The Onyx Boox Note 2 is one of the most eagerly anticipated E Ink driven digital note taking device. It has the exact same specs as the recently released MAX3, except it has a smaller 10.3 inch screen and is much more affordable. It is going to retail for $549 and will be released within the first week or two of November, it is now available as a pre-order from Good e-Reader.
The Note 2 features a 10.3 inch E Ink Carta HD display with a resolution of 1872×1404 with 227 DPI. The screen is flush with the bezel and there is a glass pane. It has a front-lit display and amber LEDs to counteract the bright white ones. The screen has a WACOM layer that is meant to interact with the accompanied stylus, that has 4,096 degrees of pressure sensitivity, there is also palm rejection technology.
Underneath the hood is the same Qualcomm Octa-core 2 GHZ A53 processor as the MAX 3 employs. It also has 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 64GB of internal storage. There is a USB-C port for charging the device and also transferring data. The port is also compatible with OTG, which means you can attach keyboards, mice or an external SD card, with no drivers necessary. You can connect up to the internet the with 5G WIFI, which should provide lightning quick performance. The back button has a fingerprint function to unlock your device.
The second generation Note is shipping with Android 9.0, which is the second e-reader ever to do so, the MAX 3 was the first. This version of Android is compatible with more apps and is very secure, compared to the Likebook series of devices, which only has Android 6.0.
The Note 2 will have an all new refresh system. This will allow you to watch Youtube videos, stream music or podcasts or do many things online, that typically you wouldn’t be able to do with other e-readers. There are a few modes you need to be aware of. Normal mode is the default e-reading experience or viewing PDF files. Speed Mode provides a little bit more ghosting and is designed for rapidly viewing pictures, this is ideal if you are browsing the internet via Chrome or Firefox. A2 mode which seriously degrades image quality and is only ideal for content with a ton of images. X-Mode is also a new feature, it was designed for watching Youtube videos, it actually performs really well. There are other options here for adjusting global contrast or set the page turn speed.
Pre-orders for the Note 2 are now available from Good e-reader.
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.
