Boyue T63/Shine update (sort of)

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

The refresh seems to work in all apps. I'll check again with Moon Reader, but I saw it happen in two or three other non-built-in apps. It happened at every page turn or scroll.

Thanks! Refresh on all apps would be great.

[downeaster59]

Update from T63 land:

Battery life on the T63 is very similar to what I had on my former T62+, and much better than my Onyx Boox C67ML Carta 2. Moon Reader Pro and KOReader continue to work well. I prefer either to the pre-installed reader apps, though those are decent enough. Every other app that I have installed works well.

The glitches I noted earlier remain: no books I read show up in the Recently Read section of the home page, no matter which reader I use. I use Calibre Companion as my Library, as the built-in Books "app" is also glitchy. No new issues, though; just the "old" glitches!

The display is a noticeable improvement over the T62+ display - and the T62+ was pretty good already. The auto refresh works well.

No audio capability, but I wasn't looking for that anyway.

I don't see any real reason to want to try other firmware on my T63 right now. Yet, because I ran Onyx firmware on my T62+ (and that worked very well), I wonder if any Onyx firmware would work with the T63. Just curious at this point.

Thus far, I can recommend the T63 to anyone who may be interested in an Android e-ink device.

[UpUpAndAway]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

Update from T63 land:


Thus far, I can recommend the T63 to anyone who may be interested in an Android e-ink device.

Nice reviews.

I've been looking for an eink eReader that I can customize my own ebook and dictionary apps. Tired of the limitations and bugs in Kindle and Kobo, even though they are good hardware.

One question: can T63 display the now-reading book's cover as sleep wallpaper?

Thanks.

Den.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

Update from T63 land:

Battery life on the T63 is very similar to what I had on my former T62+, and much better than my Onyx Boox C67ML Carta 2. Moon Reader Pro and KOReader continue to work well. I prefer either to the pre-installed reader apps, though those are decent enough. Every other app that I have installed works well.

The glitches I noted earlier remain: no books I read show up in the Recently Read section of the home page, no matter which reader I use. I use Calibre Companion as my Library, as the built-in Books "app" is also glitchy. No new issues, though; just the "old" glitches!

The display is a noticeable improvement over the T62+ display - and the T62+ was pretty good already. The auto refresh works well.

No audio capability, but I wasn't looking for that anyway.

I don't see any real reason to want to try other firmware on my T63 right now. Yet, because I ran Onyx firmware on my T62+ (and that worked very well), I wonder if any Onyx firmware would work with the T63. Just curious at this point.

Thus far, I can recommend the T63 to anyone who may be interested in an Android e-ink device.

Have you tried the Kindle app? It doesn't work too well on my T62+. It's very slow to start up and I don't have the patience to wait long enough for it to start. I don't know why they can't make these with 1 gb ram.

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Have you tried the Kindle app? It doesn't work too well on my T62+. It's very slow to start up and I don't have the patience to wait long enough for it to start. I don't know why they can't make these with 1 gb ram.

No, I haven't, but I will. I'll try Kindle, Nook and Google Play Books, and report back on how they do. If there's any other app you'd like me to try, I'll do so when I can.

My understanding is that the Onyx Kepler Pro has 1 GB of RAM, and runs on Android 4.04. It has 16 GB of internal storage. It also costs more than the T62 or T63. I don't know if that would interest you.

I'm installing Kindle now. I'm also starting dinner! I'll report back later.

[downeaster59]

First try at each of those apps:

Kindle: Very slow at initial start-up and setup. Once I had it set up, I went out of it, and then went back in. Takes 13 seconds from when I tap the app icon to when I can actually select a book. After that, the book takes about three seconds to load. Once the book is loaded, page turns happen after maybe a half second of hesitation. Once in a while, the response is almost instantaneous. Bookerly looks nice on the T63.

Play Store: The quickest at initial setup. Loads in about the same time as Kindle after that. Physical buttons work to turn pages. (This is the only app out of these three for which that's true.) Page turns happen with a minimum of hesitation. Contrast is good.

