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Over the past year or so, I have been getting more and more into minimalist devices (not just minimalist wallets, which I’m also known for). With that came a heavy interest in eInk devices! They are able to provide much of the same capabilities as normal phones or tablets, but they get rid of the blue light, and due to their general dullness and their low frame rates, it leaves you less “addicted” to the device. Basically, it gets the job done but doesn’t make you keep coming back to doom scroll.
Well, a while back, I had reviewed the Supernote Nomad (which you’ll find right here), and a brand I hadn’t heard of yet came to me, offering for me to check out their alternative to see how it stacked up to what I was used to! I was more than eager to keep trying devices like it, so the brand gave me this Penstar eNote 10.3″ to check out!
So, what do I like or not like over the past couple of months of using it? That’s what we are getting into with this article.
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What is the Penstar eNote 10.3?
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- Drawing on the screen is the best yet
- The price point is compelling
- The home screen is fantastic
- It comes with everything you need in the box (no upgrades)
- I like the large 10.3″ screen
- The software side of writing isn’t as good as it should be
- No multi-touch capabilities
- It doesn’t come with many built in applications (no Kindle)
What do I like about it
1. Drawing on the screen is the best yet

While I personally didn’t enjoy the feel of my other e-notebook (initially anyways), as it was a bit gummy, the eNote 10 immediately felt considerably better than the alternative. The texture of the screen and the way the pen wrote was so much more like a regular pencil on paper than anything else I have used. If the only thing you want out of a note-taking tablet is the feel of paper, you won’t go wrong with this one.
That said (as we’ll talk about in a moment), I’ve found the software side of writing is a bit to be desired.
2. The price point is compelling

At around $360 – depending on when you buy the tablet (Paid Link)., this note-taking tablet may seem expensive at first glance. However, when compared to other options like the SuperNote Nomad, you’ll notice it’s actually a decent deal. The eNote comes with the pen, and the folio comes, with no up-charge.
However, while its main competitor, the Nomad, may start out at a lower price of $299 if you want to get the folio (cover) and a pen (of which you should get both for the best experience), the cheapest you’ll be leaving your shopping cart is $496.00, leaving the Penstar the cheaper option (by quite a bit).
3. The home screen is fantastic

Many, many of these notebooks are lacking in one department. Ease of navigation throughout the device! While smartphones these days have refined the home screen to quickly get you anywhere in the device at a moment’s notice, these tablets are a couple of steps behind in that department.
However, the eNote 10 isn’t nearly as bad when it comes to this! The home screen (yes, it actually has a home screen) lays everything out in front of you in an easy-to-read and understandable format, and a click of a pen should get you into just about anything. Nothing is really hidden in other parts of the device or submenus to speak of. This leaves very little learning curve for usage!
4. It comes with everything you need in the box (no upgrades)

As mentioned earlier, this tablet comes with the pen and folio in the box (Paid Link)! There aren’t any upcharges, and there aren’t any options when you purchase it. It is what it is, and it comes with everything you need right out of the box. Of course, considering the device doesn’t offer multi-touch, the pen is 100% necessary for using the device, so there is that.
That said, I very much enjoy the pen! It’s much lighter weight than I’m used to, but by no means feels cheap; I would say it feels more like holding a pencil in weight rather than a pen (which is what competitors feel like).
As for the folio, it clips to the side of the device (it can be removed if you want) and feels as high quality as you would expect. The only downside I found to the folio is that it doesn’t wake the device whenever you peel back the cover, which is a bit disappointing, as it feels like it should.
5. I like the large 10.3″ screen

Since I was used to the smaller screen on the Nomad, upgrading to the 10.3″ (diagonally) screen of the eNote was a huge upgrade! It was very nice to have that extra screen real estate to write and draw without having to add quite as many extra pages. While I normally try to say a bit more about each thing I like… I don’t know what else to add here, as it’s just bigger and better.
What do I not like about it
1. The software side of writing isn’t as good as it should be

I had mentioned earlier that I VERY MUCH enjoy the writing feel of this tablet. The pen and the texture of the screen work nearly perfectly. However, what isn’t quite as perfect is the software behind the writing. I regularly noticed the screen lagging behind the pen. This means when you write, it doesn’t immediately show the “ink” on the screen. Instead, there is just a slight latency.
I don’t think this is a delay in processing power; rather, I think it is the screen lacking a higher refresh rate than the competition (how many times per second the screen updates). Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the specs for any of my note-taking tablets, but this one must be considerably lower than the others, as it is quite noticeable.
2. No multi-touch capabilities

While the refresh rate is something I could get past, especially for the price, I think one of the biggest drawbacks to this tablet is the lack of multi-touch support. The only way you can utilize the device is by using the included stylus pen or the mappable buttons on the side. That means you can’t swipe, poke, or pinch the screen to do exactly what you want it to do. It makes navigating the device without the pen difficult and clunky, and reading on the tablet is less than ideal (I jump back to my Nomad whenever I want to read a book).
I think this was a huge oversight in the development of this tablet. I have no doubt this was to get it to a certain price point, but I wish the cost had been taken from elsewhere, as it’s sorely missed in daily usage.
3. It doesn’t come with many built in applications (no Kindle app)

Most of these drawing tablets are built on the Android system (this one is based on Android 11). However, they each have their own overlay, making it unrecognizable to standard Android. They also tend to remove the Play Store from the device, which means the only way to add new applications is to side-load them, which not many people are willing to do (or know how).
Unfortunately, that means most people will purchase this device and use it exactly the way it is delivered to them. Because of that, you are left without a high-quality, dedicated art-inspired drawing application, and the thing that makes me second guess the device most, you don’t have easy access to the Kindle application. That means you can read only PDFs that you have imported onto the device, not the books you have purchased from Amazon (unlike its main competitor).
While I’m sure this concern is easily rectifiable by sideloading applications, I don’t think most people will be willing to figure out how to do that, leaving them with little software support.
Who is the Penstar eNote 10.3″ for?

The Penstar eNote 10.3″ is an awesome tablet; it really is! If your primary goal is to get a notetaking tablet because you are tired of real notebooks, this is an amazing option, especially for the price. It has everything you could want on that end of things!
However, if you are on the hunt for a flexible tablet that offers a bit more functionality (especially for reading), along with multi-touch support, you might want to steer clear of this one. It’s a great notetaking tablet, but there isn’t much more than that.
Where should you buy it?
I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
- Drawing on the screen is the best yet
- The price point is compelling
- The home screen is fantastic
- It comes with everything you need in the box (no upgrades)
- I like the large 10.3″ screen
- The software side of writing isn’t as good as it should be
- No multi-touch capabilities
- It doesn’t come with many built in applications (no Kindle)