Intro
A lot of people that know me knows that I love gadgets. However, I am at now at a point where I want to spend less time playing around with items but rather only am interested in items that helps me focus and work more and better using less time and SAVES energy. For this reason I am on the fence about smartwatches etc.
However, the ReMarkable 2 fits into this category as the whole point of it is to reduce notifications and lets you take written notes and read ebooks quite nicely. My main issue with it is the lack of support for Onenote, the lack of backlight but also if it is really worth the price. I was very much leaning towards returning it for the full refund but putting more time with it during a mainly longer car trip made me change this opinion. I do not like using laptops really during carrides and I do not like “working” on my phone but the ReMarkable 2 fit a nice gap here where I could either do some planning/note taking or do some reading. I realised that I would normally use it while I was on the move and only by adding between 1-2 hours per week extra is better than nothing and this is the reason why I decide to keep it.
If you do 2 hours per week then you are talking about around 100 hours yearly use so perhaps €4-5 per hour if you assume it lasts you a year. If you use it more than obviously the hourly rate goes down and if it lasts longer than a year the same but that feels ok but conversative for my use and I am okay with this price although it is not a bargain.
I decided to save a FAQ on this page as it might help a few people.
FAQ
Can you replace the pen with another one?
Yes, EMR Stylus should all work and there are a lot of ones including one from Staedtler that is available on amazon around 25-30 that has both stylus and eraser that works
Can you add your own templates?
Apparently only with 3d party software. There is a long guide (10 minutes) for Remarkable 1 that probably works for RM2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl1krpUZTdo).
https://remarkablewiki.com/tips/templates
Tip: If you are planning on using a calendar for example and you have basic knowledge about pdfs etc then perhaps you dont need to add this template but can just create a PDF with 100+ pages of the same page. This is what I will do for wine tasting notes as I would prefer these to be in the same notebook.
Does it have Onenote/Evernote?
No, this is a big issue IMO but the good part is that syncing documents is quite smooth and easy. You can drag a pdf on windows and it will shortly automatically appear on your device. The way I will probably use this is that I would email any diagrams etc that I produce into onenote but otherwise I kinda appreciate having the handwritten notes on a separate section.
Does it have a built in led and/or can you increase the contrast?
No. This is also extremely frustrating and there is no excuse for this. Kindle Paperwhite can do it and even the basic Kindle for like 80€ and works great so a device for 400€+ should be able to have this. This was the toughest part for me to swallow but I think I have.
Tips
Enable the battery saver mode – Otherwise you will be very disappointed with the battery time. As it starts up quickly it does not cause that much frustration overall.
Enable the page preview – This will show the first page or the last page in a preview (a lot nicer).
Load up on pdfs/epub so you have a stock when you get bored.