10 ms·

I own the BOOX Note 2, it's an android tablet with some E-Ink friendly modifications. It's the best electronic reading experience I've ever had: - It's 10.3",

I own the BOOX Note 2, it's an android tablet with some E-Ink friendly modifications. It's the best electronic reading experience I've ever had: - It's 10.3", perfect for reading PDFs like scientific papers without being too large to carry around. - The included reader is stellar, with special modes for reading PDFs, comicbooks, etc. - The included note-taking app is pretty good and fully featured. It integrates with the reader and there's a side-by-side mode. - It supports every open format I've tried: PDFs, DJVU, epub, mobi and more. (Haven't tried PS.) - I can scribble on all document types, including ebooks. - I can install apps from the app store. In particular this means I can read my Kindle library and Wallabag feed, and... - with Syncthing syncing is set and forget. When I download a PDF or book on my computer, I simply pick up the tablet and start reading it. Any notes I make are synced back to my laptop. - Of course, the above is in addition to the standard E-Ink features you'd expect: It lasts for weeks on a charge, the reading experience in bright sunlight is fantastic, it's lighter than an iPad, zero eye strain, etc. I installed only the software I need for reading and syncing, but there's a lot more you could do with it since the play store and F-droid are available. You can use it as an external monitor, for instance.

hyperpallium2 6y ago
The BOOX tablets seem really interesting. I'm wondering if you or anyone has tried a terminal app (e.g. termux)? Is the refresh rate fast enough?
- fake-name 6y ago
  It's usable, but only just, and you have to fiddle with your colorscheme (most of the defaults are unusable for some colors). My major problem with basically all the BOOX devices is they're violating the GPL by not releasing their kernel/uboot sources.[1] [1]: http://bbs.onyx-international.com/t/install-linux-or-alternate-os-and-gpl2-kernel-source/698/2 http://bbs.onyx-international.com/t/install-linux-or-alterna...
- sammorrowdrums 6y ago
  My Max Lumi can be used as a monitor, and it is possible to work on it, but visual feedback is sluggish and you have to accept a lot of artifacts for the sake of speed. I do hope to try coding in the sun with it some time. Got it in winter though, so haven't yet.
- adrianrocamora 6y ago
  I've tried it with the Boox Note Air 10.3 (arrived a couple of weeks ago!), it's decent enough but I had to install the termux-styling apk to change its background from black to white. I think it works better that way. The refresh rate is good enough for me but I'm not very picky so YMMV. I'll try to use it for work one of these days using ssh, so I'll report back once I've done so.
  - bbarnett 6y ago
    With all the phoning home, and lack of security updates, you may want to reconsider ever entering anything sensitive into a Boox product.
    - leppr 6y ago
      Some time ago I had a sign in attempt with password on my Google account. Inputting the password on the Boox was one of my theories as to how it was stolen. I've since made a dedicated account for the device, and the sign-in is now done via a one time token so that risk is mitigated.
- namibj 6y ago
  You have to make sure you don't have a cursor. Normal printing is fast enough, but the typical block-style cursor makes it not really usable for me (Tolino Epos (Gen1)).
jay-anderson 6y ago
What software do you use for reading and syncing with your BOOX?
- adiM 6y ago
  The OP mentioned Syncthing .. I have a similar workflow where I use dropbox to sync(with dropsync installed on boox)
- dominotw 6y ago
  google drive
girvo 6y ago
I’ll second the Note 2. It’s the greatest gadget I’ve ever owned. Completely supplanted paper/pens for me!
jdshaffer 6y ago
Thanks for sharing this. I've been pondering getting a Boox Nova 3 in the near future (mostly because it has the yellow backlight and ends up being only $5 more than a Kindle Oasis (where I live)... and then I get the benefit of all the additional features. :-)
- andrei_says_ 6y ago
  This is what I did and love the device. You can adjust color temperature by mixing cool and warm light. Also, larger screen than the kindle and high res enough to read technical books. Came with a case and stylus.
wellthisisgreat 6y ago
Hi thanks a lot for sharing. You never feel that 10” is too small for PDF? With charts especially. I know it will scale well with ePUB
- karthink 6y ago
  It has a crop-margins feature for reading PDFs that (for most documents) makes the text size slightly larger than it would be printed on letter sized paper. It's pretty seamless. For two column documents there's a "quarters" reading mode. It's not a great experience for a PDF with no margins and a complicated layout (like some magazines.)
rbobby 6y ago
