I have T-Mobile’s satellite messaging on my Pixel, but it is surprisingly inconvenient - Related to lows!, flaw, have, awesome…but, keeps

Annotations on the Kindle Scribe are awesome…but there’s a glaring flaw

Since its original launch in 2022, the Kindle Scribe has always been the odd man out in the Kindle line-up. It’s way larger than most Kindles, for one, but it also allows you to write notes using a stylus, a feature that fundamentally changes how a Kindle might fit into your life. In late 2024, the Scribe got its first hardware refresh, making it faster than ever. It also received an upgrade that enhanced the Active Canvas feature, letting you make notes in existing documents and e-books.

Before this Active Canvas enhancement, your notes in an e-book or document would be separate from the rest of the existing text. Now, though, they can appear right in the text itself, replicating the experience of actually writing directly onto the page of a real-life book. What’s more is that you can connect a note to a piece of text in the document, so that note will always be in the proper place, regardless of how you might change the font size or page layout.

Overall, this is a terrific feature that elevates the Scribe to new levels of usefulness. When I heard about it, I imagined myself reading a organization press release and taking notes right on the page about things I want to test, mention in a review, or ask the PR rep for more clarity. After Amazon sent me a second-gen Scribe to try it out, I excitedly loaded a PDF onto it and tried to take some notes.

Unfortunately, the Active Canvas feature doesn’t support PDFs transferred with a USB cable. You also can’t download PDFs from the Scribe’s web browser. This sent me down a rabbit hole of trying to figure out what you can actually do with Active Canvas, and I have to say I am disappointed at how confusing and limiting it is.

Kindle Scribe Active Canvas: Powerful…when it works.

To test out a fully-featured Active Canvas session, I downloaded an e-book directly from Amazon’s store. There’s no way to tell what the format of that book is on the Scribe itself, but I figured if any e-book is going to work with Active Canvas, it would be one directly from Amazon.

Sure enough, when I opened the book, I found little tools all over the page. The collapsible toolbar on the left side (see photo below) displays various things I can do with the stylus, including making it work like a standard pen, a highlighter, an eraser, and more. I can also create new sticky notes, insert a new canvas, undo/redo actions, etc.

To no one's surprise, Active Canvas works great for the e-books you get directly from Amazon.

With the pen tool activated, I don’t need to manually create a new canvas when I want to make a note. I can literally just start writing on the page anywhere that I please. When I’m finished, I can confirm that note, and it will become a square of text that is resizable but is also always connected to the place I made it. If I alter the book’s layout in any way, I won’t need to worry about finding that note because it will always be right next to that specific paragraph.

If I want to write lengthier notes, I can hit the margin icon at the upper right in the photo above. This opens up a writing space where I can write as much as I want, which might be more convenient than scribbling all over the page in certain situations. Once I save it, it will go into a list of notes I’ve made in this book. I can move the order of the notes around quickly or erase the ones I don’t want anymore.

It's so nice just to start writing on the page without needing to create a sticky note or canvas first.

Everything I did here was very intuitive. The ability to just start writing on the page is a game-changer for sure, as it makes doing so much more similar to how it was way back in the day when I would do this in physical school books.

The problem, though, is that I can’t imagine too many situations in which I would want to do this in a book I downloaded from Amazon. What would be helpful would be having this ability with PDFs and other types of documents that either have been sent to me, or I’ve created myself. Unfortunately, that’s where the usability of Active Canvas falls apart.

A mess of format support ruins the experience.

I am a huge fan of Calibre, the free and open-source software that allows you to organize your e-book library exactly how you want, regardless of where you sourced your books. It allows you to, for example, buy an e-book from the Google Play Store, convert it to a different format, and then move it to your Kindle. Calibre is also really useful if you invested in buying an e-reader and e-books from an Amazon competitor — say Kobo, for example — and want to move your library of Kobo e-books to your new Kindle. On top of that, Calibre makes it dead simple to send non-book documents and files to your Kindle both through a USB cable or wirelessly and ensures they are converted to the proper format before getting there.

If you use Calibre, get ready to be extremely frustrated with the Kindle Scribe's Active Canvas feature.

