I sold my NA3C and Got a RMPP...

I’m not entirely sure why I made the switch, but I did. After a few days of using the devices, here are my thoughts:

  1. I didn’t use the NA3C to its full potential. Most of my use was for notes and some light PDF annotation. Only after returning to the Remarkable ecosystem did I realise how basic the Remarkable software really is.

  2. The Remarkable software is overly simplistic. While I don’t expect it to match the Boox feature set, a stroke eraser and more than two pen presets would be welcome additions.

  3. I much prefer the size of the Remarkable Paper Tablet Plus (RMPP) to the NA3C. Fair play to RM here, they found a sweet spot in size. Lets not abandon the 10" space though. I can see where the RMPP may be a tad to big.

  4. The Remarkable app is basic but highly convenient. The PDF sync feature is impressively fast.

  5. As for screen resolution, I know people criticise Kaleido 3, but the RMPP resolution is noticeably poor compared to the NA3C for black-and-white use. While the NA3C’s screen may be darker, it is sharper for black-and-white work, and its colour rendering is adequate.

  6. Speaking of colour, the RMPP is better than the NA3C, but it’s inconsistent. Blue is fine, but yellow is overly vibrant, and red leans towards pink. I don't actually feel that it is groundbreaking compared to Boox, we’re just drawing lines here, after all.

  7. The RMPP is undeniably expensive, but so is Boox when you factor in the cost of accessories through Amazon, as Boox seems to be a terrible company for returns policies.

  8. I’ve grown accustomed to Boox’s screen refresh (BSR) speed. By comparison, the RMPP feels sluggish, really sluggish. I think my Max Lumi 2 could be a tad faster, I must check that. The NA3C refreshes like a champ, albeit at the cost of power.

  9. The writing feel on the RMPP is phenomenal. It is easily its standout feature.

  10. The RMPP frontlight is too dim out of the box. I had to use an SSH hack to adjust it to an almost usable brightness. However, I get the sense that f they had a Boox style light, the screen would wash out.

10.1 The people who get pedantic and aggressive about who says frontlight and who says backlight are sad people. I almost feel ashamed for correcting myself above. Get over it (this is from some posts a few weeks back where people were piling on others needlessly). Be nice. Now, back to me being pedantic about machines...

  1. The NA3C felt heavy when paired with its case, and the lack of rubber feet on the back meant it slid around when used without one. The NA3C was also too tall off the table to be comfortable for me, as when I put pressure on it to write, the case would slide and move around. The RMPP case is solid. So was the RM2, if I remember correctly.

Interim (and somewhat hasty) conclusions:

  1. Boox needs to refine its UI. The NA3C’s beta firmware was a great step in the right direction, but the notepad and NeoReader interfaces still feel unpolished. In contrast, the RMPP’s UI is fantastic in its simplicity, although it could use more features. Just copy the look!

  2. Navigation on the Boox required too many clicks to reach essential functions. To this day, I hate the fact there are two toolbars on Neoreader. The Remarkable software, by design, has fewer places to go, which I found refreshingly straightforward considering how little of the Boox feature set I actually used.

  3. Boox should take inspiration from Remarkable or Supernote for their covers. The RMPP burgundy folio type is excellent, while the NA3C’s case felt unnecessarily heavy and unwieldy.

  4. Boox must stick with EMR pens. The RM move to active pens seems unnecessary and counterproductive (money making).

  5. The RMPP screen is my preference overall. While Kaleido 3 screens are darker, the backlight (front!) colour tones on the NA3C felt sterile and harsh; more like old fluorescent lighting. Although I’m not a fan of warm light personally, I understand its appeal to those who benefit from it. The RMPP earns significant points for its well-balanced colour tones, with or without the backlight.

  6. PDF annotation on the RM platform is objectively poor, given there is no two-way cloud sync. I will never sell my Max Lumi 2 as that is the best eink investment I ever made. I will only replace it for a Note Max (if it is any good) or maybe a Tab X on discount.

  7. I MISS SCRIBBLE ERASE SO DAMN MUCH!

If you got this far, I hope you feel my pain with the scribble erase. This expensive experiment may end in the RMPP being returned and the NA4C being purchased...