Amazon launches the new Kindle Scribe, markets it as the ultimate AI notebook at $499.99

Amazon's latest offering has the potential to become a coffee shop staple for caffeine-fueled urban elites pouring over their e-notes instead of just e-books. The new Kindle Scribe, priced at $499.99 (Rs 44,365), is not just a library on the go; it is being marketed as the ultimate AI productivity tool. 

While not available in India yet, the first-generation Kindle Scribe made its debut in the USA back in 2022. In its latest launch, Amazon has announced a total of three new devices, including a standard Amazon Kindle Scribe model with a front light, a basic model without one, alongside a colour version.

The differentiation, however, doesn’t end here. The new Scribe features a paper-like, ultra-thin design, measuring just 5.4mm thick and weighing 400g, making it substantially lighter and slimmer than its predecessors. 

This sleek form factor also offers a larger 11-inch glare-free display and is powered by a new quad-core chip for more memory, resulting in a 40% faster experience for writing and page turns. 

“The larger 11-inch glare-free display mirrors the proportions of a sheet of paper and feels just like you’re writing on one—it’s the perfect size for reviewing full-sized documents, feels natural for notetaking, and is easy to take with you wherever you go,” reads the Amazon website. 

Some key hardware innovations include a re-architected display that minimises the parallax (the gap between the screen and the user's writing on the e-notes), “so it feels like writing directly on the page.” 

Additionally, the new texture-moulded glass is designed to enhance the pen-on-paper friction so that the pen does not slip off the Kindle while taking rigorous notes.

The highlight, according to Amazon, is its Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, which enables a colour writing experience using custom-built Colorsoft display technology. This innovation utilises a colour filter and nitride LEDs to produce soft, eye-friendly colour, a first for the Scribe, which previously was grayscale only. 

Also, for the first time, Colorsoft users can not only write and highlight in ten different colours, but also make colourful art using the new shading tool for artists.

New productivity features beyond the hardware include an AI-powered notebook search for instant summaries and answers to follow-up questions. Users will now also gain cloud access with support for Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Microsoft OneNote to export notes directly.

The new Kindle Scribe also introduces AI-powered reading features like "Ask this Book", which lets readers ask questions about the book's content, and "Story So Far", a feature that recaps the plot of the book up to the point one has finished reading. 

The new lineup starts at $429.99 for the Scribe without a front light, $499.99 for the standard Scribe, and $629.99 for the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. Availability begins later this year in the USA, with the new pen included and new folio covers also available.