Onyx Boox announced the Page e-reader about a month ago, and this e-reader builds upon the Leaf and Leaf 2. The Page is a dedicated ebook reader with physical page turn buttons similar to the Amazon Kindle Oasis. This popular device has been selling like hotcakes on the Good e-Reader Store since the price is only $249.99 and provides a ton of value. It utilizes the latest generation E INK Carta 1200 e-paper panel, which increases performance and page turn speed. It also employs Google Android 11 and has full access to the Google Play Store, providing access to millions of free and paid apps; it also has Play Services.
The Onyx Boox Page features a 7-inch E INK Carta 1200 display panel with a resolution of 1680×1264 with 300 PPI. The screen is flush with the bezel and protected by an AG glass flat cover lens. The colour scheme is piano black, with two manual page turn buttons on the right side. The back platting is plastic but has a neat design featuring little perforated book covers everywhere. The front-lit display and colour temperature system for reading day or night. The light produces both cool and warm lighting or a mixture of both.
Underneath the hood is a Qualcomm 2.0Ghz Octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. There is a speaker to listen to audiobooks, music or podcasts; there is also Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless earbuds or headphones. You can connect to the internet or browse the web, thanks to the WiFi (802.11b/g/n/ac) 2.4G + 5G chip. USB-C allows you to transfer content to your device or for charging. A microphone is available for voice communication apps, and a g-sensor will rotate it from portrait to landscape. It is powered by a 2300 mAh battery, and its dimensions are 156 X 137 X 6.0mm, weighing 195g.
It is running Google Android 11 and has full access to the Google Play Store. This is not an e-note but an e-reader; it replaces the Onyx Boox Leaf 2 but has better hardware specs. The Neoreader book reading app is excellent for people who have an extensive book collection, and it supports PDF, djvu, azw, azw3, doc, docm, docx, epub, fb2, fbz, html, mobi, odt, prc, rtf, sxw, trc, txt, chm, and ppt. If you don’t have a collection of books, you can download your favourite e-reading or manga app from Google Play and always keep them updated.
I have always enjoyed the first and second-generation Onyx Boox Leaf e-readers. The page-turn buttons make it a standout; since only a few brands do this on most models. Pocketbook have always been bullish with physical buttons, sometimes, they have them on the side of the screen, and some models have them positioned near the bottom. The Barnes and Noble Nook series also has page-turn buttons. The Kindle Oasis and Kindle Voyage also have buttons to turn the page. The one advantage that Onyx Boox has is they run Android and have Google Play; it is sort of like choosing your own adventure, where you aren’t locked into any one specific ecosystem but can choose what ones you want to do business with. The Page builds upon the Leaf and is an incremental update that deserves a very long look.
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.
