The Onyx Boox Go 7 Shade is a brand-new e-reader for 2024. This mannequin is a devoted ebook reader with the newest technology of e-paper, Kaleido 3. The display screen can show over 4,000 completely different colors, which makes it supreme for studying digital content material equivalent to comics, magazines, webtoons, and PDF information. The large promoting factors are the bodily page-turn buttons, Android 12, Google Play and a skinny design, making it transportable. Must you purchase this e-reader? This overview ought to reply your entire burning questions.
{Hardware}
The Onyx Boox Go Shade 7 has a 7-inch E INK Kaleido 3 colour e-paper display screen and Carta 1200 for enhanced web page turns and efficiency. The black and white decision is 1680×1264 with 300 PPI, whereas the color content material decision is 1240 x 930 with 150 PPI. The gadget’s physique is smooth black, and the display screen is seamlessly built-in with the bezel and guarded by a layer of glass. The textured again delivers a paperlike feeling and a safe grip. It provides a contact of sophistication and is straightforward to carry. Completely mixing practicality and class each time you utilize it. Because of the front-lit show and color temperature system, you may learn in the course of the day or night time, together with white and amber LED lights. A software program slider bar can alter the lighting with heat and funky LED lights.
One of many standout options is the page-turn buttons. The buttons and their positioning are just like these on the Onyx Boox Web page or the Amazon Kindle Oasis. They’re mushy and tactile, and the button presses are satisfying, the buttons are positioned on the precise aspect of the display screen. In case you are left-handed, the e-reader helps auto-rotation.
The Onyx Boox Go 7 collection is powered by a quad-core 2.4 GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of inside storage. It additionally encompasses a microSD card slot that may help an extra 1TB of storage. The gadget helps WIFI Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz) and Bluetooth 5.0 and has a built-in speaker, supreme for listening to audiobooks, music, or podcasts. A single microphone is accessible for voice communication apps. It’s powered by a 2300 mAh battery. The scale are 156x137x6.4mm, and it weighs 195g.
The Onyx Boox Go 7 Shade has Google Android 12 and all of the core Google Play Companies. You’ll be able to log in to your Google account and obtain tens of millions of free and paid apps from the Play Retailer. That is the place you may obtain apps like Kindle and Overdrive Libby. Suppose you wish to sideload your books as a substitute of counting on apps for offline studying. You’ll possible wish to use the inventory studying app referred to as Neoreader. It helps pdf, djvu, azw, azw3, doc, doc, docx, epub, fb2, fbz, html, mobi, odt, prc, rtf, sxw, trc, txt, chm, and ppt. When you’re going to sideload your audiobooks, it solely helps WAV and MP3, so I might depend on different apps like Audible since you too can hearken to them offline.
I just like the design of the Go 7 Shade; the page-turn buttons stand out because the entire color scheme is piano black, and the page-turn buttons are silver. The Go 7 will not be a premium e-reader; it’s simply manufactured from plastic, whereas the Kindle Oasis is manufactured from aluminum. It’s important to know that that is purely a digital ebook reader with no note-taking performance, nor does it have a WACOM display screen or stylus help. The worth can also be respectable; it retails for round $249.99 and comes with a free magnetic sleep cowl.
Software program
The Go 7 Shade makes use of Google Android 12, however it isn’t a inventory model of Android because it makes use of Boox OS. This can be a closely skinned model that the corporate has developed, which has a collection of vibrant and bubbly icons and a person interface which makes it straightforward to click on on when utilizing the touchscreen show. One of many methods Onyx differentiates itself from the Amazon Kindle, Rakuten Kobo or the Barnes and Noble Nook is the inclusion of Google Play. Onyx is likely one of the few manufacturers worldwide to have Play on most of their e book readers and e-notebooks. Many individuals will solely purchase an e-reader with Play because it opens up a world of customization.
The Essential UI is on the backside of the display screen. It consists of shortcuts to your Library, Bookstore, Apps Storage and Settings. Your library solely contains books you’ve sideloaded on the inventory Neoreader ebook reader. When you primarily use apps, equivalent to Kindle or Kobo, the books in these apps won’t seem in your principal library. The bookstore is Onyx branded and solely contains royalty-free content material, which is the kind of stuff you’d discover on Venture Gutenberg. Apps are the place the pre-installed apps are, equivalent to Boox Cloud, Google Drive and lots of others. Any apps you obtain from Google Play may even be right here. Storage will present a file listing of all of your information; inserting an SD card will show its contents. Settings are the place you will note all of your WIFI/Bluetooth and lots of different choices, such because the variety of web page turns earlier than a full web page refresh is completed. Additionally, you will conduct firmware updates right here. Onyx tends to push out updates a number of instances a 12 months.
Probably the greatest choices is the Management Centre, which you’ll entry from an icon or by tapping on the show’s high center. That is the place you may pair Bluetooth headphones or earbuds to hearken to audiobooks, music, podcasts or different audio content material. You’ll be able to entry your WIFI community with a login and password. There are additionally issues like AI assistant, Boox cloud storage, Youngsters Mode, Cut up Display screen, E INK Centre, Display screen Shot and a full web page refresh. AI Assistant is sort of a ChatGPT-style chatbot, the place you may ask questions and get solutions.
