MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - New 13.3" Onyx Boox. Rumours, prototype specs, first pictures

iacchi · 08-30-2016, 08:15 PM

I can't make a video right now, but here are some impressions:

I use the device mainly to read scientific literature (and the odd ebook when I'm at work with dead times

). Here are the answers to your points:

Yes
PDF reading experience is good for me so far. I haven't managed to make it automatically trim white margins in the papers, but there's a function that lets you zoom in with a custom portion of the window and it takes 20 seconds to manually trim all the white margins. I have no idea what Xodo is. Koreader works fine as well, although I prefer NEO reader. Reflow? What is reflow? This is a freaking 13" screen!
To read scientific literature, ghosting is a bit high (IMO) if you don't fully refresh the page every turn, that's why my NEO reader is set this way at the moment. When that is set, no ghosting at all (like, actually zero). The battery lasts a long time regardless and you can afford recharging this device more often anyway. For ebooks it's ok though. The page turn speed is slower than your usual ebook reader (I've only had 6" readers before) but the page is much bigger and so understandable I think. The time is still totally fine for me.
Quality of the hardware is pretty good, nothing to say on that regard. It also weights more or less as my 6" Boox reader!
Pros: if you need a 13" eInk screen, I think you know the pros already.
Cons: possibly some of this are temporary, I don't know if they will be permanent.
- Android is lagging a bit behind (it's ICS) and not all applications that work with ICS can be installed on the Max for some reason. Also, don't expect the speed of a modern, mid-to-high end smartphone.
- I own a TTRSS instance and I wanted to read my newsfeed on the Max, but TTRSS-Reader can't seem to fetch the RSSs. It can detect my subscriptions, but it loads indefinitely while fetching the content.
- Even after doing screen alignment, the pen is not perfectly aligned with the screen but it writes 1-2 mm to the left of where you put the tip. (I will actually report this sometime...) Depending on how you incline the pen, this problem is less pronounced.
- The partitioning of the system is not great and you can't install too many apps. I would have preferred more space for the data partition and less for the SD, considering that you can also install an external SD card if you wish.
- The library also displays weird items, like zip files.
- Surfing the internet on an eInk display is a bit weird.
- Sometimes, when you're turning a PDF page, the page won't turn. If you turn in the other direction and then go forward again, everything works fine.

All in all: does it fit my needs: yes. Would I buy it again: yes. I wouldn't have minded a bit better hardware, but I don't know if I would like a capacitive touch screen: when you write with the stylus you really need to put your hand on the screen and all sorts of weird things would happen at that point I guess with a capacitive touch screen, unless it can be disabled when the pen is working.

If you have any other question that I can answer, I'll be happy to oblige.

08-30-2016, 08:15 PM	#622
iacchi Zealot Posts: 122 Karma: 66 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Melbourne Device: PRS-500; Boox C67ML; Boox Max	I can't make a video right now, but here are some impressions: I use the device mainly to read scientific literature (and the odd ebook when I'm at work with dead times ). Here are the answers to your points: Yes PDF reading experience is good for me so far. I haven't managed to make it automatically trim white margins in the papers, but there's a function that lets you zoom in with a custom portion of the window and it takes 20 seconds to manually trim all the white margins. I have no idea what Xodo is. Koreader works fine as well, although I prefer NEO reader. Reflow? What is reflow? This is a freaking 13" screen! To read scientific literature, ghosting is a bit high (IMO) if you don't fully refresh the page every turn, that's why my NEO reader is set this way at the moment. When that is set, no ghosting at all (like, actually zero). The battery lasts a long time regardless and you can afford recharging this device more often anyway. For ebooks it's ok though. The page turn speed is slower than your usual ebook reader (I've only had 6" readers before) but the page is much bigger and so understandable I think. The time is still totally fine for me. Quality of the hardware is pretty good, nothing to say on that regard. It also weights more or less as my 6" Boox reader! Pros: if you need a 13" eInk screen, I think you know the pros already. Cons: possibly some of this are temporary, I don't know if they will be permanent. Android is lagging a bit behind (it's ICS) and not all applications that work with ICS can be installed on the Max for some reason. Also, don't expect the speed of a modern, mid-to-high end smartphone. I own a TTRSS instance and I wanted to read my newsfeed on the Max, but TTRSS-Reader can't seem to fetch the RSSs. It can detect my subscriptions, but it loads indefinitely while fetching the content. Even after doing screen alignment, the pen is not perfectly aligned with the screen but it writes 1-2 mm to the left of where you put the tip. (I will actually report this sometime...) Depending on how you incline the pen, this problem is less pronounced. The partitioning of the system is not great and you can't install too many apps. I would have preferred more space for the data partition and less for the SD, considering that you can also install an external SD card if you wish. The library also displays weird items, like zip files. Surfing the internet on an eInk display is a bit weird. Sometimes, when you're turning a PDF page, the page won't turn. If you turn in the other direction and then go forward again, everything works fine. All in all: does it fit my needs: yes. Would I buy it again: yes. I wouldn't have minded a bit better hardware, but I don't know if I would like a capacitive touch screen: when you write with the stylus you really need to put your hand on the screen and all sorts of weird things would happen at that point I guess with a capacitive touch screen, unless it can be disabled when the pen is working. If you have any other question that I can answer, I'll be happy to oblige.