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13 Inch Onyx Boox Max eReader Tipped for a March Launch, April Ship Date

onyx 13.3 inch ereaderThe Onyx Boox Max has been one of the more highly anticipated ereaders ever since Onyx released the first prototype photos three months ago, and now it looks like this leviathan is finally going to ship.

According to a report over at MobileRead, Onyx is now telling customers that:

Thanks for your email and support of ONYX BOOX, we will release 13.3″ on March, the main spec is Freescale i.mx6 CPU + 13.3″ flexible eink screen + electromagnetic touch & big stylus pen + 4100mah battery + Andriod OS4.0.

I am still waiting for confirmation from Onyx, but I can add that the company has listed the Onyx Boox Max on Alibaba with a request for volume orders of 2,000 or more.

So clearly the Max is about ready to ship, but I wouldn’t assume that it will be available until after someone places that order. Onyx has even posted teaser photos on Weibo:

onyx boox max

According to Onyx’s spec list, the Max will run Android 4.0 on a 1GHz CPU with 1GB RAM and 16GB storage (with a microSD card slot). This device will come colse to being an Android tablet with two speakers, a microphone, headphone jack, Bluetooth, and Wifi.

The 13.3 Pearl E-ink screen will be flexible, and have a screen resolution of either 1600 x 1200 or  2200 x 1650. There’s no mention of a frontlight in the spec list, but it does say that the touchscreen will be a digitizer with stylus.

In comparison, the Sony Digital Paper DPT-S1 has dual touchscreen tech (capacitive and digitizer with stylus), and a screen resolution of 1600 x 1200.

So in some ways (OS, screen resolution, capabilities) the Max will be an improvement over Sony’s product, but it won’t have as good of a touchscreen as Sony’s $800 PDF reader.

We don’t know the retail price on the Max, or whether Onyx’s retail partners will even carry it, so this comparison could end up being moot.

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Comments


Kurt February 3, 2016 um 12:33 pm

Rooting for 2200×1650 resolution and front-light
I’m sure to be disappointed


Name (Required) February 3, 2016 um 1:11 pm

see, Nate …
You can’t just stop publishing this blog and do something else *and* leave us without fresh articles like this one 😉


Juan Chulilla February 3, 2016 um 4:38 pm

Dudes:

* Bluetooth and wifi, for browsing and using a keyboard
* plastic substrate, for extra resistance
* don’t care about the stylus

WANTTTTTTTTTTTTT


Venkat February 4, 2016 um 4:01 am

Does it has glass screen or plastic screen ?

Nate Hoffelder February 4, 2016 um 7:36 am

Plastic.


fdxh February 6, 2016 um 10:59 am

Where have you found, that there are two screen resolution choices? So far, I’ve only seen word of 1600 x 1200 pixels on http://m.alibaba.com/product/60379452539/Eink-NoteBook-Second-Screen-Monitor-Like.html.

Nate Hoffelder February 6, 2016 um 11:02 am

If you look lower on that page you’ll see two screen resolutions mentioned.

That could be an error but they are mentioned.


fdxh February 6, 2016 um 11:27 am

OK, I realize I was looking at a broken site that didn’t show me that. After enabling JavaScript, I was able to see it. Great! Now, this could become a very interesting device. At more than 200 ppi, one shouldn’t see pixels at reasonable reading distance (my impression from comparing 200 ppi screens as in the Kobo or PocketBook Mini readers with 167 ppi screens as in 6″ readers with 800 x 600 pixel screens.

Nate Hoffelder February 6, 2016 um 11:32 am

Well, I found the data on the full site, not the mobile site.

But the data is viewable in the mobile site (it’s just hidden). Click on the word "Specification".

Edit: And Onyx had previously mentioned the higher resolution screen. That detail was included in one of the posts I linked to.

fdxh February 6, 2016 um 11:42 am

OK, if Onyx itself mentioned a higher resolution screen, maybe they actually have one. In that case, ignore my post about it only being a compatibility note.

fdxh February 6, 2016 um 11:38 am

At a second look, the table says "1600×1200" in the "description" column and "2200×1650, 207 dpi compatible" in the "Rmark" column. So, I suspect, all that means is, that the device could be built with a higher resolution screen, if there were one. No word of there actually being one available. Just a compatibility note.

Nate Hoffelder February 6, 2016 um 11:42 am

To be clear, this model was originally announced months ago with the higher resolution screen (sorry I didn’t say that right away). It is only now that Onyx is listing the lower screen resolution.


FamilySearch bemutató, interaktív Google könyvek, óriási e-ink olvasó February 7, 2016 um 10:14 am

[…] A The Digital Reader számolt be arról, hogy márciusban várható a 13,3 hüvelykes megjelenít?vel rendelkez? Onyx Boox Max megjelenése. A hatalmas e-ink kijelz?vel ellátott e-könyv olvasót els?sorban nagyméret? PDF dokumetumokhoz és képfájlokhoz (például különböz? tervrajzokhoz) ajánlja a gyártó, így kategóriájában különösen er?s bels?vel fog rendelkezni. Az 1 GB ram és a 16 GB -SD kártyával még tovább is b?víthet?- tárhely legalábbis nem igazán megszokott az e-tinta eszközök között. A képerny? 1600×1200-as felbontással fog rendelkezni, viszont a már igencsak elavultnak számító Pearl technológiát használja, ráadásul az érint?funkciók is csak stylus segítségével lesznek elérhet?ek. (link) […]


fdxh February 8, 2016 um 1:04 pm

OK, according to the person who has the sample, the high-resolution screen still isn’t available: www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3255747#post3255747

The person goes on to say, she couldn’t see a big difference between that 150 dpi screen and a 250 dpi screen, which either means the person needs to upgrade her glasses or is a shameless marketing lie. Alas, it looks, this first iteration won’t provide as much benefit over Sony’s DPT as one would wish for. I still hope they’ll get there (next iteration "Max Plus" with HD screen, i.MX7DL, 2GB RAM, and they’d have something to sell).

By the way, Nate, do you have any news about the Noteslate? According to their web site, shipping of first devices is planned for February. Are they on schedule?

Nate Hoffelder February 8, 2016 um 1:07 pm

I have not heard anything about Noteslate.

I will go ask.

Edit: They have not shipped, and they have not yet said when they will ship.


michelle tran March 25, 2016 um 7:21 am

i am a medical student..i need a larger tablet of A4 size ( 13.3 / 13 inch ) to read pdf files with heavy images…i do not need a lot of other fancy options or tools ( 3g–4g–LTE——and so on ) …just a gadget that can handle medical textbooks with high resolution images, allow me to annotate with a decent configurations would suffice for me. A tablet of portrait size or 4:3 ratio would be best…I have researched through internet…till now the Sony DPTS-1 and OnyxBoox 13 inch reader meet the requirements but they have e-ink reader display…( that is black and white display )the main debacle for my profession…i wish sony brings out a LCD or TFT screen fitted DPTS-1…that will rock the market of Health Professionals for sure…most of my friends' and colleagues' thinking resonate with me…

I know many will suggest me to go for Surface Pro 4 or Newest Ipad Pro…but they seem a little bit Overkill against my expectations with hefty price tags and so many things


New 13.3" Mobius E-ink Screen is About to Enter Production | The Digital Reader July 6, 2016 um 6:37 pm

[…] that screen wasn't ready for production, so when the Max officially launched a month later it used the same screen as found on the Sony Digital paper […]


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