ReMarkable2 - do you use it and how do you like it?

[Naomi]

I agree with so much of what you say. I see the e-ink device purely as replacement for paper - not even as an e-reader.
Whilst I wish it had colour, I hope that by investing in one now, it will evolve into having a colour option in time. As you and someone else earlier in the thread pointed out, e-ink devices are new-ish, and therefore if people don’t give them a go, they won’t be here at all.

 

[Pncguy]

I have tried the RM2 - twice. I also explored the Supernote. In the end, both devices' file system didn't seem intuitive to me and the eink writing experience didn't feel any different than my final solution: Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 lite with a paper-like screen saver. And I replaced the pen nib with a stainless steel one. It is great. I use Samsung Notes, which is backed up in the cloud - AND accessible on my PC. Everything I wanted out of an eink device (except maybe battery life) without the clunkiness. And at a much lower cost.

 

[samuelethan]

I have had the reMarkable2 for about a year now. I have owned an iPad Pro with Apple Pencil since it's original availability. The original was really bad as a random note taker. However, I am on my second iPad Pro 11" (an M1 version). There are key things with the iPad Pro that are miles ahead of the previous ones. 1) you can enable the creation of a note by opening the iPad cover/keyboard, and touching the pencil to the screen allowing immediate writing. 2) the advent of Focus, the iPad can be turned into a dumb writing pad theoretically (I have not done this and I keep loosing automatic Fitness focus on my Apple Watch, so YMMV).

I enjoy writing on the reMarkable2 (it's as distraction free as paper) and enjoy reading US Supreme Court Rulings, etc. I like the battery life and with the recent improvements to the apps on Apple devices, it is much more usable as a note taking device. The service I see more as an app subscription to make the content accessible on my other devices. Good app updates aren't ever free.

I do not use it enough to warrant the price, but I like my toys and I change up often. When at home/office, I much prefer a nice pen and paper on a writing pad.

The reMarkable wins in very bright conditions, fails walking down not well lit hallways or in low light.
Hope all this helps,
Clayton.

Nothing like a new gadget to make me interested in my system or avoid doing anything and still have mind like water.

well, there was a query back in 2021 about these and nobody seemed to know too much about them. I've got a request for my opinion on them, but haven't got a clue. My concern would be that it saves in its own proprietary document format and is only readable by 3rd party devices when you export it to PDF/Image and send/sync. There is a desktop and mobile app that will allow you to edit your notes - at a price (abeit a small one) each month. It does says it syncs with OneDrive, I assume that is that storage only. The user is a heavy user of OneNote and uses it well, but they also use physical notebooks, so this device would be to replace those. I can't help but wonder if they'd be better off with a device that can run OneNote on it and use a stylus. Any thoughts?

 

[schmeggahead]

well, there was a query back in 2021 about these and nobody seemed to know too much about them. I've got a request for my opinion on them, but haven't got a clue. My concern would be that it saves in its own proprietary document format and is only readable by 3rd party devices when you export it to PDF/Image and send/sync. There is a desktop and mobile app that will allow you to edit your notes - at a price (abeit a small one) each month. It does says it syncs with OneDrive, I assume that is that storage only. The user is a heavy user of OneNote and uses it well, but they also use physical notebooks, so this device would be to replace those. I can't help but wonder if they'd be better off with a device that can run OneNote on it and use a stylus. Any thoughts?

I have used the web interface when plugging the device into a USB port on a Mac (to comply with GPLv3 Compliance, see under copyright notices general information). The files were readable on my Mac using default apps. I forget the formats but YMMV.
Clayton.

"The power of man's virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doing." - Blaise Pascal

 

[Zenminimalismo]

I've been using the ReMarkable 2 for a while now, and I gotta say, it's been a game-changer.

 

[FocusGuy]

I've been using the ReMarkable 2 for a while now, and I gotta say, it's been a game-changer.

What did it brings to you vs a iPad for example ? Thanks

 

[schmeggahead]

What did it brings to you vs a iPad for example ?

Quiet for one thing.
Distraction free focus.

Clayton

Human knowledge is merely an island in an ocean of ignorance. And whenever we manage to extend the island, we also lengthen the coastline from which we confront our lack of knowledge. - SpockResists

 

[grahamen]

I went for the Smart Note A6x2, It can read and annotate docs and pdf's as well, and read Kindle books. there are a number of planners available that would map to GTD, but I like the fact, that aside from Kindle it has no other distractions, so I can concentrate on my writing and not be plagued with notifications every 30 secs ( I know you can put the ipad etc in DND mode), but for me it was the best solution. I have had a slight issue with e-Ink artifacts and having to refresh the page periodically to get rid of the ghosts, but other than that I love it, battery life is really good.

 

[schmeggahead]

Quiet for one thing.
Distraction free focus.

Clayton

Human knowledge is merely an island in an ocean of ignorance. And whenever we manage to extend the island, we also lengthen the coastline from which we confront our lack of knowledge. - SpockResists

I want to add an update to this.

While traveling with only my iPad (no reMarkable, no pen and paper), I really had the need to capture my thoughts and my M1 iPad Pro started lagging the appearance of ink on the screen with a 10 to 15 second delay. It was completely unusable and my thoughts were going away. Putting it on airplane mode didn't help and rebooting it finally resolved the issue and by then I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to write.

