The upfront conclusion…god bless. Rarely see a creator actually put the viewer first I finished the entire video anyway since my curiosity was peaked. Subscribed!
I extremely appreciated the upfront conclusion. It's not very common for any youtubers or video publications to respect our time anymore and that was certainly much appreciated. Love the content!
For Canadians, the Kindle brand is a non starter. Amazon has crippled the Kindle in Canada by not making it compatible with Overdrive/Libby. As if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Bluetooth is not available, so audiobooks are not possible. I know of several people who found out about these limitations after purchasing the Canadian Kindle. In Canada, the Kobo is the choice for a full featured e-reader.
I normally just click out after skipping to the conclusion. But, with how you front-loaded it, I second-monitored it and went about my day as it finished to completion. God bless, we need more people and content like you and this video format!
For me, it's important that Kobo devices are the simplest and cutest among all these devices. There are also nice original cases available. I also like how they show reading progress on each book. For transferring books, I'm using gDrive and Dropbox. Thank you for the tip on how to raise the saturation of colors! ;-)
Chalid, I love your eReader-videos. There's one topic that is totally neglected by all eReader reviewers, however, which is: Which is the best eReader for manga reading? It'd be awesome if you could make a video about that topic, because with color eReaders being worse for black and white-content, it's become difficult to find out which eReaders are the best for manga reading, both in terms of image quality and size. I often see western comic books being used to showcase the color eReaders' capability, but manga is black and white, so different things are important. Just a suggestion. Anyway, keep going!
Completely agree, I mostly read books and I'd like to read B/W mangas as well, so my choice would have been the Libra 2, which is discontinued and they only produce the Libra Colour, which has the format size I want, but the colour screen has only made the B/W slightly worse.
@@ChalidRaqami on this matter another part which would be appreciated to look at are webcomics with their unique format of vertical scrolling - seems like a really bad match up with e-inks
I have the Boox Nova Air C and I love it. I haven't had to buy notebooks and pens for over 2 years now, and I love the fact that it also functions as an android tablet and e-reader. As a writer and bookworm, it's a dream device.
Very useful review. I finally decided for the Go Color 7, as I can install Audible there too Also the EPUB 3 Read Aloud function is pretty nice, and a good real voice is always better than TTS. And Pockerbook only offers TTS, but full EPUB3 audiobook compatibility.
I really appreciate your reviews. Very informative and gave me good glimpse on the one I am really considering to buy(inkpad color 3). I'm still amazed that the android reader outperformed some of the non-android readers like pocketbook era color in battery life. I heard they cannot be taken outside of the house due to their poor battery performance and I know that it's not true in fact.
Thanks, great video. I went for the Pocketbook because of the bigger display, i'm coming from a Kobo Aura One and didn't feel like going back to a smaller screen. Also the color quality difference is biggest than i thought it would be, the Libra looks the worst to me compared to those other units
Thank for the for short summary at the start. i don't normally sub but i have with you. i will always come back to you for all thing ereading thanks mate.
@ChalidRaqami Awesome. Love your reviews. Would really love to see a comparison of what book covers (i.e. the cover of the book currently being read) look like on the "sleep" screens when in powered down/sleep mode. No one does this but I do appreciate seeing my covers while my ereaders are sitting on the desk waiting to be used.. though I'm not sure if all non kindles offer that option. Thanks!!!
Bought it and quickly returned it. Mostly because sideloaded covers don't appear in the library. The readability of comics, even in panel, view was also meh...
I am currently using a Libra 2 and an Inkpad Color 3. The Inkpad is painfully slow and laggy. I'd happily ditch it for a Libra Colour, if it can achive the same level of color saturation with the devmode settings.
It can go higher but remember then you loose out on tonal range. The guy here mention better contrast. Which is not really what it’s about. If you look at the movie her when all devices are show a you can clearly see that kobo is more muted but also manages to show a lot more tonal values in the upper and even more so in the lower parts of the images (check the image of the big tree) In the devices with higher saturation A LOT is lost in the darker areas of those
I was on the cusp of buying a Kobo Libra Colour when I learned from Kobo's help pages that, get this, all e-ink annotations made on your ebooks will be lost and unretrievable if you either move to a new device (even a new Kobo) or reset the one you have. Given that some, like me, consider note taking a critical feature and do not want to lose a single note, this is a dealbreaker. It tells me that we're still in the early days of e-ink, though it's been around for a very long time in one form or another.
Thanks for this comparison, spend a lot of time searching best ereader for my use case scenarios. I choosed to get Pocketbook InkPad Color 3 because of size for mangas and graphic novels and because of avaliability in my country
so glad you finally mentioned battery life. And super surprised that the boox go color 7 had such good battery life running android. I've been cautious of android ereaders mainly due to battery life. Although maybe the android models use more power in idle/sleep mode?
I haven't tested standby drain systematically, so I can't say exactly. But essentially all Android E-Ink devices turn off completely by default after a while, so I suspect that assumption is correct for many devices. Kindles generally have the best standby time in my experience.
hm.... my biggest reason for wanting a color screen was to read comics but seeing the ghosting and refreshing flashing on all of them i think ill just get a regular one and keep my comic reading to my phone
Gracias por tu prueba. Soy usuario de productos BOOX y mi ONIX Tab Ultra no lo cambio por nada debido a su sistema Android abierto que te permite casi cualquier formato y casi cualquier uso, debido a la posibilidad de instalar apps Android. Tengo KOBOs de gama alta y al final prefiero dispositivos polivalentes, aunque haya que configurarlos con más cuidado por ser Android. Además, doy fe, de que Onix Boox manda continuas mejoras y actualizaciones de firmware, lo que siempre es de agradecer. Creo que compraré el Go Color por su mayor portabilidad, ya que no siempre necesito las diez pulgadas del Boox Tab Ultra.
Heads up for anyone who has the inkpad color 3, if you install koreader it has less color but it doesn’t crush or destroy the image. The inkpad does some wild stuff sometimes too like turning grey into solid pink. Which is another issue the koreader app doesn’t have.