How's the page turning speed and/or screen refresh speed? I remember looking at an e-ink reader years ago and thought it was unusable because of the weird page refresh/slow page turn.
- ZeroGravitas 6y ago
  They've generally gotten faster over time. The newer ones also have partial refresh modes that are faster still, but not quite as clean, which lets you trade speed for clarity. The fastest modes work for video (sort of) and at least the Boox have lots of configuration options e.g. different apps can refresh at different speeds, the refresh rate can vary when you start scrolling (in standard android apps that aren't optimised for e-ink, in readers you generally "page" through text) and can set it to do full refreshes after X amount of actions, or manually force a refresh. But, as all the above probably indicates, if you have it on full quality mode, then there's a noticeable delay and flicker as it fully blacks out the screen to "clear" it and then displays the next page. This is particularly bad for some of the color ones, as they seem to only be able to do each color layer in sequence.
bartvk 6y ago
Also, as far as I know, it's the only ebook-reader with USB-C.
FlyingSnake 6y ago
For anyone looking for pointers to buy e-Ink devices, Voja from MyDeepGuide has a comprehensible collection of different e-ink devices and is a trusted reviewer. You can watch the comparison of all the e-Ink tablets here on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkK_HQRf6xg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkK_HQRf6xg
- bbarnett 6y ago
  This guy is indeed awesome, a very valuable resource, however he only reviews from the perspective of usage, not covering things like security updates, gpl compliance, phoning home, etc.
bbarnett 6y ago
I bought, and returned the Note Air. The build quality is impressive. I had it for 2 weeks, used it for about an hour daily, and set it to only poweroff after a day of inactivity. Its battery dropped from 100% to 48% over that time. Yes, I was quite positively impressed. However, their theft of code (which is what you do, if you do not respect the code license, eg, gpl), the fact that even a brand new model tablet was 3+ monthly Android security updates behind, and the pcaps I took showing all the phoning home, including IPs in China... Well... As I said, returned. Quite sad, loved the hardware.
- graeme 6y ago
  Would it be a security threat to have that on one’s home network? I’d mostly want it for reading articles online and email newsletters. I could make a burner email account for this purpose. That seems a tolerable tradeoff, as I don’t consider what I read on HN to be super sensitive. (Though others may reasonable differ there)
  - throwaw4ybio 6y ago
    The trouble is that it is behind your security perimeter once it is on your home network. It can start discovering other devices, monitoring traffic, enumerating ports and services, etc.
    - CamTin 6y ago
      If you're set up for it, you can always set it up on a sandboxed SSID with access only to the internet (or even just to sites you choose, like an FTP server of your ebooks). This is probably a good idea with most sketchy gadgets that "need" access to the "internet" but will probably be off the table in coming years as it gets cheap enough for manufacturers to embed 5g connectivity if they want.
      - cweagans 6y ago
        Sounds like a lot of work when the alternative is just using a device that doesn’t spy on you in the first place. For instance, Remarkable is a great e—ink tablet that literally gives you the keys to the kingdom: there’s a UI in the product that gives you the root PW (which is set randomly for each device).
lovedswain 6y ago
I have a BOOX Note (v1) and found no reason whatsoever to replace it. The auto PDF margin crop functionality Just Works, the only reader I've seen where this problem is solved to any degree of satisfaction. I vastly prefer reading PDFs off the Note than on a computer, regardless of the paper size.
pyrophane 6y ago
I recently tried the Note 3. Very cool device! My impression of the Google Play app support: it works, but the experience isn't as good with 3rd-party apps as it is with the first-party Boox apps. I tried loading the Kobo app, as well as Evernote and OneNote. In the Kobo app, text was not as clear (even on the clearest setting) and the page turning experience was off (it had to sort of re-orient the text). Neither OneNote or Evernote were usable for note-taking with the pen. All of this is probably to be expected, but I wanted to share because the idea of being able to run any android app is certainly part of the appeal of the device. It is still a good device, but when comparing it to other e-ink devices on the market, I'd really consider the Google Play support to be a bit more of a novelty than something you would actually use unless you have a very specific use case and don't mind a less than stellar app experience.

