I tried the Boox Palma, an excellent but disappointing combination of mobile phone and e-reader with an e-ink screen.

I didn’t expect a super high level, but I definitely expected better.

On April 15th I read in Hataka Mobile That news about the release of Boox Palma, a mobile phone from Onyx with an e-ink screen. It caught my attention for two reasons:

1. This reminded me of YotaPhone, an experiment by a Russian manufacturer that did not have much success in the market. This was many years ago.
2. What if the idea was good as an extra cell phone that you could carry with you at certain times when you just want to switch off and calm down?

This second reason led me to ask my partner Enrique if he could get it for me as a member of the press. Enrique did it (he always does!) and here I am two months later talking about the bittersweet experience.

Idea. I thought that for a trip to the beach, a weekend getaway, a day away from home, or even just relaxing in a familiar place, something like the Boox Palma might make sense.

A mobile phone that can’t distract us too much because its 6.1-inch screen is in a different league and is also great for reading, even in the sun. Help when disconnected and an incentive to read more.

Reality. Once the Boox arrived at my home and I was able to hold it in my hands, it didn’t take long for me to realize that this experience wasn’t going to be as fun as it seemed.

Let’s start with the fact that I use a Kindle Oasis and this is the experience I’m used to with e-ink. Boox is not at that level. I understand it’s not that good because the one in Oasis is great, but maybe I was expecting something more for almost 300 euros. At these prices there are phones with very good LCD panels and better specifications.

It’s pretty slow. There is no particular fluidity and there is a certain awkwardness. There is no dexterity, some actions are lame or require several attempts. Switching from one task to another or navigating menus can sometimes be difficult.

Due to the nature of the panel, some common smartphone gestures are missing. It’s clear. But that doesn’t help either.

The screen isn’t much better. And that should be its strong point, but it doesn’t live up to expectations. For reading, especially on a sunny street, it is much better than a mobile phone; here it has no equal.

But the image quality leaves much to be desired. Texts are clear, but the panel has difficulty completely removing characters that were on the previous screen. This results in annoying shadows between text.

The battery was also disappointing. I understand always-on connectivity as something that undermines autonomy, but e-ink should be able to last much longer. This is wrong. Using it as a “single cell phone” still requires almost daily charging. The dream of using it during a weekend vacation, forgetting about the charger, will only become possible if we hardly use it.

And using it as a “single cell phone” is equivalent to using it much less than we would use our regular cell phone. We can’t take photos or browse social media, browsing the web is frustrating, and apps… Well. You can install any from the Play Store, that’s true, but it’s also true that most of them are of little use. The best ones are the expected ones: Kindle and the like.

The rest are not adapted (logical) and, depending on which ones, have insufficient experience. Not that I mind the inability to use games (anyone buying this phone clearly isn’t for gaming), but its sluggishness and mediocre panel make using any app an emergency refuge, nothing more.

Scanner. Its tiny rear camera (the only one on the Boox) isn’t designed for photography, only document scanning. This is one of the weakest points.

I tried to scan DIN A4 clearly and at a minimum distance so that the entire sheet of paper would fit into the viewfinder. Only the title of the document was readable; the text (in 16 font, not even 12 font) was indistinguishable.

I had to move the camera very close to the page to see the text, cutting off half the page.

By the way, although the screen electronic inkit runs Android, specifically Android 11, announced in 2020, so when exported, screenshots come out in color rather than black and white.

Photos also appear in color when sent to another device. What’s not good is the quality.

The idea of ​​shelter. I suggested using this phone as a digital escape, which may be of interest to some of our readers due to the many distractions and notifications we are exposed to. The theory sounded pretty good. In practice, not so much.

I can’t recommend it except to those who are very clear about accepting the fare because they want this mobile concept no matter what. electronic ink.

For everyone else, a smartwatch with LTE and a standard e-book reader, even if it doesn’t fit in your pocket, will bring more pleasure. It may not be cheaper, but it will save you disappointment.

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Featured Image | Hataka