InkPad Color 3 looks fantastic. But I had the same form factor PocketBook and it's very impractical with those buttons at the bottom, so I just simply can't go there. I also tried Boox but no app ever works how I'd like it to work. So the only option for me is Era or Kobo. Kobo doesn't sync sideloaded books to Kobo app on smartphone which is a must for me. But I'm considering Tolino Vision Colour, which is renamed Kobo Libra Colour but it does sync sideloaded books. I just wish it came in white too :D
I really hope kobo brings some updated firmware with better color saturation. Since all use the same screen, its all in the code now. There is still a lot room for improvement
What you mention about color And CONTRAST. It depends on your usage. Kobo is more washed out but little to no loss in darker details. On some of the other sure it’s nicer saturation but you loose out stuff in the lower levels. That might not be an issue. But I think when it comes to more pro work where such can’t happen that is why Kobo choose to go down in saturation to protect that. Also regarding its so so comic support for me it’s clear that they prioritize atm people who take notes and anótate books
That's very true, I am the minority that getting a color ereader for photos and color contents, and little to no usage on color comics. Kobo while a little desaturated, really projected the photos in very high quality, especially in the darker details. You ll really appreciate that photo when you are viewing it. Where the Boox while more contrast and saturated, lose out some details and tends to apply some Picasso effect on those bokeh or complex background. I can't bring out the details even tuning down the contrast and saturation to the min...what a shame because boox was such a powerful device with 24000 antutu score...😢
Yes, I agree, that's definitely better on Kobo. But it's still good if you're switching the Kobo devices to one of the other CFA-modes. I'd say Kobo manages to show the most details, Boox manages to have the best middle ground for details (and isn't far behind Kobo) and color saturation, and PocketBook manages to have the most vibrant colors. So depending on what exactly you prefer, any of those can be a good pick.
@@ChalidRaqami I also having the Bigme B751C with me for a few days now. I felt that while it's the most desaturated device, it did brings out more details vs the Boox. Hence viewing color photos on it actually feels better (but still Kobo the best). Anyway Bigme despite having quick refresh rate etc, is suffering from a lot of minor limitation on the software end, you just felt it during day to day use... If that Boox can have the superb display of Kobo it will be the NVidia of the ebook industry
Another super review, thank you. The pocketbook inkpad colour 3’s screen is pretty darn impressive. If it had android (stuck in the kindle ecosystem at this point + use manga apps & online manga) I’d have definitely gone this route over the Boox Go Colour 7 which I like but would love with the bigger screen (7.8”) & Pocketbook’s colour capabilities. I’m really hoping Boox adds Depth refresh support system wide because that’ll be a game changer making it easily the best overall device even without being 7.8” in size. Cheers, Christopher PS. Have you considered doing an overview of the best places to buy comics & manga outside of apps like Kindle, Kobo, etc. I’d love some pointers to quality stores with good comic/manga selection. Not your usual content but I’d find it super helpful.
Thanks! :) I actually also have a hard time finding comics sometimes. So that's definitely a great video idea. Will check it out, but have a couple of other videos lines up already first :)
Very cool, looking forward to them. Thank you. PS. Re: My Kindle button issue I mentioned on the Go 7. It appears either a Kindle update or the latest Boox update broke page turning in at least Kindle. I don’t use Kobo so haven’t tried it. My guess it’s the Boox update since I’m guessing button turning isn’t a Kimdle feature but a system one. Just hoping it’s fixed soon. The Go is a fingerprint magnet. ;)
P.P.S. The Pocketbook and Kobo devices are seriously ugly bits of hardware. It’s like their design team looked at 1980s prototypes and went yeah that’s what we want. It’s somewhat (but just somewhat) excusable for Pocketbook given their relative size but the Kobo is backed by seriously deep pockets. I find it hard to use devices this ugly. Thankfully I’ve got the Go 7 which doesn’t break any ground design wise but is nice and clean.
@@Christopher-todayIn hand and a weeks use I actually preferred the kobo to the boox. Boox is super glitchy. Hoped for better because I like the use of android but the apps especially kindle works terribly.
Interesting. After a few weeks with the Go 7 (my first boox device) I’m finding it very stable and nice to use. The Kindle page turn issue with the buttons is SUPER annoying but other than that I’ve had no issues with it. The feature I think is most lacking is no Depth refresh mode across apps. If they add this and fix the page turn button issue I think the device is close to as good as it gets right now in colour e-readers. Just my experience, I know everyone’s is different and we all have different expectations and desires from our hardware. Cheers. :)
Ohhh I don’t know how to feel about the upfront summary! It was very useful and quick but it kinda gave away the bulk of the video. However I carried on watching for more details so hopefully most people do the same! Was waiting for a video like this, thank you!
Hi, i appreciated the updront summary, though i got a bit lost. A slide ,charts and animations with a rank or score for each catagory would have helped me
I like the pocketbook devices the most but they don’t have any stores in Australia so Kobo is a better choice although need to research comics support. Although the text to speech is useful on the pocketbook.
Thanks for the review. Which one has the more and the less bright/light dots defects on the screen ? I've read that these types of defects happends very frequently on kaleido 3 screens but I wonder if some brands has it more or less than others
Hard to tell tbh - it mostly comes down to bad luck imho. Most of the devices I've here I bought myself and only had a problem once. But in terms of quality control I'd say Amazon and Kobo are usually the most reliable. I'd recommend getting a device from a store where you can easily return it if there are any issues. Personally I use Amazon for such purchases.
I want to buy a color e reader mostly for academy pshysiology and anatomy color books, not comics or anything similar, what woul be your recommendation?
If those books are in PDF-format, than either a PocketBook InkPad Color 3 or a Boox Go Color 7. Boox Tab Mini C would be my next recommendation, but that's more expensive.
There's a 13.3" E-Ink Kaleido 3 device available in China, but no news if something like it will be available in western markets. But since Boox is trying to fill every niche, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a Boox Tab X successor at the end of the year.
It sucks that using the frontlight is essentially required at all times for all of these devices in order for it to be comfortable to read. I'm not upset I picked up a Kobo Libra 2 before the Colour was announced, as i'm very happy with the higher contrast and readability, even with no front light. The only downside is no coloured highlighting when notetaking.
