Hey Habr! After several months of waiting, we still waited: ONYX BOOX released its first reader of the 2019 model year, and this which was a great success last year. The benefit of the new device is that it has an additional WACOM touch layer (paired with a stylus, of course) and a digital note-taking app that lets you draw as well as edit PDF files. Yes, this time we decided not to delay and discarded all lyrical digressions, itβs better to go under the cat.
Hardware
For those who don't like to read, here is a short list of technical specifications:
| Display | touchscreen, 7.8β³, E Ink Carta Plus, 1872 Γ 1404 pixels, 16 grayscale, density 300 ppi |
| Sensor type | capacitive (with multi-touch support); induction (WACOM, with support for determining 4096 degrees of pressure) |
| Operating system | Android 6.0 |
| Battery | Lithium polymer, capacity 2800 mAh |
| Processor | Quad-core 4GHz |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Built-in Memory | 32 GB |
| Wired | USB Type-C |
| Supported Formats | TXT, HTML, RTF, FB2, FB2.zip, FB3, DOC, DOCX, PRC, MOBI, CHM, PDB, DOC, EPUB, JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, PDF, DjVu |
| Wireless communication | Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1 |
| Dimensions | 196.3 Γ 137 Γ 7,7 mm |
| The weight | 275 g |
So, Nova Pro. This reader has a 7,8-inch screen (E-Ink Carta Plus) with a resolution of 1872Γ1404 and 300 PPI. It is made completely flush with the frame. You can read in the dark with the backlight - and yes, MOON Light + color temperature adjustment is available here.
The color temperature can be adjusted from cold to warm tones, and both sliders can be used either together or separately. For evening reading before bed, it is better to adjust a more yellow tint with a filtered blue part of the spectrum, since the blue color interferes with the production of melatonin, the βsleep regulatorβ. Accordingly, in daylight, a cold shade is more suitable.
There is 32 GB of internal memory, 2 GB of RAM, USB-C, a 2800 mAh battery and Android 6.0. There are several built-in applications (like a calculator, mail and a couple of programs for reading).
Well, the browser, where without it?
The design of the ONYX BOOX Nova Pro is quite minimalist. It has a matte black plastic case with a home button at the bottom of the front of the device. It also has a USB-C port on the bottom end, although the microSD slot was not delivered β you will have to rely only on the built-in memory. Not to say that 32 GB will not be enough, but if you download a lot of technical literature with heavy pdfs, difficulties may arise. There are no speakers or even a 3,5mm headphone jack, so this is a BOOK first and foremost. The back of the reader is almost bare - only the ONYX BOOX logo adorns it.
Dimensions are 196,3 x 137 x 7,7mm and weight is 275g. Much lighter than any tablet (hello to all lovers of comparing the incomparable).
Software / Interface
A few months ago, ONYX BOOX migrated its state-of-the-art e-reader line to a new hardware platform, resulting in a rethinking of many aspects. Among them are a 30% increase in PDF file opening speed, improved two-page operation, handwriting, typing through notes, application management, and general optimization.
Nova Pro has already received a firmware update right out of the box, which only applies to this particular model, as well as future generations of Note Pro. Among the major changes, it is worth noting an improvement in the work when editing PDF files and a handwriting recognition system that converts it to text.
Since we started talking about the interface, let's touch on some of its features. At the very top of the screen is a group of Android user interface icons. It includes your device's remaining battery, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and volume buttons. If you tap on the top of the screen, a small drop-down menu will appear that will allow you to quickly turn off Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
ONYX BOOX has done something interesting with the library where all your PDFs and e-books are kept. She can scan the metadata to add covers to books that don't have them. This is common not only with free books, but also with those that are released by major publishers. Very cool, because you no longer need to use programs like Caliber for this. This is all in addition to the already familiar functions of the library, such as displaying books in a list or in a grid (and deleting, of course).
The file manager allows you to view all the files you have downloaded to your device, including e-books and PDFs not copied directly to the main book section, as well as downloaded applications.
Dual touch control is provided by two separate touch layers. Above the surface of the ONYX BOOX Nova Pro screen, there is a capacitive layer that allows you to scroll through books and zoom documents with intuitive movements of two fingers. And already under the E Ink panel, there was a place for the WACOM touch layer to make notes or sketches with the stylus. And this despite the fact that the distinguishing feature of such a screen is its maximum similarity with the paper counterpart (no wonder the technology is called "electronic paper").
There are several text entry modes - for example, traditional, using the keyboard. This text can be moved with a frame that surrounds it. For example, if there is a need to rotate it 180 degrees, make it larger/smaller, or drag it anywhere in the document. A cool thing for artists who draw comics or manga - you can add βbubblesβ with dialogues to characters as simply as possible. But the main thing is that if you write a bunch of text by hand, the system will automatically convert it into the desired text.
Using the stylus is a real convenience, erasing content is also very simple. There is an eraser on the side, which by default simply undoes the last action. But there are more advanced options for removing content in a specific area, highlighting, and removing all content on any page. Yes, you don't need to delete each word (or God forbid symbol) separately.
