review – Do you have an iPad or Android tablet for taking notes for meetings or school? A tablet is a great tool, but some may find it counterproductive due to distractions from apps, social media, etc. For those who prefer digital to analog, I have a possible solution for you. This is the Supernote A5 X digital notebook. let’s see.
What is it?
The Supernote A5 X is an e-ink tablet available in two sizes: A6 or A5.
What’s in the box?
- Super Note A5 X
- electronic medical record stylus
- USB-C charging cable
- folio cover
- Quick Start Guide
Hardware Specifications
Super Notes:
Operating system – Chauvet handwriting middleware based on Android
Processor – PX30 Quad Core Cortex-A35
Memory and Storage – 2 GB RAM, 32 GB storage
Display – 10.3-inch flexible E Ink Mobius display, 1404×1872, 226 PPI
Screen Protector – FeelWrite Soft Film (pre-installed)
Battery – 3800mAh
Ports and Charging – USB Type-C 2.0, DC 5V 2A
Wireless and Bluetooth – Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0
Dimensions and Weight – 178 x 245mm, 375g
Stylus:
Wacom G14 Technology
4096 level pen pressure
battery free
Design and Features
At first glance, you might mistake the Supernote A5 X digital notebook for a large Kindle or other e-reader device because of its e-ink display. Interestingly, you can install the Kindle app and turn Supernote into an ebook reader.
With this device, the display is flush with the frame around it. The frame has a bit of a “chin” because of the location of the charging port.
The display itself is black on white or black on grey (monochrome). But unlike some (most?) ebook readers, the Supernote doesn’t have a backlit display, so you can’t take notes in the dark.
You’ll notice a vertical line on the right side of the display. This is a touch-enabled slider that activates on-screen menus.More about this at see it in action section below.
The back of the Supernote A5 X digital notebook has a guide groove along the edge that allows you to install a folio cover.
The folio cover has a narrow L-shaped plastic guide that slides into a guide slot on the back of the Supernote.
With the folio installed, it gives you a noticeable screen protector when you’re not taking notes, but it also has a pen slot for your Supernote stylus.
In the image above, you can also see the top edge of the Supernote, where the power button is.
The Supernote A5 X digital notebook has a USB-C port on the bottom edge. This port is used to charge the laptop’s battery and transfer data.
The stylus that comes with the Supernote A5 X digital notebook feels like a premium pen. It has a good weight and balance.
When used for taking notes, the lid with the pocket clip sticks to the back of the stylus.
The tip of the EMR stylus looks like a fine tip pen, but this pen has no ink. This stylus doesn’t require you to charge it either! yeah!
With such a small stylus tip, you might wonder if the Supernote comes with an extra tip. I’m sorry to say it didn’t. However, you can buy new “refills” for $34 on Supernote’s website. You can even make your own DIY stylus if you don’t like the look/feel of a standard stylus. Supernote also sells 2 other styluses that are compatible with its digital notebooks.
Note the spring in the center of the “refill”. This provides a good writing experience, just like the shock absorbers on your car.
Let’s take some notes!
As with most gadgets, the first step you need to do before using the Supernote A5 X digital notebook is to charge it. While charging, the small green status LED in the upper right corner of the device will light up.
Opening the cover of the folio will automatically open/wake Supernote so that it is ready to accept input/writing from the stylus.
At the top of the digital notebook are icons that you can tap to perform various functions, such as writing, erasing, selecting, adding layers, undoing, and redoing.
Supernote has a folder structure, so you can keep your notes, Word files, PDFs, eBooks, and more in named folders for organization.
By default, documents will have filenames with date and time. But you can go in and rename the file to make it easier to identify the title/name.
You can sync all your documents and notes to the Supernote cloud or Dropbox, but this is not automatic. You have to sync them manually, which I’m guessing they do to save battery life, but it seems like a better solution would be to sync them automatically every hour or so.
Your notes can be on a completely blank page or you can use a template. Several templates are included on the device, including a line page, a task list page, a grid page, a dot grid page, a musician page, a calendar page, and more.you can also Download other templates Used for various note-taking options. I show how the template works in the video linked below.
Taking notes with the included handwritten notes is not like writing on paper with a pen. It feels similar to using the Apple Pencil on the iPad. The display is stiff, as is the stylus tip, so it feels like writing on glass rather than paper. For me, I don’t feel like I have enough control over my writing compared to writing on regular paper with a regular pen. My writing is sloppy.
I’m also having issues with the palm rejection feature. As a left-handed, my palm often hits the top icon, which annoyingly kicks me back into folder view when I’m writing something.Fortunately, you can move the toolbar from the top of the screen (if you remember to do so forward you start writing class).
see it in action
Extra features
In addition to the primary function of using Supernote to take notes instead of paper, you can also install the Kindle app on this device, use it as a calendar for your Google or Outlook account, and use it for email. Of those features, the only one of these extras I’ve really been able to use is the Kindle app, and the experience isn’t great. Browsing books is very slow.
I can’t get my email or Google Calendar to sync with this device, and honestly, I’ll probably be pulling my hair out trying to use this device for those tasks. I consider myself a power user of Gmail and Google Calendar, and if using those services on Supernote feels like the note-taking experience on this device, I’ll stick with my phone or MacBook.
what do I like
- no distractions
- The stylus does not need to be charged
- no lag writing
- long battery life
what would i change
- Too expensive for what it can do
- sluggish performance
- palm rejection needs work
- need backlight
final thoughts
I really want to like Supernote because I dream of combining my love of analog with digital when it comes to journaling and note-taking. The interface feels too slow and clunky to me. I know a lot of people just love Supernote, but unfortunately I don’t seem to belong to that group (yet). The device itself is well-made and has excellent battery life. It’s just that the user experience wasn’t good enough, fast enough, or smooth enough for me to make me want to switch from my tried and true real paper and pen to this digital note-taking system.
It’s important to know that as a company, Supernote is committed to improving this device, not launching an entirely new device. They listen to their customers and release OS updates to include new features and improvements.
I liked testing Supernote, and while it didn’t turn me into digital notes, I’m sure it will at some point in the future.
price: $499.00 (with folio cover)
where to buy: Super Notes
source: Samples for this review provided by Super Notes.