Nook: Fairly quick at setup. Loading is the quickest of the three; about seven seconds. Contrast is good. However, page turns are the slowest of the three apps. You can either have the page turn animation, or see a page slide slowly from right to left, and then the new page appear. The least satisfying of the three because of the page turn pokiness.

Compared with Moon Reader, Kindle is a little slower at startup. The others are about the same in startup time. Page turns in Moon Reader are a little quicker than in Kindle; smoother than Nook; about the same as Play Books. Still, my first impression is that, out of these three, I'd rank them Kindle, Play Books, Nook. All three have pages that look fine on the T63. But the Nook's page turns look the least polished of the three.

Time to work more on supper. Feel free to ask more questions later.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

No, I haven't, but I will. I'll try Kindle, Nook and Google Play Books, and report back on how they do. If there's any other app you'd like me to try, I'll do so when I can.

My understanding is that the Onyx Kepler Pro has 1 GB of RAM, and runs on Android 4.04. It has 16 GB of internal storage. It also costs more than the T62 or T63. I don't know if that would interest you.

I'm installing Kindle now. I'm also starting dinner! I'll report back later.

I will never buy another Onyx reader. I've had two and they've both been absolute pieces of crap. The T68 was the worst and that had 4.04 as well.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

First try at each of those apps:

Kindle: Very slow at initial start-up and setup. Once I had it set up, I went out of it, and then went back in. Takes 13 seconds from when I tap the app icon to when I can actually select a book. After that, the book takes about three seconds to load. Once the book is loaded, page turns happen after maybe a half second of hesitation. Once in a while, the response is almost instantaneous. Bookerly looks nice on the T63.

Play Store: The quickest at initial setup. Loads in about the same time as Kindle after that. Physical buttons work to turn pages. (This is the only app out of these three for which that's true.) Page turns happen with a minimum of hesitation. Contrast is good.

Nook: Fairly quick at setup. Loading is the quickest of the three; about seven seconds. Contrast is good. However, page turns are the slowest of the three apps. You can either have the page turn animation, or see a page slide slowly from right to left, and then the new page appear. The least satisfying of the three because of the page turn pokiness.

Compared with Moon Reader, Kindle is a little slower at startup. The others are about the same in startup time. Page turns in Moon Reader are a little quicker than in Kindle; smoother than Nook; about the same as Play Books. Still, my first impression is that, out of these three, I'd rank them Kindle, Play Books, Nook. All three have pages that look fine on the T63. But the Nook's page turns look the least polished of the three.

Time to work more on supper. Feel free to ask more questions later.

Thanks!

13 seconds is a loooooong time. But if I knew that's what it would be I suppose I could wait that long. It's just that when I wait that long, I don't know if it's hopelessly stuck or not. Do you have a lot of Kindle books? I wonder if that impacts the slowness. I have 757 books.

For Play Books, can you try a book that has long chapters? There was a problem with the margins running off the side by the end of the chapter when the chapter was long. The next chapter starts off fine. If you don't have one with long chapters, you can try making the font large. If it still has a problem you can fix it by using the xposed app settings module to change the dpi for Play Books.

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Thanks!

13 seconds is a loooooong time. But if I knew that's what it would be I suppose I could wait that long. It's just that when I wait that long, I don't know if it's hopelessly stuck or not. Do you have a lot of Kindle books? I wonder if that impacts the slowness. I have 757 books.

For Play Books, can you try a book that has long chapters? There was a problem with the margins running off the side by the end of the chapter when the chapter was long. The next chapter starts off fine. If you don't have one with long chapters, you can try making the font large. If it still has a problem you can fix it by using the xposed app settings module to change the dpi for Play Books.

With Kindle, nothing happens after I touch the icon for about eight seconds. Then I start seeing the app loading. I have about 100 Kindle books. I don't know if the size of the library will make a difference in the loading time.

With Play Books, I tried two books with 30-40 page chapters. I haven't been able to produce the margin problem you speak of. I'll let you know if it happens.

