Boox Nova Pro? - Page 2

Futuregrace · 03-08-2019, 03:16 PM

Link worked for me later, thanks for sharing that.
I was ready to purchase from Amazon, but they're sold out already. Shame it's so hard to purchase Onyx in U.S.

bit101 · 03-08-2019, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Futuregrace

Link worked for me later, thanks for sharing that.
I was ready to purchase from Amazon, but they're sold out already. Shame it's so hard to purchase Onyx in U.S.

Whoa... I bought yesterday from Amazon. I guess I made it just in time.

bit101 · 03-09-2019, 04:40 PM

Bought the Nova Pro and case from Amazon. The case arrived today. Device itself will be another week and a half.

The case is made from a nylon-like material on the outside, felt inside. Somewhat stiff, but nowhere near as stiff as my Kindle default case. Very light. Has a loop on the cover for the stylus.

Wish I had more to report, but that's it.

maximus83 · 03-09-2019, 06:30 PM

Will be interested to hear your review after using it. Especially on 3 points, if you have time:
1. Performance on more demanding tasks besides reading. Like: running video, loading a complex page (like CNN.com) in the browser, etc.
2. Ability to run the Google Play store and standard apps that you like, for reading or other things. Email, video, whatever.
3. Battery life.

I will also be interested over time to see if folks have any issues with these new e-ink Androids that are running v6. That seems to me like a security breach waiting to happen, as Google stopped patching that version long, long ago. But as someone said in another thread, maybe there is less risk with these e-ink androids for people who are using them ONLY as an ereader. That may well be true, particularly if you don't install any apps that have to do with shopping, payment, authentication, or email. But then...why bother getting an ANDROID e-reader, if you're not going to use any of those Android apps besides the reader ones?

bit101 · 03-09-2019, 07:01 PM

I will no doubt test all those various things, and will report back. But to be honest, I'm only interested in:

1. A decent reading experience. I love my Kindle Paperwhite 4, but have been thinking of moving up to an Oasis for the larger screen size. Also, a better experience with viewing PDFs.

2. The note taking / rough sketching experience.

I'm generally not too far from a full-blown computer, rarely if ever away from my smartphone, and have more than one traditional Android tablet kicking around.

Video, email, web browsing, etc. would be a novelty for me, and far better accomplished on one of my other devices.

MicheleC · 03-10-2019, 02:16 PM

Got my Novo last night and stayed up way too late playing. Definitely required finagling. Quick Start Guide but no english instructions or explanations.

Wifi and bluetooth setup were seamless. Response time is great.

Was able to load Google Play and install all my favorite reading apps, Calibre Companion, Google Books, Hoopla, Moon+Reader. Kudo's to Kovid Goyal. Calibre recognized the Nova right away. Installed Google TTS as is better than installed Pico. Happily reading from all my favorite sources.

Writing functionality is less than i'd expected or hoped. Writing in the Note app is great. Saving and document management not so much. I haven't figured out how to save to OneNote. There's no save as to change folder location. Writing in OneDrive. Xodo, Onenote or squid doesn't work. I like to keep daily checklists and the existing note taking functionality will end up better than on my old Iliad.

So far my easiest file transfer for Notes is via USB and File Manager.

Major pet peeve is the back button on the bottom. It's already getting pressed while i'm writing. How about a rotate entire system option Boox designers?

Futuregrace · 03-10-2019, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicheleC

Got my Novo last night and stayed up way too late playing. Definitely required finagling. Quick Start Guide but no english instructions or explanations.

Wifi and bluetooth setup were seamless. Response time is great.

Was able to load Google Play and install all my favorite reading apps, Calibre Companion, Google Books, Hoopla, Moon+Reader. Kudo's to Kovid Goyal. Calibre recognized the Nova right away. Installed Google TTS as is better than installed Pico. Happily reading from all my favorite sources.

