International versus Chinese Poke 5

[ironchefboyardee]

Hi, the only relevant threads I could find were quite old so I wanted to check if there is consensus on the disadvantages of buying a Chinese market Boox (Poke 5 (Carta 1300 screen) versus one from Boox US warehouse (older Carta HD screen).

I would expect warranty claim process to be the biggest issue. What other tradeoffs are there?

It doesn't look like Boox posts FW updates on their site to flash on devices, so is there any other way to install the international FW? Will this make installing/enabling the Google play store difficult? Will certain elements of the OS like the built in store be stuck in Mandarin?

I'm not dead set on the newer screen tech, but also don't want to get the US Poke 5 and a month later they update the US version to match. I'm over using my iPhone to read ebooks and looking to get something soon.

[Renate]

You speak of versions and of warehouses.
The Poke5P is available out of both US and Hong Kong warehouses.
Where the Poke5 comes from, I don't know.

Model:  Poke5P (English)
Finger: Onyx/Poke5P/Poke5P:11/2024-03-13_10-15_3.5.1_cb7eaef7e/7997:user/dev-keys
Link:   http://firmware-us.boox.com/c07f713991056ef618ce707994b0aa70/update.upx
Size:   1,629,542,746
MD5:    c07f713991056ef618ce707994b0aa70

Model:  Poke5 (Chinese)
Finger: Onyx/Poke5/Poke5:11/2024-03-08_12-18_3.5.1_a84d5becc/7957:user/dev-keys
Link:   http://firmware.boox.com/18673066f58eff42efd478c3513172c3/update.upx
Size:   1,623,801,394
MD5:    18673066f58eff42efd478c3513172c3

It looks like they get updated in parallel.

I would take any statement of exactly what type of film formulation is on an eInk panel on which device with a grain of salt.

[ironchefboyardee]

The us facing Poke 5 site specifies a Carta HD screen:

https://shop.boox.com/products/poke5

The China Boox site, their official Taobao page and this Goodereader article reference an updated 2024 version with the newer screen. Based on all that I assumed the US version being sold has not been updated yet, let alone the stock at B&H where I planned to buy it.

https://goodereader.com/blog/onyx-bo...splay-launched

[ironchefboyardee]

Since I wrote this post I saw a pretty poor front light review of the Poke5 on Youtube. I guess this may have been improved with the updated 2024 version w/ Carta 1300, but I can't find any reviews of the update that say one way or the other.

That may be a big reason to not risk buying from overseas in case I need to return it, being disappointed with the front light performance.

[Renate]

Why not buy it directly from shop.boox?

I don't buy from B&H. Ever.

[ironchefboyardee]

Originally Posted by Renate

Why not buy it directly from shop.boox?

I don't buy from B&H. Ever.

Through my employer I get a B&H discount, but anyway even the version on shop.boox is not the updated version apparently.

Here is mention of the Carta 1300 Poke 5 being a domestic China version in Goodereader's review of the Clara BW.

https://youtu.be/eYc0cJSRV_4?si=3jkrdian-K88iSIg&t=24

[Renate]

I don't do "Goodereader" [sic]. Ever.

[bigwigs]

buy from jd.com they ship to US and other countries.
Way better and safe than goodreader