Skip to main content

Onyx Boox T68 Now Available on Amazon.com – $199

onyx boox t68 1If you have been pining for Onyx’s new 6.8″ ereader but didn’t want to pay the $50 shipping cost to get it from Europe, I have some good news. A couple days ago a reader tipped me to the news that Arta Tech, Onyx’s retail partner in Poland, is now selling the T68 Lynx on Amazon.com for $199.

The T68 Lynx sports a 6.8″ Pearl E-ink screen with a resolution of 1440 x 1080. Following the Kobo Aura HD, the T68 Lynx is only the second ereader to use E-ink’s 6.8″ screen. And like Kobo’s premium ereader, the T68 has a premium price.

The retail price is $199, and since Amazon is fulfilling the order, shipping is free with Amazon Prime. This is not a bad deal; I paid $250 and had to wait close to a week to get mine.

The T68 Lynx runs Android 4.0 on a 1GHz Freescale CPU with 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage and a microSD card slot for additional storage. And since the Lynx has a frontlight, touchscreen, Wifi, and Bluetooth, it is the next best thing to an E-ink Android tablet – albeit an expensive one.

I’ve had mine for just over a week now, and I can tell you that once I got past the initial issues engendered by bad instructions and a confusing interface I decided that this is a better ereader than most. It can’t meet my requirements for an Android tablet (the CPU is too slow, for one) but as an enhanced ereader it is an intriguing device.

Thanks to the apps I have installed, the T68 Lynx offers more format support than any other unhacked ereader on the US market. Not only can I read Epub files, I also have the use of RepliGo, one of the better PDF apps for Android. I’ve also install the Kindle, Comixology, and other reading apps; Gmail, a couple note taking apps, and other reading/studying apps which you would not expect to find on an E-ink device.

The battery has proven to last about a week of moderate to heavy use. It should have lasted longer, but the T68 started behaving erratically when the meter dropped to around 16%.

And on a related note, I can’t say that the T68 is sturdier or flimsier than other devices (it is as solid as any other ereader I have), but I can tell you that I worked up the courage stupid to perform a key drop test.

Remember in 2012 when I damaged the frontlight on the original Nook Glow by dropping my keys on the screen? The T68 Lynx survived the test without any sign of damage. Given that the Kobo Aura HD survived the test and uses the same screen, this comes as no surprise (but at least now you don’t have to worry or take stupid risks).

All in all, the T68 does more to justify its high price tag than the Aura HD or the Kindle DX (which is actually still available). While the Aura HD can be hacked to run Android, it is described as buggy and frustrating.  And the Kindle DX has not been updated in years, limiting users to poor PDF support and incomplete support for the Kindle format (no support for KF8  or digital comics, for example).

Amazon

Thanks, sd!

Similar Articles


Comments


Loyd June 24, 2014 um 12:50 pm

Interesting post. What ePub apps does it run and how well does the formatting work? I don’t expect it to render kePub books but can it do as well as the Kobo Aura HD at rendering ePubs?

Nate Hoffelder June 24, 2014 um 1:19 pm

In addition to Onyx’s app, I also have AlReader, Aldiko, and Moon+ Reader. They work, though they can’t use the page turn buttons. I didn’t think to install the Kobo app, but it should also work.


Loyd June 24, 2014 um 2:40 pm

Thanks Nate. Just one more question: is there a Z-Machine that works on it? I’ve always thought eInk was a perfect medium for interactive fiction and I have a load of old Infocom games/stories/puzzles that I’d love to have another look at.

Tom Semple June 25, 2014 um 2:54 am

Google Play has several apps that should work. The most actively updated seem to be 'Text Fiction' and 'Xyzzy'.


TheGreatFilter June 24, 2014 um 5:17 pm

How well-built are these things? If it dies, where do you send it?


Tom Semple June 25, 2014 um 2:45 am

Thanks for the heads up, I just bought one! This should be fun. Ivona TTS is of course owned by Amazon. I should think you can use a BT keyboard and mouse with this as well as audio devices.

Based on experiments with my keyboard and android tablet, Kindle, Mantano, Aldiko, Cool Reader and Play Books should all work with the page turn buttons (assuming those map to arrow left/right). Kobo, Nook and Moon+ do not.

Hoping they left Android 4.0 accessibility features intact on this thing, as that should allow TTS-like functionality with the Kindle app. Play Books, Mantano, Moon+, ezPDF & Cool Reader all support TTS.

Tom Semple June 25, 2014 um 2:59 am

Moon+ might well let you assign a function to the page turn keys ('DPad Left/Right').


Write a Comment