[ikari_pl]

It reassures me that going with an Onyx Boox Tab Pro was the better choice. Full e-ink, not e-Paper, but still can switch to a mode where you could, if you want, watch a movie. Backlight is not crazy orange, it's what you want (warmth controlled separately from brightness). Ignores hand when you use the stylus, or at least, uses hands gestures for different things than the stylus and I never had the issue. Bluetooth keyboard works OK. And it's Android (that's a plus for me, you have good software variety), with Google Services.

[noduerme]

I love my Boox (nova C color). Draw on it, write hundreds of pages of journals on it longhand, read essays, newspapers and comics and books on it daily. For the past couple years. I gave up other tablets once I got it.

What it is NOT good at is doom scrolling, social media, or video. The format and refresh rate actively discourage that... and also, the battery may go all day with wifi off, but it drains pretty quickly once you're online. It is definitely an offline device, with the full range of Android functionality (and amazing offline handwriting recognition).

I take it out to read and write for hours every evening, and don't carry anything else. Bar none the best device I've ever owned for mixing creative and literary pursuits and turning my back on the shittified internet.

[graemep]

They look like good products, but my daughter had a really bad experience with them - she bought one, it arrived with the screen broken, and they refused to accept that was possible and said she must have broken it and refused a refund.

[stringsandchars]

Unfortunately Onyx Boox have used sockpuppets and other dirty tricks on Reddit[0] and elsewhere to harass and deter users reporting broken screens. Their international partners have webpages explaining how it's "impossible" that e-ink screens can be damaged or broken without you dropping or sitting on them[1] And in general the company is hostile to anyone with damaged devices or issues of other sorts.

Although no-one is perfect, I really like Supernote and their way of developing as much as possible in the open[2]. The devices are really great to use[3]

[0] https://www.reddit.com/r/Onyx_Boox/comments/19czc16/a_genera...

[1] https://einktab.ca/dealing-with-a-broken-e-ink-screen-what-y...

[2] https://trello.com/b/l0COP24j/supernote-a5-x-a6-x-nomad-soft...

[3] https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2025/01/18/2335

[chewmieser]

Throwing another vote out there for Supernote. Very responsive, particularly around handwriting - which feels flawless. Been a perfect device for me, but more limited than a Boox. That’s fine for my use-case, but still worth calling out.

[criddell]

Sounds like an easy thing to dispute through your credit card company.

Also check your card benefits. Mine has theft and damage coverage and I've used it to replace a phone I dropped.

[DecentShoes]

What if they didn't buy it on a credit card? I think I've bought 6 or 7 things on a credit card my entire life. I don't like pointless debt.

[themadturk]

If you're using a credit card for its benefits (like buyer protection, which I have several times over the years) and have the money to pay it off immediately, it's not pointless debt, but a net benefit to the purchaser.

[criddell]

> What if they didn't buy it on a credit card?

Then they have fewer options.

[graemep]

She was really busy and left it too late to go to the card company by the time she had finished arguing with them.

[dredmorbius]

I'm also in the Onyx BOOX camp (Max Lumi, going on my fourth year, numerous previous mentions/discussions in my HN history). Most of the observations on the Daylight Computer, particularly about readability under direct sunlight (the exact opposite of all other portable devices I've used, save the similarly B&W LCD-based Palm Pilot ... oh, a quarter century ago now) really is quite nice.

Other features seem pretty comparable with the DC. I suspect DC's high-speed refresh beats E-ink, but that E-ink's persistence, resolution, and clarity are strong counterpoints.

The observations on B&W v. colour are interesting, and mostly match my own experience. Coding (in vim under Termux) takes me back to monochrome screen days (though those were largely green/amber rather than B&W), and the loss of colour syntax highlighting can be somewhat jarring (though I remember finding the garishness of it being initially offputting when I'd first begun using it). I find the Web much less distracting in B&W, and only rarely miss colour, though for some data presentation (e.g., graphs and charts) it can be conspicuous by its absence). I'd like to try a colour e-ink device at some point.

For a device that maximises portability, preserves battery life, functions spectacularly in all lighting conditions (though diffuse overhead lighting tends toward glare), and is principally aimed at reading / listening / notetaking, with light technical work (largely under Termux w/ a Bluetooth keyboard) I strongly recommend the form-factor, and would suggest exploring either e-ink or e-paper depending on specific preferences, the key distinction likely being the refresh/persistence aspect noted previously.

[criddell]

I personally am avoiding Onyx until they come into compliance with the GPL.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23735962

[Seattle3503]

I looked at Boox devices, but they lag Android versions to the point where it becomes a security concern.

[dredmorbius]

I treat mine (Max Lumi, about 3 years old now) as an insecure device. There are (very nearly) no account-based services on them (and occasional use of SSH roughly doubles that count), and that which I do use is to a pseudonymous service which ... I've soured on sufficiently that I use it little if any. The device is almost wholly dedicated to consumption, largely e-books, podcasts, and websites. That's a nonzero vulnerability surface, but it's pretty close to nil.

And for those purposes, the device is quite satisfactory.

[partdavid]

My Boox is pretty crap. My use case is Libby for library books and the display refreshing and other things make it almost unusable. Feels super cheap, unsupported.

[noduerme]

Wow. This is so different from my experience with my Boox. I like the add ons they made to improve the Android UI for e-ink purposes, and every weekly update makes it better. Feels extremely well supported to me.

[fifticon]

I for one would love crazy orange :-) There are, almost, dozens of us!

[dredmorbius]

Onyx offers that option, but does not mandate it.

Max the "warm" frontlight slider, min the "cold". Voila la orange!