Nova Color 3 GOING BACK

[Neil]

Hi All --
Well, I got the Nova Color 3 delivered today. After two terrible hours I decided to see if Amazon would accept it as a return and they would and it's packed up again. The problem was not actually technical but one of user friendliness. Or, in this case, enmity. I picked up the thick Quick Start guide and that was my first clue. It basically did nothing at all but to show the unit's two buttons and the speaker and mic placement. In about 20+ languages. I finally did see how to download the manual using the unit itself and it was just the worst manual I have seen in about the past forty years. No kidding. It was written by a person whose third maybe language is English. Just awful. I suppose if you had ever worked a Boox device before that a lot would have been something you already know. But, me? no. I have worked very extensively with Apple and Kindle devices and have enough familarity with Android to keep my Samsung S5 and myself speaking.

But, this. Nope. I could not do the simplest thing. I could not transfer any books or documents to it. I knew enough on my own to change the USB preferences to support file transfer, But, nope. So I tried to download a book from their store. Followed the prompts to set up an account. None of the books downloaded but all errored out. I went to the site thinking maybe I could setup an account there. No avail.

The manual had absolutely no step-by-step or overview section. So it seemed like I either had to read the unreadable 170 pages or give up. To at least make that easier I went on the Boox site and downloaded the manual to my desktop. But when I tried to read it it wanted a password to open! Oh, my.

OK, life is too short (we all know this better than ever now). As I was hardly enjoying myself and as no one was paying me to continue -- I spoke with Amazon and they assured me I just needed to send it back and emailed me the label.

This is NOT a dis on the actual unit itself. I bet if you figure it all out that it would be well worth using. I will never know!

[underscore]

Hello,
aside the quality of the manual and the almost useless book store on the left column, it's an android device.
It should have shown by default on your computer like a whatever else disk and drag and drop should have worked.
Maybe the usb cable was defective.
Did you managed to have an impression of the color screen, maybe using the note app ?

[Question Mark]

I'm not sure that I've ever read the manuals for any of my various devices. I tend to rely on the trial and error approach. When I encounter a problem that I can't resolve, then I turn to the internet. I find that people in these forums tend to be quite helpful. I also sometimes watch review videos on YouTube for how to do things.

As the Nova 3 Color is a new device, there might not be a lot of information specific to it, but there is a lot of information on the Nova 3 and other Nova devices out there that would help in figuring out how to use the device.

However, that takes time, and, as you say, life is short...

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by underscore

It should have shown by default on your computer like a whatever else disk and drag and drop should have worked.

No, not like a disc, but like another device - there is a difference.

[downeaster59]

I'd bet on a defective USB cable. I have always had problems with the USB cables provided with Onyx or Boyue devices, so I have bought a couple of good-quality ones elsewhere. They have worked flawlessly.

As for the rest, there is a learning curve involved with any Android E-Ink device. More so than with other Android tablets or phones. Manuals are of limited help. Only you can decide if the investment of time is worth it for you. It has been worth it for me.

[Neil]

Hi -- I did find the problem with mounting it late last night. It turned out that on my Mac the application "Android File Transfer" was somehow corrupted. Worse it was corrupted in a way that it apparently ran and yet was not functional. Unlike a PC, on a Mac you cannot mount an ereader like a disk but must run this utility which handles the mounting. I suspected a bad cable. So I went to my Samsung Tab with its usual cable and it too did not work! So, I downloaded a new File Transfer app and that DID mount the Nova 3 Color and, of course, the Samsung. First, I was happy, the Nova 3 Color mounted on the desktop. BUT BUT, BUT....

The goddamn manual (and I have not even mildly sworn in a message online in years and years and years and I hope the mods will take this as just another -- albeit stronger than usual -- word) has a complete chapter on how to use WiFi to transfer files which I would bet only a percentage of users will ever care about and the manual (see above for the adjective) does not even mention how to transfer files using a USB cable. So it took me a short albeit unnecessary time to figure out the folder to drop into. But I finally had a comic book on the device! I was sooooo excited and then I opened the file....

