My hand written not taking device arrived 5 days early. It's a #Supernote Nomad #S6X2. Time for unboxing. Here's to hoping once it's configured that I can simple turn it on, immediately write as if it were a notepad, then later send OCR'd notes to my #Mac.
So, I've I moved the shrink wrap on the #Supernote Nomad #S6X2. The box has a very Apple-like magnetic flap on it. Except for the shrink wrap, it's all recyclable cardboard (and except for the magnet). It's light and it looks well engineered. No charger, however, just a cable. At least that I can see. Now to fire it up.
"please share your thoughts" on the [#Supernote Nomad #S6X2]
After using the device for a few hours, it's obvious the main mode is jotting notes not writing word documents; both are possible. They have totally different gesture and pen functions, which is a head scratcher. I'd love the Word pen gestures to work for notes, but you have to click different toolbar buttons instead. It's easy to master, so no worries—just a head scratcher.
The /*built-in keyboard is not for touch typists and works best pressed with the pen. Don't buy if you want to type! */
I bought the pen and I'm doing handwriting. It can recognize cursive, but printing works much better. The pen point can write very tiny, and is recognizable! You can also sketch and draw, move and transform text. Recognition can be "exported" to .txt or .docx, the latter which you can edit on the device. Nice.
I chose syncing with Dropbox and it works very well. I've synced both directions. Best, whichever note I am working on is what appears when it wakes from sleep. Yay! Exactly what I was hoping for. It should serve as a paper notepad, one I can OCR and share with the Mac when necessary.
A Kindle app is available and works. There are PDF review and note taking features which should be perfect for research documents. There's file management including folders, and other simple things. Keyword, /simple./ It even has a feedback app, which I used. Yes, it accepted handwriting. The manual is on the website; I suggest you review it. I downloaded it to the Mac and synced it so I could read it on-device.
It's lightweight and feels like a very light clipboard with paper, easy to hold. The surface is textured so it feels like writing with a pen on paper. Your pen won't slip like the Apple Pencil does on the #iPad. Yes, you can have any number of pages you want.
I give it a thumbs up so far, but I have to see if it works for bedside notes. /Be aware that it has no internal light/— by design for extremely long battery life. I have electronic candles in my room serving as nightlights. Hope they prove sufficient. The idea is to not wake the spouse as the iPad would.
"I'll check back in a few weeks with more thoughts about the [#Supernote#S6X2
I used the device for three weeks.
The Supernote Nomad is very well made. Stylish with the "crystal" clear back. Sturdy, both in structure and in software design. The screen is like writing on paper, with realistic texture. With fluid ease, I can send image note data through Dropbox with folders, as well as OCR. I have a doctor's scrawl, but when I print, it OCRs my writing well. Transfer to and from the Mac is very good and simple. The interface is easy to use (when you figure it out), and desirable to use in a no-nonsense fashion.
My biggest nitpick has to do with that there are two writing modes, Notes and Word. Each presents a different method for editing and writing text. Bottom line, erasing mistakes is radically different between the modes. With Word, you use proofreading gestures. With Notes, you use a Paint paradigm. Notes manipulates pixels. You use a lasso tool, like in Photoshop, to erase and move pixels. The tool is intelligent, but still it requires acuity and dexterity. Since I must use the Notes interface (I'll elaborate if you ask why), erasing mistakes is not something I can do in very low light. Additionally, using the Notes interface, I am forced to click on a button less than a centimeter wide, again in very low light.
The problem here, and this is 100% due to my application, is that I need to see to click between the pen tool and the lasso tool when writing. Again, this is because I need to write in a dark room. Were there enough light, it wouldn't be a more than a mildly finicky interface.
So... I am returning the device during the 1 month trial period. I still highly recommend the device. It just won't work for my needs.
Why?
No backlight. I need a very dim backlight to use the device in the dark.
The solution:
The Kindle Scribe. I have already bought one and am using it. It has a fully adjustable, read dimmable, backlight. I can dim it to nearly 0%. I have already written a number of notes with it, and use the email notes interface to get my data to my Mac. The OCR works... completely sufficient for my task of writing in a dark room without waking my spouse in bed.
The writing interface has low latency, but the screen surface is nowhere as nice to write on as the Supernote is. The Supernote feels like a paper pad. The Kindle isn't as slippery as the iPad glass, but it certainly doesn't feel like paper. If I had a need to use the Supernote with plenty of light, I'd be loath to give it up, but alas, I don't.