The reMarkable E Ink Tablet Is Way Too Good For Its Software (and Price)

Do you remember when everyone thought the arrival of the iPad heralded the demise of E Ink-based devices? Even yours truly far prefers the experience of reading books on the bright, full-color LCD display of the iPad Mini. Consequently I’ve spent a lot of time questioning the need for e-ink devices like Amazon Kindle or anything created by E Ink, the primary producer or e-ink displays. But at CES last month I had an abrupt change of heart. It was there I was able to try out the reMarkable tablet for the first time, and after playing with it for a few minutes, I was excited at the thought of finally being able to go completely paperless; no more notebooks, no more misplaced scraps of paper, and no more sticky notes. I immediately begged them to loan me a unit to review, and after nearly two weeks with it I’m still in love—even if I know this thing has big problems. The same e-ink technology used by devices like the Kindle to authentically emulate the look of paper can now be used to emulate the feel of paper. The reMarkable tablet combines an E Ink display and Wacom’s much loved stylus technology to create a device that can replace all of your notebooks—if you can live with some software shortcomings, and an insane price tag. This thing costs $600—which is more than any iPad, and just $50 cheaper than an iPad Pro. So how can a tablet with limited applications…