This was a comic book from the 60's, a recolored Disney Donald Duck, so the backgrounds are pretty straight forward and the colors are washes and not complex to reproduce. On my Pocketbook Color (6" screen) I have to tweak it on contrast and saturation but it comes up very clear, and the colors although muted are, well, pretty colorful. However, viewing it on the Nova 3 Color was just an epic failure and far beneath the Pocketbook screen in every measure of visual quality.

First problem was the serious ghosting in all colored areas whenever I turned the page. Now the manual (see above for the accurate description of same) had an almost unusable section on how to put the refresh menu choice into an always-onscreen button. The only way, after almost an hour, I got that button to work was to ignore the hilariously poorly-written text in the (see above) manual and just look at the pictures. So there I was with my refresh button. And....

First off, let me tell you about a car that I owned in 1968, Like many cars in those days it did not like cold weather. The only way to get it started was to repetitively feed it the gas and so pump the gas pedal. Vrooooom, vroom, Varoom!!! But the car would start. On my Nova 3 Color every page stalled with ghosting. Pressing the refresh button over and over was like using my finger instead of my foot on a 1968 gas pedal. But it was like the car stalled at every light, every stop sign, every hill.... Well, OK, every page turn here.

Now even once the ghosting was "fixed" the colors were TERRIBLE. LOUSY. BAD. As compared to the smaller, cheaper, Pocketbook Color. I am a good "tweaker." I tried my best setting the contrast, saturation and refresh rates on the Nova 3 Color's menus. I never once could get a setting that made the file on the Nova 3 Color appear even mildly acceptable. I have read many reviews on the Internet which have said that the new Nova Color either beats or ties the new Pocketbook Color (the 7.8" model) when reading comics. OK, I have not seen the 7.8" Pocketbook as yet. But if you compare it to my Pocketbook Color 6" there is absolutely no contest. None.

So, OK, this device is still going back for return. It is packed and labeled and taped shut. I offer the above simply as my own review and opinionated thoughts. In closing I have to say that I cannot recommend the Nova 3 Color unless the actual color capability is far less important to you than having an Android tablet AND if you are a very well-versed expert-level user of Android and the Boox OS and do not need a manual.

[ottischwenk]

For colorful comics, I wouldn't buy a $ 400 7.8 inch color EInk device - they're nicer on a Chinese 10 inch $ 60 tablet.

[Neil]

I agree that spending $400 or even $200 just to read color comics is a waste of money. But, then, isn't any hobby that by definition? Everyone tends to spend as much as they can to obtain things that bring them joy. And one man's joy is another man's complete waste of time and funds. The only thing I have more of than tablet and ereaders are books. And, books? I won 't even tell you how much some limited editions cost! And there is nary an integrated circuit among them. Many of my friends spend even more on golf clubs, boats, ham radio and one lady I know collects baking appliances (that I have never seen her use). So, I don't think expensiveness is a factor in buying ereaders. The factor is what can you afford and how happy does a good one make you? Oh, and comics are really nice on my iPads and Samsung Tabs. It is the thrill of seeing them on eink and the feeling of being an early adopter of technology that would have seemed like magic a couple decades ago -- that's the fun, that's the worth. At least to me!

[Pajamaman]

Could you post some photos of colored comics on the pocketbook and nova next to each other? Maybe you got a lemon?

For the bad ghosting, that might be because you have A2 mode on. Onyx has several settings for different ways to refresh the screen.

[Question Mark]

Over on The eBook Reader, Nathan has posted an informative review and comparison video of the Nova 3 Color and the Pocketbook Inkpad Color devices.

https://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...parison-video/

It is interesting to see them side by side. He seemed to prefer the colours on the Nova device. The Nova device was also significantly faster at loading and turning pages. That would be very important for me.

