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First Look at the 13″ Onyx Boox Max, 9.7″ Onyx Boox N96.

onyx boox max videoA video was posted on MobileRead yesterday which shows the upcoming Onyx Boox Max and Onyx Boox N96 ereaders in action.

The video was shot by Booxtor, one of Onyx’s retail partners in Europe, and it shows the sample units that he bought from the company. About 30 minutes of the video is devoted to the larger Onyx Boox Max, with the last 5 minutes showing the two devices side-by-side.

I haven’t see the video myself (trying to watch it gives me a sympathetic neck cramp), but according to Booxtor:

In the clip you can see how Max handles PDF, DjVU, EPUB, CBZ files, TTS Acapella as well as how Google Play, DropBox, Kindle app, Browser work. I tried to install Mendeley, however Mendeley will be supported from Android 4.1 and currently does not work on my Max.

The Onyx Boox Max is a highly anticipated 13″ ereader which was supposed to sport a new, higher-resolution (2200 x 1650) Mobius E-ink screen. Alas, Booxtor has revealed over at MobileRead that the new screens are not ready yet, and so the Boox Max will likely ship with the same screen found on the Sony DPT-S1 Digital Paper. That device had a screen resolution of 1200 x 1600.

He has also revealed that the Boox Max is also going to cost a little less than the DPT-S1. He’s expecting to sell the Max for 585 euros (plus VAT), which comes to about $655 USD (plus VAT and/or shipping, of course)

Even when we factor in shipping, that’s a serious discount. And if that’s not enough to sell you on the Max, let’s not forget that the published specs on the Max say that it runs Android 4.0 on a dual-core 1GHz CPU, which means its feature list is only limited by app compatibility.

The DPT-S1 can do PDFs, but the Boox Max can run a bevy of Android apps, including possibly even Instapaper, Kindle, Kobo, Pocket, news reader apps, and other Android apps.

Even with the unfulfilled promise of the screen resolution, that is still a seriously capable device.

If you get one, let me know. I want to hear what you think.

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Comments


Syn February 9, 2016 um 7:27 am

Ant idea which Ivona voice he was using? I think I might like that one better than Amy.


M. February 9, 2016 um 10:25 am

Amazing! I would like to test this one. Audio, a large screen and handwriting. This would be really usefull for nonfiction or pen and paper games. As far as I can see though, you can use the stylus to write with fixed layout (pdf) only, not with epub or the Kindle app. I don’t own an android device yet and I would like one with handwriting, but I don’t even understand for what screen tech I should be looking. Also, I wonder what will be the price of the smaller device.


Syn February 10, 2016 um 1:11 am

I have the iPad Pro and Galaxy Note 12.2. For what you mentioned, plus comparing price, the Galaxy Note is hands down the best when it comes to pen support. Some of the ebook Apps lets you write in them. Galaxy Note has screen shot and edit baked into the pen. Worse case you could make your own book with your writings by putting your screen shots into S-Note or OneNote. For the 600+ dollars the reader will cost, I think the tablet is a better bang for the buck.

Nate Hoffelder February 10, 2016 um 11:19 am

For the 600+ dollars the reader will cost, I think the tablet is a better bang for the buck.

As much as I love ereaders, I cannot argue that point.

Juan February 11, 2016 um 4:11 am

I’m writing this with a note 12.2 and a keyboard cover by logitech. This has been one of my best tech adquisition since a lot of time ago: light, good battery, amazing screen, pretty responsive after one year. I found it discounted, I bet with my credit card and I won 🙂

I would use it as a laptop replacement if not for Android and ARM: I need certain software only ported to x86. But for a lot of tasks, this device is amazing. And for personal uses is just perfect

However, it is a different animal than a 13″ eink device. After all, it has a backlighted display. No matter how much you tinker with illumination, eye tiredness will be unavoidable. A 13″ eink mobius device has to be far better for reading papers and magazines than any backlighted display.

Caring about your eyes is betting for your future. I suffer more than the average when use a LED display for hours. Just for that, a moebius display is a nice option


Juan February 10, 2016 um 3:36 am

Nate, these news are the proof you should need for the continuity of your blog even as a personal issue. Dude, your digital voice is needed for our common topic of interest

Now, what I see in the video:

* contrast is better than new N96, and far better than my Onyx T68 for sure
* Interaction is more fluid by far compared with my T68. Just look at how thoses comics turn page! I’m sure that CPU and RAM are the main culprits of this improvement.
* 1/1 DinA4 documents. Although it is a sad thing that they didn’t implement the new resolution, it’s fine for me
* With A2 mode, I’m sure that it is going to be perfectly usable with an external keyboard.

NEED MOAR INFO AND VIDS. WAAAAAAAANT 🙂


M. February 11, 2016 um 8:32 am

Which ebook Apps let you write in them? And I probably have to look for a Digitizer Display for pen support, right?

Nate Hoffelder February 11, 2016 um 8:38 am

"write"?

If you mean type text notes, pretty much all of the main ebook apps have this feature.

But if you are asking about scribbling, that is less common. You can do it in PDF apps, mainly, and Onyx supports scribbles in PDFs (but not Epub and other reflowable formats).

And you don’t necessarily need a digitizer display; you can scribble notes with a capacitive screen and the right stylus.


Syn February 11, 2016 um 12:33 pm

If I’m not mistaken, I know Mantano reader lets you write on ePub. Less sure about this one but I could have sworn. Moon+Reader does too.

Juan, I get the eye thing. I use smaller, cheaper ereader if my eyes need a break. I use to have the old Entourage Edge (ahead of its time.) loved what it could do, but annotating with red or blue pen in black in what wasn’t for me. I thought I’d have a colored ereader like 3 years ago. Still waiting..


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Brad March 21, 2016 um 6:47 pm

ONYX are only selling the low res version at present so buyer beware. Same resolution as the Sony. Why they bothered to produce more of the same is beyond me.


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