Using a Kindle Scribe for journaling
I was never a huge ipad fan. On a whim I bought a used iPad Air 5 for a good price on Mercari, and unexpectedly became hooked on how thin and functional it was. The Apple Pencil functionality in particular got me excited in having an alternative to a keyboard to write. When combined with the Nebo handwriting recognition app and the concept of Morning Pages, I eventually got into journaling on my ipad.
The issue was that it’s easy to do too many things on the ipad. I could edit videos, I could browse YouTube, I could view my photos, and I could doom scroll forever on social media. I started to wonder if a simpler device with less functionality would help eliminate all the distractions that come with an iPad.
Why I bought the Kindle Scribe
I loved my Kindle Oasis. It was an amazing device that showed the potential of e-ink to be easier on the eyes for reading and great on battery life. As a result, I was curious about the new generation of e-ink tablets like the remarkable, boox, and the kindle scribe.
From my experience with the ipad, I knew I wanted a device with a great writing experience but limited other functionality outside of reading and writing. That basically eliminated the boox devices, because they run on android and allow the user to use a bunch of other apps. I ruled out the remarkable and super note tablets primarily due to their high cost. Given I already had an ipad, this e-ink tablet was really a luxury.
The thing that clinched the deal was finding a refurbished one on Amazon for $233. Given that I don’t need that many books on the device and the notes are relatively light weight, I thought I could get by with the 16gb.
What I like about the Kindle Scribe
I have to admit, the low price kept my expectations low, and the Kindle Scribe far exceeded them. The scribe feels great as soon as you pick it up, it’s thin, and the screen is huge! It feels even better when you start writing on them.
Everything I love about the Scribe:
- The bigger screen - its extremely roomy compared to the Kindle Oasis
- The writing experience - so much more natural than the Apple Pencil on an ipad screen.
- The backlight for writing and reading at night is perfect.
- Battery life - it lasts forever.
- Slim form - it doesn’t take up much space and is easy to write on, and the metal feels great.
What I don’t like
So the scribe is not perfect. The thing I dislike most is the weight, it’s so much bigger than the kindle Oasis that it is not something you can easily hold with one hand, and you certainly couldn’t hold it for hours like you would with a regular kindle.
Next is the connectivity and syncing. It’s dated and archaic. Getting notes off the device can only happen by sharing them via a link in an email. This means you then have to go to your e-mail, click that link, download the text, then move that text to the final location that you want to store it in. That might have been fine back in 2010, but it's a frustrating and lacking experience.
My primary use case for the kindle scribe is going to be journaling, so ideally I’d like to be able to send the text version of a notebook from the Scribe, and have it automatically forward to my Day One journal (or go to a google doc).
Redeeming the Scribe’s connectivity
I searched and searched for workaround for the Kindle Scribe, and just kept coming up empty. It really seemed like it was just a limitation of the device and potentially a fatal flaw.
Then I stopped searching for Kindle Scribe workarounds, and googled “gmail auto download link” and ended up with this Reddit post that pointed me to google app scripts.
From there I figured out a way to write a script that automatically downloads the notes file from the email and forwards it to a specific e-mail address. In this case that e-mail address automatically creates a journal entry in Day One, but you could modify it to go anywhere you want. You could email the doc to Dropbox, to Onenote, Evernote ,or Drafts.
Here is a link to the google app script.
It works by completing the following steps:
- Gmail auto labels any Kindle Scribe e-mail
- The App script checks gmail for e-mails with that specific label at the same time each day.
- Then the app script detects the download link, downloads the file, and creates a new email with the text in the body of the e-mail
- The script then send that e-mail to my Day One e-mail address which creates a journal entry.
Summary
The Kindle Scribe is the perfect focus device for writing and reading. If eliminating all distractions is your goal, then this device is for you. The device has no additional extra apps, and the connectivity and syncing options are so limited that you’ll never be tempted to use the device for anything beyond just reading and writing.
Beyond that the Kindle Scribe provides an excellent writing experience, one that far exceeds the experience you get with an Apple Pencil and an ipad. Writing on the glass screen of an ipad always felt too smooth and fast to be comfortable for longer periods of time. I know some people add screen protectors to their iPads to help change the feeling, but I prefer the Kindle Scribe.
Last but not least, the reading experience is great. I love the bigger screen, and I’ve been using kindle books since it first came out, so it’s super convenient for me to keep accessing my library on a kindle.
If you’re looking for a device that helps you focus on writing and reading without distractions, the Kindle Scribe is a great choice—especially if you can find a good deal on a refurbished one.