Onyx Boox Poke 6″ Android eReader Now Available for $149
When I wrote earlier today that I was disappointed by the specs of the Mobiscribe, I did not have this ereader in mind.
The Onyx Boox Poke is a smaller device, but aside from the OS and the touchscreen, in many ways it has much better specs than the Mobiscribe.
This is a full-fledged Android ereader running Android 4.4 on a multi-core 1.2GHz CPU with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. Its 6″ Carta E-ink screen comes with a capacitive touchsrceen and color-changing frontlight, and it also has a microSD card slot and wifi,.
Weighing in at 170 grams, the Boox Poke measures 8mm thick and packs in a 2.5Ah battery.
All in all this is a great device for $149, or at least it would be if the Boox Poke had a newer version of Android. As I pointed out in the Mobiscribe post, Android 4.4 is so old that it won’t be able to support most apps. That rather limits what you can do with the Poke, and that makes me wonder why Onyx is running Android 4.4 on the Poke. Onyx has other ereaders that run Android 6.0, so it’s rather strange that they’re still using the older Android 4.4 firmware on the Poke.
I suppose they reserved the newer OS for the Poke Pro to give you another reason to upgrade, which makes sense. The Pro model has twice the RAM and a better CPU, and that is the one I would recommend getting once it is available.
Comments
Mike Cane January 22, 2019 um 10:20 am
>it would be if the Boox Poke fan a newer version of Android
Fan? You meant had?
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greenwitch February 1, 2019 um 7:26 am
It does not have an sdcard slot. I have the pro and the OS uses about a quarter of the RAM so I personally wouldn’t get the non-pro with half the RAM. Maybe the use 4.4 on this because it uses less battery, or because of weaker CPU. I think the non-pro is okay if your main use is an ereader. If you want a little e-ink tablet, get the pro. I think that’s why it has 4.4. Different use.