Boox Note Pro

[JS_F]

It seems like a Boox Note Plus with front light and 4 GB RAM. Boox Note Pro will release in April 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=aljzg_Gx9To

[whopper]

looks like the competition from boyue is forcing onyx to release sooner products that I'm sure they wanted to release much later.

one can dream of seeing a 13.3" flushed screen with light, hopefully more competition can go also to that market.

[Question Mark]

A bit of competition can be a very good thing. Too bad it hadn't happened a year ago...

Now, I'll have to do some serious decision making as I had been thinking about going for the Nova Pro when it comes out which looks to be about the same time... I really would like a lighted reader with both stylus and touch capabilities.

[whopper]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

A bit of competition can be a very good thing. Too bad it hadn't happened a year ago...

Now, I'll have to do some serious decision making as I had been thinking about going for the Nova Pro when it comes out which looks to be about the same time... I really would like a lighted reader with both stylus and touch capabilities.

yep, we need even more contestants here so companies stop milking consumers with super tiny advancements every 1.5 years as onyx, kobo, pb, etc, have been making

[Robert Bitzer]

The gadget business is what it is, however, I am very excited to have a Note 10.3 with a front light. I have been very happy with Onyx with their product quality and frequent software updates. Looking forward to purchasing the Note Pro in the spring!

[Question Mark]

Although it would have been nicer if the Note Pro had come out a year ago, I'm just glad that they are making it a reality. I already love my Note, but the front light, increased RAM and increased storage will almost make it my dream device.

I really hope that they enable screen mirroring on the Pro. It would be wonderful to use it with a projector.

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by whopper

looks like the competition from boyue is forcing onyx to release sooner products that I'm sure they wanted to release much later.

one can dream of seeing a 13.3" flushed screen with light, hopefully more competition can go also to that market.

I just found out about the Boyue Mimas yesterday and was anxious for them to be in stock so I can place an order. Then I saw videos and articles for the Note Pro. Back when the Boox Note was released, I was lamenting the fact that I couldn't buy it because it didn't have a frontlight, and now it looks like I will have two to choose from!

My current eReader is a Boyue T62+ that has worked great for almost four years and has a perfect screen and extremely even frontlight - much better than the two Paperwhites I bought and returned - and the videos of the Mimas look great to me.

Does anyone have any opinions about which might be the better choice?

I know the Note Pro is supposed to have twice the RAM and a lot more integrated storage than the Mimas, but probably a significantly higher price tag too. Any other pros or cons on the Note Pro?

Oh, and how much of a difference do you knowledgeable folks think the processors will make in these units? It's weird... I always thought more cores = more power... but the Mimas has 8 cores (I think) and the Note Pro will have 4 cores... and yet I have read that the Note Pro Quad Core processor is supposed to be superior. Is that accurate? Does anybody expect the difference to be significant?

I do like that the Mimas has physical page turn and back buttons and includes a cover.

It looks like the Note Pro is supposed to have the same flexible mobius screen, covered with glass, like the Mimas. Is that correct?

What about the firmware? Is Boox further along with perfecting their note-taking features? The note-taking Mimas videos looked like that feature is straight-forward and easy to use on the Boyue.

The Mimas only allows the user to turn the lighting from the standard cool light to the standard warm light, while the Note Pro allows the user to adjust the mix of the warm and cool lighting separately or synced together. I wonder if that's that a feature that Boyue might be able to add in a firmware update?

I know this is still early and there is not that much information about these two devices. I'm mostly just wondering about any significant differences between these two devices, and if there's a good reason to wait for the Boox Note Pro.

[Question Mark]

I will wait for the Note Pro for several reasons:

• I suspect that the increase in RAM will allow for faster processing which will hopefully improve third party app performance.

• The increase in internal storage space will be handy.

• I'm really happy with my ordinary Note as it is now, and the added features will only improve it. I especially like the sketching experience on it even though there is still room for much improvement.

• Onyx has shown that they are incorporating user feedback into their software updates for current devices which I hope will continue to be the case.

• I have no experience with Boyue and their support for their devices.

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by Question Mark;3797697[list

Onyx has shown that they are incorporating user feedback into their software updates for current devices which I hope will continue to be the case.[/LIST]

I've been a little worried that Onyx might not be as good with updating firmware in the future because they keep releasing so many different eReaders. This is based on a blog post I read that complained about Onyx's business strategy of releasing an abundance of different devices, each with minor differences. It did make me wonder how good they will be about fixing bugs and problems for each of their models.

[helen19770707]

Originally Posted by blue_skies

I've been a little worried that Onyx might not be as good with updating firmware in the future because they keep releasing so many different eReaders. This is based on a blog post I read that complained about Onyx's business strategy of releasing an abundance of different devices, each with minor differences. It did make me wonder how good they will be about fixing bugs and problems for each of their models.

The Boox update has been so far so good. If I were you, I would wait until the Note Pro had come out, and compared the two devices.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by blue_skies

I've been a little worried that Onyx might not be as good with updating firmware in the future because they keep releasing so many different eReaders.

Yup, I can well understand that concern. I'm still hoping that they will eventually release another update for the Max1, bringing it up to 2.0, but I'm not holding my breath.

However, even as is, the Max1 is still quite functional, and much more so for the Note, for which they are still continuing to offer updates. So, I am hopeful going forward.

