ONYX BOOX Note vs PocketBook InkPad

2024. Pocketbook is now a co-owner of Bigme



Over the past year, Pocketbook has been working on a significant deal and has now become a substantial shareholder and co-owner of Bigme, a Chinese brand known for its e-readers and e-notebooks with E INK screens. This marks Pocketbook's first major acquisition since they began releasing e-readers in 2012. The collaboration extends beyond ownership, involving active participation in mutual product development and cross-sharing of R&D teams. This partnership has already yielded the successful PocketBook InkPad EO, designed for the US and European markets, showcasing the integration of their strengths and expertise. The future potential of this collaboration is highly anticipated.


2023. Onyx Boox Note Air3 is now available



Onyx BOOX has released the Note Air3, an exceptional black and white E-Ink notepad designed for distraction-free note-taking. The Note Air3 series offers users a choice between the Note Air3 and Note Air3 C, offering a monochrome screen or a colour screen, respectively. The Note Air3 is available with a free magnetic case and the Boox Pen 2 Plus stylus for $399.99 The Note Air3 boasts a 10.3-inch E Ink Carta 1200 screen offering a crisp reading experience while minimizing eye strain. There is WIFI to connect to the internet and it has a USB-C port for transferring data or charging. It is powered by a 3700 mAh battery. Running on the Android 12 OS, the Note Air3 gives access to numerous apps for note-taking and reading. Equipped with the latest firmware, the Note Air3 comes preloaded with the game-changing Smart Scribe feature, empowering users to refine their note-taking skills effortlessly. With this innovative addition, users can annotate books with handwritten notes and seamlessly transform them into perfect shapes, highlights, underlines, or even easily erase their handwriting. Furthermore, the Note Air3 features a more realistic handwriting experience. It also offers comprehensive note-taking tools, including keyword search to find relevant notes instantly, converting handwritten notes into editable text and seamless integration with related files or websites for quick reference.


2023. Onyx Boox firmware update adds note-taking functionality



The Onyx Boox Firmware V3.5 introduces a range of versatile and advanced tools aimed at enhancing your efficiency, creativity and productivity while using BOOX devices. This update is now available for various models including Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2, Note Air 2 Plus, Note Air 2, Palma, Page, Note 5, Note 5+ and the Nova Air C. Among the new features are the ability to add blank pages in PDFs, enabling more space for jotting down ideas, an AI Read function providing book summaries, author details and related book suggestions in under two minutes and an enhanced scrolling view option. Note-taking capabilities have been improved with upgraded hyperlinks for easy navigation, a flexible lasso tool for selecting and manipulating parts of your notes and a fill tool for adding colors to enclosed shapes. Additionally, the update includes a calendar screensaver, adjustable split-screen size, customizable system fonts and personalized mouse settings, allowing users to tailor their BOOX experience according to their preferences.


2023. Onyx Boox Note Air 3C is released



Onyx Boox has recently unveiled the Note Air 3C, featuring a spacious screen capable of displaying A5 documents. Immerse yourself in a paper-like reading and writing experience that's gentle on the eyes, thanks to the advanced 10.3″ E INK Kaleido 3 color e-paper technology. The BOOX Note Air 3C seamlessly combines contemporary technology with traditional comfort. It runs on the latest Onyx operating system, Android 12, offering complete access to the Google Play Store. Priced at $499.99, it includes a complimentary magnetic case and stylus. The power button integrates a fingerprint sensor for enhanced security and it can connect to the internet via both 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi. For charging and data transfer, there's a convenient USB-C port. Equipped with a robust 3,700 mAh battery, this device weighs 430g, offering exceptional value. Onyx supports all Android languages, making it accessible to users worldwide. The device incorporates Boox Super Refresh technology, with HD mode delivering optimal performance for reading books and PDF files.


2023. Pocketbook unveiled its first e-note - Pocketbook InkPad X Pro



Pocketbook has introduced its first e-note, the Pocketbook InkPad X Pro, specifically crafted for digital note-taking. This innovative product is tailored for note-taking, freehand drawing and PDF file editing due to its incorporation of a WACOM screen. The package includes a novel jet-black stylus with an eraser, boasting an impressive 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Nevertheless, the device is also compatible with third-party styluses. The highlight of the device is its 10.3-inch E INK Mobius display, which contributes to its lightweight design. Boasting a resolution of 1404×1872 pixels at 227 PPI, the screen is also capacitive, enabling users to employ finger gestures like pinch-to-zoom, tapping and page-turning swipes. Convenient manual page-turn buttons, a home button and settings button are situated at the device's bottom. Notably, this marks the company's first foray into the Android product realm, as all their previous offerings have been based on Linux. Anticipated to be released in late September, the InkPad X Pro will be priced at $420.00.


