My thoughts on the Boox Tab X C

[violent23]

Hey all, been hanging around here for the last 15 years, and I love to see the site still kicking and active. Forums for the win!

Anyways, I just reviewed the Boox Tab X C for my website. Don't worry, the site isn't monetized whatsoever (that means no ads or affiliation); it's a passion project born out of love.

Having just wrapped up my thoughts on the subject, I thought maybe some users here would appreciate an in-depth review.

Personally, I think the Boox Tab X C is the best large E Ink device currently available. Yes, it's a Kaleido 3 screen, but I'd absolutely put it up against reMarkable's Gallery 3 as a real contender.

My use case is reading old gaming magazines, comic books, and manga, and it delivers, using NeoReader no less. Sure, you can install whatever apps you prefer, thanks to the Play Store, but I find NeoReader has really improved over the years and finally contains all the options I need, even reversing the reading direction for manga.

So, if anyone is wondering what the device is like to use day to day, feel free to fire away any questions you have, and I'll help where I can.

Overall, it's one of the best e-readers Boox has released, and even though the price is high, man, do you get what you pay for. Is anyone else out there loving theirs?

Oh, and if you'd like to see the manga and comic reading in action, the review includes a few videos as well.

[davester]

I was looking so forward to purchasing this ... until I saw that it has Android-13 installed, where Android-16 is the latest version. The device cannot be updated to a newer Android version. My concern is that Google has stated that they will no-longer provide security updates for Android-13 in ~6-months ... and since this device is designed to be a full Android-tablet, then there may be major security issues when browsing the web, or accessing private data within an app (e.g. bank app, email app, store-files-in-the-cloud app, health/doctor app). In addition, certain apps will not install/work unless the device has a recent Android version.
Is this a valid concern? Your thoughts please!

[Aleron Ives]

Onyx Boox always uses old chipsets tied to old Android versions in order to cut costs. I suspect the security of your data is at far greater risk from installing a malicious application than it is from an outdated Android version. Boox tablets are primarily intended for reading and writing, as many applications will not work with an e-paper screen at all. As such, compatibility is not really a factor, as most applications won't work properly, anyway.

It isn't a substitute for a normal Android tablet; it fills a specific niche for people who want a more pleasant reading and writing experience with the added fllexibility that Android offers (to a point, due to the limited screen).

[violent23]

I honestly can't think of any E Ink device that isn't running an older version of the OS. From Boox to Supernote to Bigme, they are all running older versions; this is both normal and expected from my point of view.

As for app compatibility, the OS version is less of a concern compared to whether or not the app works well on an E Ink screen to begin with.

So yeah, there are always downsides to any device, and with an E Ink tablet, not every app is gonna look good or work right. Can't say I've ever wanted to use a bank app on an E Ink tablet; that's what my laptops, PC, and phone are for.

So for me, security and app compatibility aren't much of a concern when it comes to my purchasing decision for a Boox or similar device, as I'm more so buying it to read. Like I sure wouldn't buy an E Ink Android device to watch videos, you know what I'm saying, same as I wouldn't use it for managing and storing sensitive health info.

Now, cloud storage works a treat since you can easily install whatever app you use. My go-to is Drive, and being able to pull down my files anytime I want is great. I store many PDFs, comics, and manga on Drive, so I can hit the ground running with any new Boox device.

Overall, if you're looking for a replacement for a typical Android tablet that can do everything from banking to watching YouTube, you're prob better off sticking with that. However, if you tend to use your Android tablets for things like reading comics, manga, PDFs, and other large-form content, then something like the Boox Tab X C is certainly a device to look at.

Aleron is right, it's still a niche device even though Boox has done a bang-up job getting ghosting down and the framerate to an acceptable point, but there are still limits to E Ink and how Android apps work with it, which should be considered.

[krypton-fragment]

For security, I created a Google account that is only used with my Tab XC.

[Deekin]

I have two 13 inch ereaders. First is the sony dpt-s1 and second is onyx max lumi2. Although my second one is a lumi with background light I do not use this option in order to save battery.

I've watched numerous reviews on TAB X C and they all say it's a color kaleido screen so the backlight is necessary. Is it possible to read the documents without the backlight and does the quality or readability suffer very much?

I just want to save the battery - and to be honest for years I used a e-reader without the backlight so even on my lumi I turn the lights to 0.

Thanks again for the answers!

[fbrzvnrnd]

Originally Posted by Deekin

I've watched numerous reviews on TAB X C and they all say it's a color kaleido screen so the backlight is necessary. Is it possible to read the documents without the backlight and does the quality or readability suffer very much?


Thanks again for the answers!

I use the Tab XC usually without the frontlight but I use ambient light (sun, lamps...) to keep the screen well readable. The contrast is much lower than my Note3, but I feel fine with the screen, I read the last McEwan novel with it without frontlight. I use it more as notebook than ebook reader anyway, and I think the contrast in keyboard cover position and - for example - color web pages, is better to my eyes. But, TBH, used as notebook it uses a lot of battery and - i you think to use it only as ebook reader with no colors, maybe it is not the best model to use.