How would you compare the screen door effect on Boox go color 7 and Pocketbook inkpad color 3? Out of all of them which one has the least of this effect? Thanks for the review!
I find it generally a little less noticeable on devices with a flush front - so the Boox Go Color 7 is slightly better in that regard imho. But it's honestly only a very small difference.
I think that could change at some point, because they released the first InkPad Color in China with Android and the two E-Ink tablets (InkPad X Pro and InkPad Eo) also with Android. So at least they see some potential in that segment, but hard to tell if this will make its way to the mainstream devices as well. At least for now, judging from the InkPad Eo, they have quite a bit of work to be done before going the next step with other devices.
@@ChalidRaqami thank you! Let's hope so, pocketbook really pushes good with their products! And, yes, I had expressed myself badly, earlier: I meant, I wish Pocketbook went Android on their lower-budget devices. IPeo is over €640!!! The reason I got a Go Color 7 by boox is that I could finally get a color android reader for an affordable price!
Hi Chalid, which one of these are best for note taking with a stylus? Im aware its not a dedicated note taking device, but which one has the best (paper like) writing feel?
What about using a device to replace my iPad to reduce eye strain? Which one is best for video, non-action games, and web browsing and can be used reasonably without that horrible flicker page refresh thing?
Probably a Boox Note Air 3C or Boox Tab Ultra C Pro with Boox Super Refresh technology. I have reviews of both here on the channel. But using E-Ink tablets for fast paced contents (like videos) is always a compromise, so make sure to check out my videos to see what it's like.
I have the tab mini c for about a month, but I had to return it because of a problem with the screen, and I noticed that the battery just lasted for 2 to 3 days
Tab Mini C is really more of a tablet than an ereader, so it wasn't part of the comparison. In terms of the screen, it's similar to the Pocketbook InkPad Color 3 - I have a separate comparison video up here: ruclips.net/video/55Vg9fw3aZQ/видео.html Most of what I say about the comparison between the two is also true for other ereaders in this video as well.
@@ChalidRaqami I'm in no hurry, but wanting a recentish android version, color screen, and a stylus; I was really close to buying a Boox tab ultra c pro last week because Pocketbook is Android 11 and Bigme has unpolished software. Now I'm waiting to see if there'll be a better entrant to the field soon, since boox tab ultra c pro is already many months out there.
Is it just me or someone else doesn't like Kobo Libra Colour's frontlight? After a couple of weeks of using it (and I tried both white and black versions) I could finally say its frontlight waaay to yellowish for me, even with Natural light setting all the way down. It's like I'm reading old newspaper, and it bugs me.
Even though note air 3c does not directly fall in this category. But I am going to buy it for the colour and use it as an ereader. What would you say where it falls like compared to the boox go colour 7?
The Note Air 3C is better in terms of ghosting thanks to Boox Super Refresh technology, but also has shorter battery life as a result. Outside of that, the experience is quite similar in terms of features.
@@ChalidRaqami yeah I thought very hard on it. Battery was important for me that is why I wanted to bug the note air 3 but then I say it's latency problem with it which lead me to compromise on the battery on 3c. Voya has explained how the b/w variant is inconsistent while it comes to writing and has low latency which has further degraded overtime. Somehow the BSR also makes the 3C more responsive while writing so has low latency in the range of supernote. Now I thought if I face any problem with battery then I will simply carry a powerbank. I was a bit skeptical about the colour result whehter it would be sharp enough to even matter. But your vedios around the volour e ink has convinced me to give it a try.
My use case? I want the best colour reader. Also, asymmetrical bezels? Crap. I switch hands frequently when reading, every 10 pages, or so, and having a different 'feel' to a device, depending on what hand it's in, is a deal-breaker. So, basically, I feel like there's nothing on the market for me. Each manufacturer seems to differentiate itself from its competitors by picking a unique way to cripple itself. It's weird.
The Bigme B751C out of the mentioned devices also has stylus support. The Boox Tab Mini C is also worth a mention, but is more like a tablet, which is why I didn't include it in the comparison.
Depends on the app - for Kindle I use a full refresh after only 1 click, the animation filter to 300 ms and set the anti-flicker setting (in the "balanced"-tab) to 1 as well. That helps a lot with ghosting. The animation filter adds a bit delay and will most likely needs to be adjusted depending on the app. For the stock reader (NeoReader) I changed the full-refresh mode to "depth" and the full-refresh rate to 1. That was enough to reduce ghosting a lot for me.
PocketBook and Boox support arabic, but you need to get arabic eBooks from somewhere else, because neither have an arabic store natively (at least not the units I got).
Aren't they all Kaleido 3 though? - I just don't get why these exist, for reading text sure e-ink reduces eye strain, but reading comics or looking at images, this increases strain and is an inferior experience if anything, reduces contrast, makes the screen darker, etc, I'd rather use a MiniLED or OLED tablet like an iPad.
Color is a nice bonus feature for me. I replaced my Pocketbook Era with the Inkpad Color 3 because I wanted a good all-rounder. Many books include maps or the odd image in a chapter and being able to see those things in more than just grayscale is pretty nice. On the other hand reading on my iPad for a longer period is simply not an option.
@@pyrob2142 so you’ll take a darker display, less contrast, less battery, less clarity, all for the occasion image to look nicer but still pretty low res? - I mean it’s all cloud synced, I look at the images on a phone or iPad then back to the text :)
I would not say it increases eye stress. It’s almost always less stress with e ink than LED. What the real problem is quality. Which is super inferior to say and iPad. One need ti see color here as way to add color to some book illustrations. And also you can color code your annotations. But for when you want to enjoy nice art or images of course it’s sooo much worse than a good OLED screen. Also about looking at the phone and back to the text. That sounds pretty bad UX lol also many like to have a bit of digital detox so when reading disconnecting from their phone. And as said battery is not really an issue still sure it’s not as long but still far more than a phone. Contrast wise it’s more or less the same. Big Downgrade is the a bit darker screen.
