BOYUE Likebook Note

[viceant]

It's a pity you don't have a Likebook Plus (T80s) or another quad-core device to compare the speed.

[tangocat]

Long time lurker...first time poster...Hi, everyone!

My T103 showed up on Wednesday (US). But I didn't report out my experience since I wanted to have reference point here too. Now that user orebmur voiced his/her opinions, here are what I can add.

1. I have a T80s, and this T103 feels even a bit faster than T80s in terms of page turning/click response time. It's conter-intuitive, but I guess maybe T103's software is more optimized. Not sure about the single-core vs. quad-core comparison though.

2. PDF annotation function and note taking app both work fine, without much lagging most of time. But when annotating complex/large PDF, there might be occasional lagging, but on deal breaker. Also, the note taking app seems to be operating under the so-called "A2" mode. It's fast, but the edge of the writing is a bit jagged . Again, no deal breaker, but may not be as good as for example Boox Note (I don't have this model, just guessing for online videos).

3. Front light is there. I bought T103 specifically for this, because bedtime is my reading time. As user orebmur mentioned, it's working fine. But, it's not as even as T80S, especially when you bring light setting above 50%: right side is brighter than the left side. The vendor cautioned me about this before selling it to me, as a disclosure. The explanation was that due to T103's larger size, frontlight can't be made as even as T80s. I went adead with the purchase anyways, since I crave for the night light. To put the uneveness into perspective, comparing T103 vs. T80's front lighting quality is slmost like comparing a first-gen Nook Glowlight against a current gen Kindle Paperwhite, both of which I have. Here is my personal decision: Even though it's not perfect, it's still working and useful as an added feature, so I will live with it, since I need it. BTW. the youtube demo video seems to have even lighting, but the user never went beyond 50% setting, and we all know phone cameras tend to brighten things up, and wash out some details human eyes may detect.

4. I can also confirm user orebmur that google play app is there, installing Relaunch launcher reveals it.

5. I indeed tried scientific journal 2-column articles on it. With some cropping, you can surely read it, but the font is still about 80% of a real paper printout. So, if you have money, 13.3 inch ereader would be a better fit for this purpose.

Let me know any other questions you may have. So far, I've decided to keep it.

Originally Posted by viceant

It's a pity you don't have a Likebook Plus (T80s) or another quad-core device to compare the speed.

[viceant]

Originally Posted by tangocat

Long time lurker...first time poster...Hi, everyone!

1. I have a T80s, and this T103 feels even a bit faster than T80s in terms of page turning/click response time. It's counter-intuitive, but I guess maybe T103's software is more optimized. Not sure about the single-core vs. quad-core comparison though.

Let me know any other questions you may have. So far, I've decided to keep it.

Thanks for your accurate review. It's truly surprising this device is faster than T80s, tough only in some tasks. I guess Boyue trusted excessively in the more advanced hardware of the latter.

[petrovich]

orebmur, tangocat, many thanks!

Several questions:
1)Regarding PDF rendering -- what about cropping? Can one read with cropped out sides etc?
2)I guess reading with paging by fingers rather than paging buttons is supported, but just in case -- is it?
3)What about stylus? Responsiveness, lag, etc. How friendly is the thing to handwriting/sketching, different line thickness(depending on press?), what are the tactile feelings? I guess it's worse than, say reMarkable, but is it still worth a try?

Many thanks in advance

[orebmur]

@petrovich: Cropping is supported by the included PDF reader software, also page turning via touch, stylus, and buttons. The PDF reader software is pretty basic and i am missing a few features i was used from Onyx i86's Neoreader 2.0, like e.g. proper dictionary interfacing.

So far i haven't been able to summon anything else than the built in English-Chinese dictionary although i installed my own range of stardict dictionaries according to Boyue's directions. They are properly recognized by the standalone dictionary app but not when used via the PDF reader. This is rather disappointing as i do require a well working dictionary function, but i still hope there is only an oversight on my behalf.

Haven't played much writing with the stylus yet, but different stroke thickness is supported, albeit no pressure sensitivity. The tactile feeling is like writing on a plastic surface and i don't feel very comfortable with it. Proper paper provides a much different writing experience. Supposedly both the Boox Note and the ReMarkable are very much better in this regard.

@tangocat+viceant: I can't really believe the Note should feel faster than the quad-core T80s. Other than page turning most actions feel as slow as i am used to from the Boox i86.
I also use RelaunchX as a launcher instead of the built in one because it is much more versatile than the Boyue user interface.

[petrovich]

@orebmur I see.
On one hand, there are some other PDF readers at GooglePlay, I keep several on my Likebook Plus and use the best rendering one each time. On the other hand I like the stock one too, and it's a pity to hear about non-linking Stardict, I have the same need. However, I'd expect the Boyue guys to fix it(in the worst case) or you to find the oversight

With drawing/sketching, which is probably not my main goal anyway, I guess I can live, though would like to get a nice one. However, due to the lack of card slot and backlight, both Boox and reMarkable are out of my consideration.

