Boox NoteS announced.

[DaleDe]

Onyx has announced the Onyx Boox NoteS which is described in our wiki. Not much different from a N96 but has Android 6 and more storage.

Dale

[JawadLeLogeur]

In your opinion, how bad might the lower resolution be for PDFs? Also, do you think the glass screen will actually be scratch-resistant compared to what happened with the 10.3" model? Cheers.

[mdp]

Originally Posted by JawadLeLogeur

In your opinion, how bad might the lower resolution be for PDFs?

With low resolution and low density, it will be terrible for PDF. Unless you normally keep your books at more than full arm distance and only read huge characters.

Originally Posted by JawadLeLogeur

Also, do you think the glass screen will actually be scratch-resistant compared to what happened with the 10.3" model?

If the screen is covered with glass, like the not-fortunate Onyx E43 telephone, it is not directly suitable for reading: you do not read on a reflective surface. If the surface is glass, you *are supposed* to cover it with a matte film. Which would not change the situation from the Note, for a different reason (low-quality layer vs unsuitable surface).

[mdp]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Onyx Boox NoteS which is described in our wiki

I corrected a point in the wiki - unless I missed something...
The wiki stated that it «displays 155% more contents than that on 6" in one screen».
The only 9.7'' display sold by E-Ink is the ED097TC2, which has a resolution of 1200 x 825,
while the standard 6'' display from E-Ink, ED060K[C|G]1, is 1072 x 1448.
The 6'' display has much more information - 157% as much - than the 9.7'' display - which on its side has 64% of the other one!
(1200×825)÷(1448×1072) = 64%
It's the smaller one the one with more content.
The 9.7'' one is 150DPI, the 6'' one is 300DPI: it means that for any square unit, the small one contains four times as information as the big one. But since the 9.7'' display is, of course, bigger (255% as big*), it compensates a bit and reaches two thirds of the information that the small one offers.

* (202.80 × 139.43)÷(90.60 × 122.40) = 255%

I corrected the point in the Wiki as:

An all new 9.7” E Ink Carta screen – displays only 64% of the content of a standard 6” screen, but on a twice-and-a-half big surface.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by mdp

I corrected a point in the wiki - unless I missed something...
The wiki stated that it «displays 155% more contents than that on 6" in one screen».
The only 9.7'' display sold by E-Ink is the ED097TC2, which has a resolution of 1200 x 825,
while the standard 6'' display from E-Ink, ED060K[C|G]1, is 1072 x 1448.
The 6'' display has much more information - 157% as much - than the 9.7'' display - which on its side has 64% of the other one!
(1200×825)÷(1448×1072) = 64%
It's the smaller one the one with more content.
The 9.7'' one is 150DPI, the 6'' one is 300DPI: it means that for any square unit, the small one contains four times as information as the big one. But since the 9.7'' display is, of course, bigger (255% as big*), it compensates a bit and reaches two thirds of the information that the small one offers.

* (202.80 × 139.43)÷(90.60 × 122.40) = 255%

I corrected the point in the Wiki as:

Since people read text mostly on the device the ppi is not directly related to the amount of contents you can fit on a page. Typical computer screens are less than 100 ppi but people use small text all of the time on their computer screens without having problems. What you changed was a direct quote from Onyx so you should take it up with them. I have removed reference to comparison with 6" devices which come in a wide variety of ppi and 300 ppi is no where near the standard. It is the maximum currently available. Typically most folks will have no trouble reading 10 point text easily on either device although if they compare them side by side they will notice a difference is the quality of the text but 150 ppi and even much lower is still easily read.

Dale

[Marinolino]

Originally Posted by JawadLeLogeur

In your opinion, how bad might the lower resolution be for PDFs? Also, do you think the glass screen will actually be scratch-resistant compared to what happened with the 10.3" model? Cheers.

I still gladly read A5 and A4 pdfs & djvus on my ancient Kindle DX, both white and graphite (better contrast than white model) using koreader.

We can get a significant magnification of A5 pdf book when reading in portrait mode without margins, and of A4 pdf documents in portrait (for two-column pdfs) or landscape mode (by reading without the margins), compared to an original paper document, so, even though I prefer Kobo's 300 dpi screen, I still don't mind reading all of my pdfs (A5 books and one-column & two-column A4 documents) on 150 dpi 10" e-ink readers, with or without the frontlight.

Regretfully the frontlit NoteS is now doubtful, even as a limited edition, so, I'd rather buy more expensive 227 dpi Note 10.3.

