Review of the Note

[downeaster59]

Is the Note for you? Or should you move along and look elsewhere? Here, I share my experiences in the hope that they will help your own decision-making.

Let's begin.

Suppose that you could have only one e-Ink device. Which one should it be? The search can feel as though you were in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

The more common six and seven inch display devices are very portable, affordable and excellent for reading eBooks. But they are too small to read pdfs comfortably. Large devices like the Max and Max 2 are great for pdfs and use as a second monitor, but too large and awkward for eBook reading - and are more expensive. Devices from Amazon and Kobo are great for their own content, but do not allow you to add apps of your choice. Too small, too large, or too limited.

What if there were a device that was large enough to read pdfs comfortably, yet light enough for eBook reading, and which allowed you to install the reader apps of your choice? Might such a device feel... just right?

Enter the Onyx Boox Note 10.3.

The Note is, essentially, a smaller version of the Max 2, with basically the same hardware as the Max 2. Its display size places it right in between the 9.7 inch iPad and the 10.5 inch iPad Pro, yet the Note is lighter than either. The Note is large enough to allow you to view pdfs comfortably. Yet, it remains light enough to allow you to read eBooks comfortably as well. Using an app like Splashtop, you can view your desktop/laptop display on the Note and you can interact with it through the Note. The next best thing to an e-Ink desktop/laptop. Since the Note's firmware is based on Android 6.0, you can install your favorite Android reading apps, or other apps that are reading-oriented.

The Note features a quad-core processor and 2 gb of RAM. That won't matter much for eBook reading, but it yields a noticeable performance improvement in some apps I use, such as the Logos Bible Study app. The Note has 32 gb of internal storage, so there is plenty of room for eBooks, pdfs and other files. One can easily transfer books and other files between the Note and a PC/Mac, so the 32 gb is not a big deal. There is no sd card slot, however. That's not an issue for me, but it may be a deal-breaker for some.

The Note offers some capabilities that few e-Ink devices have. It has two speakers. Sound quality is so-so. Because the Note has Bluetooth, Bluetooth headphones are the way to go here. As you'd expect with a name like Note, it has a stylus (WACOM technology) and offers a native Note app for writing. I have not used the Note app very much, but it has worked well for me when I have used it. Be aware that other users have found significant lags using third party writing apps like OneNote. You can also use the stylus to interact with the touchscreen instead of your finger - start apps, turn pages, and the like.

The Note does not have a frontlight. It is not for dark places. In general, where you can read a paper book comfortably, you can read on the Note comfortably.

The Note plays nicely with Calibre and Calibre Companion. AlReader and the latest KOReader betas work very well. The native NeoReader 2.0 app shouldn't be overlooked. It handles ePub, pdf and even azw formats well (provided that they are DRM-free, of course).

Battery life is acceptable, if not outstanding. I am getting about 8-10 hours of battery life per charge thus far. That's without doing any significant tweaking, or turning off WiFi when reading. Turning off WiFi when not needed should extend battery life.

My Note also came with a protective case: black, hard plastic, with a slot to hold the stylus. It will put the Note into sleep mode when you close the cover, and wake the Note when you open it - at least, most of the time.

If you're new to e-Ink, please note the following. Though you can, in principle, install almost any Android app on the Note, not every app will look nice on e-Ink. Some color schemes will not look good at all in grayscale. Some menus and pop-up windows will be totally white or black - in other words, illegible. The Note can run videos, but it's not pretty. What this boils down to is that, despite the improved hardware, the Note can't fully replace, say, a Galaxy Tab S2 or an iPad. However, the Note remains a quantum leap above older e-Ink devices in its capabilities. You can use Word, Outlook, Instapaper, Gmail, Pocket, and similar apps that are text-oriented.

At approximately $550 US, the Note is not cheap. Its price is comparable to an iPad or a Galaxy Tab of similar size. The Note may not have all the capabilities of these other devices, but it has more of them than previous e-Ink devices could offer.

Onyx appears to have made significant improvements in quality control in recent years. The Note seems to be well-made, and I have not yet experienced any significant bugs, glitches or hardware issues. My first Onyx experience was with the T68 when it was first released. Not a pretty story.

One more consideration: is e-Ink easier on your eyes than some form of LED display? If so, seriously consider the Note if you do a lot of eBook/pdf reading. If not, move along and consider an LED device.

I hope that this review will be of help to you. Other Note owners may have differing experiences or perspectives. As always, YMMV. But this has been mine thus far.