However, he also noted issues with ghosting on the Nova, something which can be mitigated with manual refreshing. I suspect that is also something which could possibly be fixed with a software update in the future. Onyx has been pretty good at updating the software for their recent devices.

[Neil]

Well, I wanted to get the return to Amazon today so I did not take any photos. But I am not sure how revealing photos would have been. As to the modes that manual made it extremely unclear which was to be used for comics. The actual text on the mode switch I think was written by the same fellow. I think I figured out the right one to use (sorry, no longer have it to look) and actually tried all three modes and one was absolutely unusable and the other was worse. So, pretty sure I got the right one.

[Neil]

I read Nathan's review and I felt at the time that the Pocketbook screen, based on my experience with the 6" one, was not quite properly adjusted. It is very difficult on the Pocketbook to set the contrast and brightness to the very best. What I do is to drain all color saturation away so that I set the contrast/brightness using B&W. Then I tweak up the color. That improves the color a whole lot. But comparing a 6" to a 7.8" screen on my part is kinda iffy. All I can say for sure and subjectively is that I really like the colors on my Pocketbook 6" and hated (not just disliked) the colors on the Nova. Again, maybe I made some mistake but that's what I found anyway.

One thing, the Nova is WAY faster than the Pocketbook, I completely agree with that!

Let's see what others say as more units come out. Meanwhile the next thing I will look for is the 7.8" Pocketbook. No fun getting charge bills if you do not have to hide them from the wife!

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Neil

I agree that spending $400 or even $200 just to read color comics is a waste of money. But, then, isn't any hobby that by definition? Everyone tends to spend as much as they can to obtain things that bring them joy. And one man's joy is another man's complete waste of time and funds. The only thing I have more of than tablet and ereaders are books. And, books? I won 't even tell you how much some limited editions cost! And there is nary an integrated circuit among them. Many of my friends spend even more on golf clubs, boats, ham radio and one lady I know collects baking appliances (that I have never seen her use). So, I don't think expensiveness is a factor in buying ereaders. The factor is what can you afford and how happy does a good one make you? Oh, and comics are really nice on my iPads and Samsung Tabs. It is the thrill of seeing them on eink and the feeling of being an early adopter of technology that would have seemed like magic a couple decades ago -- that's the fun, that's the worth. At least to me!

So I'm already looking to see whether an investment brings me an advantage, albeit a marginal one - I don't see any at color-EInk.
It would make even more sense for me to light a cigar or the wood in the fireplace with these banknotes.

[dnastase]

For what is worth: I got my Nova 3 Color and I couldn't be happier with it.

It's been my dream for at least a decade now: to have a tablet w/ an e-ink screen. And that's exactly what it is: reasonably powered Android tablet that has an e-eink color screen with all the good and bad that comes with it. So I'm fine with the ghosting bc I'm used to it (I have probably at least a dozen other readers all in all), and slower refresh. It's actually amazingly usable in A2 mode!

Battery life is good (for an eink device that is actually an Android tablet).
The fact that it has a pen is a plus. Yes, the screen is a bit darker bc of the digitizer but it's a trade-off. I like having the pen.
The speed of operation (excepting the display on e-ink) I would say it's on par with any other Android tablet. In other words: reasonably fast, no complaints there.
It's a bit pricey but you have to pay for using bleeding edge.
I didn't open the manual, it's straight up an Android tablet. There are two extra steps to enable the Play Store but an internet search is all you need to do to learn how. It connects just fine to a PC via USB cable and shows up as an MTP device.
Obviously it's easier to connect as a wireless device to Calibre, so no real need for USB connection.

All in all, in my eyes, I think it's a good device.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by dnastase

All in all, in my eyes, I think it's a good device.

For color, I prefer to use a Chinese $ 60 10 inch Android 8.1 tablet (Mediatek ZH960) - everything is more realistic in terms of color and much more fluid.
I can't draw there, but I rarely do that anyway.