I’m contemplating buying myself a Remarkable tablet. I’m gonna use it for note taking in my studies and daily notes. No drawing. Since I’m a student I have to consider it carefully before buying it, it ain’t cheap. I was considering buying the first version second hand, but the lifespan of that would probably be poor and I would just need to buy a new one too soon, waist of money. I have been reading a lot and seen a lot of reviews about it, but I would like to ask anyways. Are you very pleased with yours? How expensive is it (I’m then referring to all the other costs after buying the tablet itself)? Would you say it is worth it for my use? I’m a programming student and I ofc love tech, but also having all my notes in one place and being able to open them on my computer would be so practical for me.
You must log in or register to comment.
Programmer here. I had a version 1 when I was in school and used it a lot. I used it for lecture notes, book notes, writing down code when I was not near my computer or wanted to work without an IDE. Now that I am out of schools, I upgraded to a version 2 and it is much better in design, quality, and performance. I still use it almost daily for work and most evenings for reading.
I have the tablet, the book folio, typefolio, and upgraded pen. I think they are all worth it. However, I have heard about other pens you can get that are cheaper and work really well. So I would look into that before committing to the pen purchase.
A few things about the type folio since you are getting into programming, Not all of the buttons are available. It does not have the brackets or brace buttons that are on a normal keyboard. You can still add them when you need to by using the on screen keyboard to add them. The typefolio is also a bit hefty in weight. It alone weighs about the same as the tablet. I often switch to the book folio if I know I won’t be typing. But I would not recommend getting both. I got the typefolio when it came out but already had the other.
When I upgraded, I think I spent around $650 to get the initial set up and then the typefolio on top of that. There is a connect subscription as well that offers benefits. It is not required though.
I would definitely recommend it but I get that they are expensive. I would add stuff to your cart and see what the price is and look into the other pen options. I have 0 regrets with this purchase as a programmer.
Hi, I’m a current student and I would like to concur with the current response. I created a folder to house my college notes. Within that folder, I created a folder for each of my classes for the semester. I then created a customized notebook in adobe (I preferred to use a customized PDF vs. the templates notebook options but nothing wrong with creating a notebook from the templates as well). I was able to upload my syllabus and in the case of my Spanish class, the PDF version of the book.
If you need to upload your homework, just label your homework assignment pages and you can export just that group of pages to yourself as a PDF and upload them.
I use the tag function. You need to figure out your system. For instance, you can create a tag on a page for the unit say unit 1 and one for the topic. On the page you can create a system to mark the key concept if your like and even add a tag for that for that specific page. So when you sort you can create an effective way to even sort by unit and topic depending on how you tag the page (you just need to be creative and think through your organization system while you wait on your device).
I would recommend the $2.99 a month for connect so you have access via your phone and computer. Due to the price, I recommend first consider EBay, Mercari, or Poshmark if you think you want the whole system and of course you can get third party accessories and pens/marker/stylus from Amazon and or their sources (i just like all OME stuff). Just make sure you review the pictures, description, look for what appears to be a crack on the screen, ratings and conditions of the product.
Be gentle with your device and pen if you get the marker plus. I’ve had my device since 2021 and I’ve never lost my pen, dropped it on the floor or lost it in a bag. I do recommend finding a pouch to put it in when traveling as you would do for an iPad.
Absolutely love it for personal journaling, project planner, team meetings, finance planner, I have all my exercise tracker and put my exercises on a word document with the picture, saved it as a PDF and added it to that folder.
There are some other devices that may do a little more like hyperlinks within PDF and files and I actually have those devices as well but I prefer the RM2 even with all their functionality because I enjoy the simplicity of the device folder system, the writing experience and it’s not tablet/ipad/galaxy experience and just a true notebook experience. I don’t program but since you write code there are some resources that you can leverage to assist you with adding hacks and other things to help you customize for your needs as a developer.
Lastly, Wholehearted Me on YouTube has some dedicated video you can review just to familiarize yourself with the device while you waiting for delivery. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5WMPTuyG788EVvDJlk1zOmJnOmSKWZm_&si=P9LKT3zmMEClM7yH
This one with the Type folio may get pretty high but if you want it or you can always watch and get it later. I own each folio and type folio for cheap just by being patient, setting up a notification because somebody will sell something for cheap: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134819965564?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=MaQ9rFQaQGe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=MHUPGHn-Qa6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Thank u for an in-depth reply and all the links! I think I’m leaning towards buying one myself.
Being a cs graduate, I would ask that you reconsider the remarkable, and instead get a light laptop with long battery life since that will be your main tool for the programming classes. I am not saying not to get a remarkable for college, but I just don’t see you using it much for those programming classes.
I think he’s considering it for notetaking. I have a laptop and an iPad Pro 12.9. I use mine in conjunction with my laptop replacing paper notebooks that I would otherwise have to purchase on an ongoing basis for my classes. \\\\\\\
I understand that he is considering it for note taking, but from personal experience, there was no point in taking notes for the programming classes since powerpoints are always provided, and most of the time even the full recording of the actual class. We then get multiple office hours and group TA sessions for discussions (during which multiple handouts will also be given).
