Boyue Likebook Mimas (T103D) 10.3 inch''

[Spectralis]

After using the Mimas over the weekend I want to highlight the positive aspects:

1) Very snappy performance. Especially with the default reading and writing apps. Slightly faster than my Max 2.
2) Instant writing on PDFs rather than the two step Onyx approach.
3) Hardware function buttons on the front panel are great. Prefer to have them rather than none on the Note Pro.
4) 256GB additional storage is very useful.
5) Plays many video files without stuttering unlike the Max 2.
6) Sound quality of speakers is not bad compared to no speakers on the Note Pro.
7) So far lighting on the Mimas screen is very even and makes it much easier to browse and use Spacedesk.

While the Onyx default apps are more advanced and more reliable I'm hopeful that Boyue will iron out the gremlins in their own apps eventually, if not pretty soon. My revised opinion is that Mimas is worth the money, especially as it's £160 cheaper than the Note Pro. I haven't tried the Note Pro but once the Mimas default apps are fixed I'll be very happy. Long live The Mimas!

[Spectralis]

Originally Posted by geordie2019

Misplaced the stylus already! Does anyone know an inexpensive replacement? Thanks!

I have a feeling they will become available shortly. But in the meantime you could use the Onyx Boox pen if you have one. They are rather expensive to buy separately unfortunately.

[rvcjew]

Originally Posted by Spectralis

I tried Squid, Moonreader Pro and Xodo but in each case the delay when writing is really bad. 3rd party apps for writing are unusable in my experience. So far, only the default apps are viable.

I've installed new fonts in Mimas by creating a folder named, "fonts" in Internal storage. They now work in the default reader and note apps. In case anyone uses AndrOpen Office if you want to install new fonts go to AndrOpen Office settings, check "Custom Font" and then click "Font Directory" and type in this path:

/storage/emulated/0/fonts

Add any new fonts to the "fonts" folder in Mimas Internal storage and they will then show up in future.

Did you try them in a2 mode as well as regal refresh or just tweaking all the animation options in the advanced hold menu on the icon? You can for instance make the refresh rate higher but it will smear more. But still probably not as good as the stock ones though as they actually use the full hardware of the digitizer with drivers.
Malcolm

[franzli]

If the Mimas works with the onyx pens, I highly suspect that it should also work with other Wacom pens designed for the Samsung Galaxy Note line (crucially not any active pens with a battery), e.g. also for the Galaxy Note 3 or 4, for which you should be able to get replacement pens for less than 10€. I tried my Note 9 pen on the original Onyx Note and it worked fine, so I suspect it would work on the Mimas as well (if indeed the original Onyx pen works on the Mimas).
Once you have established that pens for the Galaxy Notes work on the Mimas, you can have a look at larger Wacom pens for better writing comfort. In general there's a much market and scope for less expensive pens I'd think.

[Dav_25]

Hi,
Just a quick question about the Mimas.
Is that possible to highlight text with the default app in a Pdf, Epub and Djvu document ?
Thank you to all of you, for your great reviews!

[geordie2019]

Originally Posted by franzli

If the Mimas works with the onyx pens, I highly suspect that it should also work with other Wacom pens designed for the Samsung Galaxy Note line (crucially not any active pens with a battery), e.g. also for the Galaxy Note 3 or 4 ...

Thanks. Ordered one for $5. Will report back on outcome

[Spectralis]

Originally Posted by rvcjew

Did you try them in a2 mode as well as regal refresh or just tweaking all the animation options in the advanced hold menu on the icon? You can for instance make the refresh rate higher but it will smear more. But still probably not as good as the stock ones though as they actually use the full hardware of the digitizer with drivers.
Malcolm

I've tried all you suggested with Moonreader Pro and Xodo but nothing helps. Squid PDF editing is a paid for extra feature so I haven't tried it. Xodo is marginally better than Moon Pro which has an annoying writing system imo. Moon Pro also seems to be unable to navigate to files on my external SDCard for some reason. I click on SDCard and it only sees files stored in internal memory. Quite honestly, if I have to spend a lot of time tweaking 3rd party apps that still can't write instantly then it's game over for them. Only the stock app will do. Mimas has an advantage in that it has instant writing input rather than the two step process of the Onyx app. But the Onyx stock apps work properly and have more features.

PENS I can confirm categorically that the Onyx pen works with the Mimas. There is no doubt about this because I own both the Max 2 and the Mimas and have tested this extensively. Possibly other Wacom pens work too. I prefer the Mimas pen because it's chunkier and more comfortable to hold imo. Also, the button on the Onyx pen really irritates me because it gets in the way. I think the Mimas pens will become available at some point.

[Spectralis]

Originally Posted by Dav_25

Hi,
Just a quick question about the Mimas.
Is that possible to highlight text with the default app in a Pdf, Epub and Djvu document ?
Thank you to all of you, for your great reviews!

In theory yes but the stock PDF Reader is currently broken so I would wait and check here to see if the bugs are ironed out in the next update. If not, then consider the Onyx Boox Note Pro instead. Even though I own and like the Mimas, if Boyue can't get their stock apps to work properly then they don't deserve more sales. They're fully aware that the PDF Reader doesn't work properly so if they don't fix it by the next update then they're not serious about customer support.

[Siggy1000]

Originally Posted by Spectralis

In theory yes but the stock PDF Reader is currently broken so I would wait and check here to see if the bugs are ironed out in the next update. If not, then consider the Onyx Boox Note Pro instead. Even though I own and like the Mimas, if Boyue can't get their stock apps to work properly then they don't deserve more sales. They're fully aware that the PDF Reader doesn't work properly so if they don't fix it by the next update then they're not serious about customer support.

