I’ve been using an e-reader for 16 years, now. I started with a BeBook Mini. After 4 years, I replaced it with a Kobo Aura HD. And now was the time to replace it with my newest e-reader.

E-readers are a weird type of device. I really enjoy having and using one, and at the same time, months pass without using it (or having no clue where I left it, and can’t find it back). They are such a niche, but very good at doing what they should do. And next to that: extremely slow development. You could almost argue that they are ‘done’.

My Kobo Aura HD is almost perfect:

  • I still like that is just connects as mass storage, just putting the .epubs on the device, and done. As I am just reading a handful of books at the same time, I don’t care about ‘management’ of the books or extreme amount of storage
  • The screen is good
  • The size is good
  • The battery lasts forever
  • It is ‘fast’ enough (as in: I read slower, the device can keep up with me)

This list is a bit unfair. It is now completely true:

  • It uses micro USB, not USB-C
  • Although it is fast enough, it is not snappy
  • It is not water proof

But for my usecase, it was never enough to replace it. My wife bought a Kobo Glo HD, and after that one died (weird issues with the touchscreen), she bought a new e-reader last year. Nowadays, some e-readers have a color screen, and she went for one: a Onyx Boox Go 7 Color.

After trying it out I was quite disappointed: the screen was way worse than the screen of my 10 year old device. The color added a fuzzy layer on it, and made the screen quite grey. So, that didn’t really made me want to buy a new e-reader. Although, I did like the physical package, and the approach of the OS, being able to use Android applications. I was looking at new e-readers that were having old fashioned non-color screens, but they were either 6" (too small), or old, or both. So, I put the idea of buying a new one on-hold.

But, last month, I bumped into a forum post on the Onyx Boox Go 7. So, searched a bit, and apparently Onyx launched a new ‘black and white’ e-reader. It ticked all the boxes (although I am a bit worried about the longevity as it is based on Android - but my backup plan is: airgap it, and use it as a offline reader, just copying the .epubs through USB), so I bought it.

I have it for almost a month, my first impressions:

  • Glad that I didn’t bought the color version. Having them side-by-side really shows the difference
  • Quality of the text on the screen (Carta 1300) is almost the same as the 10 year old screen of the Kobo Aura HD (Carta). The blacks are a bit deeper, and the ‘white’ is more white, from a resolution perspectice, I don’t notice the difference (265 ppi vs 300 ppi - so that makes sense). If you don’t have them side by side, in daily use, you won’t see the difference.
  • Screenrefresh is way faster, and althought at first I didn’t really thought I would care, I actually do: improved page turns, and responsiveness to clicks does make a difference
  • Although the screenrefresh is now way faster, and can actually keep up with touches, the touchscreen is nothing compared to what you are now used to from a mobile phone. And, the UI is not optimized for the crappyness of it. So, things like entering the passcode, or browsing through settings is just not on par with a phone.
  • The ability to run apps on the ereader is great. Using syncthing to synchronize books is really convenient. The ability to use the Kobo app or the Kindle app directly on the ereader is nice. I also installed the mobile app of the newspaper we have a subscription to (NRC), but there you see that it works, but it is just not optimized, and it could have been so much better. I also installed Wallabag, but haven’t used it too much.
  • Formfactor is good: it is smaller, thinner than the Kobo Aura HD, the physical buttons are nice when you’re holding it with one hand.
  • The cover it interesting. I bought it at a store where I got the cover ‘for free’. My wife bought the cover separately, so now we have two… I didn’t use a cover for my Kobo Aura HD, and that was a conscious choice: I really wanted to use this device as a ‘just use it’ device, and took the chance of scratches etc. In 10 years, the Kobo still looks great, and nothing happened to it. So, in hindsight that was a good choice :) I think I will make the same choice for the Boox Go 7. The cover does add additional weight, inconvenience to it. And as in my day-to-day travel I just toss it in my backpack where next to my laptop sleeve, I have an additional ’tablet’ sleeve, it is protected enough. But sometimes you want additional protection. The cover attaches magnetically, so it something that you can attach and detach really quickly.
  • On-off button is placed at a stupid place. Why not just as a phone at the top or right? The slider of the Kobo Aura HD is way handier
  • The additional functionality / capabilities do eat up the battery. I think that in total I charged the BeBook Mini 5 times, The Kobo Aura HD needed to be charged a few (2-3?) times a year. I already charged the Boox Go 7 twice in a month. If you use it regularly not an important deal, but tossing it away, and then picking it up three months later, and just assume that it continues where you left it is probably not going to happen.
  • Reading PDFs may actually work this time. Haven’t used it enough to really know yet.

Things that would have made it better:

  • On-off button placed at a better place
  • Fingerprint reader
  • Ability to unlock though having your phone nearby. I know that there is a hack by using Tasker, but haven’t looked into it yet.
  • Water proof

Note that I didn’t buy the pencil; I do not intend to use it as a note taking device

But all in all, I am more than pleased with my new ereader, and hopefully this one lasts for 10 years as well.

The ereaders next to each other. In reality (as in: seen by me): the difference in whiteness of the screen is more pronounced in the picture, in reality I feel less difference. The difference between the color and the regular screen is more: in the picture you don’t see the weird, irritating fuzzyness of the color screen.