Writing functionality is less than i'd expected or hoped. Writing in the Note app is great. Saving and document management not so much. I haven't figured out how to save to OneNote. There's no save as to change folder location. Writing in OneDrive. Xodo, Onenote or squid doesn't work. I like to keep daily checklists and the existing note taking functionality will end up better than on my old Iliad.

So far my easiest file transfer for Notes is via USB and File Manager.

Major pet peeve is the back button on the bottom. It's already getting pressed while i'm writing. How about a rotate entire system option Boox designers?

Thanks for sharing, I'm still on the fence and very interested in people's experiences.

franzli · 03-11-2019, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicheleC

Got my Novo last night and stayed up way too late playing. Definitely required finagling. Quick Start Guide but no english instructions or explanations.

Wifi and bluetooth setup were seamless. Response time is great.

Was able to load Google Play and install all my favorite reading apps, Calibre Companion, Google Books, Hoopla, Moon+Reader. Kudo's to Kovid Goyal. Calibre recognized the Nova right away. Installed Google TTS as is better than installed Pico. Happily reading from all my favorite sources.

Writing functionality is less than i'd expected or hoped. Writing in the Note app is great. Saving and document management not so much. I haven't figured out how to save to OneNote. There's no save as to change folder location. Writing in OneDrive. Xodo, Onenote or squid doesn't work. I like to keep daily checklists and the existing note taking functionality will end up better than on my old Iliad.

So far my easiest file transfer for Notes is via USB and File Manager.

Major pet peeve is the back button on the bottom. It's already getting pressed while i'm writing. How about a rotate entire system option Boox designers?

If I understand your final issue correctly, you can use one of the numerous rotate screen apps on the play store to, well, rotate the screen

bit101 · 03-11-2019, 08:27 PM

My Amazon order shipped today. Rather than the original delivery date of March 19, it's arriving tomorrow, March 12. Happy me!

MicheleC · 03-12-2019, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franzli

If I understand your final issue correctly, you can use one of the numerous rotate screen apps on the play store to, well, rotate the screen

DUH! So used to all my tablets having it built in it never even occurred to me to look for an app for that!

What's worse? I used to use one years ago.

Vadym · 03-14-2019, 02:56 PM

Hey Nova Pro Users,
Would somebody recommend a good alternative to the original cover case? My current doesn't keep bottom left corner and I don't like this rubberish (I prefer close to woolish) texture. Thanks!

bit101 · 03-15-2019, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vadym

Hey Nova Pro Users,
Would somebody recommend a good alternative to the original cover case? My current doesn't keep bottom left corner and I don't like this rubberish (I prefer close to woolish) texture. Thanks!

I doubt you'll find any alternative cases that will exactly fit this. Maybe a sleeve.

[edit]
I take it back. There's at least one company making them: https://www.amazon.com/Reader-Case-S.../dp/B07JC5T4YP

MicheleC · 03-15-2019, 11:12 PM

After a week i'm very happy with this device. I've customized the home screen and gestures using Nova Launcher Pro and rotated the screen with Rotation Control.

Customizing the notepaper was easy with the help of another thread and the built-in Note app and pen work beautifully. ES File Explorer allows me to share files to OneDrive or anywhere else. This is pretty much everything I ever wanted in an ereader.

No regrets at all.

Vadym · 03-16-2019, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bit101

I doubt you'll find any alternative cases that will exactly fit this. Maybe a sleeve.

[edit]
I take it back. There's at least one company making them: https://www.amazon.com/Reader-Case-S.../dp/B07JC5T4YP

thanks for your feedback
still have some hope to get something like this https://youtu.be/jNLAegNw0uQ?t=288
I also count on Chinese guys and investigate ali from time to time

bit101 · 03-16-2019, 03:46 PM

Well, I've had the Nova Pro for about 4 days now and after a bit of a strange start, I'm really loving it.

