Viwoods AiPaper & AiMini sale Jun30

[tomsem]

"Annual Major Discount"

https://viwoods.com/pages/on-sale

AiPaper $549 -> $469 (Carta 1300 w plastic/Mobius )

AiMini $469 ->$369 (Carta 1000 w glass) 292PPI

Includes stylus & case.

"Limited to 500 Units" & "Only 4 days", "try for 100 days"

Both have 128 GB storage, & run Android 13 and identical specs other than display. Native support for PDF, ePub, MOBI, AZW, AZW3 but you can install other apps. Records memos, voice-to-text, auto ghost refresh, smarter AI model are coming soon.

Logs into Google Drive/OneDrive/Dropbox. Sync files via browser service or you can use USB or Bluetooth (opens a web server that you can access on LAN via browser). Mail/calendar client supports Microsoft or Google.

Presumably you can install your own mail/calendar clients.

There's a ton of AI features, the video reviews show text conversion almost instantaneous so probably on-device?

When drawing there is shape detection and arrow detection line straightening etc. (does not seem there are layers)

[DNSB]

I was not impressed by claims in their web advertising that you can run any Android app though their web page only mentions being able to connect to the Google Play store by jumping through some hoops.

[Quoth]

MyWrite Nebo and Google's Gboard are both instant text conversion / real time offline on Android, but basically don't work on eink Android.

It's more expensive than Nxtpaper tablets, and if you want colour, of mono with light on, then the Nxtpaper is better than any colour eink as as good as eink that needs the front light on.

All Android with Playstore automatically has the Gmail for the signed in user.

Over sold / hyped.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I was not impressed by claims in their web advertising that you can run any Android app though their web page only mentions being able to connect to the Google Play store by jumping through some hoops.

It is a simple toggle to enable/disable Google Play, not 'jumping through hoops'. And you only need to do it if their collection of APKs lacks some app you want to try to run).

This is designed as a dedicated, more or less standalone, note-taking device, not an Android tablet. There are many apps that are not going to be happy on it, and not designed to support monochrome.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by tomsem

It is a simple toggle to enable/disable Google Play, not 'jumping through hoops'. And you only need to do it if their collection of APKs lacks some app you want to try to run).

I somehow find "a simple toggle" to be an inadequate description of:

Now that you've found the hidden door, let's walk through it. On Viwoods, the Play Store is already part of the system — all you're doing now is unlocking it the official way. There's no need for third-party APKs or technical workarounds. Everything's native, secure, and just waiting to be switched on with a few guided taps.

Here's exactly how to do it:

1. Navigate to Settings > Play Store, toggle on [Google Service], then tap [Go to Authorize]
2. ⁠Initiate Google Authorization: In the following pop-up window, select [Go to Authorize]
3. ⁠Choose a Sign-In Path: When prompted, select [Use without an account]
4. ⁠Sign in to Google: Enter your Google credentials and tap Next on the login page
5. ⁠Verify Your Identity: Follow the prompts to verify your account. Use whichever method Google offers: text, prompt, or backup code. Then tap Next.
6. ⁠On the Device Registration screen:
   1. Tap [Google Services Framework Android ID]
   2. Long-press the input box and paste the ID (your Viwoods auto-copies it for you)
7. ⁠Complete the CAPTCHA: Check the [I'm not a robot] box, then tap [Register]
8. ⁠Confirm Success: Once you see the ID at the bottom, it means the registration worked.
9. ⁠Reboot Your Device: Tap the Home button, then select [Restart] in the subsequent pop-up window.
10. ⁠Clear Play Store Data: Find the Google Play within the Apps module after rebooting. Long-press the Google Play icon and choose to Clear Data.
11. ⁠Launch and Sign In: Open Google Play, sign in with your Google account, and install your favorite apps.

Other than modifying the list bits since Mobileread did horrible things to the list when I copy/pasted, this is pretty much an exact quote from How to Activate Google Play Store on Viwoods Tablets on Viwoods web site from 2025-Jun-17. If this is what you call a simple toggle, I would hate to see your idea of what a complex install instruction would be.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I somehow find "a simple toggle" to be an inadequate description of:

Other than modifying the list bits since Mobileread did horrible things to the list when I copy/pasted, this is pretty much an exact quote from How to Activate Google Play Store on Viwoods Tablets on Viwoods web site from 2025-Jun-17. If this is what you call a simple toggle, I would hate to see your idea of what a complex install instruction would be.

Yes. OTOH the Boyue Likebook Mars does have a simple toggle for "Google Framework" which enables Playstore. It's instructive as to the apps that won't load when it's off (Google's Playbooks is obvious, but there are other apps that must be spying or they would not need it). Most apps installed from Playstore work fine with GFW off, assuming they work at all. The issue is more complicated than Android 8 (an older phone with Android 8 has correct Chrome dependencies) which causes some apps using Chrome to render to fail, even though Chrome works. There are issues with eink. Sometimes fiddling with settings makes the app work.
Lichess, K9 mail, Firefox, Chrome work, but no solitaire version I've tried. Borroewbox used to wok, but stopped due to Chrome issues (though still works on a Android 8 phone). Libby and Google Playbooks worked last time I tried.

I think Android for an ereader is pointless. I saw no advantage on Android Sony T1 & T2 vs PRS-350 (not Android). Is Android on an ereader showing lack of company skills with proper Linux?