If you have privacy concerns then you shouldn't buy any mobile device since they all sell your usage data to the highest bidder regardless if its an Android based device or an Ipad.
While that may be true, the privacy policy of a company like Google, while not as nice as we would like, is much better than what Boox has. For a. E-reader, unfortunately, the best privacy policy seems to be with Pocketbook.
Yep, out of the box PocketBook is the best in terms of privacy right now in my opinion. Boox could still be a good option if you're willing to root the device and use an app firewall to block outgoing traffic. It's a bit of a hassle when first setting it up, because besides rooting you also need to systemize the firewall for it to reliably autostart, but once that's done, that's a pretty solid setup. Maybe still not bulletproof, but better than nothing.
Boox has the best colour as its adjustable and for e ink colour can be muted colour or vibrant to your own liking. none of the others can do it as far as I know
No, with the exception of just very few apps, since it's not running Android, but a custom Linux build. KOReader as an alternative reading app is available to sideload.
All those comparisons are only about the screen. But one important point is the software itself. What about annotations, notes, highlighting. Can you add pdfs and does highlighting work in pdfs? Can they read the book aloud? So many important questions unanswered. Sorry but the comparison feels really superficial
You're right, software is very important, but also much more time-consuming to compare unfortunately. But I do answer most of your questions in the individual reviews of the devices. An in-depth software comparison would easily make this a 45+ minutes video, which in my experience is simply too long for most people to watch.
AFAIK that's only available in Russia and seems to be a Boox Tab Mini C without the pen-support and as far as I can tell also without Boox Super Refresh technology. So other than the screen size basically similar to the Go Color 7. But hard to tell exactly without having seen it firsthand.
Unless you're planning on using it exclusively as a comic book reader and plan on putting thousands of comic books on it, a micro sd card reader is ridiculously useless on an ereader. Bro, my kobo libra h20 has 8 gb. Most books are 80/100kb... KB. Unless you read a ton of comics your ereader will likely stop working before you fill it up with books. I intentionally download the highest quality versions of ebooks, the largest I got is like 10mb. (I think it was a brandon sanderson book with tons of super high definition art work in it etc)
@@ricky865 In that case in all honesty you're better off with a larger screen or an tablet. As someone that owns a libra h20 (first libra, same size and shape, same size screen only black and white). I don't really read comics but I tried reading berserk on my ereader and the experience was pretty mediocre. The text was too small, to really appreciate the images I needed to zoom in, but zooming in with an ereader/e-ink screen even the latests ones is pretty slow and clunky and also has super high input latency. I love my ereader. But if I'm going to read a comic, I much rather read it on my monitor or on a tablet or something. (or a physical book of course). I would suggest you take a look at larger models, but the price difference is ridiculous. MIght as well buy a tablet, which will also offer a better and more saturated image for your comic. But it will not have the e-ink effect/screen. The thing that makes e-ink so incredible is that you can read for hours without any of the eye fatigue that you'd get from a regular screen. And the screen works under any lighting conditions
Not much more too see unfortunately ... :D Just a desk with my PC at the other side of the room and the rest is mostly storage for devices and a couple of tools :)
appreciated the upfront conclusion.
heck, this alone deserves a subscription!
this actually made me want to give him my time and watch the rest of the video
@@TuBui2 yeak ik right
Played it 4 times from different devices, because you started with the conclusion, So you deserve multiple views to increase your video reach
The upfront conclusion…god bless. Rarely see a creator actually put the viewer first
I finished the entire video anyway since my curiosity was peaked.
Subscribed!
Scrolled to the end - saw your comment and scrolled back to the beginning 😂
I extremely appreciated the upfront conclusion. It's not very common for any youtubers or video publications to respect our time anymore and that was certainly much appreciated. Love the content!
Answer in first minute. Best video in whole of youtube.
The upfront helps with making a educated purchase. Then your explanation about each of the devices does indeed help as well!
For Canadians, the Kindle brand is a non starter. Amazon has crippled the Kindle in Canada by not making it compatible with Overdrive/Libby. As if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Bluetooth is not available, so audiobooks are not possible. I know of several people who found out about these limitations after purchasing the Canadian Kindle. In Canada, the Kobo is the choice for a full featured e-reader.
You are the only person doing review videos properly. I need the results ASAP and you gave that. Thank you so much!
I normally just click out after skipping to the conclusion. But, with how you front-loaded it, I second-monitored it and went about my day as it finished to completion. God bless, we need more people and content like you and this video format!
For me, it's important that Kobo devices are the simplest and cutest among all these devices. There are also nice original cases available. I also like how they show reading progress on each book. For transferring books, I'm using gDrive and Dropbox. Thank you for the tip on how to raise the saturation of colors! ;-)
How do you use gDrive in the Kobo? Is it built-in?
@@dnl-gk5dpit’s built-in on the kobo libra color
@@dnl-gk5dp It is!
@@dnl-gk5dpyes in Kobo Libra Colour, google drive, dropbox and pocket
Go color 7 for its sleekness and I’m happy made the right choice for me🎉
The upfront summary is so helpful. Great review!
Chalid, I love your eReader-videos. There's one topic that is totally neglected by all eReader reviewers, however, which is: Which is the best eReader for manga reading? It'd be awesome if you could make a video about that topic, because with color eReaders being worse for black and white-content, it's become difficult to find out which eReaders are the best for manga reading, both in terms of image quality and size. I often see western comic books being used to showcase the color eReaders' capability, but manga is black and white, so different things are important.
Just a suggestion. Anyway, keep going!
Up for this
Completely agree, I mostly read books and I'd like to read B/W mangas as well, so my choice would have been the Libra 2, which is discontinued and they only produce the Libra Colour, which has the format size I want, but the colour screen has only made the B/W slightly worse.
Thanks for the suggestion - will look into it :)
@@ChalidRaqami on this matter another part which would be appreciated to look at are webcomics with their unique format of vertical scrolling - seems like a really bad match up with e-inks
Wow that video is awesome.
I appreciate the upfront conclusion and the effort that you've put in making the video
I subbed because of the upfront conclusion. Way to go, dude!
