One thing first: I've had a Note Air for a month, and a colleague at work bought a Remarkable 2 at the same time (or received one after a waiting period of >2 months), so I was able to compare the two directly.
The Remarkable has a slightly better/paper-like writing feel, but that is of course subjective.
The battery life also seems to be a bit better (although the Note Air can do a lot more, more on that later).
But that's it for the plus points for RM2, my colleague would have decided in favour of the Note Air after testing both devices.
If the writing feeling alone is the decisive point and you are sure that you "only" want an electronic writing pad, the Remarkable is probably worth considering.
As far as the other points are concerned, I think it looks pretty bad for the Remarkable:
- No front light (KO criterion for me)
- No support for external keyboard
- No custom templates for notes, unless you tinker by hand with SSH console and in JSON files (Note Air in comparison: push PNG or PDF into specific folder, done)
- Poor reader (slow, no bookmarks in documents, hardly any reflow (reformatting of columns/pages etc), no conversion of handwritten text, no landscape mode, no sliding of document when zoomed)
- Overpriced accessories (flip cover CHF >100, pen CHF 90), RM2 itself is not exactly cheap for the functionality either.
- No search in notes (searching for handwritten text on the Note Air is brilliant)
- Virtually no app support (as standalone Linux instead of Android): No Kindle, Spotify, Outlook, 20 minutes etc. (All apps which work fine on the Note Air).
- No audio output (Note Air has audio via USB-C, Bluetooth and speakers, I like to read books with it and listen to Spotify at the same time).
- File import/export only with PC/smartphone app
TLDR: The Note Air does everything better in my opinion except the subjective typing experience.
Rocksresort Laax: win a stay for 4 people
Get involved in the Community and win!
We're giving away a voucher for Rocksresort Laax: 2 nights in a family flat for 4 people.