2023. Dark Mode is now available on new Pocketbook e-readers



Dark mode is now an option on the Pocketbook Era, Pocketbook InkPad 4 and Pocketbook InkPad Color 2. This addition comes with the latest 6.8 firmware update that is accessible today. Along with dark mode, the update includes various other new features and improvements such as customizable control panel settings, additional filter options in the Notes app, a text suggestions feature and more. In the near future, these enhancements will be made available for other Pocketbook models as well. Utilizing dark mode on your PocketBook device can enhance your reading experience in low-light conditions and during nighttime. This mode adjusts the display settings, showing white text on a dark background, which reduces contrast with the surrounding darkness and minimizes eye strain. Additionally, when reading in dark mode, you have the option to invert book illustrations if desired.


2023. Onyx Boox adds new text processor, increases cloud storage



Chinese e-reader manufacturer Onyx Boox has released a new firmware update for their latest e-readers and e-notes. It features a brand-new word processor specifically for typing text. Comprehensive format settings such as font style, size, spacing and more allow you to easily insert links, images and attachments and even record meetings while taking text notes. Whether creating a work report, a meeting minute, or a reading note, it empowers you to write like a pro. The company also increased the cloud storage, which you get access to when you register and log in to your account. One of the advantages of this is if you ever upgrade to a newer model, all of your content can be accessed on the new device via the cloud. The cloud storage service used to max out at 5GB, but Onyx Boox has just increased it to 10 GB.


2023. Pocketbook Inkpad 4 gets 7.8-inch screen


Pocketbook announced the release of a new ereader called the Pocketbook Inkpad 4. It has a 7.8-inch E Ink Carta 1200 screen and a frontlight with temperature control. It has 32GB of storage space, built-in speakers for audiobooks and text-to-speech and it’s waterproof with an IPX8 rating. Other specs for the PocketBook InkPad 4 include a USB-C port, a rotation sensor, a dual-core processor, it has WiFi and Bluetooth and it has a 2000mAh battery. The overall design of the PocketBook InkPad 4 looks quite nice, though, with similar characteristics to the design of the PocketBook Era, which is actually really nice all except for the horribly washed-out screen. The newer E Ink Carta 1200 screens have better contrast, but it doesn’t matter when they add a cloudy flush front layer over the top of it.


2023. Pocketbook 6.7 firmware update adds audio pronunciation



Pocketbook has launched a new firmware update for the Inkpad 3, Inkpad Color and Touch HD 3. What are the significant new features? Users can now initiate audio pronunciation in the dictionary and translations can be saved to the device and exported. Additionally, there is enhanced functionality for improved page borders in CBR, CBZ and PDF files. Other updates include a larger pressure area for easier navigation of footnotes (links) in books, more precise page margins in scrollable PDF files and refined note list sorting algorithms.


2023. Onyx Boox adds ebook syncing and opening external hyperlinks



Onyx has released a software update for Boox devices, including many of their older models, that introduces a variety of new features and a revamped user interface. The V3.3 firmware adds the capability to sync book information. This is fairly common on most e-readers and it’s great to see Onyx finally incorporate it as well. You can synchronize reading data across all Boox devices, including reading progress, bookmarks, highlights, underlines, annotations and handwritten notes. You can also view annotated content using the Boox Assistant app or the send2boox website. There’s a useful new feature that allows you to send PDFs and notes to a printer and the eBook app now supports opening external hyperlinks. They also enhanced text recognition with the Notes app, added a new link tool for including links and attachments in notes pages, enabled bookmarking for recorded audio clips and introduced a tagging system in the Notes app. The V3.3 firmware also boasts a redesigned user interface with a new control center, as well as additional navigation options via an optional control bar at the bottom of the screen.


2022. New Onyx Boox Note Air2 Plus Released



Onyx has introduced a new Android-powered e-reader and eNote called the Note Air2 Plus. It's nearly identical to the previous Note Air2, but with a few modifications. Onyx has revived their strategy of releasing a “Plus” model, which previously indicated increased storage and RAM. This time, however, they have simply added a larger battery and introduced the option for a magnetic cover accessory. Additionally, the new version is in dark green rather than blue. The battery capacity has increased from 3000mAh to 3700mAh, which has also raised the overall weight of the device by 25 grams, making it 445 grams in total.


2021. New PocketBook InkPad Lite 970 has cheap 9.7-inch E Ink Screen



PocketBook has introduced a new e-reader featuring a 9.7-inch E Ink Carta display, named the PocketBook InkPad Lite. It’s essentially a budget-friendly e-reader with a large screen, slated for release in autumn 2021. The price is rumored to be $299, making it the most affordable large-screen e-reader on the market by about $50. The PocketBook InkPad Lite is somewhat unusual in 2021 because PocketBook chose to use a low-cost display with the same 1200 x 825 resolution that 9.7-inch E Ink screens had over a decade ago. This results in a resolution of only 150 ppi. Even the Likebook P10 offers a better screen with 200 ppi and is just about $50 more expensive, featuring an upgraded quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM and a more versatile Android OS.


