Boox Palma Review: Should’ve Been More of An E-Reader

Boox recently added a new e - reader to its ranks . It ’s call the Palma and boasts an “ eye - friendly ” ePaper display that ’s late been making rounds online . Priced at $ 280 , it ’s significantly more expensive than Amazon ’s $ 100 base Kindle model , so I live into it with way more expectation than I did with a Kindle . But I ’m afraid it did n’t do justice to its cost .

Boox Palma

It ’s seek to do too much at the same time .

Photo:

Photo:Dua Rashid

Pros

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Boox Palma

Paper-like rear. Photo: Dua Rashid

Boox Palma Design

Easily stowable.

The most important affair you call for to know about Palma ’s pattern is that it palpate like holding aniPhonein your hands . It is 6 x 3 inches and has almost the same form factor as my ancient iPhone 12 Pro Max . This 2:1 aspect proportion differs considerably from the 8:6 proportion on aKindle .

I love how portable the Palma is . Weighing only 170 grand , it feels nice and light in your tote bag . I carried it with me to a brace of places and back and away from work for around a week , and it did n’t weigh my office lug down . It has a svelte 8 millimetre profile , a modest plastic body , and a sturdy outside . Even though my Palma shipped with a protective cover , I did n’t use it with that . I tried it for a few minutes but quickly chuck it as it added to the exercising weight , made using it less ergonomic , and did n’t feel necessary . Though tiny , the Palma feels pretty racy and does n’t need that extra protection . The back of the gadget has a imitation paper - same look , which I dig .

While I liked that the Palma did n’t feel flimsy enough to require a case , I did feel a fiddling concerned about the absence seizure of a piss - resistant rating and how that could lead to a catastrophe if a release fall out . The company claims its e - reader is “ urine - repellant , ” but it is not water - insubordinate . liken this to the high-pitched IPX8 piddle resistance evaluation on the Kindle , and you ’ll realize what a fully grown fault this is .

Boox Palma

Photo: Dua Rashid

The correct side of the Palma hosts a power push and a volume rocking chair , and the left bound offers the SD card slot and a customizable social occasion release . The button are gracious and clicky , and I like how they add a slight pop of bling to the otherwise savourless body . The procedure button has been designed intelligently and give up to three actions for a 1 ) short - press 2 ) double - click , and a 3 ) long - imperativeness . These actions include taking a screenshot , put the Palma into Sleep Mode , conk to the next Thomas Nelson Page , the premature page , and so on .

The undersurface of the Es - lector sports a Type - snow charging port and a pair of speaker unit grilles . To my pleasant surprise , the loudspeaker system are fantabulous . Though tinny and tart like most nomadic phone speakers , their loudness is telling enough to fill a mid - sized room . I wish putting the Palma on a ledge in my kitchen and listening to podcasts as I cooked . The sound of my preparation , along with my thunderous kitchen fumes , were both overpowered by the Palma ’s speakers .

I ’m also glad about the telling speakers because the Palma does n’t proffer a 3.5 millimetre port wine for a wired audio connection . So , your only two options are Bluetooth and speakers , and I mostly determine myself opting for the latter . If I were someone who drive , I would also see myself listening to audiobooks on its speakers in the machine . If I ever consume content where I care about audio , I ’d switch to a good dyad of bud .

Boox Palma

Photo: Dua Rashid

Boox Palma Functionality

Outdated OS but huge storage.

Android 11 powers the Palma , which , considering we ’re onAndroid 15now , makes it extremely superannuated in terms of the OS . gratefully , the OS does n’t importantly bear on the referee ’s day - to - day functionality . Still , if you wish to use the Boox more asa tablet , you might find the outdated OS limiting you touch on app compatibility .

The processor on board is Qualcomm ’s Octa - Core 2GHz with integrated nontextual matter , 6 GB retentiveness , a whopping 128 GB storage , and an SD calling card slot . Amazon ’s Kindle is 64 GB , so the 128 GB is instantly telling . Considering it ’s expandable with the memory card slot , it is even skillful , except we have n’t been told a maximum of how many Gb the slot can proffer .

The light powering the E - Ink Carta 1200 showing on the Palma is called Moon Light 2 and is creditworthy for the center - well-disposed easy glow that illuminates the equipment . The 6.13 ” screenland declare oneself 300ppi and a resolution of 824×1648 dots . I know that the 6 - in size sounds a little too magniloquent for an e - reader and a little too earphone - like .

Boox Palma

Photo: Dua Rashid

You also get a 16MP rear camera with an LED flash . The flash also crop as a jolly bright and utile torch when you swipe down on the Palma and knock its icon in the command center . However , the camera wo n’t fulfill your photography needs . It only exists for rake document .

Boox Palma Experience

Bad at browsing

The touch sensitivity is n’t what you get on a smartphone or tablet , but it ’s not bad . I did have to re - tap a couple of time when I tapped too lightly out of riding habit , but for the most part , it was okay . To work a pageboy , I gently rap or swiped the right part of the silver screen .

One feature I looked for as shortly as I got my hands on any gadget was drab style , so it was unknown to see that I could n’t find a grim mode setting . During the entire examination period , I feel that something of the essence was missing , as if I still had n’t to the full settle into this new gadget . I reach Palma to ask whether I missed it , and they confirmed that the mode does n’t exist on it yet .

Apart from Palma ’s e - reader capability , I believe it call for more processing power to perform other tasks efficiently . you may use a internet browser and the Play Store as you care , which intend you may download plot , YouTube , Netflix , or any other apps you do n’t listen interact with on a black - and - whitened tocopherol - ink show . But there was enough stutter and lag in twenty-four hour period - to - sidereal day browsing that I ca n’t reckon using it for even promiscuous game . I experience pixel distortion while scrolling down at time , typing was sometimes mussy with the presentation always glitching and it would look as if it ’s not fast enough to keep up with my work flow .

Boox Palma

Photo: Dua Rashid

One of the biggest issues with Palma is pixel persistency . I experienced austere epitome retention where I ’d see a very obvious image of the last page stay on my next one . This is a very common problem that is apt to OLED show . Whether it was typecast on the Palma or switching between internet site , it was clear that the gadget was n’t fast enough to keep up . seafaring improved when I switch to the ‘ Ultrafast ’ refresh mode out of the four ( HD , Balanced , Fast , Ultrafast ) provide , but still not enough to offer a legato , stutter - loose browse experience .

While the tv camera did a decent job capturing images , the OCR was poor , and I would rather use my phone for scanning and reading documents . If I ’d ever employ the Palma for this caper , I ’d have to make quite a few corrections to the OCR solvent .

In term of gesture , I found the Palma very leisurely to get used to . It copiesmany gesture fromiOS , such as sneak right from the left of the presentation to go back or enable a Nav Ball in options , which act just like Assistive Touch . Of course , it also hold back manyAndroid features , such as the bottom navigation bar with picture such as Home , Back , and Recents .

Boox Palma

The Palma at night. Photo: Dua Rashid

The Palma ’s bombardment lifespan was excellent . It took a little less than two hours to charge in full and then completely refused to drop dead . Every day , I ’d check the percentage after concluding my utilisation for that day , and it would go down by a very diminished margin . Its 3950mAh battery will easily last you a week and a one-half if you use it day by day for read and pasture .