Notes no longer end up on pieces of paper, but in smart notebooks. New devices promise real digital doodling.
Google News instead of daily newspapers, streaming instead of DVDs or Spotify instead of CDs etc.: media is now consumed almost exclusively digitally – and is also mostly generated digitally if you look at the usage figures for social media platforms. Digitization doesn’t seem to have found the right answer yet for scribbling sketches, notes or other, often unsorted, thoughts on notepads, scrapbooks or Post-Its.
Sure, there are plenty of to-do or note apps in the app stores, but they only translate individual sub-tasks of the good old notepad into the digital world. And what is always missing: the feeling of pen on paper. At least some niche products have emerged in recent years, and two new digital notebooks give reason for hope for fans of creative doodling.
Good mix for traditionalists: real paper, smart pen
A classic among semi-digital notebooks is the Smart Writing Set from Moleskine’s cult series. However, the basis here is still real, or as Moleskine calls it: Ncoded paper. The smart pen transfers ink to the notebook as well as the relevant information to the associated app. Advantage: The writing experience is original and the data is digitized in real time – or temporarily stored until there is a Bluetooth connection to the smartphone with the app again. A clear disadvantage: If the book is completely written or painted, you have to get a replacement. The starter kit with a pen, book and charging cable costs 249 euros, the replacement booklets cost 11 to 23 euros, depending on size and ruling.
The Bamboo Slate from Wacom is another 100 euros cheaper than the Smart Writing Set from Moleskine – the price of 149 euros is mainly for the pen, the appropriate app and a kind of notebook. Which paper you use is up to the user; the smart pen synchronizes into the app regardless of the surface. Even with this product – which unfortunately according to the manufacturer will no longer be further developed in the future – the real feeling of writing on your favorite paper prevails, but ink and a new writing pad are of course necessary.
Fully digital notebooks with an analogue writing experience
Fully digital solutions like the current Remarkable 2 or the Smart Paper from Lenovo, which was released at the end of 2023, go one step further. Depending on your point of view, the devices are either e-book readers with extended functionality or slimmed-down tablet PCs. What all products in this device class have in common is the (monochrome) display that has been specially prepared for the classic writing experience: i.e. with a structured instead of smooth surface in order to simulate the resistance typical of paper when writing.
They also offer a variety of features for fans of pencils, fountain pens and other traditional writing instruments. The user can decide whether to hatch with a graphite pen, mark with a highlighter, calligraph with a pen or write down the classic way with a ballpoint pen. In addition, there is an extensive selection of “paper”, i.e. typically squared, lined, completely white or with other guide lines or dots. Checklists, calendars, sheet music, agendas, etc. are also part of the selection, and at Lenovo there are also playing fields for football and the like for the digital strategists of tomorrow.
Remarkable 2: Write like yesterday, at a price today
One of the most exciting features of the Remarkable 2 is the ability to convert scribbled text into typewritten text – and it works surprisingly well, even with barely legible notes or quickly sketched ideas. With just a few clicks of a button, the brainstorming results can be converted and then sent by email, whether as PDF, JPG or DOC.
With the Remarkable 2, the whole thing is packaged in a simple, elegant case, optionally made of leather, so that not only the writing experience, but also the entire feel takes the user back to the days of the notebook in the briefcase. Unfortunately, this analogue reminiscence also comes at a price. The device itself costs 349 euros, and the pen including replacement tips costs another 79 euros. If you don’t want to erase using the display function, but rather use the back of the pen in the classic way, you can pay 129 euros. In addition, there are 69 to 159 euros for the case, depending on the user’s level of sentimentality, from synthetic to leather. Those who are looking for a replacement notebook can safely do without the optional keyboard, which would cost another 199 euros. This makes the already not light device even heavier. With the case, it weighs over 400 grams and at the same time lightens your wallet by between 500 and 650 euros, depending on the features. It also makes sense to use the Connect feature to save the notes in the cloud and from the desktop and the app. It is also possible to connect to Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive, for example to load Word documents or Powerpoint presentations onto the device.
Lenovo Smart Paper: Simple and functional
Things are a little less classy at Lenovo. The Asian manufacturer usually prioritizes functionality over design, which is also evident in the Smart Paper. But that doesn’t detract from the intuitive and pleasant use. On the contrary: the supposedly ugly dent for storing the pen (by the way, Lenovo comes with it free of charge) ensures that it doesn’t get lost as often as with the Remarkable. There it is magnetically fixed to the flat outside, but unfortunately it always comes loose from there.
Including the standard case for a flat rate of 499 euros, it is at the lower end of the Remarkable variants, but technically offers almost the same range of functions. Cloud sync is limited to Google Drive, and text conversion is not nearly as sophisticated as its competitors. But: The device scores points, for example, with optional backlighting. Otherwise, it is in the same league with a display size of 10.3 inches (approx. 26 cm) and a weight of just over 400 grams. The Lenovo Smart Paper processes e-books just as easily as Word documents or PDFs. So it’s also a complete replacement for paper and pen, with an appealing writing experience. But while the Remarkable 2 is more likely to find its place on the antique oak desk, the Lenovo Smart Paper is more likely to find its place on the conference table, for visual reasons alone.
Or just a normal tablet?
What both have in common is the relatively high price for an e-book reader – viewed soberly – with sophisticated writing functionality. You have to do without colored photos, videos, surfing the web, and other nice features of current tablets. These and the compatible pens – so-called active capacitive stylus – are available in all price ranges: The devices themselves range from a few hundred euros for Android models to over 1,000 euros for Apple’s current iPad Pro; Pens sometimes go for 20 euros, but also for 200 euros, depending on the manufacturer, weight or battery life.
But honestly: who wants to do without the typical, scratchy feeling and the quiet, scraping noise under the pen tip during the sometimes thoughtless but often highly concentrated scribbling, drawing and writing?