Month: August 2020
73 posts
Onyx Boox is having a back to school sale
Onyx Boox is having a back to school sale and some of the bestselling e-notes are at rock bottom prices. The Onyx Boox Note 2 is a 10.3 inch digital note taking device, and the regular price is $549 and it is now available for $519. The Onyx Boox Max 3, which is basically one of the best 13.3 inch devices on the market, with HDMI out and able to read A4 documents. It normally retails for $859 but is on sale for $779.
Tablets sales are through the roof due to COVID
Many people have been working from home in April, May and June of this year, due to COVID. This means that certain tech segments are doing really well, such as tablets. Worldwide tablet shipments hit 37.5 million units in Q2 2020, a remarkable 26% year-on-year increase. Tablets, part of the PC market, had faltered in recent years, but demand in Q2 2020 was boosted by consumers and businesses wanting affordable access to basic computing power and larger screens to facilitate remote work, learning and leisure.
Tolino Web Reader now has text to speech
Tolino is well known for their line of e-readers, but the company also has an online web reader, where you can read ebooks with major internet browsers. The company has just issued a 5.1 update that brings text to speech, which will allow users the ability to have their books read aloud. The new function offers an advantage especially tolino users with visual impairment. Although they were able to adjust the font to their individual size beforehand, the reading function allows them to listen to their eBooks comfortably.
USB-C is useless on e-Readers
Everytime a new e-reader comes out that uses Micro USB, there is a vocal minority of users that say they are going to skip it due to the lack of USB-C. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Pocketbook, which traditionally uses Linux as an OS. These brands rely on selling digital content directly on the e-reader and discourage the use of sideloading content, so USB-C is useless. Most e-readers that use Android tend to use USB-C and this includes. Boyue Likebook products, modern Onyx Boox e-notes, iReader C6, Pocketbook InkPad X and the Xiaomi Mi Reader.
Amazon increases online sales by 48% in the past 3 months
Amazon has just reported in the 2nd quarter of 2020 (April, May, June) that online ordering has increased by 48% and generated $45.9 billion. Sales through third-party sellers rose even more, soaring 52%, to $18.2 billion. Since many stores were closed during the peak of the global pandemic, it makes sense more people were buying things online and Amazon seems to be the clear winner.
Unknown Amazon Packages are making a comeback
Amazon sometimes suffers from data breaches or users are using the same logins and passwords on multiple sites and they become compromised. Financial information such as debit or credit cards are normally encrypted. Logins and passwords are normally sold on blackmarket websites, hundreds of thousands are sold for a few thousand. This has created a modern concept called brushing, where you receive packages from Amazon, normally from China, with no return address. Once you receive them, bad actors are using your confirmed purchase to write positive reviews of their products. This is why sometimes when you are browsing Amazon, there are nonsensical reviews, and even reviews of completely different products.
iReader C6 vs the Pocketbook Color
There are only two e-readers currently available that have modern color E INK panels. They are the iReader C6, which is primarily available in China and the Pocketbook Color. These two devices offer vastly different experiences for users. Which one is better? The Pocketbook is the better device, it supports comic book formats and manga. It is more internationally friendly and is around $120 cheaper.