A lot of people are comparing reMarkable with other e-ink note taking tablets. But I think that it would be wise for anyone buying these things to also compare them with pen and paper. I only bought rm 2 for one reason - to cut down on paper waste as I was filling out the same forms every day. But over time of its use, I've started noticing more and more advantages of pen and paper.
Advantages of pen and paper:
- more size options,
- a more natural feeling of writing,
- cheaper for a long time,
- easier to buy pens when they run out rather than replacement tips,
- easy to archive,
- no need to charge,
- no writing latency,
- no service subscriptions,
- defects/bugs have been worked out centuries ago,
- much better privacy: unless the e-ink tablet is forever air-gapped, but sometimes you need to connect it for one reason or another,
- system updates do not break your workflow: like custom templates in rm2,
- easily recyclable, at worst case - biodegradable,
- probably more green to produce: although paper production causes a lot of emissions, the amount paper a person might use over the lifetime of an e-ink tablet seems to be not that much,
- no kill switches: intentional or by way of a company ceasing support,
- good ecosystem: easy to share, easy to write in different colours, with different pens, easy to print custom forms.
On the other hand, there are some clear advantages of e-ink tablets:
- compact to store notes: although paper can be too, if one does not take a very large amount of notes,
- for heavy users, in the very long-run, digital storage costs less than paper and the storage space needed for it,
- carrying a very large number of books and notes around is much easier.
Overall, after using rm2 for about 6 months, I think it makes sense in niche scenarios when compared to plain old paper and a pen. But otherwise an e-ink note taking tablet could be more of a lifestyle choice than a practical one.
I've been using my rm1 for years without connecting it to the Internet, it works great as a replacement to my lab notebooks and flying sheets of paper.
For me, the disadvantage of paper is that I hate using it. My left hand smears ink, I press down too hard writing or erasing and it messes up the paper. I bend and tear the pages. I get frustrated. I lose interest and stop using it.
The advantage of the RM2 is that I love using it and so I keep using it.
Advantages of pen and paper:
- more size options,
- a more natural feeling of writing,
- cheaper for a long time,
- easier to buy pens when they run out rather than replacement tips,
- easy to archive,
- no need to charge,
- no writing latency,
- no service subscriptions,
- defects/bugs have been worked out centuries ago,
- much better privacy: unless the e-ink tablet is forever air-gapped, but sometimes you need to connect it for one reason or another,
- system updates do not break your workflow: like custom templates in rm2,
- easily recyclable, at worst case - biodegradable,
- probably more green to produce: although paper production causes a lot of emissions, the amount paper a person might use over the lifetime of an e-ink tablet seems to be not that much,
- no kill switches: intentional or by way of a company ceasing support,
- good ecosystem: easy to share, easy to write in different colours, with different pens, easy to print custom forms.
On the other hand, there are some clear advantages of e-ink tablets:
- compact to store notes: although paper can be too, if one does not take a very large amount of notes,
- for heavy users, in the very long-run, digital storage costs less than paper and the storage space needed for it,
- carrying a very large number of books and notes around is much easier.
Overall, after using rm2 for about 6 months, I think it makes sense in niche scenarios when compared to plain old paper and a pen. But otherwise an e-ink note taking tablet could be more of a lifestyle choice than a practical one.