I own several of these Amoretti writing tablets in various sizes and I continue to be a fan of them. They come the closest to the device I really want – basically a barebones digital notepad. (I would love to have something that only captures written notes/lists, preferably with a backlight and the ability to erase selectively. I don't need a full e-ink tablet for this, I just want to capture info that doesn't need to live on a smart device forever.) To be clear, this device doesn't quite do that, but the case adds a lot of usability.
You're still only able to erase the entire page at a time, but the cover makes it much easier to avoid accidentally marking up the page between page refreshes. The annoyance of the page getting marked up and messy before I was ready to erase was always annoying to me on the earlier devices. I couldn't really use it like a to-do list around the house because inevitably the page would pick up extra marks just in handling and become hard to read before I checked everything off the list. Instead I had multiple that lived in various places – and in this way they work great, kinda like an infinitely reusable sticky note that's less cluttery and messy. I've been carrying this new writing tablet around for 2 days and the case is perfect – just enough structure to prevent unwanted marks, but it's still so thin! The built-in stand works fine too, but I tend to use these devices orientated long-ways, so that particular feature won't be used much by me.
I liked the idea of the magnetic stylus mount on the previous versions, but the magnet was weak and the stylus fell off easily, and one of the magnets fell out of one of my styluses altogether. (The company was nice enough to send me a replacement device when I asked about replacing the stylus, but I'd still love for a 3-pack of the styluses in the old style to be available. Heck, they should sell extras of this new one too.) Integrating the stylus holder on the case feels like a more secure solution, but these things are small and can be easily misplaced.
The stylus is different compared to the earlier versions. There's no side magnet, and there's a little plastic tab on the end to keep the stylus from falling out of the holder. The new stylus has a magnet on the bottom (where an eraser would be) and you can use it to hit the reset button on the front of the device (it only works by a magnet touching it, and the erase lock has to be set to unlock.) It's kinda fun and feels faster and easier than using the back button. If you have the device sitting on a desk you don't have to pick it up to erase. It's a small feature, but it shows they are trying to think of ways to make this simple device even better.
These style of writing tablets have built-in limitations just because of what they are. It seems unlikely they will ever offer one that writes in a more pleasing white or light gray color, and I'm guessing there's no practical way to add a backlight. That would require a bigger battery and bulkier device. I guess you could use a cheap book light with it. I do wish I had a solution so I could jot stuff down in bed at night without turning on a light. But overall, I actually really appreciate the simplicity of this device. It ships with an extra battery which is really nice, and the battery lasts a good long time. I have yet to replace the batteries in any of my other devices. (It's a watch style battery.)
The biggest improvement here is obviously the case, and I love it. It hardly adds any bulk, but it does offer a lot of utility. I would definitely pick up this case version in other sizes, please off them in the smallest size next! With the cover, I could actually keep the smallest version in my purse or bag. So often I wish I could do a napkin sketch on something better than, well a napkin, when out and about. Tiny notebooks are bulkier than this and eventually just get torn up in your bag. But something like this would be ideal.
My only criticism is that on mine, the lock button at the bottom doesn't slide and "click" into one orientation very smoothly. I have to really make sure it's in the right spot. Overall though, this was a great buy and I will definitely pick up more if they offer these in the smaller sizes as well!
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