Remarkable announces new e-paper tablet, starting at $399

Remarkable has announced the second generation of its “digital paper” tablet device, one that’s thinner, cheaper, faster, and comes with longer batter life.

Founded out of Oslo in 2013, Remarkable has so far been targeting writers and sketchers with a $500 low-latency tablet that replicates paper in digital form, minus all the usual internet-enabled distractions that come with a normal tablet. Using its own Linux-based operating system that is optimized for the 10.3″ e-paper display, the ReMarkable tablet strives to get as close as possible to the real paper experience, with the added advantage of being able to sync notes and doodles through companion mobile and desktop apps.

Users can annotate PDFs, create a document from scratch, and sync all their files and creations to the cloud, while the device also has a nifty feature that enables handwritten notes to be converted into typed text thanks to the wonders of optical character recognition (OCR). The original Remarkable tablet launched back in 2017, and five months after the Norwegian company closed a $15 million series A round of funding, it’s ready to lift the lid on Remarkable version 2.0.

The all-new Remarkable tablet is open for pre-orders now at $399, a full 25% less expensive than its predecessor — and for a limited time this price includes the marker (stylus) and folio sleeve, which normally start at $49 and $69 respectively.

Above: ReMarkable 2

At 0.19 in (4.7 mm) thick, the new Remarkable tablet is around 30% thinner than its predecessor, though it is fractionally heavier at 14.2 oz (405 g). It also ships with 8GB of internal storage, similar to the first incarnation, and comes with a faster 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM processor, and a 3,000 mAh batter that lasts for 90 days on standby.

“Remarkable 2 supports our design philosophy of helping people think better through powerful technology,” noted Remarkable CEO Magnus Wanberg. “Our latest tablet is paper-thin and our innovations in display technology make it so much like writing on paper that it’s hard to tell the difference.”

While much of the functionality contained within the ReMarkable tablet can more or less be replicated through other digital devices, including an iPad, its core selling point is that it is much more aligned with traditional note-taking in terms of “look and feel”, while also allowing users to tune out all the buzzes and blips from emails and messaging apps. At launch, the Remarkable 2 will also support a new Google Chrome extension that will allow users to clip articles from the web, and save them to their Remarkable account to read in a clean format.

“Today’s world is a frenzied place of ever-evolving technology that increasingly demands more of our time and attention,” Wanberg added. “Remarkable 2 is a step in a more human-friendly direction. It’s designed to help people think.”

In its original guise, Remarkable always felt more like a niche device given its price point — only serious writers and drawers would consider paying the $600 that it previously cost to procure the tablet and marker. Those who are quick off the mark can pay less than $400 for the next version, and even those who miss out on this deal will only pay around $450 for the bundle (not including the sleeve).

Remarkable 2 will start shipping in June, 2020.

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