New "Mars" device from Likebook?

[azw409]

It's a shame the MoonReader guys don't build in an eInk mode in the paid version, it would easily be the most popular reader on all of these devices if they did.

I'm awaiting my LM, just shipped today from China, I never used MR on my Onyx Boox because I could never get it to look as crisp as the built in reader. They could really steal this market.

[Johann Cat]

Originally Posted by crane3

The "problems" with the sd card is mainly due to the android 6 which changes how it is accessed or not. There have been reported problems with calibre companion & putting its library onto an sd card with android 6 tablets. Evidently, it is 'solved' by having the android 6 tablet format the sd card so that android 6 know that it is identifiable by android 6 & grants permissions.

I also had the problem with an android 6 tablet with CC I wanted to move the library from main memory to the sd card when CC had the ability to use CC library from the sd card. Only had permission to read data, no write. I changed the permission with total commander, was done "OK" but android 6 did not really do it so the data & directory remained read only..

But this isn't true of all Android 6.0 devices--this is a Boyue/LB, proprietary protocol. I have two different, other Android 6 tablets, and I can put data on their external SD cards with a Windows device, or another Android, and the Android 6 tablets are fine with that. The Mars, on the other hand, announced when I first put the SD card in it, "we will now format this card uniquely for this device." If I next put this in another device, it is unrecognizable, and needs to be reformatted. I had never seen this behavior before, and rate it as unique to the Mars, and, again, really undesirable in an e-reader.

[Johann Cat]

Originally Posted by Matilo

Likebook Mars How to install Google play:

https://youtu.be/uIkQPkNmgSA

This video leaves out the crucial step of showing Play actually open, work, and load apps. I followed these steps but Play, like many apps for the Mars, is nonfunctional.

[downeaster59]

Part of the problems we are seeing here is that there seem to be two distinct series of Boyue firmware for the LM. Mine does not have Google Play at all. Period. Nothing "Google" whatsoever in Apps. Nothing to install. But, I don't seem to have all the issues that Johann Cat describes.

If the firmware series that has Play Store doesn't have Play Store and its supporting apps properly installed, that would screw up the firmware in other ways, too.

When I had the Boyue T62 and the Onyx C67, my impression was that the Boyue had the better hardware (especially battery life), but that the Onyx had the better firmware. The Boyue's had some minor but annoying bugs. One solution was to install the Onyx's firmware on the Boyue, as both had very similar specs. Someone figured out how to tweak the Onyx firmware to run on the Boyue. It actually worked very well.

Boyue, or at least the Boyue seller on Amazon, seems to be more responsive to customer comments than before. I'm hoping that they will clean up these bugs soon. I've emailed them about the auto-refresh bug, and they responded quickly. Let's keep emailing them until they fix these issues.

Onyx is supposed to release a similar device to the LM, one they call the Nova. The screen size is identical. I wonder if the hardware will be very similar, like before. Maybe the old firmware switch will work again, if Boyue doesn't fix it themselves...

Edit: It is possible that rooting the LM could open the door to some manual fix. But that would involve a lot of time, mainly in "trial-and-error" stuff - the kind of thing Boyue needs to be doing. I don't see it as worth the time and effort just yet.

[sawdin2]

FWIW, Amazon page heading states "Support Google Store 9/28 Release"

http://www.amazon.com/Likebook-Reade...language=en_US


How does this compare to the Kobo Aura One in terms of "screen quality"? Also, is the adjustable light orange/amber or just a mildly softer/yellower version of the default?
Finally, is the main advantage the expandability that Android offers?

TIA!

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by sawdin2

FWIW, Amazon page heading states "Support Google Store 9/28 Release"

http://www.amazon.com/Likebook-Reade...language=en_US


How does this compare to the Kobo Aura One in terms of "screen quality"? Also, is the adjustable light orange/amber or just a mildly softer/yellower version of the default?
Finally, is the main advantage the expandability that Android offers?

TIA!

