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Originally Posted by otterjer
Thanks for taking time to respond to me Robert, I appreciate it. I guess my real problem with waiting (other than being impatient, which admitadly I am) is that regardless of how long I wait I don't see major retailers carrying some of the readers that I'm interested in.
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The problem in such a dynamic market is, that you basically will always end up with a device that's no longer state of the art by the time you buy it
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On another note if there is anybody who's gotten the Boox, could you let me know what pushed you over the edge and how you like your purchase so far?
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Several things, actually. I like the fact that it's an open platform, not tied to any specific publisher or vendor. When plugging in, it simply appears as an USB mass storage device, which makes it usable on Linux, too. There is an SDK in the works to develop applications (in C++ with the Qt toolkit). Python support is planned, too.
It reads a multitude of different formats and really shines when it comes to viewing PDFs (of which I have quite a lot). Granted, the firmware is not perfect yet, but updates are provided frequently. There is a forum on the vendor's web site as well as a lot of support on this Forum as well.
The built-in WLAN and web-browser is neat, too. It's based on webkit and renders most pages quite well, albeit a bit slow (due to the display technology). But for quickly searching something on Wikipedia, it's more than sufficient.
I also like the display - it uses Wacom touch technology which does not reduce the quality of the eInk-Panel by adding another layer on top of it (which reduces contrast and causes glare). In my opinion, the pen is a much better pointing device (e.g. for marking text) than a finger. However, I rarely use it when reading, as virtually any function can be reached by using the round button array below the display (it actually provides 9 different buttons, the inner ring is separate from the outer one).
Oh, and the device is quite fast, too! Bootup time is ~20 secs, suspending/resuming happens instantly. Battery life is great, if you remember to disable the wireless when you're not surfing the web (there is a switch). The Wacom panel also disables itself, when the pen is in its slot.
Given it's price (I paid 299 EUR) and features, it was the best choice available back when I made the decision about three weeks ago. I haven't regretted my decision yet. I initially wanted to wait for the txtr reader, but somehow the company is not getting their act together...
Hope that helps!