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didierm · 08-16-2014, 06:24 AM

My Boyue (or Boeye) T61 arrived last Thursday.

Boyue appears to be the OEM for the Icarus E653 : this is confirmed by comparing the firmware updates of both the T61 (http://pan.baidu.com/share/home?uk=2...ategory/type=0) and the E653 (http://194.33.112.113/~icarusre/open...ormation_id=11).

Please keep in mind that this is my first dedicated e-ink e-reader ; I can only compare the handling and reading experience with the FNF iFive X2, a Chinese tablet which is fairly unknown but has an excellent price/performance ratio (RK3188 quadcore, 8.9", 1920x1200). It unfortunately suffers from a relatively large weight (~ 600g) and a - like most tablets - unreadable screen in sunlight.
I used it to read ebooks at night, and - now owning the T61 - currently use it to read comics ; the retina screen is a big plus here.

Back to the T61/E653.

As I like to have a lot of characters on the screen (mimicking the page layout of the real life dead tree stuff), I would have preferred a slightly larger screen (6.8-8") with a higher resolution (1440x1080 or 1600x1200), e.g. the Onyx T68.

However, as currently only the T61 offers Android 4.2, bears an affordable price tag, and serves me as a first introduction to an e-ink reader, the decision was quickly made.

I like the T61 very much.

It perfectly fits my hands, has a slightly rubber-ish texture, and offers a hardware page refresh button (which I use a lot). The built-in reading light has a very nice range, from very dim to quite bright, and appears to evenly light the screen (again, I cannot compare to other e-readers).

Extra storage is cattered for through a microSDHC slot.
Although the mounting/unmounting commands are provided for in the Storage Setup screen, the microUSB port does not seem to offer USB Host functionality (which would allow to attach e.g. USB memory sticks).

The device came with the 20140617 firmware ; I immediately installed the 20140814 update (which is initiated by copying the update.zip to the root directory ; upgrading takes a couple of minutes and leaves your data intact).

I look after my privacy, hence I do not buy Windows or Apple phones/tablets and more specifically, I want my Android stuff rooted.
The T61 is very easy to root (see below).

As the T61 runs Android but does not have access to the Google Play Store (the Google apps are missing), additional apps are installed by downloading (built-in browser) or copying (over USB) the apk to the device, and/or installing alternative market apps. I did not try to install GAPPS, as I have no use for Google's privacy-invading stuff on an e-reader.

Hence I first downloaded and installed F-Droid (https://f-droid.org), after which I installed both SuperUser and Root Verifier.

The device is rooted (this is on your own risk ; if the following sounds like gibberish, just skip it) by :
- extracting the su binary from the /assets/armeabi/ folder in the com.koushikdutta.superuser_1030.apk file ;
- copying the su to /system/xbin/ via adb remount and adb push ;
- in an adb session, chmod-ing the binary to 6755.
(I repeat : making mistakes here may brick your device, rendering it unusable.)

Root access is now verified by the previously installed 'Root Verifier' app.

After rooting,I did install a firewall (AFWall+ from the F-Droid repo) and the XPosed/XPrivacy modules (http://xposed.info).
Installing Titanium Backup (http://matrixrewriter.com/android/) and the Ghost Commander file manager (F-Droid) completed the basic Android setup.

For e-reading purposes (no rooting required), I installed both FBReader (http://fbreader.org/FBReaderJ) and CoolReader (F-Droid). Aard (F-Droid) provides the dictionary functions, and Comics Reader (F-Droid) and Open Comic reader (Play Store & https://github.com/sketchpunk/opencomicreader) are capable comics readers.

As you may have noticed by now, I strongly favour open source.

Google Play apps can easily be downloaded by the excellent cross-platform Raccoon desktop client (http://www.onyxbits.de/raccoon) and then transferred to the e-reader.
This is how I installed Calibre Companion, which works very well on the T61.

Caveat :
I bought the T61 in China, at a very favorable price (as I wrote, my first introduction to e-ink). If you need to apply for warranty, you may be out of luck (return shipping usually isn't worth the price of the device).
Not having any experience with Icarus' customer support, I nevertheless - based on my current experience with the T61 - would not hesitate to recommend the E653 to friends and relatives.

My personal conclusion : if you fancy the freedom of a (rooted) Android device, this e-reader should be on your list.

