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Old 02-03-2019, 08:41 AM   #1
ClausG76
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Upgrade from Kobo Aura HD to Likebook Mars

Hello
I have been using my Kobo Aura HD for years now. And I have considered to get a new reader a couple of times during the years.
I was looking at the Kobo Forma but, but there is someone selling his 1 month old like new Likebook Mars at a good price in the contry where I live. The Kobo forma including a protective cover, will cost me around twice the price of the Likebook.
My concerns with the Likebook is mostly battery life. On my Aura, it feels like the battery lasts forever. I can bring it on vacation without thinking about the battery, because there is always plenty.
Have anyone of you that changed from a Kobo/Kindle to a Lifebook Android device, ever had battery issues?
The reason for upgrading, is because i would like to have the nightlight.
Also I'm hoping that the new device I will be getting, will be more responsive, especially when turning pages.
Do you think, the Likebook will be a good upgrade?
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Old 02-05-2019, 01:48 PM   #2
maximus83
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The Likebook may be a good upgrade. I was interested in it myself, due entirely to the better hardware than most ereader devices, and to the fact it runs Android so one could install other apps.

However, I'd exercise caution. I decided not to go that route, as the OS is based on Android 6 which is rife with serious security flaws. Say that you start using it the way it was intended, you install various Android apps for convenience, you give it your Gmail credentials (which you may also use to access other sites, etc.). Then let's say somebody exploits one of those Android 6 flaws and gets your credentials, or some of your other private data. It's a real risk, and a real design flaw with these devices that are based on Android 6 or earlier.

Bottom line: for myself I'm going to stick with either low-risk, dedicated ereader devices that are just for books, or with tablets or PC's that are able to run the full modern versions of whatever OS they are based on, so that there's a reduced attack surface and security holes are plugged regularly.
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Old 02-06-2019, 10:37 AM   #3
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Thanks. I already made the decision, and bought the Likebook Mars. I'm expecting it's arrival within the next few days.
I know Android gives the possibility to check email and use a lot of social media apps. And I will be login in to google store. But the plan is to disable most features which isn't reading related, including email clients . The reason to get an Android based reader is, because it's the only way to read books from the public libraries online services, where I live. Book services like Mofibo is also only supported on Android and IOS.
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Old 02-06-2019, 12:03 PM   #4
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Thanks. I already made the decision, and bought the Likebook Mars. I'm expecting it's arrival within the next few days.
I know Android gives the possibility to check email and use a lot of social media apps. And I will be login in to google store. But the plan is to disable most features which isn't reading related, including email clients . The reason to get an Android based reader is, because it's the only way to read books from the public libraries online services, where I live. Book services like Mofibo is also only supported on Android and IOS.
That approach sounds reasonable, given how your public libraries work. Hope that you will post an update here soon on how it goes with the Likebook Mars. I know that a lot of us here are interested in it.
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Old 02-09-2019, 06:39 AM   #5
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Hello again
My Likebook Mars arrived a couple of days ago. The screen and hardware in general seems good. I haven't had much time to read on it yet. But I have been trying to set it up the way i like it best. The biggest 2 issues for now, is the text setup in the default reading app and the library setup.
The library is missing some settings compared to the Kobo firmware. For instance, it doesn't use the metadata info on series and there isn't any options to gather all the titles under authors. So you have all the titles listed in one long list, sorted by authors instead.
But luckily you can separate the files into "Authors folders" and insert the series info into the file names using Calibre. So it's listed almost as on my Kobo.
The default reader could have been great. You can add your own fonts and dictionaries. But the text is a little messy. Some of the lines uses extra space between the words, like its trying adjust the with of the text lines.
My workaround for now, is to use Koreader. You can set it up, to load the books automatically with an alternative reader.
I think it's kind of odd, that they would release a dedicated e-book reader, with an error like that.
I hope you can understand what I'm writing, since English isn't my main language.