What about Boyue? I haven't really followed them at all. Do they have a reliable track record in terms of updating their devices?

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

Yup, I can well understand that concern. I'm still hoping that they will eventually release another update for the Max1, bringing it up to 2.0, but I'm not holding my breath.

However, even as is, the Max1 is still quite functional, and much more so for the Note, for which they are still continuing to offer updates. So, I am hopeful going forward.

What about Boyue? I haven't really followed them at all. Do they have a reliable track record in terms of updating their devices?

I'm not sure. I ordered my Boyue T62+ from China and when I first receive it, the battery drained much too quickly... but they released a firmware update that fixed it and my device has worked pretty flawlessly ever since, so I haven't kept up with firmware updates. I think I received one update over the air and then I did a second update that someone linked on this forum. I followed that thread for a while and IIRC, there were several additional firmware updates that were available after the last one I used.

For those with Boox devices, have all of their firmware updates been delivered OTA?

[franzli]

Concerning the question about computing power above, I can provide my experience with the Onyx Note (4 core) and the Boyue Likebook Mars (8 core).

First of all, a higher number of cores does not automatically mean more power, that's a fallacy that most advertisement makes much use of. To see the problem just compare a 4 core Intel Atom chip to any somewhat recent Core chip with two cores ( either any of the y series or of the U series up to 7th gen) and you'll see that in this case the 2core Core CPUs clearly outperform the 4 core Atom chips.

That said, on Geekbench the Onyx and Boyue devices get comparable results with a sought advantage for the 4core Onyx Boox Note actually! ( I reported my numbers in anther thread over here a while ago, it went up to about 2000 on multicore in ideal conditions, while the Boyue topped out around 1800, although the Onyx also often just gets something around the high 1800s).
In my experience, I'd also say that the Onyx feels a bit snappier in use, though that is not based on any particular measurements.

[Antonio7]

Unfortunately, no microSD card slot, no physical page turn buttons.
Another very badly designed product from Onyx Boox..
The Boyue Mimas hardware is more attractive.

[eReader fan]

I really don't understand why we need 2Gb extra. It's difficult for me to image an scenario where more than 2Gb is used in an eInk device. But so happy to finally see a 10" device with light with a powerfull processor. Still no SD slot. But you know... you can't expect from Onyx to do the things completly right.

Originally Posted by blue_skies

Oh, and how much of a difference do you knowledgeable folks think the processors will make in these units? It's weird... I always thought more cores = more power... but the Mimas has 8 cores (I think) and the Note Pro will have 4 cores... and yet I have read that the Note Pro Quad Core processor is supposed to be superior. Is that accurate? Does anybody expect the difference to be significant?

Another user and me talk about that topic and run Antutu benchamrk on both of them. You can see the result in this topic: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...=312307&page=2 The 4core CPU of the Onyx is much more powerfull than the 8core of the Likebook. Anyways, the 8core Likebook's processors is fast enough to achieve all the supposed functionallities of an android eReader

This is the analisys I did on that thread (also I suggest to you to go there to see the AnTutu screenshots):

Ok now I understand it. Let me talk a little about the different processors they have:

NOVA: 1'6GHz quad-core, CORTEX-A17, 32bits, architecture ARMv7-A
MARS: 1'4Ghz octa-core, CORTEX-A53, 64bits, architecture ARMv8-A

At first glance it could seem the Mars has a much better processor, but if you look it carefully we realize it's not this way. L1 and L2 cache of Nova's CPU are much bigger than the one on Mars, and not only this, also the CORTEX-A53 can be slower than the very old CORTEX-A9 when it has high frequencies. Check this link if you want more info and a graphic that is self-explanatory: https://www.cnx-software.com/2015/04...-64-bit-cores/

So it's true in the Nova we doesn't have the 64 bits, but it has a high perfomance 32bits processor, and this makes bite the dust to the octa-core 64bits CPU of the Mars. Also, I think the CORTEX-A53 is meant more to device which need more power saving, but I am not completlly sure about this.

About the GPU, I checked the Mars has the POWERVR ROGUE G6110, and can't compare it with the one in Nova because I didn't find it. Sure this was because that info isn't imoprtant to anyone because this is an eReader, but once we started to compare we have to do it well. Also, if you want to manage large pdf with graphics, open really big resolution image or websurf really fast it is important.

Despite all of that info, Mars is a really good eReader, and it's fast and fits my needs to use it as a eInk tablet. SInce I got it I didn't used it to read any single line, I have the ONyx C67ML for that. Instead of this I websurf a lot, download torrents, VNC connections, etc I can recommend it to anyone, even if there is one which is faster, because it's true it isn't the most fast, but it is the 2nd faster eReader in the world.

I returned the Mars and I will buy the Onyx Nova because I need that extra power for my personal specific situation, but if that wasn't the case I would go for the Bouye because it's much cheaper. For example to my mother I will buy the Mars (isn't that a proof it's a good eReader)

ALso I am very disappointed in the way Onyx treats their 1 year devices when a new model fo the same size appears. I own the N96ML and I am still waitting for the android 4.4 update or the 2.0 firmware. FOr sure they will never arrive.

Hopefully, after this generation of devices all of them will be multicore and fast android 6 (or newer) devices and I could move away from Onyx. I don't know how the firmware updates and bug fixes is with Likebook, but it is not difficult to be better than Onyx