Could you specify, what exactly is broken on the PDF-Reader?

I think it is very necessary to give Boyue more sales, because otherwise, ONYX will stay without competition and prices will stay as high as now.
Also hoping for the "rising star" EEWrite, feat. Android 8.

[Spectralis]

Originally Posted by Siggy1000

Could you specify, what exactly is broken on the PDF-Reader?

I think it is very necessary to give Boyue more sales, because otherwise, ONYX will stay without competition and prices will stay as high as now.
Also hoping for the "rising star" EEWrite, feat. Android 8.

In a nutshell the PDF Reader can't export annotated notes correctly. I've posted about this extensively in the last two pages of this thread. Boyue acknowledge the problem and I'm hoping it will be fixed by next update.

I agree with you and I do want Boyue to prosper but not at my expense. I'm not a charity or funding some kickstarter here. If they don't fix their stock software so it can export annotated PDF's correctly then what use is the Mimas for those of us who bought it based on that advertised feature? It's not exactly cheap and we're on at least the second update already so it's unacceptable for the PDF reader to still not work as advertised. If they can't step up and compete with Onyx then they'll probably fail anyway. I'm really hoping for the sake of Boyue and all us owners that we have a mega bug fix of an update very soon.

Other problems:

The stock browser crashes repeatedly to the point it's unusable. The mix light app is not consistent so it changes settings randomly each time the Mimas is booted. Problems with the Mimas recognising SDCards. Sometimes wifi won't switch on in the drop down menu so I have to go into settings. Not deal breakers but annoying signs of a system that needs stabilising.

[Spectralis]

Good to see Boyue has it's own section now. They're being treated as a serious contender. Let's hope they live up to that and sort out their software.

[Siggy1000]

Originally Posted by Spectralis

In a nutshell the PDF Reader can't export annotated notes correctly. I've posted about this extensively in the last two pages of this thread. Boyue acknowledge the problem and I'm hoping it will be fixed by next update.

I agree with you and I do want Boyue to prosper but not at my expense. I'm not a charity or funding some kickstarter here. If they don't fix their stock software so it can export annotated PDF's correctly then what use is the Mimas for those of us who bought it based on that advertised feature? It's not exactly cheap and we're on at least the second update already so it's unacceptable for the PDF reader to still not work as advertised. If they can't step up and compete with Onyx then they'll probably fail anyway. I'm really hoping for the sake of Boyue and all us owners that we have a mega bug fix of an update very soon.

Other problems:

The stock browser crashes repeatedly to the point it's unusable. The mix light app is not consistent so it changes settings randomly each time the Mimas is booted. Problems with the Mimas recognising SDCards. Sometimes wifi won't switch on in the drop down menu so I have to go into settings. Not deal breakers but annoying signs of a system that needs stabilising.

That's a good summary. Yet I want to add some positive sides of the PDF App:
-Annotation is available right when starting
-Non-Touch mode features handy hidable toolbar
-There is a multi page mode
- Custom cropping
- Screen rotation
- Custom contrast adjustment
- multiple configurable layouts for page turn areas
- Feature that I love most: Navigator, which lists all the Annotations done to a document yet. I recently read parts of the Adobe PDF standard and annotated somewhere on page 160+... Finding the annotation afterwards was quick and easy.

[Spectralis]

Originally Posted by Siggy1000

That's a good summary. Yet I want to add some positive sides of the PDF App:
-Annotation is available right when starting
-Non-Touch mode features handy hidable toolbar
-There is a multi page mode
- Custom cropping
- Screen rotation
- Custom contrast adjustment
- multiple configurable layouts for page turn areas
- Feature that I love most: Navigator, which lists all the Annotations done to a document yet. I recently read parts of the Adobe PDF standard and annotated somewhere on page 160+... Finding the annotation afterwards was quick and easy.

All great features some of which I've listed above but they amount to nothing as long as the PDF reader exports corrupt files. It's possible to export the whole book but that's a PITA as well because it exports a file with exactly the same name as the original in a sub folder. Onyx, on the other hand, has other unique features in their PDF reader and exports exactly as advertised. Onyx also has a user forum and updates more regularly. Boyue doesn't. Onyx has a more professional approach and Boyue have been around long enough to emulate them but instead they post repetitive advertisements for their products on twitter instead of keeping us up to date about developments. If Boyue want to compete with Onyx they could emulate their customer support or even go one better.

[mrpotts]

Originally Posted by Spectralis

In a nutshell the PDF Reader can't export annotated notes correctly. I've posted about this extensively in the last two pages of this thread. Boyue acknowledge the problem and I'm hoping it will be fixed by next update.

I agree with you and I do want Boyue to prosper but not at my expense. I'm not a charity or funding some kickstarter here. If they don't fix their stock software so it can export annotated PDF's correctly then what use is the Mimas for those of us who bought it based on that advertised feature? It's not exactly cheap and we're on at least the second update already so it's unacceptable for the PDF reader to still not work as advertised. If they can't step up and compete with Onyx then they'll probably fail anyway. I'm really hoping for the sake of Boyue and all us owners that we have a mega bug fix of an update very soon.

Other problems:

The stock browser crashes repeatedly to the point it's unusable. The mix light app is not consistent so it changes settings randomly each time the Mimas is booted. Problems with the Mimas recognising SDCards. Sometimes wifi won't switch on in the drop down menu so I have to go into settings. Not deal breakers but annoying signs of a system that needs stabilising.

I agree 100%
Phil

[heyman]

Originally Posted by Spectralis

2) The Mimas screen is slightly grayer than on my Mars and Max 2. The protective film included with the Mimas might be the culprit.

can you post detailed photos of this ?

fixed typo