Thoughts on BOOX Tab Ultra C?
BOOX Tab Ultra C
Does anyone here have a BOOX e-paper tablet? I'm a big fan of e-paper devices—I love my Pebble smartwatch, Kindle Paperwhite, and Light Phone II. I've been eyeing the Tab Ultra C for quite a while, and I am considering the pros and cons. Mostly, I intend to use it for browsing the web and maybe some light note taking and document writing.
The color screen of e-readers is too dark for me and substantially lacks contrast. It's very noticable. The layer for pen recognition already makes the screen darker, but the color display is adding a lot more to the darkness and lack of contrast. I would only go with an e-reader with black/white screen and even without pen recognition.
Furthermore, e-readers are much more fragile than mobile phones. The design of their screen leads to a high probability of getting broken which is a common thing, search "ereader screen broken" online. My Boox e-reader fell 50 centimeters and the screen was broken, which renders the whole devide unresponsive.
The pen recognition is not as precise as on tablets. You can draw with it, but it's a bit annoying and not for detailed work.
So my suggestion is to go with a device that costs less than 200 USD and do anything else than reading on a phone or tablet.
The color screen of e-readers is too dark for me and substantially lacks contrast. It's very noticable. The layer for pen recognition already makes the screen darker, but the color display is adding a lot more to the darkness and lack of contrast.
There were a handful of reasons I returned mine, but this was the biggest one. Color eink isn't ready yet, and the limited color palette wasn't even the worst part... it was the dark screen. Needing to use the backlight so often is just disappointing, and turning it on negates all the good stuff about eink, making you feel like you're using a really shitty tablet. Maybe things will be better in a generation or two, but if you need color you might as well get a conventional tablet.
Yeah that's why I've held off on buying one of these. I would love a color e-ink display for art/design books but the tech just isn't there yet. I'd be ok with the colors just being so-so, but the darkness and lack of contrast is a big issue.
I can't speak for the BOOX Tab Ultra C directly, but I'm interested in opinions on it, because I'm thinking about buying one as well.
I have the BOOX Note Air though. Overall, I really like it. I use it to read books and learning material, do math exercises and occasionally to draw. I love that it's smart (full Android, download any app) and dumb (slow, grayscale, don't get distracted easily) at the same time.
Technically you can use it for browsing the web, however I wouldn't recommend it. It' too slow if you want to hop between different sites. It's only comfortable if you access a specific site to read on for a while. I hope the BOOX Tab Ultra C is faster (I mean it should), but if the web is one of your main use cases, I'd rather go for a proper tablet. Even if the ePaper screen is relatively fast, it's still too slow to be fun. Since you're already experienced using ePaper screen, I'm confident you can judge that for yourself though.
My motivation to get an upgrade is mainly the Note Air quickly slows down when drawing anything semi-complex or above. I can recommend it for reading, taking notes and (limited) drawing. For anything else, I recommend a tablet instead.
I also have a reMarkable 2—forgot to mention that—and I find the writing experience unparalleled. I don't imagine the Tab Ultra C replacing the reMarkable, in the sense that I intend to use it more as a "smart" device. If the web browsing experience is not good, perhaps it is not the right choice... Thank you for the feedback!
I have a Boox Nova Air. It's a 7" B&W e-reader. It's nice to have a boring Android tablet that also happens to be an e-reader.
I wouldn't recommend ePaper for anything but the very lightest of web browsing. The like refresh rate really is a lot to take in.
Using the pen is nice. It feels a lot like black magic, really. It's just like drawing on paper.
If like to get a colour version to read comics, but let's face it, I can't even remember where my current one is, let alone the last time I turned it on..
What do you want to know? I don't use it for note taking, however, so can't speak for the pen. We use it as a family device. Kids play chess and watch chess animated videos on it. Also for web-based math homework. Have used it for reading color graphic novels on Libby. Also web browsing. I also have the b&w Poke 3 and we have a regular Kindle.
I'm a Remarkable 2 user, but if the writing feel is anywhere as decent as the remarkable's, I would consider buying one of these (assuming I'm making a first time purchase and don't already have an eink writing tablet).
Most of those features are super unnecessary (but I love the idea of having them), but damn if that color screen doesn't get me feeling super excited.
I would only get one if it also had a backlit display. Preferably amber
This article has some useful considerations.
Happy shopping.
They violate the open source licenses for the projects they use.
Source?
Some info here:
Reddit thread
One of many: http://bbs.onyx-international.com/t/install-linux-or-alternate-os-and-gpl2-kernel-source - nothing has changed
Yeah, I haven't read good things about Onyx either. Chinese-inside™. Scummy business practices.
I prefer Kobo as an alternative.