Kindle Scribe: A Review

December 29, 2023 keheliya Leave a comment

As part of my job, I have to read many research papers (which are usually distributed as two-column PDFs with fixed formatting). I like reading other books in my free time as well. To relieve me of the burden of carrying a lot of physical books around and not having to take out the laptop when I want to quickly refer to a document, I thought of getting an eInk reader.

After looking around for what’s available, I narrowed down my choices to Kobo Elipsa 2E, Boox Note Air 2, and Kindle Scribe. A few weeks ago, with a heavy discount from Kindle, I decided to go with the Scribe. After using it mostly for academic reading (and some brief recreational reading) I decided to write down my thoughts about the device.

A two-column research paper in PDF format opened on Kindle Scribe eInk reader with added highlights and scribbles.

Good Things

eInk technology has improved a lot. I used to own a classic Nook Reader sometime back. (Read my review of it here) So I knew what I was getting into with the latency and ghosting. These limitations are still there compared to other screen technologies but reduced a lot to become unnoticeable. With the high resolution (300 PPI to be exact) and smooth backlight, the text looks sharp and easy on the eyes.

Good Support for PDFs. We can use the Send-to-kindle service to upload PDFs to the device from a mobile app or from a web browser. They reach the device instantly and render without any problems. Out of close to 50 documents that I read on the Scribe so far, only one failed to render (for some unknown reason). You can also conveniently use the stylus to write notes on the margins of the PDFs that are uploaded this way.

Build quality is great. The device has a matte metallic finish and feels sturdy in the hands. (I ended up getting a folio case to protect the device while on the go, just in case.) The screen real estate is big enough to comfortably read a two-column PDF without using any zoom.

A Sinhala language webpage opened in Kindle Scribe web browser showing non-roman Unicode characters as boxes making it unreadable.

Bad Things

Lack of RSS, Libby, or Pocket support. I heavily use the Libby (formerly OverDrive) app to borrow books from public libraries and university libraries. I also use the Pocket service to save long articles from the web and read them later. While Kobo devices support these services natively in their eReaders, Kindle Scribe supports neither. It’s a bummer because both of these are free services that I use a lot to satiate my need for reading. As a rudimentary workaround for the lack of Pocket integration, and for checking RSS feeds I use Scribe’s built-in web browser which brings me to the next point.

Lack of Unicode Support. One of the first things I do with any device that I get hands-on is check its Unicode compatibility (as you can see here and here). Unfortunately, Kindle Scribe gets zero points here. I checked with a few non-roman alphabets in Scribe’s browser and all of them appear as small boxes. Come on, Amazon! It’s 2023! I understand the need to keep resource usage minimal and therefore keep the browser features limited. But, Unicode is a basic necessity in a web browser at this point!

Multi-tasking Support. A basic use case when doing intensive reading is taking detailed notes about what you just read. Although Kindle Scribe has all the primary ingredients to make that happen, the user experience is not well implemented. There is reading support for all sorts of eBook formats. There is note-taking support with a well-made stylus and notebooks of different templates. However, to get to a notebook while reading, you have to close the currently reading document and click through multiple screens. You may lose the train of thought by the time that you get to the place to write after navigating the not-so-fast UI.

No two-way cloud syncing. You can currently send PDFs to the device, and e-mail back the PDF with notes and highlights when you’re done with reading on the device. However, if you’re ingesting a document over a long period you need to avoid the hassle of sending the marked document back and forth. Proper syncing of documents and notebooks to a cloud service such as Google or Dropbox is a must-have feature these days.

In conclusion, I’m enjoying Kindle Scribe so far, and finding great use of it. All the drawbacks that I mentioned above can be fixed via software updates. I’m hoping that these get fixed in future over-the-air updates. However, if the lack of these features is a dealbreaker, you may find eInk tablets that run on Android (from vendors like Boox) to be useful.

life, travel

Travel Diaries – Buenos Aires, Argentina

May 25, 2017 keheliya Leave a comment

I visited Buenos Aires, Argentina in May 2017, and it was very different from the cities I have visited earlier. I stayed in the old barrio of San Telmo but was able to visit few other barrios such as Recoleta, San Nicolás, Monserrat, Puerto Madero, and La Boca.

In the San Telmo neighborhood, you can walk along the cobblestone streets admiring the architecture from the Spanish colonial times. The area has beautiful large houses, or ‘Quintas’, built for elite families in the 17th century. Due to a yellow fever epidemic in 1871, the upper classes have left the area and moved to Recoleta. So these houses were converted to Conventillos which were rented to poor European immigrant workers. It is said that in the central courtyards of these overcrowded urban housing schemes Tango was born. Pasaje Defensa, or the house of the Ezeiza family, is one such house we got to visit. Calle Defensa from Plaza de Mayo to Plaza Dorrego is closed to motor traffic on Sundays and turns into a flea market. You can walk along the side streets enjoying the tango dancers, antique shops, and hand-made jewelry vendors.