The "strange start" really just comes down to the fact that I've had various Kindles since... whenever the Kindle 2 came out. Kindles are pretty simple devices and the user interface is super slick and polished and very minimal and mostly well thought out. Whereas the Onyx take on things is... more complex. And there is very little documentation on how things work or how to do things, so the learning curve is rough.

But at this point, I do really love the device. All I really wanted was the 7.8" screen and the note taking ability. The screen is as nice as the Kindle Paperwhite, imo, and the custom light color is really nice. The 7.8" screen is fantastic for reading. It makes such a difference to have a page that really holds about the same amount of text as a page of a physical book.

For turning pages with a tap, the screen is WAY less sensitive than the Kindle PW. In fact, I would say my latest Kindle was too sensitive, especially with the flush screen, I was accidentally page turning constantly. With the Nova Pro, that will never be a problem. A quick tap does nothing. I really have to kind of press down a bit to turn the page that way. Not sure if it's just my device, or all of them. However, I've taken to just swiping instead for page turns. That works perfectly. No extra pressure at all needed, just a light swipe, so I don't think it's a hardware problem on my screen. And everything else works well.

[edit] I guess I have to take back some of the previous paragraph. I've been swiping all the time, but just went and tested tapping to turn, and it works just fine with a light tap. Still more than needed on the kindle, but no need to press down like I said above. Really just about right. Not sure what I experienced early on. It's fine now.[/edit]

There are a zillion options and settings, and it literally took a few days to start to feel like I really understood most of what it could do. Still learning in fact. It's worth taking some time to explore. Way, WAY more options than the Kindle. Overwhelmingly so, but I like it.

I plugged it into my computer and Calibre recognized it and I transferred well over 100 books to the Nova in just a single click. Super easy. And I haven't run into anything that it hasn't displayed yet - epub, mobi, pdf, azw3, txt.

One of the things that really confused me was the power options. Again, I'm used to a Kindle, which is either on or sleeping. You never turn it off. But this is a full Android device and defaults to turning completely off after a certain amount of time. I've set it to an hour, but you can disable that if you want. Mine takes about 35 seconds or so to boot up when it's off. I'm starting to get used to that, since it's not so often. But I may try to have it stay on and see what that does to the battery life.

Speaking of battery, it seems acceptable, given that it's an Android tablet. Definitely much better battery life than a regular tablet, but nowhere near that of a regular Kindle. I've been doing quite a bit of reading today (Saturday). it's 3:30 pm and it's down around 84%. I could probably get away without charging it for days on regular weekdays when I don't read quite as much. But I just plug it in when I go to sleep anyway.

The note taking app is really nice. I'm really impressed. I was expecting much lower quality drawing, a lot of lag, etc. It totally exceeded my expectations. Zero lag at all. Super smooth drawing. The pressure sensitivity is great. I love this aspect of the device and use it a lot. It syncs straight to DropBox, so I can see my notes on other devices as well.

I've installed a few other apps from the onboard store and the Goodereader store. Really just Dropbox, Pocket and Instapaper though. I roll my eyes at the thought of playing games or watching videos on this device, or doing any kind of serious browsing. That's not why I bought it, and while it's totally impressive that you CAN do some of these things, it's not going to be the best experience, and I have other devices at hand that will do way better at all that stuff.

I also haven't tried the TTS, audiobook, music or anything that requires bluetooth headphones. Similar to the above, I have other devices are way more suited for all of that stuff.

If anyone else has any other questions, I'm happy to answer.

03-14-2019, 02:56 PM	#26
Vadym Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2019 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Onyx Boox Nova Pro	Hey Nova Pro Users, Would somebody recommend a good alternative to the original cover case? My current doesn't keep bottom left corner and I don't like this rubberish (I prefer close to woolish) texture. Thanks! Last edited by Vadym; 03-15-2019 at 12:06 PM.

