Boyue has just announced the LikeBook Note, which is a 10.3 inch e-reader that comes with a stylus and is designed to compete against the Remarkable and the Onyx Boox Note. This device has a front-lit display and comes with a USB-C charger, the first time we have ever seen one on an e-reader.
The LikeBook Note features a 10.3 inch E-Ink Carta display with a resolution of 1872×1404. I am not sure if it has a capacitive and WACOM layer, because the entire page is in Chinese. I have reached out to my contact in the Boyue executive team and will update this post when I know more.
Underneath the hood is a 1GHZ Freescale processor, 1GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage and it has an SD card to enhance the memory further. You can listen to music and audiobooks via the stereo speakers or the 3.5mm headphone jack. The battery is a respectable 4700 mAh and it can be charged via USB-C.
The LikeBook Note is running Android 4.4.2, but there is no word yet if users will be available to install apps from Google Play or if it has the ability to sideload in your own apps. There are many e-readers that run Android, but have a heavily skinned UI, such as the Nook Glowlight 3.
The front of the unit has a few buttons that can be used instead of the touchscreen. You can click on Home, Back and turn pages forward and backwards. The screen also appears to be completely flush with the bezel.
Boyue tends to release e-readers first in China and then eventually works on an English version to market overseas. There is no pricing information yet or estimated date when the product will be formally released.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
