Onyx Boox Palma: A Game-Changer in the World of Books

Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.- Barack Obama 

This quote perfectly captures the essence and the importance of reading books. However, today, where everything can be done using a phone, the number of people who read books is decreasing exponentially. The form factor of mobile phones has taken over the world, and the convenience and multi-purpose of phones have made books obsolete for a majority of people. This is where e-readers come into play. E-readers or E-paper are like their physical counterpart but in the form factor of a tablet. Among the very first such device was Amazon’s Kindle. However, the form factor of the Kindle made it difficult to carry it always. Now, a new E-reader has hit the market, the Onyx Boox Palma. This device looks almost like a phone, and you can easily carry it in your pockets. Let’s learn a little more about this revolutionary tech. 

Onyx Boox Palma Specifications

Before listing the specifications of Onyx Boox Palma, we must tell you that, unlike many other e-readers, it is based on the Android operating system, which makes it much more useful than traditional e-readers. 

Just Like A Phone

You might have seen many E-reading devices like Kindle and Kobo in the past. However, no other e-reader can do what Onyx Boox Palma can. For starters, the form factor of the device is very practical, and you can easily carry the e-reader in your pocket. Next, most of the e-readers you will see in the market are either too limited or the software feels sluggish; this is not the case with Onyx Noox Palma, as it has good software, which is pretty much like Android, with a little bit of a theme to it. 

If you also read e-books, chances are that you have them scattered through different devices, which ultimately leaves you no option but to read the e-books on your phone, which is not very bad. However, the constant notifications and calls can distract you, which can significantly affect your reading speed and your engagement with the book. Enter Onyx Boox Palma. It can collect all of your e-books from various devices and can offer them in a form factor that easily fits your pocket. Moreover, there are no distractions, meaning you can enjoy your favourite book peacefully. 

Benefits Of An Android Operating System

Most e-readers provide their own operating system, meaning you must keep signing in on different devices to read different books. However, the Onyx Boox Palma works on an Android OS, which means you can download the apps of pretty much every e-reader on your Palma and enjoy.  Also, no jailbreak or bypassing is required as the device comes with a PlayStore that lets you install apps. You can install various apps like  Kindle, Nook, and Kobo apps and enjoy your favourite e-books. 

Fast And Responsive

One of the biggest benefits of having an Android operating system and 6GB of RAM is that your device becomes fast and twitchy. You can scribble through the pages of your e-books with even a hint of slowing down or dropping frames. Moreover, scrolling through a PDF is pretty smooth as well. You can also connect to a WiFi and surf the internet with relative ease. Moreover, the battery of the device is also very good. However, due to the fact that it runs on Android and offers WiFi connectivity, the battery is not as good as some other e-readers. Still, at a full charge, the Onyx Boox Palma gives you around 2 to 3 months of battery backup. However, this number should be taken with a grain of salt as there are a lot of features in the Boox Palma, and the battery backup depends solely on your usage. For instance, you can listen to your favourite podcasts and audiobooks on the device, which will drain the battery significantly faster. 

Caveats In Onyx Boox Palma

Although it is a good device, there are still some downsides we have to discuss. 

Not Really A Phone

As you all know, Onyx Boox Palma is a phone made for reading. However, there are still a lot of things to consider if you think that this device will make do for your book and your phone. For starters, the resolution of the device makes it absolutely impossible to do anything other than reading. Also, if you do a lot of phone stuff, the device can get a little glitchy and slow. 

No SIM Support

It's almost counterintuitive to make an e-reader that is almost like a phone and does not have an option to insert a SIM in it. You can use it to make calls, but only through WiFi. Moreover, you can also receive and send messages, but only through WiFi. 

Customer Support

If you have a Kindle and have a problem with it, you can send it to Amazon, and they’ll fix it. However, this is not the case with this device. Onyx is a Chinese company, and the Reddit community page is filled with people complaining about their non-existent customer service.