Other interesting places we visited in San Telmo are the Mafalda monument (a tribute to the famous cartoon character) and Mercado de San Telmo (the indoor market). The best meat empanadas I had were at a small shop inside the market (200 pesos) and at a bakery (Panadería Confitería) called ‘La Nueva Independencia’ (180 pesos). For meat-based fast food like Chorizo or Bondiola sandwiches, I recommend Nuestra Parilla near the market.

In the Monserrat barrio, the main attraction was the Plaza de Mayo named after the May 1810 revolution which led to Argentina’s independence from Spain. A bit north of the plaza is the cultural center where we attended a nice concert by the National tango orchestra. The admission is free for this. But you have to get tickets during the day.

If you walk few blocks northwest of the Plaza de Mayo, you reach the Obelisco, the famous landmark. There was a big protest against wage limits going on here when we visited. But with the firecrackers, drums, and chants, it appeared more like a carnival rather than a protest. Apparently, this kind of protests is a very common thing in downtown Buenos Aires.

We took a 6-pesos bus ride from San Telmo to arrive in the La Boca barrio. This neighborhood has got the name because it is at the mouth (‘Boca’) of the Matanza-Riachuelo River. We visited La Bombonera, the home ground of the famous Boca Juniors football club. Then we walked through the Caminito, with the colorful houses and local artists selling their paintings on both sides of the road. With their murals everywhere you will soon understand how important are Evita (Eva Perón), Carlos Gardel, and Maradona as cultural icons in Argentina.

Puerto Madero is a failed port project by the local businessman Eduardo Madero in the 1880s which was redeveloped in the 1990s to have luxury hotels, apartment towers, offices and universities along the waterfront. Highlights for me in the area were Presidente Sarmiento museum ship and Puente de la Mujer (‘Women’s Bridge’) designed by the famous architect Santiago Calatrava to resemble a couple dancing the tango.

Travel Tip: Although I did not come across any problems walking at night in San Telmo or Monserrat, I heard one of my colleagues got robbed using the notorious white-paint-squirt-on-bag trick. The locals advised us not to go off the well-known tourist routes in La Boca and San Telmo. It will be very useful if you can speak Spanish when you walk around.

Popular Local Beer: Quilmes

Obelisco de Buenos Aires

the Matanza-Riachuelo River

Evita (Eva Perón), Carlos Gardel, and Maradona in La Boca

la bombonera

monumento a mafalda

Puente de la Mujer

Obelisco de Buenos Aires

Photo Credits: Eduardo Coronado-Montoya

Here are some articles I found useful to answer the questions I had after visiting this interesting city.

life, travel

Travel Diaries – Tokyo, Japan

March 26, 2017 keheliya Leave a comment

I visited Tokyo, Japan in March 2017. It’s a huge, beautiful city and you cannot cover everything awesome in few days. I spent 4 nights in Tokyo and 5 nights in Kamakura.

Travel Tip: Tokyo has a great train network. But they are operated by different companies like JR, Tokyo Metro, and Toei Subway. Make sure you buy a prepaid IC card like PASMO or Suica at the airport to avoid wasting time at ticket booths every time you transfer between lines. Also, make sure you are looking at the correct train network map when you’re planning the trip.

In Tokyo, I stayed in a hostel near the Asakusabashi station because it’s in the center of several attractions such as Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara and Ryōgoku. In Asakusa, I visted the Sensō-ji Temple. It is a colorful, ancient, Buddhist temple.

If you’re a fan of anime, manga, board games and electronics, you should visit Akihabara, the geek town of Tokyo. In Shibuya, you’ll find the busiest intersection in the world, the Shibuya crossing, and the Hachiko memorial.

Edo-Tokyo museum, situated near the Ryogoku station, provided me with a concise view of the Edo period and the recent history of Tokyo. The kids will love the hands-on exhibits and photo-ops as well. There are free traditional magic shows and other cultural events in the weekends as well.

If you are interested in a more in-depth tour covering the history of Japan and Buddhism in Asia, make sure you check out the Asian gallery of Tokyo National Museum, in Ueno. The highlight for me was the large collection of Buddhist sculptures from the Gandhara, Mathura and Gupta periods. Tip for the history buffs: Ueno area is the home to several other museums as well, National Museum of Western Art, National Science Museum, and the Shitamachi Museum.

In Kamakura area, the highlight for me was the Great Buddha Statue (Daibutsu) at the Kotokuin temple. I also visited the Hase-kannon Temple and the Hachiman-gu Shrine in Kamakura. In Japan, shrines are built to worship elements from both Shinto and Buddhism, while temples are dedicated to Buddhism.

I tasted some special food items in Tokyo as well. I tried Kibi dango and Ningyo-yaki (snacks made out of rice flour and redbean paste) at the Nakamise shopping street in Asakusa. Then there were delicious sushi and sashimi at some local restaurants. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake that can have a mix of ingredients. Kirin, Asahi, and Sapporo are the most famous beer brands in Japan.

Travel Tip: If you want to taste some authentic Japanese food for cheap for one last time before leaving Tokyo, there are some good restaurants at the Narita and Haneda airports.