M96 build quality?

chexmix · 10-11-2014, 08:52 AM

Hi --

As some of you know, I had a rather drawn out and wretched experience with the M92. I won't rehearse any of that here.

So it is with some measure of befuddlement that I find myself considering an M96. What the --? I'm not rich. I might be stupid (would I know?). I just so much prefer e-ink! Despite what any eyestrain study "proves" about e-ink vs. backlit, e-ink is easier on my aging eyes and makes for a much more pleasant reading experience. And for large format e-reading (which I need for my academic PDFs) the M96 seems to be the proverbial large frog in the e-ink pond.

And so I would appreciate it if someone with experience of both devices could comment on the build quality of the M96. It felt to me as though the M92 broke if I breathed hard at it, and I recall lots of posts re: b0rked M92 units here. I'm not seeing this re: the M96, but perhaps it is early, or I have missed the posts. I have seen one post that claimed the build quality was still poor, and I've seen an M96 review on Youtube where the reviewer claimed it was much much better (it sure as hell LOOKED IDENTICAL to the M92 in the video). So it's a confused picture.

I would feel better about purchasing an M96 if I could feel reasonably confident that it is a more robust piece of hardware than the M92. Because, you know, I will occasionally have to touch it.

Thanks,

/Glenn

odysey · 10-12-2014, 09:38 AM

I bought M96M (Zeus) in Russia this August. It's slightly different from M96 (no speaker or mini jack), but by and large I think it's the same model. Generally, in terms of user experience, it feels like an alien from another epoch when electronics was clunky and required special skills from the buyer.
A few things that particularly disappointed me:

Adobe Reader isn't working. I find this really bizarre, because it's the most common cross platform application for PDFs with lots of nice features (hyperlinks, cloud, signatures etc.). Even old Android 2.3 phones are capable of running it.
There is a bug with highlights and annotations in Neo Rader: they are not saved i.e. when I re-open a book, I can’t see the highlights and annotations made last time.
Dictionaries support seem to be limited to QuickDic and StarDict. I'm not sure how to install proper ones (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge, Longman etc.)

I heard that Adobe Reader wasn't working on M96 Universe either. It would be good to hear what other people here think about points 2 and 3 above.

joblack · 10-12-2014, 01:09 PM

Yes it's robust enough. I have always my M96 in my bag.

10-11-2014, 08:52 AM	#1
chexmix Zealot Posts: 140 Karma: 1000010 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Arlington, MA USA Device: Kindle 1, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014), Onyx Boox M96	M96 build quality? Hi -- As some of you know, I had a rather drawn out and wretched experience with the M92. I won't rehearse any of that here. So it is with some measure of befuddlement that I find myself considering an M96. What the --? I'm not rich. I might be stupid (would I know?). I just so much prefer e-ink! Despite what any eyestrain study "proves" about e-ink vs. backlit, e-ink is easier on my aging eyes and makes for a much more pleasant reading experience. And for large format e-reading (which I need for my academic PDFs) the M96 seems to be the proverbial large frog in the e-ink pond. And so I would appreciate it if someone with experience of both devices could comment on the build quality of the M96. It felt to me as though the M92 broke if I breathed hard at it, and I recall lots of posts re: b0rked M92 units here. I'm not seeing this re: the M96, but perhaps it is early, or I have missed the posts. I have seen one post that claimed the build quality was still poor, and I've seen an M96 review on Youtube where the reviewer claimed it was much much better (it sure as hell LOOKED IDENTICAL to the M92 in the video). So it's a confused picture. I would feel better about purchasing an M96 if I could feel reasonably confident that it is a more robust piece of hardware than the M92. Because, you know, I will occasionally have to touch it. Thanks, /Glenn

10-12-2014, 09:38 AM	#2
odysey Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2014 Device: Kindle 3, Onyx M96M	I bought M96M (Zeus) in Russia this August. It's slightly different from M96 (no speaker or mini jack), but by and large I think it's the same model. Generally, in terms of user experience, it feels like an alien from another epoch when electronics was clunky and required special skills from the buyer. A few things that particularly disappointed me: Adobe Reader isn't working. I find this really bizarre, because it's the most common cross platform application for PDFs with lots of nice features (hyperlinks, cloud, signatures etc.). Even old Android 2.3 phones are capable of running it. There is a bug with highlights and annotations in Neo Rader: they are not saved i.e. when I re-open a book, I can’t see the highlights and annotations made last time. Dictionaries support seem to be limited to QuickDic and StarDict. I'm not sure how to install proper ones (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge, Longman etc.) I heard that Adobe Reader wasn't working on M96 Universe either. It would be good to hear what other people here think about points 2 and 3 above. Last edited by odysey; 10-12-2014 at 09:41 AM.

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10-12-2014, 01:09 PM	#3
joblack Wizard Posts: 1,745 Karma: 4382514 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Somewhere on earth Device: Onyx Boox Tab X	Yes it's robust enough. I have always my M96 in my bag.

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