I haven't seen the Aura One, but I can tell you that the Likebook Mars compares favorably to the current Kindle Oasis. The E-Ink refresh on third party apps needs work on the Likebook, but Boyue promises an update next month that will fix that glitch.

I would call its light a softer/yellower/warmer version of the default. Switching back and forth from one kind of light to the other, the difference is easily visible. I use only the softer light.

If you are looking for a device to read eBooks only, then there's no advantage to getting an Android E-Ink device. For me, the advantage of an Android E-Ink device is the ability to install apps that are mainly about reading (Pocket, Instapaper, Wikipedia, Logos) and read their text on E-Ink.

[sawdin2]

Originally Posted by downeaster59

I haven't seen the Aura One, but I can tell you that the Likebook Mars compares favorably to the current Kindle Oasis. The E-Ink refresh on third party apps needs work on the Likebook, but Boyue promises an update next month that will fix that glitch.

I would call its light a softer/yellower/warmer version of the default. Switching back and forth from one kind of light to the other, the difference is easily visible. I use only the softer light.

If you are looking for a device to read eBooks only, then there's no advantage to getting an Android E-Ink device. For me, the advantage of an Android E-Ink device is the ability to install apps that are mainly about reading (Pocket, Instapaper, Wikipedia, Logos) and read their text on E-Ink.

Thanks...I had a Nook HD Tablet that I used in the past and enjoyed having Android on it, mainly for the twilight app (filters blue light) and to use for music apps. My smartphone can handle all of the music now and KA1 has built in bluelight filtering.

I do want to get a dedicated ereader (E-Ink) as I believe it will be more comfortable reading on one compared to a regular tablet. However, the Nook spoiled me as I can't imagine reading on a 6" screen like a Kindle Paperwhite. Even the Oasis 7" I tried at Best Buy recently seemed too small. Unfortunately, I don't want to shell out nearly $400 for an Onyx Boox Note S when I probably won't use it for taking notes.

[downeaster59]

Originally Posted by sawdin2

Thanks...I had a Nook HD Tablet that I used in the past and enjoyed having Android on it, mainly for the twilight app (filters blue light) and to use for music apps. My smartphone can handle all of the music now and KA1 has built in bluelight filtering.

I do want to get a dedicated ereader (E-Ink) as I believe it will be more comfortable reading on one compared to a regular tablet. However, the Nook spoiled me as I can't imagine reading on a 6" screen like a Kindle Paperwhite. Even the Oasis 7" I tried at Best Buy recently seemed too small. Unfortunately, I don't want to shell out nearly $400 for an Onyx Boox Note S when I probably won't use it for taking notes.

The Likebook Mars and the Aura One have the same size display (7.8 inches). Going up to something larger will cost you! The Note doesn't have a frontlight at all, though. You would need enough ambient light to read a paper book comfortably to use the Note.

The Onyx Nova is due to be released soon, I believe. It is also 7.8 inches. Haven't seen specs on it, but it's probably similar to the Likebook. Probably priced similarly as well.

If you're only looking to read eBooks, then the Aura One may be your best bet. If you want the ability to add apps that are reading-based, then an Android E-Ink device would work best.

[Johann Cat]

I doubt my Mars has different firmware than other customers here. To be clear, I sideloaded Google Play and Play Services, but when I did, a menu item came up in the manage apps screen that asked if I wanted to to engage Google services. I said "yes" and proceeded. I put a 10% chance on this working, and it didn't, though Play tries to open, but with no text on the screen. My take on the Mars is that it doesn't behave like an open-source android, like every other B&W android I have used, but rather like a broken Kobo that half-way accepts outside apps. I'm really disappointed, because the hardware seemed promising. The operating system is not ready for prime time. Maybe they'll get the OS right, but I'm sticking with my 2015 Onyx i86, which is still the best 8 inch B&W android I have seen so far.

[crane3]

For me, the display is about the same; cannot really "compare" as the settings could not be configured exactly.

