Onyx Boox Just Released 9.7 inch N96 and N96ML e-Readers

February 4, 2016 By Michael Kozlowski 10 Comments

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Onyx Boox has just quietly refreshed their M96 Universe e-reader with two different models, the N96 and N96ML. The big difference between the devices is that one with dual touch (capacitive + electromagnetic) and the other employs a electromagnetic touchscreen and a front light.

These e-readers should be appealing towards anyone who is looking to own a large screen e-reader. One of the drawbacks of these two models is that they employ fairly paltry resolution and use an outdated version of e-ink.

Regardless of the resolution, there aren’t too many 9.7 e-readers on the market that let you install your own apps. This might be useful for people who have an extensive collection of maps, documents or PDF files.

Model	N96	N96ML
Hardware
CPU	Cortex-A9 1G Hz	Cortex-A9 1G Hz
RAM	512M LPDDR2	1G LPDDR2
OS	Android 4.0	Android 4.0
Front-Light	NA	Support
Screen	9.7‘’ inch pearl	9.7‘’ inch pearl
Gray	16	16
Touch	Capacitive + Digitzier Touch	Digitzier Touch with stylus
Resolution	1200×825	1200×825
Flash	16GB	16GB
Memory	Micro SD (up to 32G)	Micro SD (up to 32G)
Audio	3.5mm + MIC	3.5mm + MIC
USB	Micro USB2.0	Micro USB2.0
WIFI	WIFI, 802.11b/g + Bluetooth 4.0	WIFI, 802.11b/g + Bluetooth 4.0
Battery	3000mAh LI-ION Polymer Battery, 300 cycles charging	3000mAh LI-ION Polymer Battery, 300 cycles charging
Runtime	Around 4 weeks	Around 4 weeks
Adoptor	5.0V，1A	5.0V，1A
Charging	around 3 hours	around 3 hours
Size	258.2×177.3×9.5mm	258.2×177.3×9.5mm
Color	Black	Black
Weigth	around 443g	around 461g
Operative Temp.	0°C- 50°C	0°C- 50°C
Software
Book Format	PDF, TXT, HTML, EPUB, CHM, PDB, MOBIPOCKET(Non-DRM), FB2, DJVU	PDF, TXT, HTML, EPUB, CHM, PDB, MOBIPOCKET(Non-DRM), FB2, DJVU
Photo Format	JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP	JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP
Audio Format	MP3，WAV	MP3，WAV
Broswer	Support	Support
Language	Support	Support
Contents	EPUB、PDF support	EPUB、PDF support
Dict.	Support stardict	Support stardict
TTS	Support TTS	Support TTS
Notes	Support	Support
Annotation	Support	Support
Refresh	A2 / Partial / Full fresh for optional	A2 / Partial / Full fresh for optional
DRM	DRM	DRM
Update	Support	Support
Certification	CE, Rohs	CE, Rohs

Michael Kozlowski

Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and Verge.

Paul Berger

Basically reinventing the Kindle DX (same screen) 6 years later, BRILLIANT!
Gupta Anirudha

“M96ML” is wrong model number. It’s N96ML. Fix it 🙂
Good E-Reader

its fixed. it looks like Onyx, on their spec sheet wrote the wrong model number
Good E-Reader

Well DX did not have a touchscreen at any rate. It had a quaint D-PAD
Gupta Anirudha

Good, It’s need to fixed in heading too.
Good E-Reader

It is also fixed. Damn Onyx for calling it like 2 different things on the product page.
M

My guess is that Onyx is a small manufacturer and they can only work with the screens that are readily available from E Ink Corp. The higher res 9.7″ screen might be costly or not being produced. I had read something like this earlier but don’t have any reference right now.

The software part of Onyx Boox is absolutely brilliant but Kindle lovers would be blind to such facts.
Increduloussus

Has anyone here had experience using the dual-touch version?

I’m considering buying it, but I can’t manage to track down a fairly critical concern about the UI–namely, how the dual-touch system avoids conflicting inputs between capacitive touch and stylus.

I’ll be using it primarily for reading and annotating .pdfs, some of them scanned .pdfs. I hope to sync my Mendeley file directory to the N96 via Dropbox, and annotate
while I read–not sure which app I will use. Currently I’m using a Kindle DX, which is far too cumbersome to make notes with. So the biggest upside to the Onyx will be the ability to use the stylus. But I also like the feature of capacitive touch, for things like navigating through menus, and for zooming/panning .pdf’s, especially scanned .pdfs. So most of my time will be spent alternately zooming & navigating through .pdf’s, and making annotations with the stylus.

QUESTION 1: How does the Dual-Touch model differentiate between the inputs of capacitive touch and electromagnetic stylus? I’m worried they might give conflicting inputs, and that the dual-touch model might be frustrating to use in this context. Has Onyx added some UI functionality that allows you to specify which input you are using on the fly? Or perhaps there’s a way to turn each input on/off independently through the Android OS?

I can’t find it now, but I saw a youtube video of another tablet that has another kind of dual-touch, and it has a feature where hovering the tip of the stylus a few millimeters above the screen disables capacitivetouch, so you can rest your hand on the screen while writing. Hoping that the dual-touch N96 has something like this…

QUESTION 2: Assuming the dual-touch model doesn’t have a reliable way of differentiating those inputs, I may consider the N96ML instead. My question about this one is how it allows for zooming and navigating through .pdfs. Is there a way to use the stylus to zoom and pan?

Thanks in advance for any information you might have!
Increduloussus

One more nitpicky discrepancy is that both versions of the N96 apparently have 1G LPDDR2, at least according to this page: http://www.onyx-international.com.cn/index.php/en/boox-products/n96-n96ml
erdem

Hi everyone, you have already mentioned in your review about the low resolution. But I want to ask it again for my specific needs. Can I use this ebook reader for lots of two or three column artciles and tables with tiny letters. I adore eink screen but I wonder if low resolution will not meet my requirements

Around 4 weeks

Around 4 weeks