Color e-ink is still far less capable than LCD and OLED, thanks to long refresh times and washed-out colors. So the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color might not be on everyone’s radar. The 7.8-inch color screen is too small to comfortably read magazines and comic books, which greatly limits the usefulness of the color screen, but the Nova3 Color is still a capable e-reader for books. The built-in reading app offers a robust selection of settings, which is why text-based e-book formats work well on the screen. Plus, there are plenty of benefits from the included Android app support, and the note-taking options are also robust.
There’s a lot to like about the Boox Nova3 ring. Yes, $420 is steep for an e-reading and note-taking device (especially with the cheaper and thinner Nova Air on the horizon), but the functionality offered by Android blows the Kindles out of the water.
SPECS
| SoC | Snapdragon 636 |
| Ram | 3 GB |
| Storage | 32 GB (expandable) |
| Display | 7.8 inch E Ink Kaleido Plus (4096 colors), 1872 x 1404 (300 ppi) |
| Battery | Le Poole, 3150 mAh |
| Software | Android 10 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Ports | USB-C |
| the sound | Speaker, microphone |
| Measurement | 197.3 × 137 × 7.7 mm |
| Price | $420 |
good
| Formatting options | A wide range of options for formatting ePubs and other ebook formats |
| Battery life | Several weeks without charging with the Auto Power Down setting, at least a week if the device just sleeps. |
| Portability | Light in hand, easy to carry around |
| Operating system | The Android OS is more capable than the feature-poor firmwares of the competition. |
| Color screen | It’s fun to test what works well and what doesn’t, some colorful content is quite readable. |
Not so good.
| App support | Most Android apps look terrible. More importantly, all Android reading apps look bad. |
| Screen size | 7.8″ is too small for color content. |
| Color screen | The refresh rate is too slow, the resolution is too low, and the screen size means that comics and magazines are very difficult to read unless you zoom in. |
Design, hardware, what’s in the box.
The e-reader market moves slowly when it comes to design, so most devices look pretty similar. The Boox Nova3 Color does not deviate from this trend. There’s a flush-etched glass screen that reduces reflections (much like the Kindle Oasis), a smooth plastic back that houses a single speaker port, and a fingerprint magnet on the back. A power button is on the top right edge with a charging indicator light, and a USB-C port sits in the middle of the bottom edge with a small mic hole on the right side. There’s also a physical home button below the screen, and that’s it. No camera, no volume buttons, no expandable storage, no headphone jack. It is a black and gray slab,…