Last edited by ClausG76; 02-09-2019 at 06:49 AM.
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Old 02-09-2019, 08:19 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by ClausG76 View Post
The library is missing some settings compared to the Kobo firmware. For instance, it doesn't use the metadata info on series ...
ePub books don't have any series metadata. It's not a part of the standard.
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Old 02-10-2019, 08:41 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ClausG76 View Post
Hello again
My Likebook Mars arrived a couple of days ago. The screen and hardware in general seems good. I haven't had much time to read on it yet. But I have been trying to set it up the way i like it best. The biggest 2 issues for now, is the text setup in the default reading app and the library setup.
The library is missing some settings compared to the Kobo firmware. For instance, it doesn't use the metadata info on series and there isn't any options to gather all the titles under authors. So you have all the titles listed in one long list, sorted by authors instead.
But luckily you can separate the files into "Authors folders" and insert the series info into the file names using Calibre. So it's listed almost as on my Kobo.
The default reader could have been great. You can add your own fonts and dictionaries. But the text is a little messy. Some of the lines uses extra space between the words, like its trying adjust the with of the text lines.
My workaround for now, is to use Koreader. You can set it up, to load the books automatically with an alternative reader.
I think it's kind of odd, that they would release a dedicated e-book reader, with an error like that.
I hope you can understand what I'm writing, since English isn't my main language.
You're approaching it differently to me. You're treating it like a Kobo. It's not. It's like a little computer, like a phone. You can do so much more with it.

I suggest you install a new ereader app. I use Alreader, but many people prefer things like moonreader which organizes things for you.

I organize my books in folders just like I would on a PC. Then I set the UI to always open using Alreader. But you can do it anyway you want. The device is like a phone. Plug it into the PC and set up your folders then read them using Alreader or Coolreader or whatever.
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Old 02-11-2019, 12:47 PM   #8
maximus83
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I suggest you install a new ereader app. I use Alreader, but many people prefer things like moonreader which organizes things for you.
This. IMHO, the whole reason for the appeal of an Android e-ink is so you can run Android apps. Find a reader you like. The two best I've ever found, which you can try for free if they will work on your device's earlier Android version, are Moon+, and FB Reader.

Please give us an update how it goes after you try one of the better reader apps.
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Old 02-11-2019, 03:15 PM   #9
ClausG76
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Thanks
I have organised my books in author folders and included the series info in the file names. So lists the books like I prefer.
I have it setup to automatically open the books with Koreader.
It works very well now. It's very responsive and fast, compared to my old Kobo Aura HD.
If I use it only as a book reader, the battery life is also more than enough.
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Old 02-12-2019, 04:21 AM   #10
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It seems 5 hours of reading divided into 4 sessions used about 11 % of battery (100-89) with the reader shut of between each sesion. Backlight, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi was off.
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Old 03-01-2019, 10:38 AM   #11
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Last I tried to measure it, I got around 5 hours of read, divided into 4 sessions, using 11 % battery (100-89%). I have disabled most apps I'm not going to use. Mail, playstore etc. I installed the apps I needed before disabling playstore.
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Old 03-01-2019, 12:12 PM   #12
maximus83
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That sounds like it's going well. Have you had any issue as I've heard others say with the device spontaneously reverting to Chinese user interface, and then you have to find a YT video to walk you thru how you get it back to your preferred language?
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Old 03-02-2019, 03:32 AM   #13
ClausG76
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No it's always english
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Old 03-23-2019, 03:14 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maximus83 View Post
However, I'd exercise caution. I decided not to go that route, as the OS is based on Android 6 which is rife with serious security flaws. Say that you start using it the way it was intended, you install various Android apps for convenience, you give it your Gmail credentials (which you may also use to access other sites, etc.). Then let's say somebody exploits one of those Android 6 flaws and gets your credentials, or some of your other private data. It's a real risk, and a real design flaw with these devices that are based on Android 6 or earlier.
I also have a Yoga Tab 3 Pro, which is stuck on Android 6, and I've not had such problems with it, besides the bugs in Lenovo's UX which I've ended up working around.

I believe both Boyue and Onyx uses Android 6.x due to limitations in the Rockchip hardware, and also that both companies take a long time to strip out unnecessary features from Android. This includes the lock screen, as the screensaver is shown whenever Android "turns off" the display, and seems to be saved to the display controller itself. Boyue does have a basic PIN code, and a private stash in the "Books" section (on Mimas/Muses firmware 1.0.2, and Mars firmware 1.0.7), which uses a separate PIN code.

