Onyx Boox Note 10.3 is available Now

[Question Mark]

Just got off the phone with UPS. Apparently, my package has not arrived in Canada yet. Only the paperwork has. All those scans I was seeing were only for the paperwork.

When I asked where my package was, they said it appears that it is still in Germany as they do not yet have a departure scan for the actual package. The woman I was talking to suggested that I contact the shipper so that they can open an investigation and find out where exactly the package is. Consequently, I just sent off an email to the ereaderstore.

I'm not overly concerned at the moment. However, it would be nice to know when the package will actually be arriving so that I can either arrange to be home or have it delivered to my work.

I waited at home on Friday because, according to the information on UPS, my package had been released for transit. I now understand that that was just the paperwork. Wish I had known that at the time. I might have done something else with my day had I known otherwise.

[SnowMuffler]

Please let us know what you hear back. EReadstore refuses to respond to my emails. At this stage even a fairly generic reply would be a nice courtesy.

Since the package is coming internationally it will almost definitely require a signature. I have to plan to be home on the day delivery is attempted which means I need to schedule that with my work. Would be nice to have some sort of concrete details.

[orpheus2011]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Just got off the phone with UPS. Apparently, my package has not arrived in Canada yet. Only the paperwork has. All those scans I was seeing were only for the paperwork.

When I asked where my package was, they said it appears that it is still in Germany as they do not yet have a departure scan for the actual package. The woman I was talking to suggested that I contact the shipper so that they can open an investigation and find out where exactly the package is. Consequently, I just sent off an email to the ereaderstore.

I'm not overly concerned at the moment. However, it would be nice to know when the package will actually be arriving so that I can either arrange to be home or have it delivered to my work.

I waited at home on Friday because, according to the information on UPS, my package had been released for transit. I now understand that that was just the paperwork. Wish I had known that at the time. I might have done something else with my day had I known otherwise.

EDIT: Mine is fully shipped now, shows Origin Scan at Bielefeld, in Germany, with delivery Wednesday!

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by orpheus2011

EDIT: Mine is fully shipped now, shows Origin Scan at Bielefeld, in Germany, with delivery Wednesday!

Mine has also now shipped from Bielefeld as indicated by the departure scan. Hopefully, will be receiving it before the end of the week.

[pdfreaderguy]

Originally Posted by SnowMuffler

Please let us know what you hear back. EReadstore refuses to respond to my emails. At this stage even a fairly generic reply would be a nice courtesy.

The entirety of the ereader space is a hodgepodge of poor business skills and lackluster customer service.

It creates so much confusion in the market place.

Minimal details from the vendors on shipping times, origin destinations, etc. Things are listed in stock when they aren't really. PreOrder without a even a close ship date, etc.

The makers of the devices are just as guilty. Onyx has a boox note page "coming soon". That page is live, but not on their actual menu. Google picks it up randomly. This thread further tells buyers researching, "boox note available now". Research around the web and you find all this contradictory release date information, never a word from Onyx about the reality (limited regional runs have been released, no one knows who or what stock will be available for their own region going forward). More market place confusion. Vendors compounding it with silence and uninformative websites.

I read news articles about whether ereaders are really going to hang on, or if new tech will make them continue as niche items outside of the kindle. But the average person can never follow all of this and will not take the time to spend their money on a product that might be available today...or in 2 months. Might ship from Germany or China. And then after all that, you pay a premium for the device for silence. Just doesn't do much for the industry as a whole.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by pdfreaderguy

The entirety of the ereader space is a hodgepodge of poor business skills and lackluster customer service.

It creates so much confusion in the market place.

Minimal details from the vendors on shipping times, origin destinations, etc. Things are listed in stock when they aren't really. PreOrder without a even a close ship date, etc.

I agree that the communication could be better. My guess is that there might have been more interest in this device than was anticipated which would necessarily lead to many, many emails... and there are only so many hours in a day.

That said, a generic email explaining the situation and the timeline would have done much to relieve the anxiety of those who had never dealt with Booxtor's store before. And that information would then have gotten shared here.

As for your comment about the shipping date in relation to pre-roders, I don't really agree with that. A general timeline was given. It was revised when there was the mix-up with Onyx which wanted their product back for domestic release before the international release. That, unfortunately, coincided with the Chinese New Year which led to a further delay.