hyperpallium2 6y ago

The BOOX tablets seem really interesting. I'm wondering if you or anyone has tried a terminal app (e.g. termux)? Is the refresh rate fast enough?

fake-name 6y ago
It's usable, but only just, and you have to fiddle with your colorscheme (most of the defaults are unusable for some colors). My major problem with basically all the BOOX devices is they're violating the GPL by not releasing their kernel/uboot sources.[1] [1]: http://bbs.onyx-international.com/t/install-linux-or-alternate-os-and-gpl2-kernel-source/698/2 http://bbs.onyx-international.com/t/install-linux-or-alterna...
sammorrowdrums 6y ago
My Max Lumi can be used as a monitor, and it is possible to work on it, but visual feedback is sluggish and you have to accept a lot of artifacts for the sake of speed. I do hope to try coding in the sun with it some time. Got it in winter though, so haven't yet.
adrianrocamora 6y ago
I've tried it with the Boox Note Air 10.3 (arrived a couple of weeks ago!), it's decent enough but I had to install the termux-styling apk to change its background from black to white. I think it works better that way. The refresh rate is good enough for me but I'm not very picky so YMMV. I'll try to use it for work one of these days using ssh, so I'll report back once I've done so.
- bbarnett 6y ago
  With all the phoning home, and lack of security updates, you may want to reconsider ever entering anything sensitive into a Boox product.
  - leppr 6y ago
    Some time ago I had a sign in attempt with password on my Google account. Inputting the password on the Boox was one of my theories as to how it was stolen. I've since made a dedicated account for the device, and the sign-in is now done via a one time token so that risk is mitigated.
namibj 6y ago
You have to make sure you don't have a cursor. Normal printing is fast enough, but the typical block-style cursor makes it not really usable for me (Tolino Epos (Gen1)).

jay-anderson 6y ago

What software do you use for reading and syncing with your BOOX?

adiM 6y ago
The OP mentioned Syncthing .. I have a similar workflow where I use dropbox to sync(with dropsync installed on boox)
dominotw 6y ago
google drive

girvo 6y ago

I’ll second the Note 2. It’s the greatest gadget I’ve ever owned. Completely supplanted paper/pens for me!

jdshaffer 6y ago

Thanks for sharing this. I've been pondering getting a Boox Nova 3 in the near future (mostly because it has the yellow backlight and ends up being only $5 more than a Kindle Oasis (where I live)... and then I get the benefit of all the additional features. :-)

andrei_says_ 6y ago
This is what I did and love the device. You can adjust color temperature by mixing cool and warm light. Also, larger screen than the kindle and high res enough to read technical books. Came with a case and stylus.

wellthisisgreat 6y ago

Hi thanks a lot for sharing. You never feel that 10” is too small for PDF? With charts especially. I know it will scale well with ePUB

karthink 6y ago
It has a crop-margins feature for reading PDFs that (for most documents) makes the text size slightly larger than it would be printed on letter sized paper. It's pretty seamless. For two column documents there's a "quarters" reading mode. It's not a great experience for a PDF with no margins and a complicated layout (like some magazines.)

rbobby 6y ago

How's the page turning speed and/or screen refresh speed? I remember looking at an e-ink reader years ago and thought it was unusable because of the weird page refresh/slow page turn.

