Where to get Boyue Likebook P78 in UK?

[Darthagnon]

Greetings, MobileRead.

I am looking at getting a Boyue Likebook P78 here in the UK, to send to a friend.

Does anyone know of a good place to buy them?

I've seen the AliExpress shops, but find it quite offputting.
I've seen it on TechInTheBasket, which was mentioned by MakeUseOf in their review, but I've never heard of that website before (though the price, between £135 and £145 is tempting), and am nervous.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Darthagnon

I am looking at getting a Boyue Likebook P78 here in the UK, to send to a friend.
I've seen it on TechInTheBasket, which was mentioned by MakeUseOf in their review, but I've never heard of that website before (though the price, between £135 and £145 is tempting), and am nervous.

I bought 3 devices from this company and I am satisfied - it just takes a long time to deliver.

They sell the devices without a cover.

[Darthagnon]

That's good to hear! I was nervous, as Trustpilot was very polarised, and very little talk of them elsewhere, let alone positive talk.

How long are we talking? They say just over a week on their website.

I bought a Likebook Ares cover on Amazon already, that should hopefully fit it.

[bazz2004]

I'd have said reconsider this purchase but as you have already bought a cover good luck. You're not even buying this for yourself - an extra level of worry. I bought my Boyue via Ali-Express and although it seemed a bit of a risk compared with buying something on ebay it went OK. Delivery came via Spain if I remember rightly. If these devices were as good as they were made out to be they'd be readily available in the UK.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Darthagnon

How long are we talking? They say just over a week on their website.

In my memory, it took about a week for the device to arrive at the Transport Service.

I bought a Likebook Ares cover on Amazon already, that should hopefully fit it.

In terms of the measure it fits, but there is the pen holder!

[omneity]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

In terms of the measure it fits, but there is the pen holder!

I've got that case on my Ares Note. If you're careful with a sharp knife and a straight-edge you could trim off the pen holder. Or you could leave it and use it for a touchscreen pen/standard pen combo. Something like this would be quite nice as a cheap add-on.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112199757...AAAOSwHMJYIz89

[Darthagnon]

Question for you guys who already have P78s:

How repairable does it look? Is it a plastic or metal shell? Are there screws or clips to remove? Can the battery be replaced later on when it dies?

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Darthagnon

How repairable does it look? Is it a plastic or metal shell?

It's a plastic case

Are there screws or clips to remove? Can the battery be replaced later on when it dies?

In this price range and screen size, there are no screws for easy opening - and I don't know if it's held together by clips or if it's glued; there was no reason for me to open it and it is also questionable whether there are spare batteries.

[Darthagnon]

sigh... I'd written a long reply, but it seems to have disappeared. Always Ctrl+C before submitting, folks.

Thank you for the info, ottischwenk! Fair enough not to disassemble; I don't always do so myself, just prefer to get machines I can repair after the 2-year-old Li-Ions die so they last a while longer.

I'm not sure how much price range and screen size play into screws or ease of opening; seems more of whether a brand has a habit of making openable gadgets or not. The similar Likebook Mars can be easily disassembled, while the more premium Kindle Oasis, Remarkable, Kobos are glue sandwiches. Sony DPT (and clones) has a clip-on plastic back. I couldn't tell from the low-res photos and SEO-marketing-spam videos of the P78 whether it had screws (Apple-style, either side of USB port) or plastic clips or what.

Guess I'll find out soon; at least I'm not buying for my own use, so less to worry. I ended up buying for £145 from eBay; hoping seller reputation and eBay's money back guarantee hold up. I couldn't get TechInTheBasket's website to work for me (possibly because of my uBlockOrigin+Ungoogled Chromium?) when trying to check out, and the price is now £146.99 (vs. £134.99 back in June), so for the same price, I might as well buy from somewhere I've bought from before.

TechInTheBasket's special offer codes don't work, despite continued advertising. Though, in their credit, their customer support is quick to respond.

RE: the offer codes, they said:

Currently we only accept payment through PayPal, so that in case of any dispute, both of us will be under PayPal's protection.
So the 2% off discount is not available anymore.

I'll post updates once I've got the P78 later this week, here and on Reddit.

[Darthagnon]

Here's the Reddit thread where I'm posting info

Wondering, anyone know, is the device supposed to be stereo, or is just one of my speakers working (left one)?

[Toodu]

My friend who live in UK and she always purchased on this store https://www.vchainstore.com/product/...-ebook-reader/ I don't have experience on this store, but she said the seller is very responsible, so she become their fans,lol.