That was all clearly conveyed to those who pre-ordered the device and a refund was offered to those who did not want to wait. Pretty straightforward and altogether reasonable.

When pre-ordering new products, there are inevitably some delays. If one isn't willing to accept that, then one should wait until well after the product has been released and people are sharing information about it before placing an order.

The delays have been unfortunate, but understandable. The communication could have been somewhat better. That would have greatly relieved the anxieties of first time buyers. But that is what sometimes happens when you want a product that is new to the market. If you cannot handle that, then it is best to wait.

[pdfreaderguy]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

I agree that the communication could be better. My guess is that there might have been more interest in this device than was anticipated which would necessarily lead to many, many emails... and there are only so many hours in a day.

That said, a generic email explaining the situation and the timeline would have done much to relieve the anxiety of those who had never dealt with Booxtor's store before. And that information would then have gotten shared here.

Mass email or a single blog post would solve it. It's standard and available for free.
There nothing public facing to update public information for the great majority of potential buyers. Just months of conflicting information.
Minutes to solve. No effort to do so.

As for your comment about the shipping date in relation to pre-roders, I don't really agree with that. A general timeline was given. It was revised when there was the mix-up with Onyx which wanted their product back for domestic release before the international release. That, unfortunately, coincided with the Chinese New Year which led to a further delay.

That was all clearly conveyed to those who pre-ordered the device and a refund was offered to those who did not want to wait. Pretty straightforward and altogether reasonable.

That's real good for those who paid early and have been watching every minute. Worthless for those that came in to buy a product and it says Feb/March. Then March/April. A couple notices that the item is available in that time period...not really, that's just 20 unites released in China.

This isn't about one vendor. It's about the entire space and Onyx is just a major example of this...along with their vendor chain.

If you go look for the onyx boox note starting today, it's a disaster of misinformation littering search engines and forums. All without context and with zero attempt to clear things up by the manufacturer or vendors.
It would take 3 minutes for Onyx to release an electronic press release that would then trickle down the vendor and enthusiast chain.

It's all very unprofessional and the entire ereader industry, outside of the kindle, exhibits this kind of amateur pre and post sale support.

[rpvreviews]

Checked with Onyx seller on Amazon through their Boox Max page:

Message from 3rd party seller:

Thanks for your interest in our Note!
It should be available at the end of this month.
Thank you
Yours
Onyx International Inc

[pdfreaderguy]

Originally Posted by rpvreviews

Checked with Onyx seller on Amazon through their Boox Max page:

Message from 3rd party seller:

Thanks for your interest in our Note!
It should be available at the end of this month.
Thank you
Yours
Onyx International Inc

Thanks for the update. That's a big one.

[mossblaser]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Mine has also now shipped from Bielefeld as indicated by the departure scan. Hopefully, will be receiving it before the end of the week.

Likewise, mine updated to actually having been dispatched at long last too! Sadly it'll now arrive while I'm away at a conference rather than just before...

[orpheus2011]

Originally Posted by pdfreaderguy

The entirety of the ereader space is a hodgepodge of poor business skills and lackluster customer service.

It creates so much confusion in the market place.

Minimal details from the vendors on shipping times, origin destinations, etc. Things are listed in stock when they aren't really. PreOrder without a even a close ship date, etc.

The makers of the devices are just as guilty. Onyx has a boox note page "coming soon". That page is live, but not on their actual menu. Google picks it up randomly. This thread further tells buyers researching, "boox note available now". Research around the web and you find all this contradictory release date information, never a word from Onyx about the reality (limited regional runs have been released, no one knows who or what stock will be available for their own region going forward). More market place confusion. Vendors compounding it with silence and uninformative websites.

I read news articles about whether ereaders are really going to hang on, or if new tech will make them continue as niche items outside of the kindle. But the average person can never follow all of this and will not take the time to spend their money on a product that might be available today...or in 2 months. Might ship from Germany or China. And then after all that, you pay a premium for the device for silence. Just doesn't do much for the industry as a whole.

I fully agree with you, but this isn’t going to go away soon. These are niche products, virtually with out competitors, in a niche industry. Ereader Store is the only long standing Western reseller, it’s true that Amazon is now stocking and selling them, but as often with Amazon and third parties, that agreement could end soon. I also think that Ereader Store could have better comms, but they are probably too small to run a full fledged customer service, and demand really peaks at product launches. Probably in 6-7 weeks things will have died down.

