Large screen e-readers are quite rare these days, as the industry seems to be firmly behind devices that are six inches in size. People who rely on reading complex PDF documents or need some extra screen real estate will certainly want to take a look at the new Onyx M96C 9.7 inch e-reader.
The M96C features a capacitive touchscreen display which allows you to interact with the device with your fingers, whereas the older M96 relied on an accompanied stylus. The resolution is 1200×825, which makes it solid for reading documents that are image heavy, such as manga.
Underneath the hood is a 1 GHz Freescale CPU with 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, and a microSD card. You will be able to connect up to the internet via WIFI and connect up external devices via Bluetooth.
Onyx has done a fine job these days at releasing e-readers that have an open version of Android. This allows users to install their own apps, which makes it versatile to be able to deal with the ecosystem of your choice. Its running Android 4.0 out of the box but there is an upcoming update to enhance it 4.4.
This e-reader does not have Google Play as an avenue to download apps. The company released numerous devices in 2014 that had it preinstalled, but likely it was an unsanctioned version. Rather than draw the ire of Google, Onyx is relying on their users to install their favorite app store instead. We recommend our own App Store, as it features a dedicated e-Ink section.
The Onyx M96C costs 350 euros, which is around $425 US. This e-reader is certainly more viable than the Kindle DX, and worth considering if you need a large screen for your day to day reading.
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.