The remarkable goes with me now on trips when I don't take a paper and pen.
Clayton

Your system should be simple but no simpler than necessary to accomplish a task - a whole bunch of people.

 

[FocusGuy]

I want to add an update to this.

While traveling with only my iPad (no reMarkable, no pen and paper), I really had the need to capture my thoughts and my M1 iPad Pro started lagging the appearance of ink on the screen with a 10 to 15 second delay. It was completely unusable and my thoughts were going away. Putting it on airplane mode didn't help and rebooting it finally resolved the issue and by then I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to write.

The remarkable goes with me now on trips when I don't take a paper and pen.
Clayton

Your system should be simple but no simpler than necessary to accomplish a task - a whole bunch of people.

I know many student who use an iPad for taking notes. They also have sometime a kind of protector sheet which make feeling like paper. I never heard any latency for that. As I take a lot of notes by hand I hesitate to buy and iPad + pen + Keyboard or a remarkable + Pen. I like the idea how having an iPad because I would put things 3 on it and this would be nice. I also find remarkable very expansive for what it is. I dont like the idea of having a pay sync per month as I am already on Mac and everything is synced. So I dont know at all if a good iPad would be able to take notes or not as easy as the remarkable seems to be doing.

 

[vanbrakel.pieter]

Not sure if my comment is still relevant. I have a Boox Note 3, which is several years old. It is linked to Google drive (can do Evernote, OneDrive, onenote or your own WebDAV account). The notes that I make, are automatically synced to Google Drive and ice versa. I can open pdf files that are stored n the Google drive without downloading apps and annotate these. I like that I can use Chrome to read articles without staring at a screen and read books on it to.

This is not a remarkable device of course and I have not owned one so I can not comment on how to use one it with GTD. As my reader is synced to Google email, task, etc, I have configured my ereader to work with the GTD principles that are set out in the guidelines provided here, on this website.
Just my 2 cents...

 

[KachriT]

I am considering investing in a ReMarkable 2. I like writing - my brain processes better- and it feels quicker & more effective. Plus, I want to stop using so much paper!!!

If you have tried one, how do you feel about it as a tool on its own, and have you found it beneficial with your GTD system?
Thanks in advance,
Naomi

I received one as a gift last Christmas and I'm enjoying it for both work and personal use. I love the battery life and feel of writing. It's very lightweight and easy to pop into my tote or bag.

I've imported a variety of pdf planner templates and have found this device to be an excellent tool for project and task management. I have a folder for each project in a "Current" folder (I scan or import all the related docs as pdfs into each related project folder) I use tags and naming conventions so searching is easier.I like having a disposable 'daily' log to track thru a day without wasting paper.

One example: I started organizing my large electronic piles of saved recipes on this device. Pdf docs are easy to work with and I can find my favorites quickly. I move them between my laptop and this device, and work on sorting and tagging them when I find some spare minutes here and there. It's easy to use a recipe right from the device in the kitchen.

I also imported a template for conference note taking and have found a lot of value in keeping my notes with electronic versions of conference materials. Having a folder for a date or conference tagged by topic or interest or name has been helpful - I search by topic across all the folders and have all the info from all sources.

My favorite notebook is my Input repository - I write down everything here and mark it with a symbol as to its destination (task, calendar, info, later, for ABC, etc. The notebook page NEVER ENDS!! I don't have to move to the next page until I'm ready (end of week, month, whatever) There's a checklist template for the ToDos - same thing about the endless page. Love that it expands to fit my life.

In all, I like using it (it has realistic writing feel and appearance) and it's fun (ymmv) I don't know that I would have bought it for myself, but since it was a gift, I can enjoy guilt free. I'm loving the flexibility of pdfs for storage and being able to use planner templates (don't have to buy new pages anymore!).

I'm still learning the features so it's a little awkward at times to find my meeting notes and materials for work, and I'm waiting for the day when they can offer color for this type of writing screen, but other than that, it's just like a pile of paper notebooks but with all the searching functionality and minimal size of good tech. ( And it stores books, too LOL. I love having something at hand for reading emergencies - especially something that makes it look like I'm working)

Hope that helps - good luck in your search.

 

[Ariadne Marques]

and I'm waiting for the day when they can offer color for this type of writing screen, but other than that, it's just like a pile of paper notebooks but with all the searching functionality and minimal size of good tech.

I think color e-ink screens will be widely available sooner than we think. Kobo just released an e-reader this year in which you can highlight and annotate books in different colors: https://ca.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-libra-colour. So the technology is already out there!

 

[KachriT]

I think color e-ink screens will be widely available sooner than we think. Kobo just released an e-reader this year in which you can highlight and annotate books in different colors: https://ca.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-libra-colour. So the technology is already out there!

Wow!! You can highlight in the R2, and it does offer several colors, but the screen is only b&w...you can see the color on any other digital screen that you've exported or inported to/from
II really appreciate color as a visual organizing cue, so if they could figure out how to maintain the paper-like feel and excellent writing experience AND show me color it would be worth buying a new upgraded model!