As for Onyx, we simply have to stick with them, because there is nothing else like their products, that combination of hardware and software. Things would shake up if real competition, and products capable of same features would emerge from multiple companies, but I can’t see that happening. Unless you have a specific attachment/desire for eink devices, you are a) not buying anything thats not a Kindle b) not spending over 500 Euroes on it. Several friends of mine expressed great interest in the Max Pro, but balked out when faced with the price.

[Philippe D.]

Originally Posted by orpheus2011

As for Onyx, we simply have to stick with them, because there is nothing else like their products, that combination of hardware and software. Things would shake up if real competition, and products capable of same features would emerge from multiple companies, but I can’t see that happening. Unless you have a specific attachment/desire for eink devices, you are a) not buying anything thats not a Kindle b) not spending over 500 Euroes on it. Several friends of mine expressed great interest in the Max Pro, but balked out when faced with the price.

The price is indeed a major blocking point.

Just last week I was at a maths conference, where I was regularly using two devices: my Remarkable for note taking (I didn't take any notes on paper), and my Max 2 for reading articles. Several colleagues expressed interest in both, and I showed them both devices and explained what I felt were the strenghts and weaknesses of each. Another colleague in my department knew about the Remarkable and wants to try it out for himself.

I think, with a lower price tag and some better mix of hardware and software, this kind of device could really find a market in the academic community, but there is still some work to be done, and I'm not sure the few manufacturers will make the necessary investments. Too bad, really.

(I also know about the Sony line, but I haven't had the opportunity to try them. From what I've read on this forum the hardware is very good as well, and the software is good if limited to PDF; but the system is way too closed and control-hungry for my uses, so I looked elsewhere. Plus, they're not distributing their devices in Europe)

[mdp]

Originally Posted by Philippe D.

The price is indeed a major blocking point.
[...]
I think, with a lower price tag [...] and I'm not sure the few manufacturers will make the necessary investments. Too bad, really.

The 13.3'' display is 450$ on the E-Ink shop page:
https://shopkits.eink.com/page/2/?sw...rby=price-desc
and I remember Booxtor reporting 600$ for the first productions.

The return of investment is probably only just occurring.

[orpheus2011]

Originally Posted by Philippe D.

I think, with a lower price tag and some better mix of hardware and software, this kind of device could really find a market in the academic community, but there is still some work to be done, and I'm not sure the few manufacturers will make the necessary investments. Too bad, really.

(I also know about the Sony line, but I haven't had the opportunity to try them. From what I've read on this forum the hardware is very good as well, and the software is good if limited to PDF; but the system is way too closed and control-hungry for my uses, so I looked elsewhere. Plus, they're not distributing their devices in Europe)

The problem is exactly this. It's a very small market, of enthusiasts, academics and more who actually need a _reading_ device, beyond the limitations of walled garden systems like Kindle. Onyx's main strength is the open nature of the platform. The number of such people is small. Look at this very forum - great people, and great enthusiasm, but who would invest serious money based on the number of active users here?
For myself, one of the draws is, for example, being able to install the Android app of an ebook provider which uses a custom form of DRM - only it's own apps can be used. Remarkable or Sony are non-starters because of their proprietary software, and weaker reading capabilities. Sony, as mentioned quite rightly, does not even bother with distributing these high level ereaders in Europe - spending several hundred Euroes on something with no European support whatsoever seems very risky to me. So I am sticking to Onyx, and have decided to reward Ereader.store with my custom, despite the shortcomings in customer service, because Booxtor is a convinced supporter of the Onyx approach and will keep on being so.

[Orb_dude]

Hi all,

Very recently ordered the Boox Note. Prior to my actual order, Ereader store still replied to emails....not anymore. Owel, let's hope they quickly get their act together. They told me that not until April sufficient shipments will arrive to build up any stock.

In the past, I used Livescribe, Neo pen (currently in use), Wacom and some other paper to digital based solutions. None of them really work with limitations either in the used app, proper working transcribe functionality or a pen you need to re-charge way too often.

Coming weeks I start a new job with the obvious peak / surge in notes on top of regular notes I take. Contemplating in getting the Remarkable til the Note arrives.

Did anyone actually receive their Note already? I still don't see new reviews on Youtube so am wondering...