iReader created history when it launched the Neo 2 e-reader device and that has to do with the all-new E Ink Carta 1300 display that the e-reader now comes with. At 6 inches, it also happens to be the smallest e-reader out there to flaunt the latest E Ink display tech. This makes it the biggest upgrade the Neo 2 has been provided with over its predecessor with much of everything else remaining the same. This makes us curious to find out how things change with the incorporation of the E Ink Carta 1300 display. Read on.
Style and Build
Looks-wise, the new Neo 2 looks almost the same as the Neo. It has the same 6-inch display that sits a bit lower than the bezels. There is nothing too special about the way the Neo 2 looks even though surprisingly, there is an element of freshness with the overall design of the Neo 2. It has a solid feel to it as well, with the rear made of plastic that has a matte finish to it.
On the rear, there are the same set of pogo pins that were present on its predecessor as well. Those surely are there to serve the purpose of attaching peripheral units though the company never clarified what those can be like. As Peter speculated in the video review of the device, it can be a case with physical page turn buttons, or maybe a case with a built-in battery and so on. In any case, the Neo 2 comes with a 1700 mAh battery that should last a few weeks easily.
Other features of the Neo 2 include a built-in speaker so that you can listen to audiobooks with ease. Then there is also the Bluetooth feature as well that allows for the attachment of other compatible accessories. The e-reader is Wi-Fi enabled and comes with a 2 GHz quad-core processor coupled with 2 gigs of memory. The 32 GB of storage onboard should be enough for several hundred e-books, audiobooks, and other documents easily. The e-reader also features an integrated microphone as well.
User Interface and Software
The Neo 2 offers a similar user interface as the Neo, or for that matter, most other iReader devices out there. Fortunately, everything is simple and well sorted out. The central portion is where all your books are stored. At the bottom lies the Bookshelf, Store, and Settings tab that will take you to the respective places.
Swiping down from the top will reveal a bunch of controls. There are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options on the top followed by controls for Power saving, Global refresh, Screenshot, Dark mode, Smart assistant, and Lock Screen.
Then there is the front light feature where you can control the cool and warm aspects of the light as per your needs. That said, there are a few pre-set options that you can go for, those being Lights-off, Daytime, Night, and Quilt.
At the bottom lies the Volume control.
The Book Store isn’t likely to be of much use to international users unless you are well-versed in the Chinese language. That is for the simple reason that the majority of books on offer are in Chinese with only a handful being in English. Of these, chances of getting a book of your liking are going to be extremely thin. The best you can do is side-load your own books onto the device via a PC.
The Neo 2 otherwise runs Android though you don’t have the option to side-load your own apps. That also means you have to make do with the default e-book reading app that the device comes pre-loaded with. You can’t even delete the apps that you don’t need, which is a big let-down.
There is also the floating ball available to tap on which will open up a set of options. You can turn the ball on or off as the need might be.
Reading experience
The E Ink Carta 1300 display offers a huge 35 percent jump in performance compared to the Carta 1200 display. The 6-inch display on the Neo 2 offers 1072 × 1448 resolution which translates to a 300 PPI pixel density. All of this translates to a vastly improved reading experience where the texts and images are a lot more crisp than before while pages refresh faster as well.
PDFs render well enough thanks to the excellent contrast that the Carta 1300 display has to offer. Unfortunately, the 6-inch display just isn’t big enough to make any sense of the PDF files. That said, you can have the goodness of the latest E Ink display tech with e-books that look great on the Neo 2. The texts simply pop out against the white background which makes the Neo 2 the best e-reader out there.
The only other 6-inch e-reader to come with a Carta 1300 display happens to be the Onyx Boox Poke 5. Unfortunately, the Poke 5 is restricted for use within China and is not meant for use internationally. That makes the iReader Neo 2 simply the best e-reader that you can buy at the moment.
Conclusion
The Neo 2 is an interesting unit. It features the latest possible E Ink screen technology, but the company has not implemented any other software changes or features to the actual unit itself, and it is more of the same in terms of the first generation Neo. But that aside, it’s incredibly good-looking, something that applies to both the aesthetics and the screen technology. Apart from that, it is fast, lightning fast, for an e-book reader.
One of the only things that hurts this unit, truly, is the fact that you can’t side load in your own apps through traditional means, no drag and drop, no install from storage, nothing. Other than that, it is an incredibly proficient and high-quality unit and it fits in the palm of your hand. It has onboard audio, and a glow light, as well as Pogo pins on the back for seemingly an unknown accessory.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.