The stylus itself is more like a regular pen, and this makes it even more like you are holding not a gadget for reading e-books, but a sheet of paper. Support for 4096 degrees of stylus pressure (twice as many as the Apple Pencil, for example, but the norm for WACOM tablets) makes the device a complete note-taking tool. Why so many? The greater the number of degrees of pressure, the closer the experience of working with the device to plain paper. They wanted to draw a thin, thin line - lightly swiped the stylus across the screen; a little fatter - made a little effort.
It is felt that the stylus is very coolly calibrated - you can easily slide with a pen (you canβt call it differently) and reproduce visual images as accurately as possible, as if you are drawing with a regular pen (the author of this review does not draw very well, but he appreciated the function). The stylus is constantly active and does not require recharging: if you want to draw or write down something, you take it out and do it.
And while we're on the subject of professional use of the Nova Pro, there are several different backgrounds for typing, such as music notes or plain white text. At the same time, it is possible to import your own backgrounds that you use at work (or if you just decide to go shopping).
All notes can be saved in PNG format, which remain in the internal storage. Of course, you can also connect Nova Pro to your PC or Mac and manually transfer files to your computer via a USB cable, thanks to USB-C.
Reading
ONYX BOOX Nova Pro has a standard e-book reader application that works with PDF, EPUB, TXT, DJVU, HTML, RTF, FB2, DOC, MOBI, CHM files.
The 7,8-inch screen is enough to read your favorite works and work with technical documentation, but my favorite in this matter is still because it supports A4 documents (and can work as an external monitor). However, this is a player from a slightly different league (in general, a different one, to be honest), and it costs more.
Page turning is fast, and there are many settings that allow you to change the font type, font size, line spacing, margins, and so on.
There are several different features on the Nova Pro that I really liked. When reading an e-book, you can turn off the navigation bar and other user interface windows, so the entire page is just text, without any annoying system tray notifications.
Adjusting the contrast allows you to change the tint of the text. I like how thin line thickening is implemented because you don't have to choose a separate "bold" font (like Ember Bold), you can just use your favorite. By the way, a useful thing when working with scanned documents, where text and graphics are usually too pale. If you determine the text settings that suit you completely, you can put a special checkmark in the settings to apply them later to each book.
As in other ONYX BOOX readers, we did not forget here about text search, quick jump to the table of contents, bookmarking (the same triangle) and other features for comfortable reading.
For avid book lovers (and just those who like to edit documents), there is an opportunity to give yourself more freedom in landscape mode. For example, a blank page will be on one side of the screen, and text will be placed on the adjacent one. This allows you to draw and take notes while reading, while drawing directly on e-books is not yet possible. But there is an editor!
Nova Pro handles PDF files very well. You can draw directly on a PDF document if the corresponding mode is enabled. The edited PDF documents can then be saved and downloaded to a computer.
Since professional literature is often not available in Russian, there may be a need for its translation (or interpretation of the meaning of a word) from English, Chinese and other languages. In Neo Reader, this is done as natively as possible. Just select the desired word with the stylus and select "Dictionary" from the pop-up menu, where the translation or interpretation of the meaning of the word will appear - depending on what you need.
Didn't disappoint!
There are several 7-inch e-readers on the market right now that the Nova Pro competes with. We will not name specific names here now, but we note that these devices block you in their ecosystem. ONYX BOOX, on the other hand, mainly generates all its income from hardware and does not limit its users, so every year a lot of new e-books appear in the manufacturer's portfolio, and each generation is better than the previous one.
Definitely suitable for people who want a large 7-inch display with a WACOM screen and a stylus. This is a big advantage over other readers that basically just let you read books. Nova Pro will be appreciated by both professionals who want to replace paper with an advanced solution, and students looking for a device for quickly recording notes and lectures so as not to splurge on more expensive devices.
Yes, 27 thousand rubles (namely, this is how much Nova Pro costs) is also a rather big amount, but you need to understand that for this money the manufacturer offers not just a βreaderβ, but a full-fledged working tool with an advanced E-Ink screen (by the way, a monopolist in the market displays, which also determines the price).
Wait, what's in the box?
In fact, when writing this material, the goal was not to make an ordinary boring review with unpacking, benchmarks and other buzzwords. You can look at it more from the side of the first impression and experience of use, but for members of the sect of the delivery kit, which is sometimes the author of this review, I will tell you what is in the box: a stylus, a USB-C cable for charging and documentation.
Everything is done cool, each element has its own notch, the box is really beautiful, beautiful - in general, Apple-style, itβs not a shame to give without gift wrapping. The only thing that upset (and this is probably the only significant minus) is the lack of a cover-cover in the kit. However, it can be purchased separately - with a solid frame, material to protect the screen and keep it clean, a hall sensor, a stylus holder and other goodies.
But for dual touch control and autonomy (a month without recharging for this reader is not a myth) - forgivable.
Ready to answer your questions in the comments.
Source: habr.com