When I first got the Kindle Scribe, I used Calibre to send over a ton of e-books, PDFs, and other files by connecting it to my PC with a USB-C cable. Before sending them, I converted all the e-books to the EPUB format, which is what Kindles tend to work best with. To my dismay, all the books and PDFs I opened didn’t have the two toolbar icons you saw in the previous section. I also couldn’t just start writing on the page as I did with the book I got from Amazon directly. In fact, I couldn’t make any notes at all — just read.

Confused, I messaged my Amazon contact about this, and here’s what they had to say: Active Canvas, including the margins feature, works on reflowable content, including EPUB and Word Documents. This didn’t make much sense to me, mainly because I had used Calibre to convert all my e-books to EPUB to avoid this situation specifically. Also, the fact that PDFs weren’t included in the statement was concerning, as that would be the primary file type I would want to work with Active Canvas. I pinged my colleague Rita El Khoury about it, and she enlightened me on how much of a mess support is on the Kindle Scribe. Check out this excerpt from her 2022 review of the original Scribe: You can’t directly download PDFs or EPUBs from the Scribe’s built-in browser. Only AZW, PRC, MOBI, or TXT extensions are supported. Other file types will have to be loaded using Send to Kindle. You can only scribble and directly annotate PDF documents. Any other format doesn’t allow this, but uses sticky notes instead. However, you can’t annotate PDFs loaded via USB-C or sent to your Kindle before 11/11/2022. Sticky notes with typed or handwritten notes can be added to most Kindle Store or imported e-books in any format except PDF. However, Kindle Store mangas, comics, graphic novels, magazines, and newspapers don’t allow that for some reason. If your head started spinning while reading that, don’t worry: mine did, too. However, this did explain why I couldn’t annotate anything I moved from Calibre to the Kindle Scribe: I did that with a USB cable, which isn’t supported for some arbitrary reason.

These limitations ruin the very concept of why I would want to use a Scribe. I don’t want to think about what file types the Scribe supports and how I need to use a specific method to get my files there. I want to move a file in whichever way is most convenient to me and start making notes on it. It should just work.

I understand that the Kindle is a loss leader for Amazon. The business might be losing money on every Kindle it sells, but it’s OK with that because it knows it will make up for that lost cash through Audible subscriptions and e-book sales. Therefore, Amazon has no vested interest in allowing people to sideload documents and have as good of an experience with them as they would content purchased directly from its online store.

That makes sense for a standard Kindle — such as the amazing Kindle Paperwhite ($[website] at Amazon), for example — because the sole reason you buy one is to read or listen to books. The Kindle Scribe ($[website] at Amazon), though, is different. Because it also doubles as a note-taking device, it moves from being strictly for reading to becoming a productivity tool — and an expensive one, at that, with a list price starting at $400 and going as high as $450. If Amazon purposefully makes it less useful for productivity, the very essence of the product is ruined. Unfortunately, that’s what the organization is doing.

A Kindle Scribe is just as much a productivity tool as it is an e-reader, but Amazon is purposefully nerfing the productivity side.

My partner is a scientist, and she also was very excited about the Scribe’s note-taking abilities. However, once she found out how limited it is, she balked. She can’t download scientific papers from the Amazon store, and Amazon won’t let her download PDFs from the web browser or even scribble on PDFs she sideloads. We were fully prepared to buy her a Scribe so she could stop using standard notepads, but we scratched that idea immediately.

The only potential good news here is that nothing is stopping Amazon from fixing this. It could remove all the arbitrary file format limitations described in the previous section or at least fix some of the most blatantly silly ones. A quick software update and poof: problem solved. Of course, my gut says that Amazon isn’t likely to do that, especially with the recent news that the company is removing the Download & Transfer via USB option from all Kindles, not just the 2024 models. It appears to want to make things even more closed down, not more open.

Regardless, if you were planning on buying a Kindle Scribe because you were under the impression that it allows you to scratch notes over anything you’re reading, it’s not that simple. You will need to have a specific document in a specific format obtained in a specific way for it to work as expected. That doesn’t mean the Kindle Scribe is a bad product, but it might not be the product you think it is. It certainly isn’t what I thought it was.

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024) Large display • Great battery life • Stylus support • AI note taking MSRP: $[website] E-reader with premium stylus E-readers are great for consuming books, an e-reader with a stylus becomes a powerful tool for classes or meetings. The Amazon Kindle Scribe 2024 is just that, a [website] anti-glare tablet with the Amazon Premium Pen stylus. Highlight your textbook, take notes, or just doodle for fun with up to 12 weeks of battery life. See price at Amazon New Amazon Kindle Scribe (2024).