03-16-2019, 03:46 PM	#30
bit101 Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 21406 Join Date: Mar 2019 Device: Onyx Nova Pro	Well, I've had the Nova Pro for about 4 days now and after a bit of a strange start, I'm really loving it. The "strange start" really just comes down to the fact that I've had various Kindles since... whenever the Kindle 2 came out. Kindles are pretty simple devices and the user interface is super slick and polished and very minimal and mostly well thought out. Whereas the Onyx take on things is... more complex. And there is very little documentation on how things work or how to do things, so the learning curve is rough. But at this point, I do really love the device. All I really wanted was the 7.8" screen and the note taking ability. The screen is as nice as the Kindle Paperwhite, imo, and the custom light color is really nice. The 7.8" screen is fantastic for reading. It makes such a difference to have a page that really holds about the same amount of text as a page of a physical book. For turning pages with a tap, the screen is WAY less sensitive than the Kindle PW. In fact, I would say my latest Kindle was too sensitive, especially with the flush screen, I was accidentally page turning constantly. With the Nova Pro, that will never be a problem. A quick tap does nothing. I really have to kind of press down a bit to turn the page that way. Not sure if it's just my device, or all of them. However, I've taken to just swiping instead for page turns. That works perfectly. No extra pressure at all needed, just a light swipe, so I don't think it's a hardware problem on my screen. And everything else works well. [edit] I guess I have to take back some of the previous paragraph. I've been swiping all the time, but just went and tested tapping to turn, and it works just fine with a light tap. Still more than needed on the kindle, but no need to press down like I said above. Really just about right. Not sure what I experienced early on. It's fine now.[/edit] There are a zillion options and settings, and it literally took a few days to start to feel like I really understood most of what it could do. Still learning in fact. It's worth taking some time to explore. Way, WAY more options than the Kindle. Overwhelmingly so, but I like it. I plugged it into my computer and Calibre recognized it and I transferred well over 100 books to the Nova in just a single click. Super easy. And I haven't run into anything that it hasn't displayed yet - epub, mobi, pdf, azw3, txt. One of the things that really confused me was the power options. Again, I'm used to a Kindle, which is either on or sleeping. You never turn it off. But this is a full Android device and defaults to turning completely off after a certain amount of time. I've set it to an hour, but you can disable that if you want. Mine takes about 35 seconds or so to boot up when it's off. I'm starting to get used to that, since it's not so often. But I may try to have it stay on and see what that does to the battery life. Speaking of battery, it seems acceptable, given that it's an Android tablet. Definitely much better battery life than a regular tablet, but nowhere near that of a regular Kindle. I've been doing quite a bit of reading today (Saturday). it's 3:30 pm and it's down around 84%. I could probably get away without charging it for days on regular weekdays when I don't read quite as much. But I just plug it in when I go to sleep anyway. The note taking app is really nice. I'm really impressed. I was expecting much lower quality drawing, a lot of lag, etc. It totally exceeded my expectations. Zero lag at all. Super smooth drawing. The pressure sensitivity is great. I love this aspect of the device and use it a lot. It syncs straight to DropBox, so I can see my notes on other devices as well. I've installed a few other apps from the onboard store and the Goodereader store. Really just Dropbox, Pocket and Instapaper though. I roll my eyes at the thought of playing games or watching videos on this device, or doing any kind of serious browsing. That's not why I bought it, and while it's totally impressive that you CAN do some of these things, it's not going to be the best experience, and I have other devices at hand that will do way better at all that stuff. I also haven't tried the TTS, audiobook, music or anything that requires bluetooth headphones. Similar to the above, I have other devices are way more suited for all of that stuff. If anyone else has any other questions, I'm happy to answer. Last edited by bit101; 03-16-2019 at 03:53 PM.

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03-08-2019, 03:16 PM	#16
Futuregrace Zealot Posts: 123 Karma: 12646 Join Date: May 2017 Location: Kansas Device: Kindle Oasis 2019, iPad Pro 11, Voyage	Link worked for me later, thanks for sharing that. I was ready to purchase from Amazon, but they're sold out already. Shame it's so hard to purchase Onyx in U.S.