HTH,
Didier

08-16-2014, 06:24 AM	#2
didierm Enthusiast Posts: 33 Karma: 576 Join Date: Aug 2014 Device: Boyue T61, 2x Boyue T62D	My Boyue (or Boeye) T61 arrived last Thursday. Boyue appears to be the OEM for the Icarus E653 : this is confirmed by comparing the firmware updates of both the T61 (http://pan.baidu.com/share/home?uk=2...ategory/type=0) and the E653 (http://194.33.112.113/~icarusre/open...ormation_id=11). Please keep in mind that this is my first dedicated e-ink e-reader ; I can only compare the handling and reading experience with the FNF iFive X2, a Chinese tablet which is fairly unknown but has an excellent price/performance ratio (RK3188 quadcore, 8.9", 1920x1200). It unfortunately suffers from a relatively large weight (~ 600g) and a - like most tablets - unreadable screen in sunlight. I used it to read ebooks at night, and - now owning the T61 - currently use it to read comics ; the retina screen is a big plus here. Back to the T61/E653. As I like to have a lot of characters on the screen (mimicking the page layout of the real life dead tree stuff), I would have preferred a slightly larger screen (6.8-8") with a higher resolution (1440x1080 or 1600x1200), e.g. the Onyx T68. However, as currently only the T61 offers Android 4.2, bears an affordable price tag, and serves me as a first introduction to an e-ink reader, the decision was quickly made. I like the T61 very much. It perfectly fits my hands, has a slightly rubber-ish texture, and offers a hardware page refresh button (which I use a lot). The built-in reading light has a very nice range, from very dim to quite bright, and appears to evenly light the screen (again, I cannot compare to other e-readers). Extra storage is cattered for through a microSDHC slot. Although the mounting/unmounting commands are provided for in the Storage Setup screen, the microUSB port does not seem to offer USB Host functionality (which would allow to attach e.g. USB memory sticks). The device came with the 20140617 firmware ; I immediately installed the 20140814 update (which is initiated by copying the update.zip to the root directory ; upgrading takes a couple of minutes and leaves your data intact). I look after my privacy, hence I do not buy Windows or Apple phones/tablets and more specifically, I want my Android stuff rooted. The T61 is very easy to root (see below). As the T61 runs Android but does not have access to the Google Play Store (the Google apps are missing), additional apps are installed by downloading (built-in browser) or copying (over USB) the apk to the device, and/or installing alternative market apps. I did not try to install GAPPS, as I have no use for Google's privacy-invading stuff on an e-reader. Hence I first downloaded and installed F-Droid (https://f-droid.org), after which I installed both SuperUser and Root Verifier. The device is rooted (this is on your own risk ; if the following sounds like gibberish, just skip it) by : - extracting the su binary from the /assets/armeabi/ folder in the com.koushikdutta.superuser_1030.apk file ; - copying the su to /system/xbin/ via adb remount and adb push ; - in an adb session, chmod-ing the binary to 6755. (I repeat : making mistakes here may brick your device, rendering it unusable.) Root access is now verified by the previously installed 'Root Verifier' app. After rooting,I did install a firewall (AFWall+ from the F-Droid repo) and the XPosed/XPrivacy modules (http://xposed.info). Installing Titanium Backup (http://matrixrewriter.com/android/) and the Ghost Commander file manager (F-Droid) completed the basic Android setup. For e-reading purposes (no rooting required), I installed both FBReader (http://fbreader.org/FBReaderJ) and CoolReader (F-Droid). Aard (F-Droid) provides the dictionary functions, and Comics Reader (F-Droid) and Open Comic reader (Play Store & https://github.com/sketchpunk/opencomicreader) are capable comics readers. As you may have noticed by now, I strongly favour open source. Google Play apps can easily be downloaded by the excellent cross-platform Raccoon desktop client (http://www.onyxbits.de/raccoon) and then transferred to the e-reader. This is how I installed Calibre Companion, which works very well on the T61. Caveat : I bought the T61 in China, at a very favorable price (as I wrote, my first introduction to e-ink). If you need to apply for warranty, you may be out of luck (return shipping usually isn't worth the price of the device). Not having any experience with Icarus' customer support, I nevertheless - based on my current experience with the T61 - would not hesitate to recommend the E653 to friends and relatives. My personal conclusion : if you fancy the freedom of a (rooted) Android device, this e-reader should be on your list. HTH, Didier