Battle of the Giants 2 - Onyx vs. The World Comparison

[machinogodzilla]

Welcome to the second edition (first one is here) of my summary of large ereaders available these days.

It looks like Onyx is coming under pressure on all fronts with Sony having resurrected its DPT-RP1 and a as of now not yet released reMarkable, a very interesting newcomer.

The (estimated) Price Delivered is for folks like me who are in Europe and have to foot various taxes and duties.

I hope you find it useful and give me a shout if you spot any mistakes or I missed some device!

X-Large:

                 Onyx Boox Max
                 Carta Edition   Good E-reader   Sony DPT-S1   Sony DPT-RP1
                 --------------- --------------- ------------- ---------------
Price            $795[1]         $700[b]         $600[d]       $700[f]
Price Delivered  $935[4][a]      ?               ?             $950[5]
Weight           556g            350g            357g[e]       349g[g]
Size             13.3"           13.3"           13.3"         13.3"
Type             Carta           Mobius[b]       ?             ?
Resolution       1650x2200       1200x1600       1200x1600     1650x2200
PPI              207             150             150           207
RAM              1GB             512MB           1GB           2GB[h]
Memory           16GB            4GB             4GB           16GB
CPU              1-core 1GHz     1-core 1GHz     1-core 1GHz   4-core 1.2GHz
SD Slot          yes             yes             yes           no
Wi-Fi            yes             yes             yes[12]       sort of[13]
Bluetooth        yes             no              no            yes
Encryption       no              no              yes           yes
Formats          any             any             pdf           pdf
Touch            pen             touch+pen[8][c] touch+pen     touch+pen[9]
Battery          4100mAh         1270mAh         1270mAh       ?
Android          yes             yes             no            no

Large:

                 reMarkable      Onyx N96
                 --------------- ---------------
Price            $750[2][i]      $428[3][m]
Price Delivered  $900[6]         $510[7]
Weight           350g            480g
Size             10.3"           9.7"
Type             Carta           Pearl
Resolution       1404x1872       825x1200
PPI              226             150
RAM              512MB           1GB[n]
Memory           8GB             16GB
CPU              1-core 1Ghz[j]  1-core 1GHz
SD Slot          no              yes
Wi-Fi            yes             yes
Bluetooth        no              yes
Encryption       maybe[k]        no
Formats          pdf,epub[l]     any
Touch            touch+pen[10]   touch+pen[11]
Battery          3000mAh         3000mAh
Android          no              yes

Notes:

1. 669 EUR, EUR>USD exchange rate on 4/08/2017: 1.19
2. 2017-09-18. Included are tablet, stylus, extra pen nibs. Shipping - add 29 EUR. Cover - add 79 EUR. Extra 8 nibs - add 12 EUR.
3. 360 EUR, includes "protective sleeve".
4. 796 EUR
5. Details of Duties & Tax:
- VAT: $153.75
- Duties: $27.27
- Disbursement: $11.00
- Carrier Surcharge: $15.00
- Total: $207.02
6. Estimated Duties & Tax based on DPT-RP1 figures.
7. 428 EUR
8. 1024 pressure levels
9. Requires charging, approx. 30hrs per charge, no pressure sensitivity.
10. No battery, special high-friction pen tip, tilt detection, 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity.
11. N96 ML: pen+light; N96 CML: touch+light; N96: touch+pen
12. WebDAV, see the manual for details.
13. Only for transferring between ereader and PC (Windows or Mac). See here.

Sources:

a. http://ereader-store.de/en/77-onyx-boox-max-carta.html
b. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/1...oid-e-reader#/
c. https://goodereader.com/blog/electro...-inch-e-reader
d. http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/201...w-599-200-off/
e. https://www.sony.com/electronics/dig...specifications
f. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...1_digital.html
g. https://www.sony.com/electronics/dig...specifications
h. http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/201...id-apps-video/
i. https://remarkable.com/store
j. https://the-digital-reader.com/2017/...ly-buzz-press/
k. https://support.remarkable.com/hc/en...he-reMarkable-
l. https://support.remarkable.com/hc/en...he-reMarkable-
m. http://ereader-store.de/en/onyx-boox...ual-touch.html
n. http://www.onyx-international.com.cn...ucts/n96-n96ml

[rickyzhang]

If you know Chinese and don't care about the warranty like me, I just paid $650 USD for Max Carta (including DHL shipping to US and a leather case)

There is no authorized retailer in US. So I just buy it in directly in China tmall. It cost around 4K RMB.