ZeroGravitas 6y ago
They've generally gotten faster over time. The newer ones also have partial refresh modes that are faster still, but not quite as clean, which lets you trade speed for clarity. The fastest modes work for video (sort of) and at least the Boox have lots of configuration options e.g. different apps can refresh at different speeds, the refresh rate can vary when you start scrolling (in standard android apps that aren't optimised for e-ink, in readers you generally "page" through text) and can set it to do full refreshes after X amount of actions, or manually force a refresh. But, as all the above probably indicates, if you have it on full quality mode, then there's a noticeable delay and flicker as it fully blacks out the screen to "clear" it and then displays the next page. This is particularly bad for some of the color ones, as they seem to only be able to do each color layer in sequence.

bartvk 6y ago

Also, as far as I know, it's the only ebook-reader with USB-C.

FlyingSnake 6y ago

For anyone looking for pointers to buy e-Ink devices, Voja from MyDeepGuide has a comprehensible collection of different e-ink devices and is a trusted reviewer. You can watch the comparison of all the e-Ink tablets here on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkK_HQRf6xg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkK_HQRf6xg

bbarnett 6y ago
This guy is indeed awesome, a very valuable resource, however he only reviews from the perspective of usage, not covering things like security updates, gpl compliance, phoning home, etc.

bbarnett 6y ago

I bought, and returned the Note Air. The build quality is impressive. I had it for 2 weeks, used it for about an hour daily, and set it to only poweroff after a day of inactivity. Its battery dropped from 100% to 48% over that time. Yes, I was quite positively impressed. However, their theft of code (which is what you do, if you do not respect the code license, eg, gpl), the fact that even a brand new model tablet was 3+ monthly Android security updates behind, and the pcaps I took showing all the phoning home, including IPs in China... Well... As I said, returned. Quite sad, loved the hardware.

graeme 6y ago
Would it be a security threat to have that on one’s home network? I’d mostly want it for reading articles online and email newsletters. I could make a burner email account for this purpose. That seems a tolerable tradeoff, as I don’t consider what I read on HN to be super sensitive. (Though others may reasonable differ there)
- throwaw4ybio 6y ago
  The trouble is that it is behind your security perimeter once it is on your home network. It can start discovering other devices, monitoring traffic, enumerating ports and services, etc.
  - CamTin 6y ago
    If you're set up for it, you can always set it up on a sandboxed SSID with access only to the internet (or even just to sites you choose, like an FTP server of your ebooks). This is probably a good idea with most sketchy gadgets that "need" access to the "internet" but will probably be off the table in coming years as it gets cheap enough for manufacturers to embed 5g connectivity if they want.
    - cweagans 6y ago
      Sounds like a lot of work when the alternative is just using a device that doesn’t spy on you in the first place. For instance, Remarkable is a great e—ink tablet that literally gives you the keys to the kingdom: there’s a UI in the product that gives you the root PW (which is set randomly for each device).

lovedswain 6y ago

I have a BOOX Note (v1) and found no reason whatsoever to replace it. The auto PDF margin crop functionality Just Works, the only reader I've seen where this problem is solved to any degree of satisfaction. I vastly prefer reading PDFs off the Note than on a computer, regardless of the paper size.

pyrophane 6y ago

I recently tried the Note 3. Very cool device! My impression of the Google Play app support: it works, but the experience isn't as good with 3rd-party apps as it is with the first-party Boox apps. I tried loading the Kobo app, as well as Evernote and OneNote. In the Kobo app, text was not as clear (even on the clearest setting) and the page turning experience was off (it had to sort of re-orient the text). Neither OneNote or Evernote were usable for note-taking with the pen. All of this is probably to be expected, but I wanted to share because the idea of being able to run any android app is certainly part of the appeal of the device. It is still a good device, but when comparing it to other e-ink devices on the market, I'd really consider the Google Play support to be a bit more of a novelty than something you would actually use unless you have a very specific use case and don't mind a less than stellar app experience.