By the way, if you want to set your own screensaver image, you'll need to manually scale the image to the resolution of the display, otherwise, it'll get stretched. Let me know if you want me to show a few ways you could do it.
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And I will be login in to google store.
Cool! I personally used only F-Droid, APKMirror, and Good e-Reader App Store to get apps on my Mimas, until I started using the paid version of Calibre Companion, which specifically checks for a licence on Play Store, so I had to enable Google Play Services, so I later ended up removing Good e-Reader App Store and APKTrack, and hiding the Boyue app store.

As for the Boyue curated "App Store", I looked in there a few times, but often, the apps from there are outdated, for example, they have an outdated version of KOReader that doesn't include screen refresh support for Rockchip-based e-readers like the Likebook devices.

Here's a screenshot of the Apps tab on my Mimas:
Click image for larger version

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I only have "Screenshot touch" and "TouchShot" installed for demonstration in a YouTube video I'm planning to record.
The Android software runs in colour, which is then downscaled to greyscale based on lightness (on the default contrast level) by the display controller.

It's possible to take screenshots on the Mimas by pressing Power and Page Right at the same time, but on the Mars, you would need to use a third-party app in order to do it, as the screenshots are not an offically supported feature by Boyue. For this, I recommend "Screenshot touch".

If you want, I could explain what I use each app for.

Also, on apps you install yourself, you can tap and hold on the icon, and adjust settings for that app. As you have already received your device, I'll let you see those for yourself. However, if you want to hide an app from the Apps tab, you can do so by going into the Apps section in Settings, then tapping on the app you want to hide, and tapping on the switch next to the "hide" entry.

Boyue also has their own power and memory management software on top of what is already built-in to Android, in order to compensate for the limited amount of RAM. The snowflake icon in the top left on the Apps tab leads to a page where you can select which apps you allow to run at startup, and which you allow to run in the background. This does break background syncing in the actual reading apps, but I'm fine with that.
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But the plan is to disable most features which isn't reading related, including email clients
Yep, and you don't get a lot of preloaded apps anyway. Google Play Services is disabled by default due to legal reasons, but you can enable it by going to Settings (cog icon on Home tab, or "UserSettings" on Apps tab), then "Apps", then the cog icon in the top right, "Enable Google Framework", and restart.
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The default reader could have been great. You can add your own fonts and dictionaries. But the text is a little messy. Some of the lines uses extra space between the words, like its trying adjust the with of the text lines.
Not a problem for me as I primarily read books in PDF, but I've seen that problem when I use the reflow feature, which I don't really use, except to screw around. However, I do also use KOReader, but feel its interface is a little too clunky for me, in terms of navigation. I'm sure I'll eventually get over it, though.
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Originally Posted by ClausG76 View Post
My workaround for now, is to use Koreader. You can set it up, to load the books automatically with an alternative reader.
I too use KOReader. However, I recommend getting their latest version, rather than the one from the Boyue curated "App Store".
Quote:
Originally Posted by maximus83 View Post
This. IMHO, the whole reason for the appeal of an Android e-ink is so you can run Android apps.
I agree.

Last edited by MustardOrMayo; 03-23-2019 at 03:23 PM.
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Old 03-23-2019, 03:16 PM   #15
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I've heard others say with the device spontaneously reverting to Chinese user interface,
I think Boyue fixed that in their later firmware releases, as I've never encountered it, besides broken translations in some places that I believe were fixed in Mimas/Muses firmware 1.0.1.

Edit:

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Originally Posted by ClausG76 View Post
My concerns with the Likebook is mostly battery life. On my Aura, it feels like the battery lasts forever. I can bring it on vacation without thinking about the battery, because there is always plenty.
Have anyone of you that changed from a Kobo/Kindle to a Lifebook Android device, ever had battery issues?
I think the battery life isn't as good, but I can live with it. The battery on my Mimas tends to last around 2 days, but that's with all the extra Boyue power management features turned off, and "Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep" disabled. Not only that, but the only thing I dislike about the included cover is that there is no second magnet to keep the cover in place (like on the first-party Kindle covers), so the cover can move a bit and the device would sometimes unlock in my backpack and receive screen taps, but I can get over it.

Do be aware that the USB-C implementation on Likebook devices is not fully compliant, so using a fast charger may kill the device, which is why I only use a regular 2 amp USB power adapter with mine.

Last edited by MustardOrMayo; 03-23-2019 at 03:30 PM.
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