Although both these apps are usable on the T63, I still prefer Moon Reader or KOReader. They load in half the time, the physical page turn buttons work, and there is almost no hesitation on page turns. But, if you don't mind the wait on startup, and a shorter wait when you select a book, both Kindle and Play Books work pretty well on the T63. It depends on how patient you want to be. If the wait is a problem for you, then you might as well not go there! (Life brings plenty of anxieties as it is.)

As for Onyx, I don't blame you for not wanting to go there. I had a bad experience with my T68 as well. However, the C67 I got some time after that was much better. Still, it's like rolling dice.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

With Kindle, nothing happens after I touch the icon for about eight seconds. Then I start seeing the app loading. I have about 100 Kindle books. I don't know if the size of the library will make a difference in the loading time.

With Play Books, I tried two books with 30-40 page chapters. I haven't been able to produce the margin problem you speak of. I'll let you know if it happens.

Although both these apps are usable on the T63, I still prefer Moon Reader or KOReader. They load in half the time, the physical page turn buttons work, and there is almost no hesitation on page turns. But, if you don't mind the wait on startup, and a shorter wait when you select a book, both Kindle and Play Books work pretty well on the T63. It depends on how patient you want to be. If the wait is a problem for you, then you might as well not go there! (Life brings plenty of anxieties as it is.)

As for Onyx, I don't blame you for not wanting to go there. I had a bad experience with my T68 as well. However, the C67 I got some time after that was much better. Still, it's like rolling dice.

Thanks. I forgot to ask if there were page refreshes for Kindle and Play Books. Since you said that Moon+ had them, I'm assuming these did too.

You're making things difficult for me here. I just bought one of the new HD 8 tablets, and I also bought a Huawei MediaPad M3 that I haven't opened yet. The LTE version has been rooted, but I don't know about the WiFi only version. It also only has 2.4 ghz wifi only. That's possibly only because it didn't go through the FCC and it will be modded to have it.

So should I just keep up the gadget buying spree?

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Thanks. I forgot to ask if there were page refreshes for Kindle and Play Books. Since you said that Moon+ had them, I'm assuming these did too.

You're making things difficult for me here. I just bought one of the new HD 8 tablets, and I also bought a Huawei MediaPad M3 that I haven't opened yet. The LTE version has been rooted, but I don't know about the WiFi only version. It also only has 2.4 ghz wifi only. That's possibly only because it didn't go through the FCC and it will be modded to have it.

So should I just keep up the gadget buying spree?

Depends on your budget!

I'm not one to talk. I've had a spree before, and I'm feeling tempted by the iPad Pro 9.7 (but I'm resisting so far, telling myself that my iPad Air 2 is just fine).

But seriously, if you're satisfied with your T62+, there's no need to upgrade just yet. Give yourself time to explore your two new gadgets first!

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

Depends on your budget!

I'm not one to talk. I've had a spree before, and I'm feeling tempted by the iPad Pro 9.7 (but I'm resisting so far, telling myself that my iPad Air 2 is just fine).

But seriously, if you're satisfied with your T62+, there's no need to upgrade just yet. Give yourself time to explore your two new gadgets first!

But but but... the T63 is better than the T62+.

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

But but but... the T63 is better than the T62+.

No argument there...

[carltonbp]

Hi, I was wondering about Bang good and customs, I'm in the UK. It's not just the 20% VAT it's also the post office charging a hefty fee for processing. It's could add an extra £35ish to price plus my sorting office isn't in a handy place. I'd prefer to pay for these fees up front.

Thanks

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by carltonbp

Hi, I was wondering about Bang good and customs, I'm in the UK. It's not just the 20% VAT it's also the post office charging a hefty fee for processing. It's could add an extra £35ish to price plus my sorting office isn't in a handy place. I'd prefer to pay for these fees up front.

Thanks

I don't know about the UK, but I didn't have to pay any customs fees beyond whatever I paid up front for shipping to the USA - and there is an option to have free shipping with no fees whatsoever. I paid for faster shipping, but even that was pretty cheap. You might email Banggood directly and ask them.