Sony’s mammoth 13-inch Digital Paper tablet, essentially a huge Kindle you can write on, is still a pretty rare sight, but I’ve always had a soft spot for it. So I’m glad the company is doubling down on this unique device type and making some significant improvements with a new model.
The DPT-RP1 replaces the DPTS1 — catchy names, right? — and makes some changes that its users will certainly appreciate. The screen itself, built with E-Ink’s Mobius display tech, has been upped from 1200×1600 to 1650×2200, which should make text considerably clearer (206 DPI — pretty good). The increased resolution doesn’t seem to have affected the battery life, though: like other e-paper displays, it’s super-long, at least a week or two.
The touchscreen layer has been improved as well and the texture of the surface; e-paper displays aren’t very responsive, so anything that can be done to improve that experience is welcome. This has presumably enabled the new notetaking and annotation features the device has.
And of course the hardware itself has gotten a fresh coat of paint: it’s the same weight, but the design has been cleaned up and the bezels are slightly thinner.
New one on the left.
Gives it a nice minimal look, I think. You’ll just have to find another place to keep your stylus, though.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that these suckers are expensive. But at $700 the new Digital Paper tablet is still cheaper than its predecessor.
Convertible computers like the Surface series and upstart e-paper products like ReMarkable are looking to eat Sony’s lunch, though. We’ll try to get our hands on one of these things and tell you whether you should have a couple around the office.
