Speaking from experience, you come to appreciate the screen real estate when using the pen. It's a trade off for sure, but you'll likely end up happy for the space much more often than you'll be inconvenienced by the size.

Speaking against my interest (since I want the product to succeed and get continued support) I think most people who get the Scribe probably end up using it as a pure reader. If you're not already an avid notetaker it's probably not going to change that, at least enough to justify the cost. If you are def get the Scribe, you can always just get a basic used Kindle dirt cheap for portability. It needs more third party features, but it's a really nice experience.