Most of the materials are less about memorization, but more of understanding, which gets solved during those office hours and group discussion time, which is why I do not think that he would be using the remarkable much during those programming classes.
If he was taking other science/math/humanities class, then yeah the remarkable would be absolutely perfect. Since sometimes the proofs will be written on the whiteboard/ an impromptu question gets answered. But you don’t get those in programming classes.
But if he has been actively taking tons of notes during those programming classes, then yeah the remarkable would be as good of a fit as any other note taking tool.
Makes sense from that perspective. I have put my PowerPoints on my remarkable and take notes on the ppt. kinda of reminds me of this video https://youtu.be/FD5qeuCnXbw?si=8Weu8RBX11_AZwix. You would know better than me as it pertains to programming. The beauty of it is he can expand his use extend his ROI beyond programming classes by having the remarkable. I use it for so many more things besides classes.
Yeah, as u/Unlikey_Hedgehog_55 said, I already have a Mac and everything else I need (I’m already almost 1.5 years in). I’m just tired of these notebooks…
Then yeah, the remarkable is great as a notebook alternative. I have yet to see any wear and tear on mine after using it for awhile, so you can prob get it 2nd hand as a bundle for ~300 / get a new one with a noris jumbo.
Thx, I will look around for a second hand in nice shape, I think
https://www.ebay.com/itm/276186622122?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=M0h4qemDQXi&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=MHUPGHn-Qa6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY. You can see if you can make an offer and see if they take it if you are interested. It just came up.
Wow thanks for the help! I will definitely do that!
Also Etsy have templates that you may be able to download and put on your remarkable: https://www.etsy.com/au/people/yungsnoho/favorites/school-programming
I like the idea of the Remarkable but no way this bullshit is with $400. Just buy an iPad with which you can take notes and do 1,000 other tasks as well for the same price.
I actually had an iPad, but sold it, don’t need one, not a big fan. I like android better, but I’m not in a hurry to buy a new «regular» tablet.
And my iPad had a way higher price than the remarkable, but ofc there are iPads in other price ranges.
I’m contemplating getting an rM2 for my daughter, a first-year university student. She has a MacBook Air: does that make a difference (eg compared to a Windows laptop)? Are there any Windows or Mac dependencies, or any iCloud integration? Many thanks…
It’s been a long time since I was a student. It was before technology was available, so we were on pen and paper.
Even then, I knew I couldn’t retain information nearly as well without hand writing it. So, having something like a Remarkable would have saved a great deal of space in my book bags.
I’m essentially a professional public speaker now, and I love having everything right in front of me. What I like the best is being able to have text that I can hand-write on top of. So, I can write what I am going to say on my laptop, transfer it to my Remarkable, and as I read through it all a few times, I can scribble notes, scratch out some edits, and mark dramatic pauses and emphases.
Whether it will be worth it for you is a question only you can answer. It’s a premium price tag, but I personally feel it’s value equals its cost. I have the monthly subscription ($3 I believe) so I can easily transfer to and from my Remarkable. Again, that’s for you to decide if it’s necessary.
I’ve just recently started adding the New York Times to it so I can read on the go. I find myself enjoying reading the paper on my Remarkable more than on my phone. I can retain the information better on the Remarkable for some reason.
Thanks for a good reply, I think I’m leaning towards getting myself one
You’re welcome. There are some frustrations with the device sometimes but as I’ve seen the best advice is don’t expect an iPad, expect a digital notebook (as you stated) and that should limit some of the frustrations and you can code the rest away, lol.
Why are you “you’re welcome”ing OP for my reply?
I’m also a student and funnily enough also studying programming, well computer science but I use it a lot mainly for maths and breaking down concepts as well as general note taking and planning. All I can say is it’s been the most invaluable technology purchase I’ve ever made, it helped put me through my higher GCSES and now I’m in university. Obviously I’m not saying it played that big a role but it really helped me. It’s super easy to use as well. I also have the type folio because sometimes in lectures it’s just easier to keep up, and my handwriting isn’t the neatest. It also helps that you can send emails from it directly as long as it’s connected to wifi.
Great to hear! I’m definitely getting one!
Software dev here and i use the remarkable every day. Like a lot of folks said, I handwrite notes and tasks so that i absorb/renember them better, which I dont get when typing notes. Its also very nice for drawing abstract concepts and then emailing them to the team easily. Occasionally, Ive shared my screen on Teams and screen cast my remarkable to my desktop so that i can draw while speaking to REALLY drive home complex architecture discussions, etc. Its a fantastic tool, imo, for software dev - especially for remote work teams without an office. So its usefulness wont end with your studies. Good luck!
Worth noting that it is perfectly possible to get the cost of your device back through referrals. There’s a pinned mega thread in this sub for people requesting one which really helps.
