Onyx Boox i86

[DDonyx]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That does sound very much as if something is running in the background. Is it draining the battery significantly while it's asleep?

Nothing is running in the background, and – no – it's simply draining very quickly while turned on, not asleep, as far as I can tell.

I've restored the unit, and have added only Xodo to the basic package in order to see whether that helps. Thus far, it seems to be discharging far too quickly still.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Or get any stylus designed for a capacitive touchscreen (eg an iPad stylus). They all have "non-scratch" tips.

Yes, but he was worried about damaging the screen. a plastic stylus could scratch the screen.

[DDonyx]

Update.

These pens work perfectly with the i86; they're cheap, and the tip is a soft rubber, which won't scratch the screen.

(http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o01_s00)

Regarding the device, I am sending it for replacement, and I imagine I must have a defective model. It never willingly – and now does not at all (except via xodo, a foreign app) read the SD card– and it is not comprehensible how the battery life should be so poor, especially given that it performed much better originally.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by nivieru

The i86 has an IR touch screen, it works with anything wide enough to block the IR light beam. So any random stick can be your stylus as long is it doesn't scratch the screen,
but don't expect it to be as accurate as a capacitive screen.

You can even use a q-tip if you wanted as a stylus.

[JSWolf]

delete post

[smayonak]

Originally Posted by DDonyx

Nothing is running in the background, and – no – it's simply draining very quickly while turned on, not asleep, as far as I can tell.

I've restored the unit, and have added only Xodo to the basic package in order to see whether that helps. Thus far, it seems to be discharging far too quickly still.

What kind of battery life are you getting? Is WiFi turned on?

In my experience, WiFi seems to be the biggest factor in battery drain. Airplane mode usually gives me about 5-7 days of battery life with heavy use.

[rine111]

Does anyone know if the contrast and brightness controls on the i86 work for image-based and scanned pdfs as well as for text-based or reflow pdfs? Thanks.

[kindle_dx]

I have gone through the posts here and the general opinion seems to be that the frontlight on the i86 appears to be uneven. I was thinking of getting the i86 but this uneven lighting could put me off. How severe is it? Does it detract from the reading experience? I have seen the various pictures posted by members but it is difficult to judge from photos.
I owned a first generation Kindle Paperwhite and the screen lighting was so uneven that it was highly distracting. Moreover the screen was very splotchy and there seemed to be yellow and greenish tints on the screen. So my question is regarding whether the lighting is as bad as the Paperwhite first generation lighting.

[Feher]

Originally Posted by kindle_dx

I have gone through the posts here and the general opinion seems to be that the frontlight on the i86 appears to be uneven. I was thinking of getting the i86 but this uneven lighting could put me off. How severe is it? Does it detract from the reading experience? I have seen the various pictures posted by members but it is difficult to judge from photos.
I owned a first generation Kindle Paperwhite and the screen lighting was so uneven that it was highly distracting. Moreover the screen was very splotchy and there seemed to be yellow and greenish tints on the screen. So my question is regarding whether the lighting is as bad as the Paperwhite first generation lighting.

Lightening is very even on my unit. The light has some 10-12 levels. I generally read on the lowest or second lowest level of brightness

Sometimes I read in a completely dark room just before going to sleep, if i keep the light at lowest brightness level, then there might be a bit of unevenness. I forgot what exactly i do during that time - i might increase the brightness to 2nd level or it may not bother me. I will post here with the update next time when i am reading in completely dark environment.

[medwatt]

Originally Posted by kindle_dx

I have gone through the posts here and the general opinion seems to be that the frontlight on the i86 appears to be uneven. I was thinking of getting the i86 but this uneven lighting could put me off. How severe is it? Does it detract from the reading experience? I have seen the various pictures posted by members but it is difficult to judge from photos.
I owned a first generation Kindle Paperwhite and the screen lighting was so uneven that it was highly distracting. Moreover the screen was very splotchy and there seemed to be yellow and greenish tints on the screen. So my question is regarding whether the lighting is as bad as the Paperwhite first generation lighting.

If you're a very picky man who demands perfection in everything, then stay away from the i86. The light intensity is noticeably brighter on the lower end of the screen, but only just. I don't usually turn on the brightness to the max level because its not really necessary; level 3 or 4 is enough for me.

[rine111]

Originally Posted by medwatt

If you're a very picky man who demands perfection in everything, then stay away from the i86. The light intensity is noticeably brighter on the lower end of the screen, but only just. I don't usually turn on the brightness to the max level because its not really necessary; level 3 or 4 is enough for me.

I agree with this answer. I use max or near max brightness due to the fact that I am 66. Even at that level I don't find the unevenness distracting. It depends whether you are interested in what you are reading or in how perfect your device is. The i86 is not perfect but it is a lot more than adequate. I am very pleased with it.

Furthermore, what are the alternatives at that size? I bought a Pocketbook to find that the contrast was inadequate for pdfs. On the i86 it is acceptable.

[medwatt]

Originally Posted by rine111

I agree with this answer. I use max or near max brightness due to the fact that I am 66. Even at that level I don't find the unevenness distracting. It depends whether you are interested in what you are reading or in how perfect your device is. The i86 is not perfect but it is a lot more than adequate. I am very pleased with it.

Furthermore, what are the alternatives at that size? I bought a Pocketbook to find that the contrast was inadequate for pdfs. On the i86 it is acceptable.

Have you tried using KoReader ? Its faster than the stock apps and its PDF reflow feature is really good.

[kindle_dx]

Thank you all for the answers. At the moment I own a Kindle DX as well as a Kobo Aura HD. I recently installed Koreader on the Kobo and I am more than satisfied with what the Kobo can now do. Having said that, I sometimes wish for a little more screen real estate as well as physical page turn buttons. It would also be great if the device could be used for surfing the web.
I am not overly finicky but would at least like a screen that does not have such uneven lighting (not to mention the unseemly blotches) that my first generation Kindle Paperwhite had. If it is not all that noticeable, as rine111 has pointed out, I wouldn't be all that bothered.

[seltzered]

I wrote about this several months ago, but how are you folks dealing with the ~500mb limit for apps? Did the 4.4 update improve this?


Yes, i know there's the 'move to sd card' option, but it doesn't work with many of the apps I use (e.g. dropbox, which eats ~50mb)


Also, Was anyone actually able to install the android 4.4 beta update? I tried briefly last month and didn't have any luck even with the non-beta 1.7.4 update.

[rine111]

Originally Posted by kindle_dx

Thank you all for the answers. At the moment I own a Kindle DX as well as a Kobo Aura HD. I recently installed Koreader on the Kobo and I am more than satisfied with what the Kobo can now do. Having said that, I sometimes wish for a little more screen real estate as well as physical page turn buttons. It would also be great if the device could be used for surfing the web.
I am not overly finicky but would at least like a screen that does not have such uneven lighting (not to mention the unseemly blotches) that my first generation Kindle Paperwhite had. If it is not all that noticeable, as rine111 has pointed out, I wouldn't be all that bothered.

The unevenness bothered me at first but I was looking for it. When I remembered that reading was my priority I ceased to notice it.