2020. Pocketbook Inkpad 3 gets a brand new UI



Pocketbook has released a major update for its popular model InkPad 3. The update features an improved UI design across all applications. Notifications, the control panel and the status bar have also been redesigned. Firmware 6.1 rethinks and streamlines the authorization system: users can now access PocketBook Cloud, PocketBook Store, Send-to-PocketBook and ReadRate services with a single account. Additionally, users can log into their account via smartphone using the PocketBook app by scanning a QR code. New book formats CBR and CBZ have been introduced to support comic reading. The updated Notes application enables users to view, edit, add comments to notes and transfer notes to other devices. Furthermore, all your records are now consolidated in one place, making them easier to locate.


2020. All new Onyx Boox Note Air is now available



Onyx has launched the Onyx Boox Note Air with a sleek design and a front-light featuring a color temperature system. It runs on Google Android 10 and comes with a newly designed stylus that is slightly heavier, making it easier to draw. It boasts a 10.3-inch E INK Carta HD Display with white LED lights and amber LEDs for the color temperature system. The device includes a capacitive touchscreen layer for gestures, swipes and taps. Inside, it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It features Bluetooth 5.0 for connecting wireless accessories, such as headphones or a speaker for listening to audiobooks, music, or podcasts, or you can use the built-in speaker. The price is $459.


2018. Onyx Boox Note+ features scratch resistant screen



Onyx Boox has launched a new e-reader called the Boox Note+. It features a 10.3-inch e-reader with a flexible E-ink Carta display and includes a glass-based layer for scratch resistance, as well as an electromagnetic handwriting (WACOM electromagnetic) layer for stylus support. Some users prefer taking notes on a glass-based screen because it resists scratches, allowing for more pressure with the stylus. It operates on Android 6.0 and a forthcoming firmware update will address the Google Play issue that affected other models. The Note+ will be $30 more expensive than the original Note, which is a worthwhile upgrade if you desire a flush screen and bezel, along with a glass-based display. It is currently available on the Onyx site in China, with no information yet on an international release.


2018. Pocketbook e-Readers get gesture controls



Pocketbook has released a new firmware update for the Aqua 2, InkPad 3 and Touch HD e-readers that introduces gesture controls for adjusting the brightness of the front-lit display and color temperature. While reading an eBook, you can swipe your finger up or down on the left side of the screen to increase or decrease the light intensity. This feature is available whether the e-reader is in portrait or landscape mode. Other enhancements include smoother page scaling with gestures in PDF or DjVu format books, more accurate word selection for note-taking and the option to toggle the position sensor on and off via the settings menu.


2018. Onyx Boox unveiled 3 new e-Readers



Onyx has just unveiled three new e-Ink readers. The Onyx Boox Nova e-Reader features a 7.8-inch display and includes Google Play, allowing you to install your favorite apps. It is likely that Onyx will offer their optimized apps, such as Kindle, which removes animated page turns. The Onyx Boox Poke is a 6-inch Quad-Core e-Reader operating on Android 6.0. The Boox Note S e-Reader is a more compact version of the Boox Note, with a 9.7-inch screen and a lower price point compared to the 10.3-inch model. It also comes with Android 6.0 and Google Play.


2016. Pocketbook Announces the InkPad 2



Pocketbook InkPad 2 is a new e-reader that was just unveiled today. This device boasts an 8-inch touchscreen with a resolution of 1,200 x 1,600 pixels. It includes a front-lit screen and physical page-turn buttons. The InkPad 2 is equipped with a 1 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM. It has 4 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 32 GB with a Micro SD card. The presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack is likely to attract users, as it allows for listening to audiobooks and music. This e-reader will be available soon for 199 Euros.


2014. Pocketbook InkPad with Text-to-Speech announced



Ukrainian company Pocketbook has been producing e-readers consistently since 2007 and the company has introduced a new e-reader—the InkPad—that aims to offer more screen real estate with its large eight-inch display. The screen utilizes E Ink Pearl technology and boasts the highest resolution available for such devices—1600×1200 pixels. This high resolution allows you to adjust the font size from very small to very large without losing clarity. A robust 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM ensure smooth page transitions and reliable performance across any application. With 4 GB of internal storage, expandable up to 32 GB, you can build an extensive library that’s always within reach. Additionally, it features a 3.5mm headphone jack for listening to audiobooks or music. Pocketbook has also incorporated Text to Speech functionality in this model, enabling books to be read aloud.