I have the Boox Nova Air C and I love it. I haven't had to buy notebooks and pens for over 2 years now, and I love the fact that it also functions as an android tablet and e-reader. As a writer and bookworm, it's a dream device.
Does it have color?
@@Nabi_hanbyul1yes
Great review👍 I appreciated the battery work comparison test
Does the Boox really last that much longer than Bigme?
Appreciate the upfront conclusion and immediately left sub, like and comment 😂 thanks! Ofc I'll view until the end
Pocketbook is slow. Kobo easiest to use interface. Boox and Bigme have better light uniformity. Is what I got from this video.
Thanks a lot! Appreciate the upfront conclusion!
Instant follow after giving the conclusion up front. Thank you!
Appreciate the upfront comparison. 💯
Thank you for the good video.
I chose Boox Go Color 7 for my use case.
(I wanted to read manga on android apps.)
Were you able to do it?
Very useful review.
I finally decided for the Go Color 7, as I can install Audible there too
Also the EPUB 3 Read Aloud function is pretty nice, and a good real voice is always better than TTS. And Pockerbook only offers TTS, but full EPUB3 audiobook compatibility.
In appreciation of the up front statement.
I have watched the whole video two times.
Thanks for the quick start, just what I was looking for.
I really appreciate your reviews. Very informative and gave me good glimpse on the one I am really considering to buy(inkpad color 3). I'm still amazed that the android reader outperformed some of the non-android readers like pocketbook era color in battery life. I heard they cannot be taken outside of the house due to their poor battery performance and I know that it's not true in fact.
Thanks, great video. I went for the Pocketbook because of the bigger display, i'm coming from a Kobo Aura One and didn't feel like going back to a smaller screen. Also the color quality difference is biggest than i thought it would be, the Libra looks the worst to me compared to those other units
Thank for the for short summary at the start. i don't normally sub but i have with you. i will always come back to you for all thing ereading thanks mate.
I hope you'll do a quick update and include the new Kindle Colorsoft.... thanks for the info!
Yes, it's high on my list :)
@ChalidRaqami Awesome. Love your reviews. Would really love to see a comparison of what book covers (i.e. the cover of the book currently being read) look like on the "sleep" screens when in powered down/sleep mode. No one does this but I do appreciate seeing my covers while my ereaders are sitting on the desk waiting to be used.. though I'm not sure if all non kindles offer that option. Thanks!!!
Bought it and quickly returned it. Mostly because sideloaded covers don't appear in the library. The readability of comics, even in panel, view was also meh...
I am currently using a Libra 2 and an Inkpad Color 3. The Inkpad is painfully slow and laggy. I'd happily ditch it for a Libra Colour, if it can achive the same level of color saturation with the devmode settings.
It can go higher but remember then you loose out on tonal range. The guy here mention better contrast. Which is not really what it’s about.
If you look at the movie her when all devices are show a you can clearly see that kobo is more muted but also manages to show a lot more tonal values in the upper and even more so in the lower parts of the images (check the image of the big tree)
In the devices with higher saturation A LOT is lost in the darker areas of those
I was on the cusp of buying a Kobo Libra Colour when I learned from Kobo's help pages that, get this, all e-ink annotations made on your ebooks will be lost and unretrievable if you either move to a new device (even a new Kobo) or reset the one you have. Given that some, like me, consider note taking a critical feature and do not want to lose a single note, this is a dealbreaker. It tells me that we're still in the early days of e-ink, though it's been around for a very long time in one form or another.
I really appreciate the upfront conclusion. 👍
Thanks for this comparison, spend a lot of time searching best ereader for my use case scenarios. I choosed to get Pocketbook InkPad Color 3 because of size for mangas and graphic novels and because of avaliability in my country
so glad you finally mentioned battery life. And super surprised that the boox go color 7 had such good battery life running android. I've been cautious of android ereaders mainly due to battery life. Although maybe the android models use more power in idle/sleep mode?
I haven't tested standby drain systematically, so I can't say exactly. But essentially all Android E-Ink devices turn off completely by default after a while, so I suspect that assumption is correct for many devices.
Kindles generally have the best standby time in my experience.
hm.... my biggest reason for wanting a color screen was to read comics but seeing the ghosting and refreshing flashing on all of them i think ill just get a regular one and keep my comic reading to my phone
Came for the ebooks, stayed for Trek 🖖🏻Thank you so much for the in-depth comparison, it definitely helped! Subscribing for more ^_^
thanks for sharing. a video that compares the complete boox lineup would be great
Your channel is incredible!
Gracias por tu prueba. Soy usuario de productos BOOX y mi ONIX Tab Ultra no lo cambio por nada debido a su sistema Android abierto que te permite casi cualquier formato y casi cualquier uso, debido a la posibilidad de instalar apps Android. Tengo KOBOs de gama alta y al final prefiero dispositivos polivalentes, aunque haya que configurarlos con más cuidado por ser Android.
Además, doy fe, de que Onix Boox manda continuas mejoras y actualizaciones de firmware, lo que siempre es de agradecer.
Creo que compraré el Go Color por su mayor portabilidad, ya que no siempre necesito las diez pulgadas del Boox Tab Ultra.
Thank you so much for not wasting my time.
Heads up for anyone who has the inkpad color 3, if you install koreader it has less color but it doesn’t crush or destroy the image.
The inkpad does some wild stuff sometimes too like turning grey into solid pink. Which is another issue the koreader app doesn’t have.
