MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Boox Tab Ultra C impressions after a full day of use

rowe · 08-05-2023, 04:29 AM

TLDR; I really like it. In most ways it exceeds my expectations, in other ways it's disappointing. To me it seems like a breakthrough product, but there's lots of room for improvement.

The battery is good enough for me. It had about 70% charge when I received it after waking. After using it for most of the time till I went to bed it still had 20% left. I'm fine with charging my devices overnight.

I bought it via the Boox shop. It arrived within 24 hours. I would have preferred to use Amazon for their return policy, but it was both cheaper and came with a case ordered direct.

It's quite heavy. I very rarely hold a device this size while using though. 99% of the time while I'm using it I'll either be at my desk or sofa. At my desk I use heavy raised stand so it's at a comfortable height while being stable. On the sofa I put a cushion on my lap, with an iPad pillow stand on top. Both are very comfortable ways to use the Ultra C.

The screen finish is a nice satin. The right mix of reflection reduction and clarity for me.

I don't like the front light on this device. It gives me a headache so I don't plan on using it at all. I have abnormally sensitive vision, and imagine this won't be an issue for most people. Many other e-ink device front lights give me a headache, including the Boox Nova 2 / Poke Pro / Mira / old Kindles / Hisense A5 / Dasung Paperlike. Other ereader back lights I have no issue with e.g. Hisense Hi Reader Pro / Xiaomi InkPalm and leave them on most of the time. This isn't great on the Ultra C, especially as it has a lower contrast screen than B/W devices. But I'll only be using it in environments with good ambient lighting the vast majority of the time and it's not too dark for me. Reduced contrast can be good for eyestrain.

Boox should be embarrassed by the (non-keyboard) case. The surfaces feel nice (fake leather/suede) but using adhesive strips instead of magnets to keep it closed is ridiculous. It makes a slurping sound every time it's opened and these strips on Boox cases usually age poorly. Also the front sags when it's carried.

I braced myself for dead points (some say 'pixels') before it arrived. Large e-ink screens tend to have more dead points than smaller, and it seems to be even more common on colour screens. All three of my previous large e-ink screens have had dead points on arrival. This has the least. Just one that I only noticed by having a fully black screen with the light on full. I'm fine with that, and haven't noticed it at all in normal use.

I like playing board games, and my current obsession is Wingspan. I play the physical game sometimes, but was mainly playing on my iMac/iPad/iPhone depending on where I was. It gave me a headache and eye strain. This is ridiculous, but I impulse bought the Ultra C to play Wingspan on it (and the future board games I will get temporarily obsessed by). Stupidly, I didn't check the Google Play version is compatible with the old version of Android on the Ultra C - it isn't. Thankfully I found an .apk that seems to run as well as the latest store versions. I can now play my current favourite game with no eyestrain. Which is a joy. Unfortunately Wingspan has lots of unnecessary animations that can't be turned off, and the text isn't black. So I have to run it in 'balanced' mode that doesn't look as good, but it's fine for me.

I get lots of free magazines and newspapers from my local library via Pressreader. I used to view the print editions on a 13" Boox Max 3, but found I preferred reading them in single article view on my pocket Hisense Hi Reader Pro (via E-ink Bro instead of the app so the physical page turn buttons work). However, when the format is appropriate I'll now switch to print view on the Tab C as some magazines look amazing on it.

Print publications that looked great:

BBC History Magazine
BBC History Revealed
History of War
Mac Format
Macworld
Science Illustrated

Unfortunately many of my favourite print publications don't suit the Tab C screen (text isn't legible enough as too small, or isn't high contrast enough):

The Guardian/Observer (including supplements)
The Telegraph (including supplements)
Evening Standard (including supplements)
The Week
The Economist
BBC Wildlife
Mojo

Graphic novels look fantastic IMO. I've only tried with Tachiyomi. Needed some tweaking in the app, and the e-ink settings. After that using Regal on good sources white/black text is really sharp, ghosting is minimal, and the colours look great to me. The colours won't be accurate, but compared to black/white e-ink screens that also typically have a lower PPI at this size this is a really great experience.

I usually read a chapter or two of manga a day. It looks fine on the Tab-C, but I prefer smaller devices for manga and will be sticking with my Nova 2 for this.
The Ultra C really should have a volume rocker switch that doubles as a page turner. Really simple way to make it a much nicer reading device.

Nice it has a stylus, and it works pretty well. I find using tablets with a stylus more ergonomic, and it keeps the screen clean. Everything about it compares well with the old Boox Stylus (e.g. bundled with Nova 2/3 and Max 3), and poorly with the more premium Apple Pencil. This stylus occasionally needs more than one tap on buttons/links and the friction feel isn't as pleasant as the Apple Pencil on an iPad.

I read 2/3 books a week. Novels on an InkPalm, non-fiction on a Hi Reader Pro. No plans to switch this to the Ultra C as I prefer short line lengths on a small device for long form reading. There will be the occasional exception e.g. PDF books not optimised for small screens.

I try to keep my internet time down, but put the Reddit/Facebook apps on it and bookmarked a few favourite sites. They all worked fine for me. I try to avoid videos anyway, so being on a device that's more suited to text will help.
Work. I've tried to integrate e-reader devices into my workflow before and failed. I'm too used to OSX, and find other environments frustrating for work. I use a MacBook Pro in combination with a Mira e-ink monitor (I work on the design of GOV.UK).

Overall, despite several shortcomings I'm really pleased with it so far.