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I have T-Mobile’s satellite messaging on my Pixel, but it is surprisingly inconvenient

Late last year, T-Mobile finally unveiled its satellite messaging service in partnership with Starlink, which is appropriately called T-Mobile Starlink. In development for years, this service allows you to send and receive text messages without any terrestrial network connection. Instead, your phone connects to non-terrestrial networks (or NTNs, also known as satellites). Previously, you could do this with specific devices but only to communicate with emergency services. With T-Mobile Starlink, though, you can message anyone for any reason.

Earlier this year, T-Mo finally opened up public beta testing for NTN communication. I was lucky enough to get into that beta, and I tested it out with my Google Pixel 9 Pro on a hike a few days ago. While the service does work — when you’re connected to a satellite, you can send and receive text messages — it’s not as convenient as it should be. Let me tell you about my experience!

Before I get into my experience, I need to explain how T-Mobile Starlink will work as it relates to “normal” connections with terrestrial towers. Typically, when you are using your smartphone, you are in one of three different states of connectivity: Connected to a tower with service: This is the ideal state. You are connected to a tower and can access the internet. Connected to a tower without service: This is less ideal. Your phone is “speaking” with a nearby tower, but you cannot access the internet, or access is so slow that it is unusable. Not connected to a tower: This is when you are so far out of range of any terrestrial tower that your phone has zero connectivity. Thus, you also cannot access the internet. NTN connectivity is designed to make that third state of connectivity irrelevant. If you are somewhere in the world and have no towers around you, your phone can still communicate with other phones if it has a clear view of the sky. This would be helpful for hikers, boaters, mountain climbers, off-the-grid livers, travelers, and more.

Unfortunately, T-Mobile’s NTN service — as it stands right now — is not a solution for the second state of connectivity. That’s where my experience on my recent hike comes in.

T-Mobile doesn’t let you control satellite connectivity.

For this test, my partner and I went to Point Reyes, a popular hiking area in California. If you take a look at T-Mobile’s coverage map for Point Reyes, you’ll see that a majority of it lacks service. We picked a hike that was mostly in a non-covered area, hoping that we would lose service quickly.

However, at no point during the hike did we enter the third state of connectivity described above — good for T-Mobile’s coverage but bad for my test. In order for NTN communication to “switch on,” you need to be completely disconnected from a tower, and that didn’t happen once on my entire seven-mile hike. I was either connected to a tower with service or connected to a tower without service, [website] I fluctuated between the first two states.

Since you can’t manually tell T-Mobile that you want to connect to Starlink, I found the whole idea of NTN communication useless. If I had been stranded on this hike — say, I fell and broke my leg — my phone’s ability to connect to satellites wouldn’t have mattered. My partner could have left me behind while she searched for a spot with tower service, but that negates the whole point of satellite connectivity being a thing.

If your phone can 'see' a tower but doesn't get any service from it, tough luck: You can't force connect to a satellite.

Obviously, T-Mobile doesn’t want to give you absolute control over when you’re connected to an NTN or a tower. If you could do that, people would inevitably abuse it, using satellites for all their texting purposes — and costing T-Mobile a pretty penny. However, T-Mobile could surely develop a system that allows you to connect to a satellite if you are in the second state of connectivity described in the previous section. Maybe, if your phone is connected to a tower but has unreliable service for more than five minutes, you have the option to switch to an NTN connection? That’s just an idea, but it would certainly be improved than how it is now.

Interestingly, on the drive home from the hike, I did randomly lose service. My phone notified me that I was connected to a satellite and could use it to send messages to anyone I liked. I sent a message, and it worked as expected, albeit with a significant delay. Of course, this would have been way more useful to me in the woods than it would be while in a moving vehicle in the middle of civilisation!

As it stands, I wouldn’t pay for T-Mobile’s satellite service.

T-Mobile has already confirmed that satellite communication will be available without cost to all eligible devices with a subscription to Go5G Next, its highest-tier plan. If you don’t have Go5G Next, it will cost you an additional $15 each month on top of your current plan’s price. You can save a bit by enrolling in the beta program. Doing so gives you “early adopter” status and slashes $5 from your monthly bill, bringing it down to $10 monthly.