I can say that the Note is, easily, the best e-Ink device I have ever used, in terms of my own uses and needs. As long as you understand the strengths and weaknesses of E-Ink, I can recommend the Note without hesitation.

Feel free to ask questions if you wish.

[doandongnguyen]

What about the built quality?
I am wondering that it is like some previous devices like M96 which are poor in quality.

Of course this is an e-reader, I do not expect some “extra” features. Could you give me your opinion about taking note?

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by doandongnguyen

What about the built quality?
I am wondering that it is like some previous devices like M96 which are poor in quality.

Of course this is an e-reader, I do not expect some “extra” features. Could you give me your opinion about taking note?

Build quality: I bought the T68 when it was first released. I had to send it back for a major display problem. Then I had to send back the one I was sent to replace the first one. The third one I got finally worked properly. I'd call that poor build quality. As for my Note, it has worked very well so far. I'd say that the build quality is very good. I've never had a M96 so I can't compare.

Note-taking: I only need this ability once in a while, so I haven't used it very much. But, whenever I have taken notes, writing has felt smooth and natural, and I have seen no lag. Anyone else who has used the note feature more than I have can say more about it.

[doandongnguyen]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

Build quality: I'd say that the build quality is very good. I've never had a M96 so I can't compare.

Note-taking: I only need this ability once in a while, so I haven't used it very much. But, whenever I have taken notes, writing has felt smooth and natural, and I have seen no lag. Anyone else who has used the note feature more than I have can say more about it.

Thank you very much for the info.

One more thing I would like to know. When you read or take note for a while (may be 20 min to 30 min), does the note get any lag? This means the software is okie or not? Any bugs?

[rpvreviews]

Can you attach a front light and is it easy. I have an eye issue and under a tablelamp is where i read books. i was wondering if we can attach a small portable led under it .. is it possible

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

Suppose that you could have only one e-Ink device. Which one should it be? The search can feel as though you were in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Enjoyed your literary reference/comparison.

Originally Posted by downeaster59

The Note can run videos, but it's not pretty. What this boils down to is that, despite the improved hardware, the Note can't fully replace, say, a Galaxy Tab S2 or an iPad.

Just curious. Were you watching the videos in regular mode or A2 mode?

In regular mode, the experience is painful. In A2 mode, I have found it passable in a pinch.

Would not want to watch full length action films on it, but watching news clips or lectures isn't too bad.

Of course, not as smooth or as pleasurable as on a tablet so, as you say, the Note won't fully replace a tablet if you need to do much video viewing. But I did find it was possible in A2 mode which could be useful if you needed to travel light.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by rpvreviews

Can you attach a front light and is it easy. I have an eye issue and under a tablelamp is where i read books. i was wondering if we can attach a small portable led under it .. is it possible

Yup, not a problem although I guess it would depend on the light.

When I first received my Note, it didn't have the cover, and I found that a clip on light tended to slip off if I moved the Note around. I tried it with two different clip on lights. They just couldn't get enough of a grip on the small bezels at the top and the sides.

However, now that I have the case for the Note, it provides more of a grip for the clip on light so that is no longer an issue.

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by doandongnguyen

Thank you very much for the info.

One more thing I would like to know. When you read or take note for a while (may be 20 min to 30 min), does the note get any lag? This means the software is okie or not? Any bugs?

I don't see any lag when reading. I haven't taken notes for that length of time - I only do a little now and then - so I don't know about any lag when taking notes for 30 minutes.

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Enjoyed your literary reference/comparison.



Just curious. Were you watching the videos in regular mode or A2 mode?

In regular mode, the experience is painful. In A2 mode, I have found it passable in a pinch.

Would not want to watch full length action films on it, but watching news clips or lectures isn't too bad.

Of course, not as smooth or as pleasurable as on a tablet so, as you say, the Note won't fully replace a tablet if you need to do much video viewing. But I did find it was possible in A2 mode which could be useful if you needed to travel light.

Oh yes, it's possible in A2 mode. I didn't mention that because I haven't actually tried A2 mode for videos, and because I don't need to use the Note for videos at all. But it's possible, if you aren't TOO demanding!

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by doandongnguyen

One more thing I would like to know. When you read or take note for a while (may be 20 min to 30 min), does the note get any lag? This means the software is okie or not? Any bugs?

I don't take many notes. However, I do a substantial amount of reading, making frequent use of the dictionaries which I have installed.

Have never noticed any lag when reading for lengthy periods.

