Onyx Boox Max Carta Note app deletes too much!

[dallen1357]

Hello All! I purchased an Onyx Boox Max Carta through Amazon a few weeks ago. I've been wanting a large screen eReader for reading academic papers for a very long time, and I love using it for that purpose. Sure, the reader has a few quirks, but they can be overlooked for the sake of this amazing screen!

But then I decided to push what this device can do. I figured that since it has a note taking app, I could use it to take notes in class (logical, right?). Bad idea. The stock note app has been extremely frustrating to use, and has me thinking about returning the reader.

First off, the digitizer precision is not good enough for my handwriting. It simply does not put the dot where I put the stylus, even after calibrating the stylus with the built in calibration routine. I compensate for this issue by writing bigger, and that alleviates most of that frustration.

However, there is another issue that is getting to me. Sometimes, the Note app will undo or delete way too much. Instead of deleting the last mark I made, the undo button will delete the last several lines I wrote. When this happens, the redo button will not restore the lost writing. Erasing sometimes causes a similar issue. I erase one letter, and whole sentences or equations disappear (I write in print, so characters are usually separate strokes)! This has been really frustrating, and today a straw (log, really) broke the camel's back. I finished writing the last notes from lecture and then tapped the back button in the top left corner. The app lost the last five pages I wrote! Nearly half my notes!

Has anyone else experienced a similar bug? Any suggestions? I photographed a classmate's notes, so I'm fine there, but this kind of data loss is a real drag.

[filippo80x]

I experienced the same problem you mention in the end of your post. I have a Max (not Carta). Sometimes, when I take notes for many pages the app crashes and it turns out that only the first 6 or 7 pages have been saved and the rest of my notes is lost.

For this reason I started to use Write (com.styluslabs.write) for handwritten notes. This app is not optimized for Max, so there is some delay between pen and screen, but it seems much more stable and all the files of my notes (not only the exported pdf) are saved in a folder that I can manage and sync with dropbox (com.ttxapps.dropsync).

I'll try to use the Note app again after the next upgrade.

Concerning digitizer precision, I have the same issue, but I didn't made many tests to see if I can get a better calibration.

[Asaif]

Regarding the precision issue I had it solved by calibrating the pen on my N96. The note deletion issue was a big drawback of the Notes app when I first purchased the N96 but it was solved with subsequent firmware updates. You probably should wait for coming updates. In general the built in software that came with my boox is of poor quality, not well optimized and full of glitches though the hardware is of good quality.

[Jmirko]

Try Lecture Notes. I did extensive testing on my M96: it has the least lag of all the handwriting apps, has an amazing feature set, is very stable, and the developer is super nice (he has implemented several tweaks on my request). I use this app daily and I highly recommend it.
By contrast, I have been writing to Booxtor and directly to Onyx about missing functions in the Note app - no response, and still not usable, although some functions have been added over the years. I like Onyx for the good hardware.and for using Android, but software is not their strong suit.

Sent from my YD201 using Tapatalk

[dallen1357]

I tried Lecture Notes, but the lag was too much for me. I have calibrated the digitizer using via the settings menu, but that did not help.

Does anyone know when there will be an update for the Boox Max Carta, or if there will be such an update? I'm worried that there will be no update because the Boox Max 2 has been released.

I know that Booxtor has provided an Android 4.4 beta update for the Boox Max Carta. Does anyone know whether this update improves the Note app or stylus accuracy?

I still like my Boox Max Carta for reading, but I much prefer paper for writing.

[mdp]

Originally Posted by dallen1357

Boox Max Carta

Sorry, I am not assessing everything, and I am sure you will come up with a satisfactory set-up. It is difficult, out of specifications, to marry a Max Carta to real-time ops (that machine can do many things, but it is most comfortable in: displaying static content, quietly rendered).

EDIT: maybe (for the OP dallen1357) installing the Onyx note taking app of the Max2 on the MaxCarta at least reduces the bugs? What is your version?

@Sogaiu, how is that com.styluslabs.write ? Is it interesting for your performance tests? In case, I could take a peek and help in the assessment.

[sogaiu]

Originally Posted by mdp

how is that com.styluslabs.write ? Is it interesting for your performance tests?

I didn't find it to be any better than other apps I've tried. Are there some reasons you singled that app out? It appears to be abandoned and IIUC there is no source code.

[mdp]

Originally Posted by sogaiu

I didn't find it to be any better than other apps I've tried. Are there some reasons you singled that app out? It appears to be abandoned and IIUC there is no source code.

Thing is, the two main alternatives presented up to now are 1. Microsoft and 2. A paid for product (I think). If you have more good alternatives, I would like to help you in the backward engineering to fix the matter.

[dallen1357]

I currently have the stock Onyx software installed (version 1.8.2, Android 4.04). I am willing to try installing the Onyx Max 2 notes app if someone can give me instructions to do so.