InkPad Color 3 looks fantastic. But I had the same form factor PocketBook and it's very impractical with those buttons at the bottom, so I just simply can't go there. I also tried Boox but no app ever works how I'd like it to work. So the only option for me is Era or Kobo. Kobo doesn't sync sideloaded books to Kobo app on smartphone which is a must for me. But I'm considering Tolino Vision Colour, which is renamed Kobo Libra Colour but it does sync sideloaded books. I just wish it came in white too :D
Thank you for the upfront summary! You're thr best
I really hope kobo brings some updated firmware with better color saturation. Since all use the same screen, its all in the code now. There is still a lot room for improvement
Thanks a lot for the well-made review! Makes decisions a lot easier :)
What you mention about color And CONTRAST. It depends on your usage. Kobo is more washed out but little to no loss in darker details. On some of the other sure it’s nicer saturation but you loose out stuff in the lower levels. That might not be an issue. But I think when it comes to more pro work where such can’t happen that is why Kobo choose to go down in saturation to protect that. Also regarding its so so comic support for me it’s clear that they prioritize atm people who take notes and anótate books
That's very true, I am the minority that getting a color ereader for photos and color contents, and little to no usage on color comics. Kobo while a little desaturated, really projected the photos in very high quality, especially in the darker details. You ll really appreciate that photo when you are viewing it. Where the Boox while more contrast and saturated, lose out some details and tends to apply some Picasso effect on those bokeh or complex background. I can't bring out the details even tuning down the contrast and saturation to the min...what a shame because boox was such a powerful device with 24000 antutu score...😢
Yes, I agree, that's definitely better on Kobo. But it's still good if you're switching the Kobo devices to one of the other CFA-modes.
I'd say Kobo manages to show the most details, Boox manages to have the best middle ground for details (and isn't far behind Kobo) and color saturation, and PocketBook manages to have the most vibrant colors. So depending on what exactly you prefer, any of those can be a good pick.
@@ChalidRaqami I also having the Bigme B751C with me for a few days now. I felt that while it's the most desaturated device, it did brings out more details vs the Boox. Hence viewing color photos on it actually feels better (but still Kobo the best). Anyway Bigme despite having quick refresh rate etc, is suffering from a lot of minor limitation on the software end, you just felt it during day to day use... If that Boox can have the superb display of Kobo it will be the NVidia of the ebook industry
Another super review, thank you.
The pocketbook inkpad colour 3’s screen is pretty darn impressive. If it had android (stuck in the kindle ecosystem at this point + use manga apps & online manga) I’d have definitely gone this route over the Boox Go Colour 7 which I like but would love with the bigger screen (7.8”) & Pocketbook’s colour capabilities. I’m really hoping Boox adds Depth refresh support system wide because that’ll be a game changer making it easily the best overall device even without being 7.8” in size.
Cheers,
Christopher
PS. Have you considered doing an overview of the best places to buy comics & manga outside of apps like Kindle, Kobo, etc. I’d love some pointers to quality stores with good comic/manga selection. Not your usual content but I’d find it super helpful.
Thanks! :) I actually also have a hard time finding comics sometimes. So that's definitely a great video idea. Will check it out, but have a couple of other videos lines up already first :)
Very cool, looking forward to them. Thank you.
PS. Re: My Kindle button issue I mentioned on the Go 7. It appears either a Kindle update or the latest Boox update broke page turning in at least Kindle. I don’t use Kobo so haven’t tried it. My guess it’s the Boox update since I’m guessing button turning isn’t a Kimdle feature but a system one. Just hoping it’s fixed soon. The Go is a fingerprint magnet. ;)
P.P.S. The Pocketbook and Kobo devices are seriously ugly bits of hardware. It’s like their design team looked at 1980s prototypes and went yeah that’s what we want. It’s somewhat (but just somewhat) excusable for Pocketbook given their relative size but the Kobo is backed by seriously deep pockets. I find it hard to use devices this ugly. Thankfully I’ve got the Go 7 which doesn’t break any ground design wise but is nice and clean.
@@Christopher-todayIn hand and a weeks use I actually preferred the kobo to the boox. Boox is super glitchy. Hoped for better because I like the use of android but the apps especially kindle works terribly.
Interesting. After a few weeks with the Go 7 (my first boox device) I’m finding it very stable and nice to use. The Kindle page turn issue with the buttons is SUPER annoying but other than that I’ve had no issues with it. The feature I think is most lacking is no Depth refresh mode across apps. If they add this and fix the page turn button issue I think the device is close to as good as it gets right now in colour e-readers. Just my experience, I know everyone’s is different and we all have different expectations and desires from our hardware.
Cheers. :)
Ohhh I don’t know how to feel about the upfront summary! It was very useful and quick but it kinda gave away the bulk of the video. However I carried on watching for more details so hopefully most people do the same!
Was waiting for a video like this, thank you!
Thanks for letting me know!
Hi, i appreciated the updront summary, though i got a bit lost.
A slide ,charts and animations with a rank or score for each catagory would have helped me
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback - will keep it in mind for future videos!
I have been closely following reviews of ebook readers and this one is the most comprehensive one..great job 👍
Great comparison; thanks! I may go with a Boox Note Air 3C (not in this video) because I want colour, Android, and size 10.3".
I like the pocketbook devices the most but they don’t have any stores in Australia so Kobo is a better choice although need to research comics support. Although the text to speech is useful on the pocketbook.
Still undecided. Maybe I will stick with the iPad for reading my PDFs and just get a b&w e-reader
Awesome review, as always!
Thanks for the review. Which one has the more and the less bright/light dots defects on the screen ? I've read that these types of defects happends very frequently on kaleido 3 screens but I wonder if some brands has it more or less than others
Hard to tell tbh - it mostly comes down to bad luck imho. Most of the devices I've here I bought myself and only had a problem once. But in terms of quality control I'd say Amazon and Kobo are usually the most reliable.
I'd recommend getting a device from a store where you can easily return it if there are any issues. Personally I use Amazon for such purchases.
I want to buy a color e reader mostly for academy pshysiology and anatomy color books, not comics or anything similar, what woul be your recommendation?
If those books are in PDF-format, than either a PocketBook InkPad Color 3 or a Boox Go Color 7. Boox Tab Mini C would be my next recommendation, but that's more expensive.
@@ChalidRaqami Thank you!
Appreciate you getting straight to the point.
Are there any A4 sized colour e-ink tablets on the horizon?
There's a 13.3" E-Ink Kaleido 3 device available in China, but no news if something like it will be available in western markets. But since Boox is trying to fill every niche, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a Boox Tab X successor at the end of the year.
best comparison video
awesome comparison man!!
