So, I purchased a Supernote A5X to see if I could write books and do my daily to-do’s .....here is a summary of my experiences.
The Supernote is a digital writing pad designed around writing on a surface that feels like paper with a digital pen. The total cost is approx $550 with a pen and portfolio cover. Primary competitors are Remarkable and Boox Note Air. There are lots of YouTube videos comparing all of these.
Type of user: Retired (70 yrs. old) IT guy with a bit of higher computer knowledge than most users. Primarily use all Apple products.
The purpose for buying: Writing, writing, writing – I am working on two different books and wanted a simple device to capture ideas freehand – like using a paper notepad. I also wanted a simple device to put my daily to-dos and meeting notes on – I will be using available internet templates for this. Reading books via the Kindle app is a plus.
Single-use dedicated device or a Swiss Army Knife?
I have a single-blade knife with a clip that attaches to my pocket – It is the best tool for cutting anything but doesn’t include a spoon, scissors, seven blades, a screwdriver, and a file! My experience is that multi-use devices are too complex with a result of the primary purpose being sacrificed to a lesser set of capabilities. Becoming all things to people is not good! I am tired of the endless requests to have the Supernote have a bunch of features that a serious writer does not need; internet browser, color screen, etc.…. . I don’t want distractions when writing – all these other apps take me away from writing, why would I want them?
Observations:
Bought the A5X (larger) size with a grey denim cover.
The unit took two weeks to arrive; the ordering process was very smooth.
The writing feel of the Supernote with the LAMY pen is excellent – I love writing on it.
I love the blank piece of paper look – all menus out of the way. You can use graph, lined, dots, etc as blank templates.
Email works but not sure I will ever need it. I probably shouldn’t have enabled it. You can limit it to just a few emails. Have never used it once.
The instant startup is excellent – open cover, and it is on. Battery lasts forever.
It has a phone app to sync files but not sure I will use it much.
Surprises:
The LAMY pen has a button on it that allows you to erase easily – great design. The button is hard to find but flat works – no flipping pen over.
The writing feel with Supernote and LAMY is excellent – I love writing on it.
I can use my own screensaver pics – a great option.
The company publishes a detailed roadmap on Reddit - how many companies do this anymore? They actually listen and respond to many comments on Reddit!
There are many publicly available templates for free that cover daily/weekly/yearly schedules, book/video, meeting notes, etc. There are some very nice complete calendar packages available for about $20-30 on Etsy. These include hyperlinks, so very easy to jump around- I stayed with a free daily calendar and meeting template. I also downloaded a book review template.
Disappointments:
File transfer to a MAC Air – had to use OpenMTP to transfer files – assumed you could plug in the Supernote (Android based) to my Mac Air and see the device in my finder. Wrong! That said, OpenMTP was free and is very easy to use.
I cannot annotate (freehand) on Kindle books – I had read this somewhere, so I was not unaware, but I like to mark up my books. Hoping the promised split-screen feature solves this for me (on the above-mentioned Roadmap).
Because of not being able to annotate on Kindle, I downloaded a few books in an epub format – took a long path to understand authorizing digital rights using Adobe Digital Editions. I didn’t expect to do this much extra work to get epubs.
The user’s manual is a work in process that was produced for writers to read! The same issue a Photographer has when her business card has a blurry photo. From my time spent in Asia, it seems like a translation has gone wrong. Various items in the Roadmap seems to be helping here.
I wanted to annotate on emails in my response – I see that is on the roadmap – great! This may get me to start using the email feature.
Still to figure out:
Syncing calendars have proven tricky/complicated – I have decided that I don’t want the distraction anyway and will use the calendar to log my writing progress instead.
Cannot attach Apple Keyboard via Bluetooth – Supernote doesn’t see it. I could try a USB cable but decided I want to write by hand and don’t need this. If I want the keyboard, I will use my Apple Air laptop.
Wish List:
App store should have templates for sale – easy to add to Supernote by users (versus file transfer), and both authors and Supernote can make a few bucks! Reviews would weed out the bad ones. Add unique screensaver drawings too.
Dictionary/Thesaurus app – charge money for the option.
Grammarly app – just not sure it is even remotely possible, but one of the best subscriptions I use. I am thinking about tools to help writers – this needs to be the impetus behind every roadmap item, IMHO.
Bibliography template.
My dear father is in Heaven laughing at the idiot son who bought a pad of paper and pen for $500! Opinions or questions are welcome.
Can't wait to read your books!
Haha, made me chuckle about Poppop laughing about you buying a $500 notepad 😉
Love to read your thoughts. They make me smile. 😄