08-05-2023, 04:29 AM	#1
rowe Groupie Posts: 154 Karma: 5094360 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Hibreak Pro, Mira, Paperlike Colour	Boox Tab Ultra C impressions after a full day of use TLDR; I really like it. In most ways it exceeds my expectations, in other ways it's disappointing. To me it seems like a breakthrough product, but there's lots of room for improvement. The battery is good enough for me. It had about 70% charge when I received it after waking. After using it for most of the time till I went to bed it still had 20% left. I'm fine with charging my devices overnight. I bought it via the Boox shop. It arrived within 24 hours. I would have preferred to use Amazon for their return policy, but it was both cheaper and came with a case ordered direct. It's quite heavy. I very rarely hold a device this size while using though. 99% of the time while I'm using it I'll either be at my desk or sofa. At my desk I use heavy raised stand so it's at a comfortable height while being stable. On the sofa I put a cushion on my lap, with an iPad pillow stand on top. Both are very comfortable ways to use the Ultra C. The screen finish is a nice satin. The right mix of reflection reduction and clarity for me. I don't like the front light on this device. It gives me a headache so I don't plan on using it at all. I have abnormally sensitive vision, and imagine this won't be an issue for most people. Many other e-ink device front lights give me a headache, including the Boox Nova 2 / Poke Pro / Mira / old Kindles / Hisense A5 / Dasung Paperlike. Other ereader back lights I have no issue with e.g. Hisense Hi Reader Pro / Xiaomi InkPalm and leave them on most of the time. This isn't great on the Ultra C, especially as it has a lower contrast screen than B/W devices. But I'll only be using it in environments with good ambient lighting the vast majority of the time and it's not too dark for me. Reduced contrast can be good for eyestrain. Boox should be embarrassed by the (non-keyboard) case. The surfaces feel nice (fake leather/suede) but using adhesive strips instead of magnets to keep it closed is ridiculous. It makes a slurping sound every time it's opened and these strips on Boox cases usually age poorly. Also the front sags when it's carried. I braced myself for dead points (some say 'pixels') before it arrived. Large e-ink screens tend to have more dead points than smaller, and it seems to be even more common on colour screens. All three of my previous large e-ink screens have had dead points on arrival. This has the least. Just one that I only noticed by having a fully black screen with the light on full. I'm fine with that, and haven't noticed it at all in normal use. I like playing board games, and my current obsession is Wingspan. I play the physical game sometimes, but was mainly playing on my iMac/iPad/iPhone depending on where I was. It gave me a headache and eye strain. This is ridiculous, but I impulse bought the Ultra C to play Wingspan on it (and the future board games I will get temporarily obsessed by). Stupidly, I didn't check the Google Play version is compatible with the old version of Android on the Ultra C - it isn't. Thankfully I found an .apk that seems to run as well as the latest store versions. I can now play my current favourite game with no eyestrain. Which is a joy. Unfortunately Wingspan has lots of unnecessary animations that can't be turned off, and the text isn't black. So I have to run it in 'balanced' mode that doesn't look as good, but it's fine for me. I get lots of free magazines and newspapers from my local library via Pressreader. I used to view the print editions on a 13" Boox Max 3, but found I preferred reading them in single article view on my pocket Hisense Hi Reader Pro (via E-ink Bro instead of the app so the physical page turn buttons work). However, when the format is appropriate I'll now switch to print view on the Tab C as some magazines look amazing on it. Print publications that looked great: BBC History Magazine BBC History Revealed History of War Mac Format Macworld Science Illustrated Unfortunately many of my favourite print publications don't suit the Tab C screen (text isn't legible enough as too small, or isn't high contrast enough): The Guardian/Observer (including supplements) The Telegraph (including supplements) Evening Standard (including supplements) The Week The Economist BBC Wildlife Mojo Graphic novels look fantastic IMO. I've only tried with Tachiyomi. Needed some tweaking in the app, and the e-ink settings. After that using Regal on good sources white/black text is really sharp, ghosting is minimal, and the colours look great to me. The colours won't be accurate, but compared to black/white e-ink screens that also typically have a lower PPI at this size this is a really great experience. I usually read a chapter or two of manga a day. It looks fine on the Tab-C, but I prefer smaller devices for manga and will be sticking with my Nova 2 for this. The Ultra C really should have a volume rocker switch that doubles as a page turner. Really simple way to make it a much nicer reading device. Nice it has a stylus, and it works pretty well. I find using tablets with a stylus more ergonomic, and it keeps the screen clean. Everything about it compares well with the old Boox Stylus (e.g. bundled with Nova 2/3 and Max 3), and poorly with the more premium Apple Pencil. This stylus occasionally needs more than one tap on buttons/links and the friction feel isn't as pleasant as the Apple Pencil on an iPad. I read 2/3 books a week. Novels on an InkPalm, non-fiction on a Hi Reader Pro. No plans to switch this to the Ultra C as I prefer short line lengths on a small device for long form reading. There will be the occasional exception e.g. PDF books not optimised for small screens. I try to keep my internet time down, but put the Reddit/Facebook apps on it and bookmarked a few favourite sites. They all worked fine for me. I try to avoid videos anyway, so being on a device that's more suited to text will help. Work. I've tried to integrate e-reader devices into my workflow before and failed. I'm too used to OSX, and find other environments frustrating for work. I use a MacBook Pro in combination with a Mira e-ink monitor (I work on the design of GOV.UK). Overall, despite several shortcomings I'm really pleased with it so far.