The third and probably most sad thing to hear is about the same performance issues as with i86. Loved the device(somebody stole it from me in gym), but hated this pauses on library browsing etc.

[tangocat]

I would say T103 ifeels as fast as T80s for the library interface. ePub, medium size scanned PDF are smooth too. Some ocassional lagging when reading large PDF.

I finally tried out google play store, it somehow often crashes or has weird display problems, still trying to figure out....

In general, I’m ok with the unit, could be better, but good enough for my use (mostly reading PDFs).

I hope next year we have more large screen models with frontlight to choose from.

Originally Posted by petrovich

@orebmur I see.

The third and probably most sad thing to hear is about the same performance issues as with i86. Loved the device(somebody stole it from me in gym), but hated this pauses on library browsing etc.

[viceant]

Originally Posted by tangocat

I would say T103 ifeels as fast as T80s for the library interface. ePub, medium size scanned PDF are smooth too. Some ocassional lagging when reading large PDF.

I hope next year we have more large screen models with frontlight to choose from.

Have you tried dictionary? Does it show as fast as T80s? Although T80s isn't very fast.

[tangocat]

Originally Posted by viceant

Have you tried dictionary? Does it show as fast as T80s? Although T80s isn't very fast.

I will try soon and report back.

For now, I have some observations about google play 3rd party apps like FBreader, Moon+, librera, kobo reader etc. They all work slower than the built-in by reader app. FBreader doesn’t refresh correctly. The built in app should meet most people’s need in my view.

I’m learning to live with the slightly uneven frontlight. Nevertheless, it is better than not having it. I can finally read in bed before falling asleep.

[orebmur]

Originally Posted by tangocat

For now, I have some observations about google play 3rd party apps like FBreader, Moon+, librera, kobo reader etc. They all work slower than the built-in by reader app. FBreader doesn’t refresh correctly. The built in app should meet most people’s need in my view.

I finally went online and tried a few other reader applications found via the F-Droid app store and can more or less confirm that they are slower, albeit to very different degrees.

koreader is basically useless, as it is so slow that it rather gives the impression that it is not working at all. Cool reader and fbreader were not only a bit slow, but overly complex without being able to display an epub in a somewhat readable layout. The reason i prefer PDF is that these files already are in a proper layout, without the need to be (badly) interpreted by some reader software.

The reader software i liked most besides the native one is librera. While it is slightly slower it is still very usable and overall a very nicely done and versatile application. It's great how it is able to use various external dictionary apps like goldendict. Only downside is that goldendict displays nothing more but a blank page when looking up words from within librera...

I asked the vendor how to configure user installed stardict dictionaries for being used by their built in apps, and the answer was that it is currently not supported but will be in a future firmware release. That's a bit disappointing because the Boyue dictionary application does use these dictionaries, but apparently is a different application not integrated with their reader software.

The built in English/Chinese dictionary files are "hidden in the system and you can not change it" (/system/dics/*.dic) and they are not even in a stardict format, but something else i was not able to find out. I was able to find this location using the Ghost Commander file manager.

@petrovich: If you stick with the vendor applications and don't use slower 3rd party apps, the Likebook Note indeed feels notably faster than the Boox i86. This is rather surprising, given the very similar hardware specs, and i only found out after giving up on trying to use the Likebook the same way as the i86 and rather get to terms with the built in software.

[petrovich]

@orebmur my favorite for all non-PDF/DJVU files is AlReader, and I use it instead of any stock reader, but it's not the one form GooglePlay, but some crafted version specially for eInk devices -- don't remember where did I get it, but it worked fine with T62 and T80. The stock one is some flavor of OReader, right?

[tangocat]

Originally Posted by petrovich

@orebmur my favorite for all non-PDF/DJVU files is AlReader, and I use it instead of any stock reader, but it's not the one form GooglePlay, but some crafted version specially for eInk devices -- don't remember where did I get it, but it worked fine with T62 and T80. The stock one is some flavor of OReader, right?

@petrovich. If you can link me to the AIreader APK, I can test it for you. I'm not too familiar with Oreader, can you please show me its google play page? I can't find an app called "Oreader" in google play...

[tangocat]

Originally Posted by orebmur

I finally went online and tried a few other reader applications found via the F-Droid app store and can more or less confirm that they are slower, albeit to very different degrees.

I downloaded my koreader version from its GitHub link, and my version works, not great, but works.

for dict, the vendor says make a root folder of "Dict" folder, then put stardict files under it...have not tried this yet myself.

[petrovich]

@tangocat, not sure where to get Oreader, afair it's some Onyx's version of AlReader. I'll try to find the link for eink-tuned AlReader.apk and will let you know then. Many thanks for your generous offer to try it

[orebmur]

Originally Posted by tangocat

for dict, the vendor says make a root folder of "Dict" folder, then put stardict files under it...have not tried this yet myself.

I did and it works using the vendor supplied Dict.app, but for the vendor supplied reader application they are not taken even remotely into account. Dictionary lookup is one of the most important features for me, as i read stuff in various languages.