Amazon Kindle Scribe – limited handwriting to text conversion

Finally, Amazon has done it – after rolling out a series of minor updates to Kindle Scribe over the past few months, Amazon has released two potentially game-changing ones. Starting today, you can now actually convert handwriting to typed text on your Kindle Scribe and write on pages.

Truth be told, the new functions are very limited in their capabilities. The good news, however, is that Amazon plans to roll out more updates throughout the year – so hopefully it will get better.

For now, however, you can only convert your handwriting to typed text when you export notebooks. Located in the “Share” menu, Amazon now gives users the option to select “Convert to text and quick send”. There’s also a “Convert to text and email” option, which lets you preview and edit notebooks converted to text before sharing them with up to five email addresses.

In contrast, Kobo’s new Ellipse 2E also lets you convert your handwriting from a notebook. And, based on my initial beta testing of the new Scribe feature, it also converts handwriting more accurately.

You can also now write directly on select pages of books, guided journals, word games, and more purchased through Amazon. Again, this is limited to Kindle titles with “Writing Books” or “Writing on the Page” listed as a supported feature. In contrast, the Kobo Ellipse 2E lets you write on any e-book.

There are other less exciting but still significant updates that Amazon announced today. For example, you can now switch between portrait and landscape mode on PDFs uploaded via Send to Kindle. Other new PDF updates include the ability to crop margins, highlight with a pen or fingers, add text notes, and look up words in a dictionary or via Wikipedia.

Finally, Amazon has added a new lasso selection tool, which lets you circle handwritten text and resize or move it within a notebook, sticker, or PDF. You can also copy and paste selected content into notebooks, stickers and PDFs.

While Kindle Scribe still has a long way to go – please let us sync Kindle Scribe notes with Kindle apps on other devices, Amazon – I’m glad Amazon is rolling out these updates. A few weeks ago, the Kindle Scribe couldn’t hold a candle to rivals like the Kobo Ellipsa 2E and Remarkable 2. However, with today’s announcement, the future is starting to look bright for Amazon’s first note-taking e-reader.

Source: TheVerge