Regardless of how much you pay for it, a T-Mobile Starlink subscription would be a waste of money for most of us as it currently stands — unless you know for sure that you spend a lot of time in an area with absolutely zero connectivity. Otherwise, why bother paying for a service in which T-Mobile decides how and when you can use it? This isn’t like a typical terrestrial connection. In my case, there was no reason I couldn’t have connected to Starlink while out on my hike. T-Mobile just didn’t let me do it.

Hopefully, by the time NTN messaging exits the beta phase, T-Mobile will have worked out a way for people to manually connect to satellites when tower connectivity is available but without service. That could be the difference between life and death for someone who gets hurt out in the wild. To a lesser degree, it could also simply make paying the monthly fee worthwhile.

Of course, if you find yourself in remote areas often, one of the best solutions for that is the Garmin inReach Mini 2 ($388 at Amazon), which is one of my life-changing pieces of tech. With that, it doesn’t matter where you are or how close a terrestrial network might be: As long as you have a view of the sky, you can text anyone, anywhere, for any reason — Garmin has no say in the matter. I never head out into the wilds without it!

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Apple AirTag 4-Pack price keeps dropping to new record lows!

The record-low price of the Apple AirTag 4-Pack was stuck at $[website] for a while. Things are changing, though. Just in recent times, we saw it drop to $[website], and today, it dropped to a new all-time low of $[website]! That’s a $[website] discount on the full $99 retail price. Get the Apple AirTag 4-Pack for just $[website] ($[website] off).

This offer is available from Amazon. We’re not sure how long the deal will last, but Best Buy has the same offer as a “Deal of the Day” sale, so there is a chance this discount will also be gone on Amazon tomorrow.

Apple AirTag 4-Pack Apple AirTag 4-Pack Apple's AirTags help you find valuables quickly and accurately with the Find My network. Apple AirTags are a simple solution for iPhone owners that helps them find lost stuff. If you're an Apple user, there's no advanced solution for keeping track of your priceless belongings. See price at Amazon Save $[website].

At just $[website], this is the best deal we’ve seen on the Apple AirTag 4-Pack so far. If you were thinking of stocking up on these, now is the time to do it. And if you’re an Apple user, it’s totally worth the investment.

We always focus more on fancy tech like smartphones, tablets, and such. While those are really cool, sometimes it is the accessories that make the real difference. In the case of Apple AirTags, these little trackers can save you from very stressful situations.

You can attach an Apple AirTag to your valuables, such as your purse, a wallet, your keys, etc. Then, you can use the Apple Find My app to track them. These have saved me from major headaches way too many times, honestly.

Again, we only recommend these to Apple customers. For starters, it requires the Find My app, which is only available for Apple products. You can’t even set them up without an Apple device. Android customers can interact with them, but only through the Tracker Detect app, which is really only meant to find AirTags that may be spying on you.

Those invested in the Apple ecosystem will love AirTags, though. You’ll easily find any valuables on a map. Once you are closer to them, you can also use UWB to pinpoint the exact location, or you can make the tracker beep to find it in between the couch cushions. Not only that, but your iPhone can notify you if you move away from one of these.

What has differentiated Apple AirTags from other trackers is that they are located using the Apple network. Essentially, any iPhone or iPad that gets close to an AirTag will analysis its location. Just think of how many people own iPhones!

I do wish these were rechargeable, but replacing the battery is not much of an issue, since battery life is estimated at around an entire year. You’ll also get a notification when an AirTag is running out of juice. And when it finally dies, CR2032 batteries are cheap and readily available at pretty much any general store.

Thankfully, you won’t have to use your Apple AirTags very often, but they will be lifesavers when you need them. They are worth every penny, especially when they are on sale for fewer pennies. Go get yours while you can!

If you really want other options, or are an Android user, check out our list of the best Apple AirTag alternatives. We have plenty of great options in there.

Extra deal: Stock up on AirTag batteries!

By the way, if you’re in need of batteries for your AirTags, here is an awesome deal on a pack of 10 Energizer ones. This would usually cost $[website], but you can currently get them this pack for just $[website].

You can just stock up on them for future use. I mean, if you get this Apple AirTag 4-Pack, those come with a battery already. These extra 10 units could keep all four AirTags running for over two more years. And don’t worry about storing them for too long — Energizer mentions that they can hold their charge for 12 years in storage!

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