Rocketbook Pro Review: The Rocketbook Pro offers a delightful writing experience, and its app integration is effortless. It’s safe to say that this innovative device represents the future of pen and paper note-taking.
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Rocketbook Pro Review
I genuinely enjoyed discovering and using the Rocketbook Mini during last year’s hunt for the best gadgets to give as Christmas gifts.
So I jumped at the chance to try out Rocketbooks latest pad, the Pro, as it promised all of the functionality I had enjoyed with the Mini and some new features to make it even easier to digitise my handwritten notes.
At Rocketbook, we create reusable, cloud-connected note taking products from the future. Blast your handwritten notes and big ideas to your favorite cloud destinations with our free companion app, then erase your notebook pages with water to use again and again!
Rocketbook
Features //Rocketbook Pro Review
The Rocketbook Pro is a smart reusable notebook which lets you scan a page to a JPG, PDF or GIF. If you have multiple pages, turning on the bundle pages option creates a single PDF file of all your work.
Both Pro versions come in either A5 Executive or A4 Letter and have a vegan leather scratch-resistant hardcover finished in a choice of Sage Green, Black or Coast Blue.
For convenience, on the inside front cover is an embedded NFC chip. A quick tap with your smartphone as you pick it up to scan your work, and the Rocketbook book app is opened straight to your notifications screen, ready to go.
No matter which size of Pro notebook you purchase, they come with 20 pages of lined paper bonded by three metal loops that magnetically clip into the hardcover. Additional page packs, such as planners and To-Do lists, are sold separately.
At the bottom of every page are seven icons, or smart tags, that can be configured in the app. When marked with an ‘X’, the smart tag is recognised when the page is scanned and will assign your notes to the Cloud option you selected for the tag.
The Pro comes with an erasable Frixon pen, the only type that should be used with the Pro, and a small cloth to wipe the pages clean.
App, App and Away
Before you get started, setting up the free-to-download Rocketbook app (Android | Apple) will save you time and ensure you get the best possible experience from the Pro notebook.
After setting up an account, I found it straightforward to link my Cloud accounts and locations to each of the Smart-Tags found at the bottom of each page.
Once I’d assigned a Cloud location to each smart tag, I enabled auto-send. This lets me skip one final check before my notes are stored.
Writing Experience
There are only a few things I’d consider myself good at in life and many more I am useless at, and neat handwriting is one of the latter for me, sadly.
But I found the writing experience on the Rocketbok Pro changed this.
In fairness, this is likely to be true across its entire range, but before this review, I had only used the Rocketbook Mini for quick and short-form note-taking.
The combination of the polyester composite pages with the Frixon pen made for a very smooth and enjoyable writing experience.
Scan & Send
I found the app easy to navigate, and when it was time to transfer my handwritten notes, the app performed flawlessly.
Open the app on your smart device or tap the NFC chip corner, and select New Scan. Even on very light surfaces, the app and camera had no trouble identifying and capturing the pages.
If no smart tag has been selected, the pages are stored in the app and can be sent out from it with the regular share feature.
I used the Pro A4 Letter Notebook for several weeks as part of the review, and my biggest concern going into the review was that, over time, the pages would slowly stain and retain some of the ink.
The ink was quickly removed with just a few drops of water on the cleaning cloth, yet it never smudged when I was writing.
Downsides
I found only a couple of grumbling points while I was reviewing the Rocketbook Pro, which I want to call out, although none of them would stop me from considering buying one.
Firstly, there’s nowhere to attach the Pen or cleaning cloth. As a traveller, this means I need to check I have an additional two items. At a minimum, I’d expect the Pen to stay with the Pro notebook, as you can’t use any other type without ruining it.
There is a good selection of different insert packs (sold separately) available, but they cant be mixed and matched. If you’re reading this Rocketbook, we need a variety pack, please!
To finish on a positive, which is what the Pro deserves, this smart reusable notebook has been an incredibly positive experience for me. Not only do I feel good about the environmental benefits, but I also love the convenience and experience of using it.
If you haven’t tried using a reusable notebook yet, I highly recommend it!
Specifications //Rocketbook Pro Review
| Dimensions | A4 Letter A5 Executive |
| Weight | A4 Letter A5 Executive |
| Colour Options | Black Coast Blue Sage Green |
| Features | Smart titles NFC Connection Smart tags Swappable Page Packs |
| Page Packs sold separately | Monthly/Weekly Planner Daily/To-Do Lists Dot Grid Meeting Notes Lined |
| In the Pack | Rocketbook Pro Cleaning cloth Frixon Erasable Pen Manuals |
| Website | getrocketbook.co.uk |
Price //Rocketbook Pro Review
The Rocketbook Pro is priced at $55/£60 for the A5 Executive notebook and $60/£70 for the A4 notebook. Both are available at rocketbook.co.uk.
A selection of infills, or Pro Page packs, can be purchased starting from $22/£18, including To-Do lists, weekly planners, dot or lined pages and meeting notes.