The whole point of Android is the Android GUI and Virtual Machine for Apps. The eink usually needs a custom launcher & GUI patches. There is no predicting which apps will run at all, or have mysterious bugs.

I think Android on eink is oversold. I don't have short battery life, screen glare, distractions (most notifications disabled) or any other difficulty on my NxtPaper phone and tablets (can't tell which is OLED or LCD) and in mono with correct brightness, just as good as Libra or Sage or PW3 or Oasis 2 with their front lights on. The eink is only better for reading novels because it works with ambient light (no front light) and more like size of a paperback I've choice of 5, 6, 6.8, 7 and 8 inch all in 4:3 format.

As soon as you want more than simply reading novels you're better with a decent (properly adjusted) matte screen tablet with a huge battery. Comics, PDFs, textbooks, proprietary Library apps, etc apart from regular App stuff. Far better for notetaking or annotation (I gave Elipsa & reMarkable away and now only read novels on the Sage).

The eink does one thing well: Reflowable monochrome novels in ambient light without footnotes or dropcaps. Even if you have full epub3 (unlikely on eink, and Heritic view incoming), the epub2 and epub3 specs both missed important stuff not in the 1999 original precursor. The Web people took over epub and seems clueless about books and periodicals, but obsessed with making it more like a paginated web browser and adding stuff better done in a PDF. I'd love a paginated browser for the Internet.

Amazon with over 90% of English Language ebooks has gone further away from epub with KFX, which is largely pointless for reflowable ebooks compared to AZW3/KF8 (the typography enhancements and other features of reflowable text of KFX could be done on existing AZW3/KF8 files. See also pointless Kobo kepub format instead of updating the epub renderer for better epub2 & epub3 support).

[tomsem]

I mostly agree about eInk + Android, however I think it must make it easier to put together and test applications than a bare Linux kernel, including finding people with necessary skills. I bet Amazon hasn't hired a Kindle developer in years, and maybe fired all but one or two of them. How else to explain how new features have become so rare and unimpressive?

I had icky experience with Entourage EdgeJr and BOOX/Onyx eReaders, but that was a long time ago. Yet Android & eInk devices keep coming out.

NxtPaper has very minimal presence in the US. TCL site doesn't link to any US store.

AFAICT the only storefront for TCL phone or tablet is on Amazon, no idea where one would go for support other than to hope whoever runs the storefront pays attention to feedback, or just returning it to Amazon. And only 1 phone and 1 (14") tablet model, in various 'bundles'. BestBuy (only electronics chain left) carries only their TVs.

Yeah, setting up GP is only started with simple toggle. It seems Google is upping requirements for getting things going with latest Android versions, unless you pay them something. But perhaps they can streamline it in some update.

On my Fire 11 Max it was install 4 APKs and then just register with Google. But it is a couple of versions back, and I think some Google services (which I do not care about) still don't work on it.

Another weird thing is apparently these do not have USB ports, just charging/headphone port. They claim '7 ways' to get things on and off of there, but it doesn't include this one.

And I think Mobius screen is not amenable to front-light, being flexible, so the AiPaper has none. The plus side is that stylus is not as far from digitizing layer and the eInk contrast is not diminished by the light guiding layer, and it is lighter than glass would be. And the 'give' of the plastic gives it more of a paper feel according to some reviews.

All of that aside (I am not getting one), I still want a super light note-taking device with long time between charges and great handwriting experience. At this point that means eInk is necessary. I do not want to do any editing beyond erase or Undo. But I want to be able to clip and annotate from any kind of document.

Scribe only lets me create notebooks, or annotate books and personal documents, where the annotations live. Never the twain shall meet.

At least with AiPaper or maybe BOOX, you can have reading apps and probably copy and paste text from there to some notebook you have going. Maybe paste in screen captures too? That is kinda what I'd like to have.

I finally have a screen layer and pen tip for my iPad Pro & Pencil that approaches the natural feeling handwriting that I have on Scribe.

And my use cases work okay with Apple Notes and Nebo (which I had paid to unlock features but forgotten about because I wasn't able to write naturally on glass).

But it's not very cuddly (mine is 12.9"). And even the 11" iPads are about 100g heavier than AiPaper. I am gonna try to see if I can adjust to writing for long periods on my mini. I'm doubtful it will live up to my ideal note-taking device, but probably nothing does.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by tomsem

And I think Mobius screen is not amenable to front-light, being flexible, so the AiPaper has none. The plus side is that stylus is not as far from digitizing layer and the eInk contrast is not diminished by the light guiding layer, and it is lighter than glass would be. And the 'give' of the plastic gives it more of a paper feel according to some reviews.

For what it may be worth, the Kobo Forma used an 8" Mobius display. No issues with it's front light. Given that the panel used by AiPaper can be supplied with the touch/digitizer, front light, protective, etc. layers from the factory, I tend more to the suspicion that the decision to not have a front light was based on reducing power use and weight.

[j.p.s]

The Onyx Max series of models has a Mobius screen. The latest, the Max Lumi, has a frontlight, but the frame is quite rigid, rendering it fairly heavy. What ruins it for me is the top layer to enhance writing feel and maybe protect the underlaying layers. It makes text much fuzzier than a 150 dpi Sony DPT-S1, to the point of making reading on it very uncomfortable for me. The Sony is also much lighter.