Part of how I found the Onyx brand was through a search engine bringing me to this forum. :D With that in mind, I thought other people looking to buy might want to know what a first time Boox user might think. I come from a Ye Old Kindle Paperwhite, so you can imagine my delight at using Poke 2!
These are just my impressions. If you'd like to see it in action, you can go over to this gentleman's video and get an indepth look at it.
The Poke 2 has a beautiful screen and is smaller than my Paperwhite without being uselessly tiny. It's very light and pleasant in my hands. The ability to mix warm and white light is a must, as is setting refresh rates (Modes) which substantially speeds up moving through various screens, and fiddling with Contrast to see details for images. As long as the wireless is off, the battery life is more than enough. With the wireless on, it's about the same as what one could expect from a tablet. Because of the hardware, everything is super snappy and fast, with no delay. Very pleasant to move around in.
Other people dislike the micro-usb but I've no problem with it. I do have a problem with having to plug Poke 2 directly into my computer, not through my usb hub, for my computer (Windows 10) to "see" it. With Wi-Fi on, battery is mediocre at best. The screen can crack just like a regular tablet, which I find worrying. I want to purchase a case but this product is so niche there aren't many options. I'm thinking of getting this case, but we'll see. It's also a little sad to pay so much and not even have water resistance. :(
In terms of software, the eReader is very barebones, as it should be. You've got the default reader, library, "store" (use that term loosely) and a few other options. Anything else you'll need to install from an outside source. Fortunately, the only thing that limits you is the black and white, low refresh rate screen. Otherwise you can install any android app you want.
All Android apps are designed for color and will have buttons so light they are viewed as white on e-ink screen. You have to click around where you THINK a button is to get to it. I got rid of some apps simply because they lacked proper button contrast to the point of being unusable but there were many that worked just fine.
I did initially activate Google Play on it but later decided this wasn't worth it. Right now I have APKPure and it's been doing what I need perfectly. Anything I can't find on there, I can download directly with a simple search online through my computer.
The default NeoReader is surprisingly good. I know a lot of people use Moon+ Reader, allowing them to sync across devices, but after poking around, I found the NeoReader just worked better for an e-ink screen. I don't use the sync feature so, in terms of interface on an e-ink screen, the NeoReader just works better for me. If I had one complaint it's the inclusion of the Floating Toolbar. That would work great on a much bigger screen, but on 6" it has no use at all. It should be turned off by default instead of making the user do it. (You can hide it in settings, for those who are curious.)
For library organization, Calibre Companion is still the King. Not the default library and no other other app can compare to it. I think if you don't use Calibre you won't notice how bad most library management is in apps. But as someone who uses the PC version, Calibre Companion is worth it. I can easily port my library over and have it organized the way I like thanks to this app. So just pony up the cash and buy it. ;)
One of the big reasons I got this is because I'm a heavy online reader (online writers and translations). You would think the default browser would be just as good as the NeoReader but it's unfortunately not. I downloaded Brave instead, which has a solid ad-blocker built in, and not only was it faster, it actually looked better too. I can use the Simplified View feature, which turns a webpage into a solid wall of text (I can change font in a similar fashion as NeoReader). I've been immensely pleased with how it works.
As a side note, the Navigation Ball is surprisingly handy. You can set different actions to it (Apps - Navigation Ball). Right now I have Back, Home, Screen Refresh, A2 Mode, Multi-Task Windows, and Collapse Nav Ball. I use it all the time and it's made getting around a lot easier.
What else?
Oh!
You can DEFINITELY read comics on this, up to and including web comics that scroll vertically. Most apps allow Zoom in for small text and the Contrast setting can help with dark colors as-needed. Of course I'd love for there to be color, but I adore e-ink screens and I'm too impatient to wait for color to "catch up" to black and white e-ink. Because of the high quality e-ink screen even color comics in black and white look good!
I really wish it had an SD card slot is so I can read all my comics on this device. Alas, it is not to be and I've too many comics. That said, I can put my favorite comics on this device without worrying about using up all the space. I'm immensely pleased thanks to that. NeoReader works great as a comic view, though for vertical comics it might be better to use Challenger Comic Viewer.
Current apps: APKPure, Calibre Companion, Brave Browser, TachiyomiJ2K, Neko (for importing Mangadex list), Kindle, Kobo Books, Nook, Google Books, Wattpad, Facebook (for signing in to apps only), Moon + Reader, Challenger Viewer, and the Bible.
I have not owned this long enough to talk about longevity and construction quality. Once I've had it for a while I can talk about that in detail if need be, but for now it's working as advertised.
As for the price, I won't say much. Yes, you're paying out of the nose for what amounts to a 6" android tablet with a black and white screen. BUT if you're looking for an super compact eReader that you can install apps on and has a newer OS and has a decent amount of memory and a good black and white screen that allows you to easily read comics AND is fast as heck, look no further. The Poke 2 is excellent and is well worth your money.
