Hands On With the Onyx Boox Typewriter (video)
We just got our first look at the Onyx E-ink netbook I told you about earlier this week, and it's even better than expected.
Charbax caught up with Onyx at the HK electronics fair this week, and he shot a video of onyx's latest gadget.
The Onyx Boox Typewriter, as it is currently named, is an Android netbook convertible with a 9.7"E-ink screen. When plugged into the keyboard dock, you can use it like any netbook, but you can also remove it and carry it around like a tablet (it has a capacitive touchscreen).
According to what I was told by one of Onyx's retail partners, the Onyx Boox Typewriter is still a prototype. Onyx is teasing it to see if there is enough interest to justify taking it to production. They're also taking feedback on the design, so if you would like it with the new 10.3" E-ink screen, now is the time to speak up.
Speaking of which, the second half of the video focuses on Onyx's new 10.3" device. It doesn't have a price or release date yet, but we do know that its touchscreen uses an electromagnetic stylus.
Onyx has been getting away from that type of touchscreen on its latest devices, but it makes sense to use a stylus on such a large screen.
Got to hand it to Onyx. They’re kicking the competition’s asses when it comes to innovation.
Are they? Isn’t this just a (possibly) cheaper Freewrite with a more familiar design?
Where does Onyx “take feedback”? Do you have a link to that feedback form?
Presumably one can roll their own, say with the Onyx Boox Max and a bluetooth keyboard with integrated touchpad. Is anybody finding that acceptable?
The trouble with Bluetooth keyboards is that they are small and of poor quality.
@Lemondrop: Logitech’s K780 keyboard should be good enough, no? It’s apparently available in black and white versions. I think, I’ve recently seen the latter in a shop. Very heavy, but therefore should also be save for use with larger tablets without tilting over. No illuminated keys and only crippled arrow keys though.
So, this is basically a flying keyboard with a display shorn of all the other functions laptops posess? I have no idea why anyone would want one if that’s the case. Even a lowly Chromebook is a multi-function device that shines compared to this. Color me puzzled, ’cause I just don’t get the point of this thing.
People are spending $500 on the Freewrite. If this could come in cheaper then it has a ready market.
Talk talk talk talk talk but…screen backlight? Keyboard backlight? Are there any inputs on the keyboard? Tablet? Can you wire a connection rather than bluetoothing it?
Watched it a second time. Caught “frontlight” from the Spanish rep.
The Freewrite screen is tiny. I want to be able to see what I type!
The Freewrite is bulky too – it looks like something out of the early 1980s.
Onyx’s proposed offering also allows one to detach the screen so it operates as an ebook reader as well. All in all just what I need.
Although a 13.3 inch screen Max with a keyboard would be even better!
I’d buy one. Would prefer the larger screen.
Or better yet, an E-Ink monitor for PC. Would buy that first.
If I had the money, I would develop and market an e-ink laptop. I have genetic vision problems, so the less time I spend staring at an LCD screen, the better. But a lot of the aging population has basically the same problems– I just ended up with them really early. This population is huge, growing daily, and many of them have a lot of disposable income. The moneymaking opportunities are incredible. If Onyx is smart, they will actually bring this to market.