03-09-2019, 04:40 PM	#18
bit101 Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 21406 Join Date: Mar 2019 Device: Onyx Nova Pro	Bought the Nova Pro and case from Amazon. The case arrived today. Device itself will be another week and a half. The case is made from a nylon-like material on the outside, felt inside. Somewhat stiff, but nowhere near as stiff as my Kindle default case. Very light. Has a loop on the cover for the stylus. Wish I had more to report, but that's it.

03-09-2019, 06:30 PM	#19
maximus83 Nameless Being	Will be interested to hear your review after using it. Especially on 3 points, if you have time: 1. Performance on more demanding tasks besides reading. Like: running video, loading a complex page (like CNN.com) in the browser, etc. 2. Ability to run the Google Play store and standard apps that you like, for reading or other things. Email, video, whatever. 3. Battery life. I will also be interested over time to see if folks have any issues with these new e-ink Androids that are running v6. That seems to me like a security breach waiting to happen, as Google stopped patching that version long, long ago. But as someone said in another thread, maybe there is less risk with these e-ink androids for people who are using them ONLY as an ereader. That may well be true, particularly if you don't install any apps that have to do with shopping, payment, authentication, or email. But then...why bother getting an ANDROID e-reader, if you're not going to use any of those Android apps besides the reader ones?

03-09-2019, 07:01 PM	#20
bit101 Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 21406 Join Date: Mar 2019 Device: Onyx Nova Pro	I will no doubt test all those various things, and will report back. But to be honest, I'm only interested in: 1. A decent reading experience. I love my Kindle Paperwhite 4, but have been thinking of moving up to an Oasis for the larger screen size. Also, a better experience with viewing PDFs. 2. The note taking / rough sketching experience. I'm generally not too far from a full-blown computer, rarely if ever away from my smartphone, and have more than one traditional Android tablet kicking around. Video, email, web browsing, etc. would be a novelty for me, and far better accomplished on one of my other devices.

03-10-2019, 02:16 PM	#21
MicheleC Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 12644 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Davie, Fl. Device: PalmTX/Illiad v2/PB 360/Nexus 7/Kobo Clara/Boox Nova Pro	Got my Novo last night and stayed up way too late playing. Definitely required finagling. Quick Start Guide but no english instructions or explanations. Wifi and bluetooth setup were seamless. Response time is great. Was able to load Google Play and install all my favorite reading apps, Calibre Companion, Google Books, Hoopla, Moon+Reader. Kudo's to Kovid Goyal. Calibre recognized the Nova right away. Installed Google TTS as is better than installed Pico. Happily reading from all my favorite sources. Writing functionality is less than i'd expected or hoped. Writing in the Note app is great. Saving and document management not so much. I haven't figured out how to save to OneNote. There's no save as to change folder location. Writing in OneDrive. Xodo, Onenote or squid doesn't work. I like to keep daily checklists and the existing note taking functionality will end up better than on my old Iliad. So far my easiest file transfer for Notes is via USB and File Manager. Major pet peeve is the back button on the bottom. It's already getting pressed while i'm writing. How about a rotate entire system option Boox designers?

03-11-2019, 08:27 PM	#24
bit101 Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 21406 Join Date: Mar 2019 Device: Onyx Nova Pro	My Amazon order shipped today. Rather than the original delivery date of March 19, it's arriving tomorrow, March 12. Happy me!

03-15-2019, 11:12 PM	#28
MicheleC Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 12644 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Davie, Fl. Device: PalmTX/Illiad v2/PB 360/Nexus 7/Kobo Clara/Boox Nova Pro	After a week i'm very happy with this device. I've customized the home screen and gestures using Nova Launcher Pro and rotated the screen with Rotation Control. Customizing the notepaper was easy with the help of another thread and the built-in Note app and pen work beautifully. ES File Explorer allows me to share files to OneDrive or anywhere else. This is pretty much everything I ever wanted in an ereader. No regrets at all.