Montblanc has a reputation for high-end writing instruments (and equally snooty product placement. The company’s new Digital Paper writing tablet wouldn’t look out of place in a modern Bond flick, or perhaps in a Wes Anderson film, but it would look even better on your desk.
Provided you can meet the luxury company’s price tag. The Digital Paper and its accompanying Digital Pen, which is based on Montblanc’s Meisterstück designs, will set technologically savvy users back roughly R16,000. The $905 price tag covers purchases from America, so expect some sales tax before it is shipped over.
Montblanc slate
Unlike Roger Moore’s Meisterstuck 146 Solitaire, the brand’s newest product won’t let you escape a villain’s clutches. It’ll let you blueprint your escape plans, however. Like the Kindle Scribe or the reMarkable tablet, the Digital Paper is all about jotting things down. Notes, sketches, caricatures of whoever is currently speaking in the weekly meeting — that bit’s up to you. The quality of the hardware you’re using is a matter of your bank account’s depth.
The company hasn’t gone all-in on its technical details. The Digital Paper is known to have basic document support, meaning marking up ePub and PDF files is possible. Storing said files, and any other notes you happen to take is possible via 64GB of internal storage. The aluminium frame, the paper-replicating slate itself (which likely uses a version of E Ink’s Carta technology, found in the newest Kindles, Kobos, and reMarkable devices), and the accompanying Digital Pen weigh in at a substantial 473 grams.
Montblanc’s writing instrument uses USB-C charging for its 3,740mAh battery and offers users 2.4GHz WiFi and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, though the latter is only used for the accompanying Digital Pen. The Pen itself magnetically docks on the side of the display and features “haptic engine, over 4,000 level pressure sensitivity, wireless charging, and interchangeable and replaceable tips.”
It’s perfectly okay to want one. We certainly do, though whether it’ll outdo the more affordable Kindle Scribe or even the Kobo Kibra Colour for performance and battery life remains to be seen. But then, that’s not why you’re buying one of these. Is it?
