sorry If I miss understood you though.

[@333BRNDO]

Swipe your current page from right to left and it will add another page to your notebook

[@larrymarso4492]

Can you use dark mode in the notepad?

[@samuelbuckingham]

Yeah I’m just the same way as for books. Most nights I use the notepad in dark mode.

[@Pegleg04]

Hi, great video! What storage option do you have? 16 gb seems like a lot for an e-ink device, but have you found the storage filling up close to that with drawings and PDFs? Thanks

[@samuelbuckingham]

Thanks. You really don’t need much storage unless you intend to use it for lots of audio Books. The notebooks don’t seem to take up much space at all, probably no more than pages of books. I think 16gb is loads. Mine is the bigger version but that’s just because that is what was available at the time. I’ve not got much more than 1.5gb filled up at the moment.

[@Pegleg04]

That’s a big help, thank you!

[@HORITO_gaming]

So the lasso is there now. Maybe they were listening.. a bit.

[@gghostrrider]

Pro tip, get your wife one of those sleep masks, my wife loves hers and I can read guilt free. Happy spouse, happy house.

[@fpark101]

Navigation sucks. Can’t switch to audio smoothly and stay with text like older model. It still has some ways to go.

[@blitherithicus]

Everybody is missing the key point of this video, the fact that the Buckingham's major goal is "world domination." It's right there in one of his notebook pages. See 11:15. The list of steps is pretty vague though. Step two is "dominate." Then, step three, he's ready for pizza.

[@bettersteps]

SSK GMT.

[@punjabishiv]

Moral: You should never expect anything.

[@liketheduck]

Do NOT get the Elipsa unless you only want a large reader. Everything else is a joke.

[@causticmuse]

I've had my Scribe for about a month and a half and keep finding new things I love about it. I traded in a 6" 32gb 2018 Paperwhite for it and initially had some upgrade remorse because the PW was so much more portable and the Scribe felt awkward to hold while reading and was missing a lot of the writing features I got used to on my iPad with Goodnotes and Apple pencil. I really disliked reading standard novels on it compared to my 7" Kobo Libra (BEST form factor, usability, and size for novels plus Pocket integration!) but found that manga and other BW graphic novels were fantastic on it, so I was using it primarily to read those. However, after the most recent updates (Hellooooo 2 column landscape orientation that mimics an open paperback!), I am finally enjoying the "books without pictures" novel reading experience on the Scribe. The additional pen types have been great as well, and I realized last week that I can send PDF logic and word puzzles to my Scribe to work on with the pen as well as a growing number of hyperlink-enabled PDF planners and other journal types I've found on Etsy. I tried to import some of my favorite digital planners on the iPad /Goodnotes to try on the Scribe, but most of them aren't fully compatible since the Scribe doesn't allow you to duplicate whole pages of an imported PDF the way that Goodnotes does. Hyperlinks don't always work properly, either, so I stick with documents that specifically say they are for the Scribe.

[@1334cass]

How do you feel the notes-notebooks-features on the Scribe compare to Goodnotes? I have been using Goodnotes exclusively for a few years on my ipad (like you). I am not a techy and feel like the Scribe would work in a similar fashion as my Goodnotes, but what are your thoughts? I haven’t heard anyone compare the two. Thanks!

[@causticmuse]

@@1334cass So Goodnotes is pretty much the gold standard for PDF markup/digital planning software, right? I literally bought an iPad to use it and Procreate, despite being a Samsung/Android phone user because those two apps are only on iOS. The basic note taking experience with the Scribe Notebooks is great. I prefer the softer writing feel of the Scribe pen on the matte screen compared to the hard Apple Pencil tip on my iPad with a paper-feel screen protector on it. The included notebook paper templates are pretty good, though I look forward to seeing new ones in the future. As I mentioned above, not every third-party hyperlinked PDF document (planners, notebooks, journals, etc.) that you may use with Goodnotes will be 100% compatible with the Scribe. There seem to be some wonky overlap in the click able fields in my non-Scribe PDFs that makes, say, a tab that is supposed to take me to a July calendar open an August page instead. You can't use .Goodnotes format sticker packs either as far as I can tell. That's not a huge deal to me, but I know a lot of people like that function in Goodnotes. I do miss the ability to copy and duplicate entire PDF pages and rearranging them, but at least that is possible with the Scribe's own native notebooks. There isn't an automatic snap/straighten for lines and highlighter yet, either, which pains my neurotic soul. 😂 I think the Scribe will feel a little limited initially for PDF mark up if you are coming from Goodnotes, especially if you are used to the stickers and page dupe features, but the more basic note taking using the native Scribe notebooks is more than adequate and there is a growing number of Scribe-friendly PDF planners and similar on Etsy.