These are just my impressions. If you'd like to see it in action, you can go over to this gentleman's video and get an indepth look at it.
The Poke 2 has a beautiful screen and is smaller than my Paperwhite without being uselessly tiny. It's very light and pleasant in my hands. The ability to mix warm and white light is a must, as is setting refresh rates (Modes) which substantially speeds up moving through various screens, and fiddling with Contrast to see details for images. As long as the wireless is off, the battery life is more than enough. With the wireless on, it's about the same as what one could expect from a tablet. Because of the hardware, everything is super snappy and fast, with no delay. Very pleasant to move around in.
Other people dislike the micro-usb but I've no problem with it. I do have a problem with having to plug Poke 2 directly into my computer, not through my usb hub, for my computer (Windows 10) to "see" it. With Wi-Fi on, battery is mediocre at best. The screen can crack just like a regular tablet, which I find worrying. I want to purchase a case but this product is so niche there aren't many options. I'm thinking of getting this case, but we'll see. It's also a little sad to pay so much and not even have water resistance. :(
In terms of software, the eReader is very barebones, as it should be. You've got the default reader, library, "store" (use that term loosely) and a few other options. Anything else you'll need to install from an outside source. Fortunately, the only thing that limits you is the black and white, low refresh rate screen. Otherwise you can install any android app you want.
All Android apps are designed for color and will have buttons so light they are viewed as white on e-ink screen. You have to click around where you THINK a button is to get to it. I got rid of some apps simply because they lacked proper button contrast to the point of being unusable but there were many that worked just fine.
I did initially activate Google Play on it but later decided this wasn't worth it. Right now I have APKPure and it's been doing what I need perfectly. Anything I can't find on there, I can download directly with a simple search online through my computer.
The default NeoReader is surprisingly good. I know a lot of people use Moon+ Reader, allowing them to sync across devices, but after poking around, I found the NeoReader just worked better for an e-ink screen. I don't use the sync feature so, in terms of interface on an e-ink screen, the NeoReader just works better for me. If I had one complaint it's the inclusion of the Floating Toolbar. That would work great on a much bigger screen, but on 6" it has no use at all. It should be turned off by default instead of making the user do it. (You can hide it in settings, for those who are curious.)
For library organization, Calibre Companion is still the King. Not the default library and no other other app can compare to it. I think if you don't use Calibre you won't notice how bad most library management is in apps. But as someone who uses the PC version, Calibre Companion is worth it. I can easily port my library over and have it organized the way I like thanks to this app. So just pony up the cash and buy it. ;)
One of the big reasons I got this is because I'm a heavy online reader (online writers and translations). You would think the default browser would be just as good as the NeoReader but it's unfortunately not. I downloaded Brave instead, which has a solid ad-blocker built in, and not only was it faster, it actually looked better too. I can use the Simplified View feature, which turns a webpage into a solid wall of text (I can change font in a similar fashion as NeoReader). I've been immensely pleased with how it works.
As a side note, the Navigation Ball is surprisingly handy. You can set different actions to it (Apps - Navigation Ball). Right now I have Back, Home, Screen Refresh, A2 Mode, Multi-Task Windows, and Collapse Nav Ball. I use it all the time and it's made getting around a lot easier.
What else?
Oh!
You can DEFINITELY read comics on this, up to and including web comics that scroll vertically. Most apps allow Zoom in for small text and the Contrast setting can help with dark colors as-needed. Of course I'd love for there to be color, but I adore e-ink screens and I'm too impatient to wait for color to "catch up" to black and white e-ink. Because of the high quality e-ink screen even color comics in black and white look good!
I really wish it had an SD card slot is so I can read all my comics on this device. Alas, it is not to be and I've too many comics. That said, I can put my favorite comics on this device without worrying about using up all the space. I'm immensely pleased thanks to that. NeoReader works great as a comic view, though for vertical comics it might be better to use Challenger Comic Viewer.
Current apps: APKPure, Calibre Companion, Brave Browser, TachiyomiJ2K, Neko (for importing Mangadex list), Kindle, Kobo Books, Nook, Google Books, Wattpad, Facebook (for signing in to apps only), Moon + Reader, Challenger Viewer, and the Bible.
I have not owned this long enough to talk about longevity and construction quality. Once I've had it for a while I can talk about that in detail if need be, but for now it's working as advertised.
As for the price, I won't say much. Yes, you're paying out of the nose for what amounts to a 6" android tablet with a black and white screen. BUT if you're looking for an super compact eReader that you can install apps on and has a newer OS and has a decent amount of memory and a good black and white screen that allows you to easily read comics AND is fast as heck, look no further. The Poke 2 is excellent and is well worth your money.