When exporting product from China to oversea, the Chinese government will return VAT to manufacture (around 17%). Because US has not VAT nor charge custom tax. I supposed to get the 4K RMB price 17% cheaper if I go through proper custom channel.

Anyway, learn Chinese and go get one in tmall if you don't care warranty.

It cost me RMB 4080 =$607 + shipping
https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?sp...41a91dee4f037e

[mdp]

Originally Posted by machinogodzilla

It looks like Onyx is coming under pressure

From your table, it looks like it isn't at all : D It looks like a "fixed match" - is that a Guy Ritchie movie?

Anyway, one saddening error: the Max Carta does not have touch. Sorrowful. And, probably you should disambiguate, the Max[Provisional] being a past product.

[Randy11]

Hello Machinogodzilla,

You forget to write that the last pen for the Sony DPT-RP1 has a battery ! In my case, it's not a good news.

[machinogodzilla]

Thanks for your feedback! I updated the table with sources of the information and a few little tweaks.

Do you know any place where Good E-reader can be purchased from?

Originally Posted by rickyzhang

If you know Chinese and don't care about the warranty like me, I just paid $650 USD for Max Carta (including DHL shipping to US and a leather case)

I had to send one of my devices back once under the warranty so I wouldn't personally recommend skimping on this bit to save relatively little money. Unless you like a gamble...

Originally Posted by mdp

Anyway, one saddening error: the Max Carta does not have touch. Sorrowful. And, probably you should disambiguate, the Max[Provisional] being a past product.

I (hopefully) made it clearer now which Max I'm referring to.

As for the lack of touch, the problem is when they say "touch" it can mean anything. For example, here it says:

Physical buttons combined with touch screen.

How would someone not knowing the device interpret that? Are you saying this means it can only be operated with a stylus?

Originally Posted by Randy11

You forget to write that the last pen for the Sony DPT-RP1 has a battery ! In my case, it's not a good news.

This is already in the footnotes Randy

[JSWolf]

Do not try to purchase anything from GoodEReader. GoodEReader is very unreliable.

[SnowRipple]

Max Carta does not have touch, only pen - otherwise great work!

I am wondering: does remarkable will have frontlight?

[machinogodzilla]

Thanks SnowRipple, updated the chart.

Nope, no frontlight for reMarkable. They say backlight but they mean no light of any sort.

[kawedel]

Lack of touch is the only reason I don't own a Max Carta. When they add it, I'll buy it. Hoping for the Max Carta 2, but who knows?

[j.p.s]

The Sony DPT-RP1 does not have wifi in the sense most people would expect. It is only used for communication between the device and Sony's application on a desktop computer.

[viceant]

Originally Posted by rickyzhang

Anyway, learn Chinese and go get one in tmall if you don't care warranty.

It cost me RMB 4080 =$607 + shipping
https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?sp...41a91dee4f037e

when we achieve the apropiate chinese level, there will be a much more advanced device...

[leselysten]

The price you list for the reMarkable is for a bundle of tablet, stylus, cover and 10 extra pen nibs. The Amazon price for the comparable bundle for Sony DPT-RP1 ordered from Amazon is USD 700 for tablet and stylus, USD 60 for cover and USD 20 for 10 extra nibs. A total of USD 780.

[rickyzhang]

Originally Posted by viceant

when we achieve the apropiate chinese level, there will be a much more advanced device...

LOL. Use Google translate.

[machinogodzilla]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

The Sony DPT-RP1 does not have wifi in the sense most people would expect. It is only used for communication between the device and Sony's application on a desktop computer.

Thanks, that's quite an important (and disappointing) detail. No direct syncing with cloud services? I would've thought this would be quite high on the list of requirements of businesses Sony is trying to sell to...

Originally Posted by leselysten

The price you list for the reMarkable is for a bundle of tablet, stylus, cover and 10 extra pen nibs.

True but you cannot pre-order just the reader and I'm pretty sure you can get a cheaper cover for Sony. What sort of cover is that for $60?

By the way, reMarkable said they would offer a pack of 8 nibs at $10.

[leselysten]

Originally Posted by machinogodzilla

reMarkable said[/url] they would offer a pack of 8 nibs at $10.

Yes, one of those packs is included in the preorder bundle. In addition there is one nib on the pen, and another spare nib inside the pen, for a total of 10 nibs in the preorder bundle.