However, the native Neoreader2 app has crashed on me a number of times. The other thing which I have experienced is that the multi-document function on the Neoreader2 app will sometimes mysteriously disappear. Not sure if this is because I make very heavy use of the lookup dictionaries I have installed or because I am reading in Chinese.

Because books load quite quickly, the crashing hasn't been much of a problem as it is easy just to go back into the ebook in question. Similarly, temporarily losing the multi-document setting also hassn't been a huge deal for me as it is easy to hop back to the home screen and open up another book if I perchance wanted to check something as I often do.

[MadAstra]

Question Mark and downeaster59,

Thank you for the detailed answers. I’m very interested in this device for reading PDFs and for annotating them. Can you tell me the following:

1) Is it easy to see the annotations (notes, highlights, underlines) on your Mac or PC afterwards? The device is useless to me if the annotations are only viewable on the Note itself. I have to be able to see them when exported.

2) The reports of the default reader app frequently crashing concern me. Does it save notes and annotations constantly so that a crash will not lose more than page’s worth of work? If that’s not the case, I think I’ll have to stay away.

3) I’ve read conflicting reports about how easy it is to get PDFs on and off the Note from a Mac. Do I need to install a special program to do this? Is it fairly user-friendly?

Thank you so much!

[doandongnguyen]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

I don't take many notes. However, I do a substantial amount of reading, making frequent use of the dictionaries which I have installed.

Because books load quite quickly, the crashing hasn't been much of a problem as it is easy just to go back into the ebook in question. Similarly, temporarily losing the multi-document setting also hassn't been a huge deal for me as it is easy to hop back to the home screen and open up another book if I perchance wanted to check something as I often do.

Yeah. It seems to be ok then.
I am considering to buy a large screen ereader. I have to read a lot of books and articles. Besides, I want to take note, a lot of notes, mindmaps, etc

Now I reduce the choices to: sony dpt rp1, onyx max 2, onyx note and remarkable.

Remarkable seems to be incompleted, lack of features, outdated hardware

Onyx note is in considering.

Max 2: big, screen is easy to be scratched, many features that I do not need. I want something to be minimalist.

Sony is a good choice, though it is inconceivable when reading books.

I do not need much features. I just need something durable, light, read and side note.

[mikij1]

Thanks for your opinion.
If this device had micro-sd and light I would surely buy it...

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by MadAstra

Question Mark and downeaster59,

Thank you for the detailed answers. I’m very interested in this device for reading PDFs and for annotating them. Can you tell me the following:

1) Is it easy to see the annotations (notes, highlights, underlines) on your Mac or PC afterwards? The device is useless to me if the annotations are only viewable on the Note itself. I have to be able to see them when exported.

2) The reports of the default reader app frequently crashing concern me. Does it save notes and annotations constantly so that a crash will not lose more than page’s worth of work? If that’s not the case, I think I’ll have to stay away.

3) I’ve read conflicting reports about how easy it is to get PDFs on and off the Note from a Mac. Do I need to install a special program to do this? Is it fairly user-friendly?

Thank you so much!

I haven't worked much with annotations, so someone else will have to help you with that. However, I have a Mac. You can download and install an app called Android File Transfer. It's free. Once installed, it will automatically start up when you connect the Note to your Mac, and show you the folders on the Note. You can then easily transfer files between the Mac and the Note.

I have not experienced the problems with NeoReader crashing that others report. Could the crashes be caused by frequent use of annotations? I can't say. We are told that another firmware update is in the works. That might fix some of these issues.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by MadAstra

1) Is it easy to see the annotations (notes, highlights, underlines) on your Mac or PC afterwards? The device is useless to me if the annotations are only viewable on the Note itself. I have to be able to see them when exported.

Yes, annotations made to PDF files can be easily exported as PDFs and viewed on other devices. Check out post #9 and #11 by gimble on the following thread. In post #11, gimble has uploadedtwo PDF files: one shows the document before annotations, the other shows it after it has been annotated with highlights, scribbles and side notes:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=296167

Originally Posted by MadAstra

2) The reports of the default reader app frequently crashing concern me. Does it save notes and annotations constantly so that a crash will not lose more than page’s worth of work? If that’s not the case, I think I’ll have to stay away.

I wouldn't say that it frequently crashes, just that it has, on more than one occasion which might be due to the book itself or my frequent use of lookup dictionaries. It certainly doesn't do it every time I read. But it does do it occasionally so it is something to be aware of.

I have no idea what would happen if I were taking notes/making annotations when/if such a crash occurred. Hopefully, I will never find out.