Onyx Boox C67/D67/i67 6" Carte/Dual-core

[Manolo]

I have seen:
http://onyx.en.alibaba.com/product/6...eader_D67.html

New Onyx Boox C67, D67 & i67. I don't know if/when will be available in western market.
They seem to be the successors of C65. Main differencias
- e-ink Carta screen (only in D67)
- CPU dual core A9 Rockchip RK3026 (as in Boeye T61-2014/T62 and the re-branded Icarus Illumina E653)
-Android 4.2
Other specifications as usual 1024x758, 512 MB, etc.

Different models with/without frontligh and different bodies, i67 seems to be similar body to i62, C67 to C65 and D67 the new design.

Any information? Booxtor?
Will it be available in western market? When?
edit: it's Android 4.2, not 4.4. Only D67 has Carta screen

[Manolo]

It seems that C67 it's the same than Afterglow 2
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=249916

BTW edited first post to correct that:
-only D67 has Carta screen
-Android release it's 4.2 and not 4.4

[downeaster59]

The C67 is now available through Banggood.com. Haven't seen the D67 yet.

[Manolo]

And C67 is sold by Artatech as Afterglow 2.

[Hrafn]

The C67ML is also on sale at http://www.onyx-boox.ru/boox_c67ml_magellan2 - which lists the weight as 169g (as opposed to Onyx Boox's normal, very broad, "≤" weight ranges).

This model is currently pinned as my 'go to' model if the second page-forward button on my i62HD conks out before O-B releases a better 6". But I am hoping that the D67 (or better yet an O-B with the Kindle Voyage's screen technology) may eventuate before then.

Does anybody know why Carta screens have been so slow to become widespread? There are only a handful of models featuring them after a year, whereas HD Pearl screens became ubiquitous almost immediately. Are they that more expensive than Pearl that they've been sidestepped?

While replacement models that are lighter and narrower for the same screen size are welcome, I was rather hoping for an improvement in contrast and/or resolution with my next buy as well.

[afainber]

My personal opinion is that Carta screens were so slow to become widespread because they were not that much better than the Pearl HD. Of the few devices that do use Carta screen, it appears that only the Carta-based Kindle Paperwhite's screen is considered to be noticeable better than Pearl HD. The other few Carta-based devices have screen whose superiority is not noticed by everyone. Thus, my conclusion is that the Kindle's screen improvement is not necessarily because of it being a Carta but for other technological reasons.

Therefore, many vendors don't like to pay for the more expensive screen and never get the quality upgrade.

Again - this is purely my personal opinion.

[karamasova]

http://www.onyx-boox.ru/boox_i63ml_newton
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0...-i63ml-newton/

Onyx i63ml newton.
6" Carta E-ink screen, 8GB internal storage, frontlight, Regal wave form refresh tech. but, android 2.3.1

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...01&postcount=1

[afainber]

Originally Posted by karamasova

http://www.onyx-boox.ru/boox_i63ml_newton
http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0...-i63ml-newton/

Onyx i63ml newton.
6" Carta E-ink screen, 8GB internal storage, frontlight, Regal wave form refresh tech. but, android 2.3.1

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...01&postcount=1

Most of the reviewers agree that the difference between the screen this device and its predecessor that was identical but with a Pearl HD screen are unnoticeable.

[Hrafn]

Originally Posted by afainber

My personal opinion is that Carta screens were so slow to become widespread because they were not that much better than the Pearl HD. Of the few devices that do use Carta screen, it appears that only the Carta-based Kindle Paperwhite's screen is considered to be noticeable better than Pearl HD. The other few Carta-based devices have screen whose superiority is not noticed by everyone. Thus, my conclusion is that the Kindle's screen improvement is not necessarily because of it being a Carta but for other technological reasons.

