Exclusive: Onyx Boox T68 Available Soon – 6.8″ Screen, Android 4.0 (video)
Kobo’s 6 month reign as the only ereader maker with a 6.8″ ereader is about to come to an end. A friend has just sent me the spec sheet for the T68, Onyx’s not-yet-announced 6.8″ ereader.
If you are like me and were pining for the rumored Android-powered Nook Glow HD then you might want to sit down.
The Boox T68 is running Android 4.0 on a 1Ghz Freescale i.mx6 processor. It comes with 512MB RAM, 4GB of Flash storage, and a microSD card slot. This ereader has the same 6.8″ Pearl HD E-ink screen as on the Aura HD, and it also has a capacitive touchscreen and a frontlight.
According to the spec sheet the T68 also has an audio jack, Wifi, and Bluetooth. That last detail brings this ereader closer to being a true E-ink Android tablet, IMO.
In terms of content, the Boox T68 maintains Onyx’s standard for broad format support. In addition to Epub and PDF, the T68 also supports FB2, Mobi, CHM, PDB, and DJVU ebook formats. It can also read txt, html, RTF, and MSWord Doc files, and it can play mp3 and wav music files.
I’m told that the T68 will let you install apps, and that it also comes with a reading app that supports text-to-speech, annotation, and dictionary look-up. This ereader weighs in at 230 grams, or slightly less than the Aura HD.
I have been looking forward to reading about new 6.8″ ereaders ever since Kobo announced the Aura HD back in April, but so far this is the only model I have seen. I first discovered that it existed a couple weeks ago when Charbax visited the Onyx booth at a trade show. He happened to catch a demo unit for this ereader on film, and he spent a few minutes playing with it:
Onyx is reportedly ready to make this ereader, but before they can do that they need to get orders. They are quoting a price of $145 for a minimum order of 1,000.
I really hope that someone picks up this model and offers it in Europe; I want to buy one. Can you say E-ink Android tablet? Swoon.
Comments
fjtorres October 26, 2013 um 5:20 pm
Bluetooth is big; keyboards and ear pieces both should come in handy. Lots of value in there.
Alan Miller October 30, 2013 um 1:36 pm
Bluetooth is also big depending on what they do with it – on Android 4.x you can use Bluetooth to tether to another device (e.g. a phone with a data plan) at low power use for both devices.
Anonymous October 26, 2013 um 8:11 pm
If it can install Apps, perhaps it will run Kindle Android and Nook Android ? Also fbreader.org Android will ensure it handles many types of ebooks, if it doesn´t have if it already.
Nate Hoffelder October 26, 2013 um 8:12 pm
That’s what I am hoping, yes.
fjtorres October 26, 2013 um 11:43 pm
Also Audible for android.
Overdrive and even Sony.
Plus Calibre companion.
Probably too much to expect support for 64GB microSD cards but as long as we’re dreaming…
Adam Kaczmarek June 10, 2014 um 1:51 pm
Yes, those apps have been tested and worked well.
a. Amazon Kindle
b. ComiXology (Comics)
c. Google Play Books
d. Google Play Newsstand
e. Goodle Docs
f. Feedly
g. Evernote
h. Kobo
i. Pocket
j. Opera Mini
k. MoonReader+
l. Aldiko
Jason October 26, 2013 um 9:11 pm
Forgive my total ignorance, but is there even a remote chance this could reach western shores or, if the company does get orders, would it strictly be something to import?
Nate Hoffelder October 26, 2013 um 10:10 pm
Onyx has a number of retail partners in Europe but none in the US. If it were carried in Europe then we would probably be able to import it into the US.
Name October 27, 2013 um 7:38 am
Looks ugly but might be nice otherwise. Where have you found that qouting price? Is there a crowdfunding campaign somewhere or was that a price for distributors? Anyway, if the device is available, it should not be too much of a problem to find a thousand people who are interested in this.
Nate Hoffelder October 27, 2013 um 9:17 am
That’s the wholesale price.
Henry Wood October 27, 2013 um 12:13 pm
Just a year ago I bought the Onyx Boox M92 and paid GBP 289.88 for it. Talk about throwing money down the drain. This is the very worst – bar none! – ereader I have ever bought and I’ve bought a few starting from the Sony PRS-505.
I already had a Kindle DX purchased from Amazon US which I still use regularly but thought a touchscreen would be good. I never, ever read a complete book or PDF or anything at all on that Onyx abortion of an ereader.
I already have a Kobo Aura HD and at the moment, combined with Calibre, it is my reader of choice against my Kindle Paperwhite and Sony PRS-T1. I usually also have the same books I’m busy reading installed on the Kindle DX because I do like the bigger screen content. I also occasionally use a Samsung Note 8 with reading apps/Kindle app.
I’ll tell you what I want, "wot I really, really want": an 8 inch screen, e-ink, frontlight, physical page turn buttons and the ability to disable the touchscreen. I’m a restless person with the beginnings of some neurological disease which causes a bit of a tremor in my hand movements and I often find myself skipping pages on the Aura HD and Paperwhite.
I had no intentions ever of giving cash to Onyx again but now you have set me thinking. I am going to stop reading your posts! 🙂
Nate Hoffelder October 27, 2013 um 1:29 pm
The M92 was a clunker all right.
And I can understand why you want an 8″ screen; it’s a good compromise between 6″ and 9.7″. But I still think the 6.8″ screen is better simply because of its screen resolution.
Name October 27, 2013 um 3:14 pm
EPD resolution used to be better than that of LCDs. Now that we have so many high-resolution LCDs, I hope that we’ll also see larger-size high-resolution EPDs.
Nate Hoffelder October 27, 2013 um 3:35 pm
I would like to see them, but unfortunately no device maker is willing to pony up the extra cost for the higher resolution backplane.
Name October 27, 2013 um 4:07 pm
I wonder why that is, actually. The 4.3 inch OED screens cost $25 in quantity one for developers. They would ony have to glue four of them together for a nice 8.6 inch screen with decent resolution. I really don’t understand why it’s not done. This would even be great as a small working monitor.
Arthur November 5, 2013 um 5:08 pm
I’m personally very happy with M92 and finished reading quite a few technical books on it plus have a stack of reference books there. In what way is Kindle DX better? I was considering buying Kindle now when they sell it for $199 but the following is basically a deal breaker for me: "Some features such as annotations and read-to-me are not currently supported for PDF." (and never will). No annotations no buy, unless you know about some unmissable DX feature that M92 lacks or perhaps something essential that works way better?
Katherine November 1, 2013 um 11:19 pm
It really doesn’t look very responsive from that video. Not sure the bells and whistles it comes with will be much good if you can’t get even easily get it to go to a menu option.
Akku November 15, 2013 um 2:40 pm
The big round button at the bottom of the T68 would be a distraction for me.
If I bought this device, I’d use paint to cover the white ring with black.
Different topic, I really can’t wait to see the Onyx phone.
I very much want an alternative to the iPhone…
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