Youngsters Mode is attention-grabbing; Onyx is the one model that does this, apart from Amazon. To make use of Youngsters mode, it’s essential to register or log in to your Onyx Account, after which you may tweak some settings. You’ll be able to solely have them entry stuff you need, such because the studying app or on an app-by-app foundation. Youngsters’ profiles could be named after your baby. After they log in, they gained’t see any books an grownup is likely to be studying, or you may load in kid-friendly titles. In case you are an Amazon person, you may grant them entry to your Kindle app. There may be additionally a time possibility that folks can set up, equivalent to how lengthy you need them to make use of the Go 10 day by day, and a countdown timer will seem on the high.
A part of the management centre is an possibility referred to as E INK Centre, which is useful. That is the place you may management world settings to get probably the most out of your Go 7 Shade. You may make all icons and textual content darker or lighter, relying in your desire. Wish to enhance the efficiency of your gadget? That is the place you may set the completely different velocity modes.
- HD Mode is designed for deep studying. Like studying printed books, you may take pleasure in extremely sharp textual content with the least ghosting.
- Beneath Balanced Mode, BOOX coordinated calls for for clear show and intermittent interplay. Fast display screen response is assured when you find yourself skimming books or photographs.
- Quick Mode goals at a clean expertise of shopping web sites or actions that contain a number of scrolling. Refined ghosting might happen, however responsiveness is enhanced.
- Ultrafast mode offers probably the most speedy response to dynamic content material. Although some particulars could also be misplaced, it allows you to watch movies and seamlessly use completely different apps.
The primary software program expertise is strong. Every little thing you click on on is completed so lightning fast. There may be little to no lag when opening apps, studying books or utilizing apps. The velocity modes enable shopping the online, studying complicated PDF information, or coding to carry out effectively.
Studying
The Boox Go 7 Shade makes an ideal e-reader for studying books, comics, manga, PDF information, and different digital content material. That is due to the color display screen and the 7-inch show. Most digital content material takes up the complete display screen, with little detrimental house. Flipping pages is ultra-fast and even sooner if you happen to have interaction in any velocity modes from the E INK Management Centre. The page-turn buttons make the complete studying expertise very intuitive. The picture high quality could be very pronounced as a result of 300 PPI display screen.
The e-reading expertise begins with the inventory app Neoreader, the place you may side-load all of your content material with many choices for font sizes, font kind, alignment, line spacing and margins. It helps PRC, RTF, Doc, Textual content, DJVU, PDF, Mobi, FB2, EPUB, CBR and CBZ. CBZ and CBR help is great for sideloading Manga information since that is the preferred on-line format. Nonetheless, Amazon delivers manga in AZW3 and Kobo/Google by way of EPUB. You don’t want to fret about varieties if you happen to set up apps equivalent to VIZ or manga apps. It is usually vital to notice that Google Play Books can also be put in by default, so you aren’t caught utilizing Neoreader by default.
The Go 7 Shade shines while you entry Google Play and obtain your favorite apps. This provides you great flexibility and freedom to make use of no matter studying or information apps you normally use in your smartphone or pill. I do know many individuals all the time set up Libby to learn eBooks or hearken to audiobooks borrowed from the general public library. The Kindle studying app is the preferred because it was initially developed for smartphones and tablets. The web page flip animation all the time seems to be good and fairly, but it surely struggles on E INK units as a result of refresh difficulty. That is why Onyx made enhancements to the app on a system degree to remove animated web page turns, so it’s seamless and sturdy while you flip a web page. Through the years, they’ve optimized many different apps however are likely to deal with the writing expertise on their in depth line of e-notes. The corporate has additionally made enhancements to a number of productiveness apps.
Onyx Boox has a bookstore on this gadget. Nonetheless, it primarily sells royalty-free books, the identical content material you’d discover simply shopping the web or accessing websites like Venture Gutenberg. This bookstore is designed to get individuals studying instantly, however no bestsellers or books are paid for. You have to obtain devoted apps to pay for books or use Google Play Books.
I believe the Go 7 Shade makes a lethal e-reader due to the high-resolution e-paper display screen, which makes it straightforward to learn in the course of the day or night time. The total-colour display screen makes digital content material distinctive. The overwhelming majority of e-readers available on the market solely use black and white shows, which have been the usual for a very long time, however as of late, most manufacturers are embracing color. They know that customers need the identical expertise they’d have on their smartphone or pill however on their e-reader.
Wrap Up
The Go collection is a completely new model from Onyx Boox that was solely launched in 2024. There are two fashions: Go Shade 7 and Go 10.3. I believe the ten.3 is the higher purchase because it has a greater construct high quality, 300 PPI, and may take notes. The UI is healthier on the ten. Onyx created a completely new menu system not discovered on another gadget.
In case you are on the lookout for a Shade various to Bigme or Kobo, Go Shade 7 deserves a glance. It’s a free and open expertise the place crafting your experience, from display screen savers to apps, is a major promoting level. Onyx Boox has been within the sport for over 10+ years, so that they have good title recognition, and folks belief them.
Onyx Boox releases many new units yearly because it makes its cash solely promoting {hardware}. It doesn’t make any cash with books since they’re free, nor does it provide any SAAS schemes, like Exceptional. I like to recommend the Go 7 if in case you have an older Boox gadget or a ebook reader utilizing the earlier technology E INK Kaleido 2.
Onyx Boox Go 7 Shade
$249.99
Execs
- Shade E-Paper Show
- Bluetooth and Speaker
- Android 12
- Google Play
- Quick and Responsive
Cons
- Single Speaker
- Microphone is not nice
- Easy, Plastic Design
- Go 10.3 has higher worth
- Reliant on Android Apps
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the previous fifteen years. Newspapers and web sites such because the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Publish and the New York Occasions have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