Side-loading Google services is not the only app that is required; also needs to install Google's account manager for login/etc. Have read that it is debatable whether Framework is needed. However, I had to install all 3 apps to get google play working on my Fire HDX. On my Fire TV, Google Play store dies at the login.

There is a big difference between android 4.2 & 6.0; in fact, could not get Google play store to work on the Fire HDX until the Fire updated the system from 4.x to 5.x, which I believe is a variation of android 4.x to a variation of android 5.x.

The Aura One is a very limited reader for me & does not allow much variations that satisfy me. The KA1 has a flaky database for books that is easily corruptible; at least that was what I was told that my problems was a corrupted database. With the "latest" firmware, asof 2018/09/28, the fix for a system reboot when deleting a book was fixed. But if the KA1 have been "sleeping" for some time, I have to press the power button to wake the reader, at least twice as the 1st time does not appear to do anything.

The thing is how happy one is about the management of the books as even Kindles have their limitations. But the ipad is the worst for managing one's data on the ipad without using & paying for the icloud.

There is no perfect eink ereader or tablet. I still prefer reading on the tablet as it provides more visibility for my eyesight; I do not use the orange night setup as it is too dim for me.

[crane3]

Just a note that the NextApp Technical keyboard works; has a Fn key that brings up a layout that lets one use the arrow keys. I find that I am unable to place my finger between letters easily to make a correction.

Technical keyboard is a beta but looks to be "beta" a long time nearly forever? Kind of like the SLRN news reader which is at 0.99 for many many years.

Technical keyboard is touted to be like the 'standard' ASOP keyboard with a slight variation; like what is on Likebook Mars.

[DarkCookie]

New firmware V1.0.2-2018092813 has show up on my device (this is the first update for me).
Impressions (from v1.0.0):
- more free ram
- bleaching is buggy, it's not turning off automatically, generally good idea but this need fixing.
- some input boxes did not refresh properly (and that is why in my opinion my previous firmware was better).

[romevi]

Originally Posted by DarkCookie

New firmware V1.0.2-2018092813 has show up on my device (this is the first update for me).
Impressions (from v1.0.0):
- more free ram
- bleaching is buggy, it's not turning off automatically, generally good idea but this need fixing.
- some input boxes did not refresh properly (and that is why in my opinion my previous firmware was better).

Interesting.

I have the one from the 27; I'm in the U.S. I checked to see whether I have any more updates but none yet.
Maybe it's the same update?

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by azw409

It's a shame the MoonReader guys don't build in an eInk mode in the paid version, it would easily be the most popular reader on all of these devices if they did.

I find that by default Moon+ Reader Pro is eInk friendly. I use it exclusively on my eInk device. I guess there are areas of Moonreader that are very usable, but could be improved. As it happens I don't use those areas often (if at all). I use Calibre Companion to manage my library and transfer books to my device. I use RelaunchX as my app launcher and file manager and usually open my books in Moon+ Reader via the file manager. The actual reading portion of MR and all option menus are completely eInk friendly.

You might want to contact the developer with any specific items you think could be improved for eInk use.

[fduniho]

Since the Likebook Mars doesn't have a gyroscope or autorotate, I installed Smart Rotate. This changed the screen orientation when the Smart Rotate app was running, but the orientation changed back to the default when I ran the Kindle app. Also, I could not access the Smart Rotate controls in the Notification area while running the Kindle app. I suspected that the Likebook Mars was not allowing full multi-tasking between multiple apps. I noted that it does not include the usual box button for selecting between different running apps. To test my hypothesis, I started playing music with Spotify. As soon as I ran the Kindle app, the music stopped. When I used Assistant for Android to check the running processes, Spotify was no longer among them. To further test how these apps would normally work under Android, I installed both to my Kindle Fire. I was able to listen to music with Spotify while using Smart Rotate to change the screen orienation in a Kindle book and also while playing a game in another app. So, I have to conclude that the Likebook Mars is not letting multiple apps multitask with each other. I understand that this might help save the battery, but it stops me from using helpful background apps, and it kind of defeats the purpose of having an octacore CPU.