What is the name of the book that has all the art pictures, I would definitely buy it for my iPad
What Enterprise model is that LCARS interface behind you controlling?
It's the USS Titan from Star Trek Picard - check out mewho.com (not made by me) :)
It sucks that using the frontlight is essentially required at all times for all of these devices in order for it to be comfortable to read. I'm not upset I picked up a Kobo Libra 2 before the Colour was announced, as i'm very happy with the higher contrast and readability, even with no front light. The only downside is no coloured highlighting when notetaking.
I think we'll get there in time.
The Kobo Libra 2 was definitely a great pick - I still love using it with its excellent contrast levels.
Subscribed for the upfront conclusion!
Chalid, you are the best!
How would you compare the screen door effect on Boox go color 7 and Pocketbook inkpad color 3? Out of all of them which one has the least of this effect? Thanks for the review!
I find it generally a little less noticeable on devices with a flush front - so the Boox Go Color 7 is slightly better in that regard imho. But it's honestly only a very small difference.
a high standard review, thanks
Looks like we’ll need a new follow up in November.
the Pocketbook ink Color 3 is very slow and often cannot keep up with the commands given to it
it really irks me that an awesome reader such as Pocketbook won't go Android!
I think that could change at some point, because they released the first InkPad Color in China with Android and the two E-Ink tablets (InkPad X Pro and InkPad Eo) also with Android. So at least they see some potential in that segment, but hard to tell if this will make its way to the mainstream devices as well. At least for now, judging from the InkPad Eo, they have quite a bit of work to be done before going the next step with other devices.
@@ChalidRaqami thank you! Let's hope so, pocketbook really pushes good with their products! And, yes, I had expressed myself badly, earlier: I meant, I wish Pocketbook went Android on their lower-budget devices. IPeo is over €640!!! The reason I got a Go Color 7 by boox is that I could finally get a color android reader for an affordable price!
What is ghosting ?
Hi Chalid, which one of these are best for note taking with a stylus? Im aware its not a dedicated note taking device, but which one has the best (paper like) writing feel?
What about using a device to replace my iPad to reduce eye strain? Which one is best for video, non-action games, and web browsing and can be used reasonably without that horrible flicker page refresh thing?
Probably a Boox Note Air 3C or Boox Tab Ultra C Pro with Boox Super Refresh technology. I have reviews of both here on the channel. But using E-Ink tablets for fast paced contents (like videos) is always a compromise, so make sure to check out my videos to see what it's like.
The Pocketbook affiliate link doesn’t resolve correctly. They seem to have changed the website.
Thanks, appreciate the info. I updated the links :)
I was waiting to see tab mini c in the comparison. I'm between libra color and tab mini c but the battery life ir really important to me
I have the tab mini c for about a month, but I had to return it because of a problem with the screen, and I noticed that the battery just lasted for 2 to 3 days
Tab Mini C is really more of a tablet than an ereader, so it wasn't part of the comparison. In terms of the screen, it's similar to the Pocketbook InkPad Color 3 - I have a separate comparison video up here: ruclips.net/video/55Vg9fw3aZQ/видео.html
Most of what I say about the comparison between the two is also true for other ereaders in this video as well.
Please compare the latest flagships next. Also, are there news of upcoming devices?
Working on an E-Ink tablet comparison ... :) Right now, no news, but I suspect we'll see more devices til the end of the year.
@@ChalidRaqami I'm in no hurry, but wanting a recentish android version, color screen, and a stylus; I was really close to buying a Boox tab ultra c pro last week because Pocketbook is Android 11 and Bigme has unpolished software. Now I'm waiting to see if there'll be a better entrant to the field soon, since boox tab ultra c pro is already many months out there.
man i just wish the pocketbook inkpad color 3 had android...
Is it just me or someone else doesn't like Kobo Libra Colour's frontlight? After a couple of weeks of using it (and I tried both white and black versions) I could finally say its frontlight waaay to yellowish for me, even with Natural light setting all the way down. It's like I'm reading old newspaper, and it bugs me.
Yep, it's definitely on the warmer side unfortunately. I would have preferred it to be a bit cooler as well (similar to the Libra 2).
I want a 10-inch color that has Android no matter what price you recommend, And that the screen is bright?
Even though note air 3c does not directly fall in this category. But I am going to buy it for the colour and use it as an ereader. What would you say where it falls like compared to the boox go colour 7?
The Note Air 3C is better in terms of ghosting thanks to Boox Super Refresh technology, but also has shorter battery life as a result. Outside of that, the experience is quite similar in terms of features.
@@ChalidRaqami yeah I thought very hard on it. Battery was important for me that is why I wanted to bug the note air 3 but then I say it's latency problem with it which lead me to compromise on the battery on 3c. Voya has explained how the b/w variant is inconsistent while it comes to writing and has low latency which has further degraded overtime. Somehow the BSR also makes the 3C more responsive while writing so has low latency in the range of supernote. Now I thought if I face any problem with battery then I will simply carry a powerbank. I was a bit skeptical about the colour result whehter it would be sharp enough to even matter. But your vedios around the volour e ink has convinced me to give it a try.
@@ChalidRaqami thank you so much
My use case? I want the best colour reader.
Also, asymmetrical bezels? Crap. I switch hands frequently when reading, every 10 pages, or so, and having a different 'feel' to a device, depending on what hand it's in, is a deal-breaker.
So, basically, I feel like there's nothing on the market for me. Each manufacturer seems to differentiate itself from its competitors by picking a unique way to cripple itself. It's weird.
hi ya Chalid thx for the review
Is the Kobo the only colour e reader with stylus capabilities?
The Bigme B751C out of the mentioned devices also has stylus support. The Boox Tab Mini C is also worth a mention, but is more like a tablet, which is why I didn't include it in the comparison.
@ChalidRaqami thank you. Due to price I think the Kobo is the way to go for me.
id it possible to have the Everand app in any of these devices??
It's possible with the Boox Go Color 7 and Bigme B751C - both running Android.
What were the optimised ghosting settings for the Boox Go Color 7?
