Xiaomi has resurrected the second generation InkPalm Mini 2 with a new collaboration with a digital stationery company. The hardware is exactly the same, however, it comes with a bunch of extras. You get a luggage tag and stickers with an owl reading books. You also get a high-quality travelling pouch, made of super high-grade plastic, which you can attach over your shoulder with an accompanied shoulder harness. There is also a nice ledger with a pen to take notes and draw. The unboxing experience is unlike anything we have ever conducted, there is so much to discover.
This Xiaomi mini e-reader has a 5.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and a pixel density of 284 ppi. It is running Google Android 8.1 and you can install your own apps. You can keep them updated by installing a third-party market such as F-Droid or the Amazon App Store. There is a dedicated e-reading app, which you can use to read sideloaded ebooks in English. There is a a new firmware update that introduces English as a language option.
The InkPalm 5 e-Reader employs a 5.2-inch E INK Carta HD e-paper screen that is flush with the bezel, with a layer of glass. It has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and 284 PPI. It has 24 white and amber LED lights, so you can read during the night or in low-light environments. It only weighs 115 grams and very convenient to carry and can easily fit in your pocket. This is the smallest e-reader that is on the market and the 1st generation model was very popular with an international audience.
Underneath the hood are a quad-core processor 1.8 GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. There is a USB-C port for transferring data and charging the Mini, it is powered by a 1,400 mAH battery. Other features include support for dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, and power and volume buttons on the side, the volume keys can be used as page turn buttons for ebooks.
You can order this limited-time special edition via the Good e-Reader Store for $249.99. It is ideal for people who speak Chinese, since it doesn’t have an English mode. However, you can. use the ADP method to get English on the device.
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.