I would agree that Carta is an incremental improvement, rather than a revolutionary one (see for example this chart), but would question whether the KPW2 does that much better than other manufacturers -- reviews for both the KPW2 and Kobo Aura H2O describe an improvement that could be summarised as 'small but noticeable'. (The review for the Pocketbook Ultra is a lot less favorable, but that seems more a product of manufacturer errors than the underlying technology.) I would therefore expect that as long as the price differential was commensurate with the improvement (i.e. small), that manufacturers would seek to utilise it.

If the price differential were larger, I'd have expected it to be Amazon that would be first to pass on it for their mainstream product (i.e. the KPW2), and reserve it for a premium product (i.e. the Voyage) only. Amazon tends to use their eReaders as loss-leaders on their eBook business, so I would expect them to be more cost-conscious and less interested in being on the technological cutting edge. Independent manufacturers on the other hand live and die on their eReader business, so must encourage readers to buy/upgrade-to their new model to survive, so need to differentiate their product both from their competitors and from last-year's-models.

[Hrafn]

Originally Posted by afainber

Most of the reviewers agree that the difference between the screen this device and its predecessor that was identical but with a Pearl HD screen are unnoticeable.

Wasn't the main selling point of the i63ML over the i62ML the fact that it came with Android (and thus the ability to install Apps) rather than screen improvements?

(Addendum: on review, it seems to be rather hard to find any reviews of this product, except in Russian -- I must have been remembering the pre-release anticipation of this, or a similar, model.)

In any case, I'm assuming that the i67 is about to replace the i63.

[afainber]

Originally Posted by Hrafn

Wasn't the main selling point of the i63ML over the i62ML the fact that it came with Android (and thus the ability to install Apps) rather than screen improvements?

(Addendum: on review, it seems to be rather hard to find any reviews of this product, except in Russian -- I must have been remembering the pre-release anticipation of this, or a similar, model.)

In any case, I'm assuming that the i67 is about to replace the i63.

It's confusing, because there are two devices that are marked i63ML. One has the codename "Maxwell" and has a Pearl HD screen and the other is "Newton" and has a Carta screen (and lacks the joystick "Maxwell" has in favor of a single Home button). Both run Android. Maxwell was released first and Newton was released later and it was the first device with Carta on the Russian market.

[afainber]

Originally Posted by Hrafn

I would agree that Carta is an incremental improvement, rather than a revolutionary one (see for example this chart), but would question whether the KPW2 does that much better than other manufacturers -- reviews for both the KPW2 and Kobo Aura H2O describe an improvement that could be summarised as 'small but noticeable'. (The review for the Pocketbook Ultra is a lot less favorable, but that seems more a product of manufacturer errors than the underlying technology.) I would therefore expect that as long as the price differential was commensurate with the improvement (i.e. small), that manufacturers would seek to utilise it.

If the price differential were larger, I'd have expected it to be Amazon that would be first to pass on it for their mainstream product (i.e. the KPW2), and reserve it for a premium product (i.e. the Voyage) only. Amazon tends to use their eReaders as loss-leaders on their eBook business, so I would expect them to be more cost-conscious and less interested in being on the technological cutting edge. Independent manufacturers on the other hand live and die on their eReader business, so must encourage readers to buy/upgrade-to their new model to survive, so need to differentiate their product both from their competitors and from last-year's-models.

All manufacturers of e-ink-based devices share the same problem - the technology improves very very slowly. Other than the addition of frontlight, the modern devices are very similar to the ones that were the cutting edge in 2010 (see Sony PRS-650).

Therefore every manufacturer has to add as much new technology to their new devices as he can. The main difference between them and everyone else (except maybe Kobo) that they have the resources and skills to do more with roughly the same screen tech. This is why their screens are the whitest, their backlight is the most uniform etc. If they weren't innovating in every new device, people would not have upgraded and it's already been said that the US e-ink ebook readers market has reached saturation, so encouraging customers to buy new devices is not so easy.

[karamasova]

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...01&postcount=1

[Hrafn]

Originally Posted by afainber

All manufacturers of e-ink-based devices share the same problem - the technology improves very very slowly. Other than the addition of frontlight, the modern devices are very similar to the ones that were the cutting edge in 2010 (see Sony PRS-650).