[mdp]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

I have removed reference to comparison with 6" devices which come in a wide variety of ppi and 300 ppi is no where near the standard. It is the maximum currently available

For standard you must have interpreted "what had been around", I intended the current availability for the market, which only includes:

• ED060KC1: 1072 x 1448 , 300 ppi, 150$
• ED060KG1: 1072 x 1448 , 300 ppi, ???$, frontlight
• ED060XH7: 1024 x 758 , 212 ppi, 150$

So I called 300 ppi the standard for 6" E-Ink displays - in spite of the availability of a lesser unit, which does not seem to cost less, at least in the park of modules for direct sale, so one could wonder if the product is part of standard production or of availability waiting for obsolescence.

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Since people read text mostly on the device the ppi is not directly related to the amount of contents you can fit on a page. Typical computer screens are less than 100 ppi but people use small text all of the time on their computer screens without having problems. [...] Typically most folks will have no trouble reading 10 point text easily on either device although if they compare them side by side they will notice a difference is the quality of the text but 150 ppi and even much lower is still easily read

Computer screens are kept at an arm's length, hard-copies at half of that...
I do not know about the typical folk of the most, but I can tell a 150 ppi resolution if I see it.

With lower resolutions, small text becomes difficult to impossible to read: lower resolution does reduce in fact, not just in abstract numbers, the amount of usable information on the screen.

[mdp]

Originally Posted by JawadLeLogeur

how bad might the lower resolution be for PDFs

Anyway, the loss of quality is objective but the evaluation in view of compromise is subjective, so here you can find a PDF which if printed as-is (do not scale, do not interpolate), could give an idea: it contains a PDF page rendered within the 1200x825px and embedded in a 203x139mm frame.
Thing is, I could not find a page that is adequate for generalization - many font sizes etc. The text as rendered is already too big and enlarged over 120% of intended printout, so this sample I picked cannot give an idea of small fonts.

EDIT: to the standard O'Reilly format, I also added an article. Already this may (may) be indicative of the effect. The real challenge may come, for some, for those books that come in tiny.

[fgdas]

Originally Posted by JawadLeLogeur

In your opinion, how bad might the lower resolution be for PDFs? Also, do you think the glass screen will actually be scratch-resistant compared to what happened with the 10.3" model? Cheers.

Onyx and EInk are trying to get rid of these older low-res screens and they need to sell them at lower price.

Compared to flexible screens these glass screens are much heavier and more prone to breakage and screen glare.

[mdp]

Originally Posted by fgdas

Compared to flexible screens these glass screens [...] screen glare.

In fact, I am not sure I understand the specs. Is the glass mentioned the underlying layer (the 9.7'' does have a glass backplane, the 10.3'' a flexible one) or a top layer? I understood the latter, from

* Covered by tempered glass with 7H hardness, the screen is resistant to any scratch

But then the list also goes

* Anti-glare layer on top of the screen maintains the readability of E Ink display even directly in the sunlight

so I do not get the riddle: a topmost glass layer, which would defy readability when not in darkness (so always), but grant scratch resistance, covered with an anti-glare layer, which restores a screen as reflection-free but can hardly be said scratch resistant?

Originally Posted by fgdas

Onyx and EInk are trying to get rid of these older low-res screens and they need to sell them at lower price

Almost 400$ for the device, and the display module is sold for 250$ by E-Ink to the public.
"Lower" than once expected return, probably; "low", probably not.
Neither part nor product are cheap in both absolute and relative terms.

The 10.3'' screen is over three times better and only costs 350$ vs the 250$ of the 9.7'', which I would call overpriced - with the only unanswered matter of the production costs.

[raydeng]

I have a Note and just bought the Note S (coming in the mail via Amazon).

I'll provide a review soon!

[JawadLeLogeur]

Thanks for all the information guys!

[2new]

Really curious to know what you think of the web browser and touch experience differences between the two. Of course also if you think the note is worth the 160 extra.

Originally Posted by raydeng

I have a Note and just bought the Note S (coming in the mail via Amazon).

I'll provide a review soon!

[Marinolino]

Originally Posted by Marinolino

I still gladly read A5 and A4 pdfs & djvus on my ancient Kindle DX, both white and graphite (better contrast than white model) using koreader.

We can get a significant magnification of A5 pdf book when reading in portrait mode without margins, and of A4 pdf documents in portrait (for two-column pdfs) or landscape mode (by reading without the margins), compared to an original paper document, so, even though I prefer Kobo's 300 dpi screen, I still don't mind reading all of my pdfs (A5 books and one-column & two-column A4 documents) on 150 dpi 10" e-ink readers, with or without the frontlight.

Regretfully the frontlit NoteS is now doubtful, even as a limited edition, so, I'd rather buy more expensive 227 dpi Note 10.3.

There is now also available 10.3" 227 dpi Boyue Likebook Note, with the fronlight and pen+touch.

https://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...lable-for-419/

[John.Dorrian]

Originally Posted by raydeng

I have a Note and just bought the Note S (coming in the mail via Amazon).

I'll provide a review soon!

Could you please provide a review on the Note S ?
Thanks