Depends on the app - for Kindle I use a full refresh after only 1 click, the animation filter to 300 ms and set the anti-flicker setting (in the "balanced"-tab) to 1 as well. That helps a lot with ghosting. The animation filter adds a bit delay and will most likely needs to be adjusted depending on the app.
For the stock reader (NeoReader) I changed the full-refresh mode to "depth" and the full-refresh rate to 1. That was enough to reduce ghosting a lot for me.
Do any of these support Arabic? Does it have Arabic books?
PocketBook and Boox support arabic, but you need to get arabic eBooks from somewhere else, because neither have an arabic store natively (at least not the units I got).
Which one better bigme or boox?
Boox for most applications.
Aren't they all Kaleido 3 though? - I just don't get why these exist, for reading text sure e-ink reduces eye strain, but reading comics or looking at images, this increases strain and is an inferior experience if anything, reduces contrast, makes the screen darker, etc, I'd rather use a MiniLED or OLED tablet like an iPad.
Color is a nice bonus feature for me. I replaced my Pocketbook Era with the Inkpad Color 3 because I wanted a good all-rounder. Many books include maps or the odd image in a chapter and being able to see those things in more than just grayscale is pretty nice. On the other hand reading on my iPad for a longer period is simply not an option.
@@pyrob2142 so you’ll take a darker display, less contrast, less battery, less clarity, all for the occasion image to look nicer but still pretty low res? - I mean it’s all cloud synced, I look at the images on a phone or iPad then back to the text :)
I would not say it increases eye stress. It’s almost always less stress with e ink than LED.
What the real problem is quality. Which is super inferior to say and iPad. One need ti see color here as way to add color to some book illustrations. And also you can color code your annotations.
But for when you want to enjoy nice art or images of course it’s sooo much worse than a good OLED screen.
Also about looking at the phone and back to the text. That sounds pretty bad UX lol also many like to have a bit of digital detox so when reading disconnecting from their phone.
And as said battery is not really an issue still sure it’s not as long but still far more than a phone. Contrast wise it’s more or less the same. Big Downgrade is the a bit darker screen.
I really wanted to get the boox go color 7, but I can't get over the privacy concerns...
If you have privacy concerns then you shouldn't buy any mobile device since they all sell your usage data to the highest bidder regardless if its an Android based device or an Ipad.
While that may be true, the privacy policy of a company like Google, while not as nice as we would like, is much better than what Boox has.
For a. E-reader, unfortunately, the best privacy policy seems to be with Pocketbook.
Yep, out of the box PocketBook is the best in terms of privacy right now in my opinion.
Boox could still be a good option if you're willing to root the device and use an app firewall to block outgoing traffic. It's a bit of a hassle when first setting it up, because besides rooting you also need to systemize the firewall for it to reliably autostart, but once that's done, that's a pretty solid setup. Maybe still not bulletproof, but better than nothing.
Upfront info was super helpful! Great video.
Boox has the best colour as its adjustable and for e ink colour can be muted colour or vibrant to your own liking. none of the others can do it as far as I know
Can you sideload on pocketbook?
No, with the exception of just very few apps, since it's not running Android, but a custom Linux build. KOReader as an alternative reading app is available to sideload.
All those comparisons are only about the screen. But one important point is the software itself. What about annotations, notes, highlighting. Can you add pdfs and does highlighting work in pdfs? Can they read the book aloud? So many important questions unanswered. Sorry but the comparison feels really superficial
You're right, software is very important, but also much more time-consuming to compare unfortunately. But I do answer most of your questions in the individual reviews of the devices.
An in-depth software comparison would easily make this a 45+ minutes video, which in my experience is simply too long for most people to watch.
This guy rocks
how about onyx boox faraday?
AFAIK that's only available in Russia and seems to be a Boox Tab Mini C without the pen-support and as far as I can tell also without Boox Super Refresh technology. So other than the screen size basically similar to the Go Color 7. But hard to tell exactly without having seen it firsthand.
What apps can I install on pocketbook?
No Android apps on the InkPad Color 3 or Era, but you can use Koreader as an alternative reading app, if you're comfortable with sideloading apps.
To me the best one is the one that includes a MicroSD card slot
Unless you're planning on using it exclusively as a comic book reader and plan on putting thousands of comic books on it, a micro sd card reader is ridiculously useless on an ereader. Bro, my kobo libra h20 has 8 gb. Most books are 80/100kb... KB. Unless you read a ton of comics your ereader will likely stop working before you fill it up with books. I intentionally download the highest quality versions of ebooks, the largest I got is like 10mb. (I think it was a brandon sanderson book with tons of super high definition art work in it etc)
@@3choblast3r4
That's exactly what I use it for. Cómics, manga and Manhwa. Books secondary.
@@ricky865 In that case in all honesty you're better off with a larger screen or an tablet. As someone that owns a libra h20 (first libra, same size and shape, same size screen only black and white). I don't really read comics but I tried reading berserk on my ereader and the experience was pretty mediocre. The text was too small, to really appreciate the images I needed to zoom in, but zooming in with an ereader/e-ink screen even the latests ones is pretty slow and clunky and also has super high input latency.
I love my ereader. But if I'm going to read a comic, I much rather read it on my monitor or on a tablet or something. (or a physical book of course). I would suggest you take a look at larger models, but the price difference is ridiculous. MIght as well buy a tablet, which will also offer a better and more saturated image for your comic. But it will not have the e-ink effect/screen. The thing that makes e-ink so incredible is that you can read for hours without any of the eye fatigue that you'd get from a regular screen. And the screen works under any lighting conditions
@@ricky865is it a space issue? Or transfer issue? As Kobo now supports getting files from GoogleDrive
@@3choblast3r4 You talk as if that usecase is rare for an e-reader lol. That's common use case for these devices! You're insane.
Can we get a *room* *tour* 😅
Not much more too see unfortunately ... :D Just a desk with my PC at the other side of the room and the rest is mostly storage for devices and a couple of tools :)
А ты хорош, сразу все карты раскрыл, спасибо!
Amazing review video very informative and detailed. I know what I'm getting now, thanks 😊