From experience to date, I tend to wear out the page-turn buttons on my eReaders every two to three years. When I look for a replacement I'm hoping for a small, but at least noticeable, improvement in the new model.

If the new model is something that resembles the Kindle Voyage (improved resolution, flush bezel, and non-mechanical-pageturn buttons that possibly-won't-wear-out-so-fast), then I will be very pleased. If it is something like the D67 or i67 (lighter with slightly improved screen) then I'll be mildly pleased. If it is something like the C67 (same screen in a lighter package), I'll be mildly disappointed.

Therefore every manufacturer has to add as much new technology to their new devices as he can. The main difference between them and everyone else (except maybe Kobo) that they have the resources and skills to do more with roughly the same screen tech. This is why their screens are the whitest, their backlight is the most uniform etc. If they weren't innovating in every new device, people would not have upgraded and it's already been said that the US e-ink ebook readers market has reached saturation, so encouraging customers to buy new devices is not so easy.

I would question your assumption here. Amazon (and Kobo) don't develop and manufacture screens, E-Ink does. Do you have any evidence to back up your assertion that "their screens are the whitest, their backlight is the most uniform etc" (beyond the fact that they tend to use the latest generation of E-Ink's technology). I have not seen any evidence that Amazon's eReader screens are ubiquitously better than those from other manufacturers' of the same generation.

I would further note that neither Amazon nor Kobo manufacture their own eReaders, they farm that work out to Chinese manufacturers, making the difference between their products and that of other Chinese manufacturers (such as Onyx) even less easy to distinguish.

[afainber]

Originally Posted by Hrafn

From experience to date, I tend to wear out the page-turn buttons on my eReaders every two to three years. When I look for a replacement I'm hoping for a small, but at least noticeable, improvement in the new model.

If the new model is something that resembles the Kindle Voyage (improved resolution, flush bezel, and non-mechanical-pageturn buttons that possibly-won't-wear-out-so-fast), then I will be very pleased. If it is something like the D67 or i67 (lighter with slightly improved screen) then I'll be mildly pleased. If it is something like the C67 (same screen in a lighter package), I'll be mildly disappointed.



I would question your assumption here. Amazon (and Kobo) don't develop and manufacture screens, E-Ink does. Do you have any evidence to back up your assertion that "their screens are the whitest, their backlight is the most uniform etc" (beyond the fact that they tend to use the latest generation of E-Ink's technology). I have not seen any evidence that Amazon's eReader screens are ubiquitously better than those from other manufacturers' of the same generation.

I would further note that neither Amazon nor Kobo manufacture their own eReaders, they farm that work out to Chinese manufacturers, making the difference between their products and that of other Chinese manufacturers (such as Onyx) even less easy to distinguish.

You are right in that I don't have exact numbers to back my opinion. However, feel free to scrape all the images online of a Kindle/Kobo and their competitors and read all the reviews. The first generation of Kindle Paperwhite was criticized a lot for its blotchy frontlight. When the next Paperwhite came out (and then the Voyage) - this part of the criticism near disappeared. Now read the reviews of the newest Onyx, Boyue and Tolinos: "blotchy", "non-uniform frontlight", "the contrast is not good" (I personally had two T68 devices. One has a great backlight. The other... not so great. Both have about the same contrast as my old Sony PRS-650, maybe even slightly less. Even the 2nd generation Kindle Paperwhite has better contrast).

While you are right that Amazon and Kobo do not manufacture their own screens, they appear to do better quality control and they have the first pick of the best batches. They also sell enough devices to have custom orders manufactured by e-ink solely for them (for example the screen of the Voyage, which at this point is manufactured for Amazon only). Also - the screen is only one component of the device and other components still have a huge effect on the end result, starting from a non-screen related features (as you mentioned yourself - page turn buttons, bezel...) and ending with components directly affecting the reading experience (faster CPU for quicker page turns, a different touchscreen that does or does reduce contrast, a different waveform that does not leave as many artifacts...).