New Kindle Scribe is designed for writing – not just reading

Amazon has launched a new Kindle that’s unlike anything we’ve seen from the online retailer. Dubbed Kindle Scribe, the eReader lets you make handwritten notes in meetings, complete puzzles and exercises in digital books, and annotate documents using an all-new digital stylus.

With an upcoming software update due to roll-out early next year, you’ll also be able to send documents to the Kindle Scribe directly from Microsoft Office. Like all entries in the best-selling Kindle series, the battery life on the Kindle Scribe is measured in weeks – not hours, Amazon says.

To accommodate all of your handwritten notes, Amazon has expanded the size of the e-ink display to 10.2-inch. That’s easily the biggest display found on any Kindle eReader, comfortably beating the previous record of 6.8-inch (that we praised in our Kindle Paperwhite review). For those who prefer a large font size in their digital books or want to read graphic novels on a Kindle, the Kindle Scribe looks set to be the best option – regardless of the note-taking capabilities.

If you do want to make notes, Amazon includes a stylus in the box. The US company says it’s worked hard to ensure the stylus feels identical to a pen when used on the glass touchscreen. When making notes, Amazon has added a variety of line widths, a highlighter tool, eraser tools, and an undo tool in the Kindle software. Everything is accessible within a new on-display writing menu.

To accurately mimic real life, Amazon has also added an eraser on top of the pen, so flipping around the stylus and pressing it against the e-ink screen will undo your doodles. There’s also a customisable shortcut button, so you can switch between the pen and highlighter function, or open a new sticky note with a single tap.

Any notes made on the Kindle Scribe are automatically saved and backed up to the cloud for free. You’ll be able to access these notes from any phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop PC using a web browser. Annotations or signatures made on PDFs will be saved and accessible on all devices.

Kindle Scribe will be available in the USA and UK before the end of the year. There’s no word on UK pricing just yet, but it’ll cost $339 on the other side of the pond. Kindle Scribe will ship with four months of the Kindle Unlimited subscription for free.

Kindle Scribe is available with a choice of 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of built-in storage. The new 10.2-inch Kindle comes bundled with a battery-free Basic Pen, or you can pay extra for the Premium Pen, which includes the eraser and customisable shortcut button. To complement its new eReader, Amazon is launching a range of leather and fabric covers, which can be folded to support Kindle Scribe at different angles, which will be available soon.

Kindle Scribe is built with 100% recycled aluminium and 48% post-consumer recycled plastics. The packaging is also made from 100% recycled materials too.