My first e-reader was a Kindle Paperwhite that I purchased back in 2020. I had wanted to read comics digitally because Japanese apartments are too small and all the books I own are starting to eat up space. I was happy with my Kindle, but after using it for several months, I started to feel dissatisfaction towards the device. The loading was slow, the screen size was too small for comics (my fault), and having to tap the screen each time I want to flip the page was simply a pain. I started looking for other e-reader devices that could solve the above three points, and I found the Kindle Oasis. The only downside was it charges with Micro USB (seriously, who uses that these days).
I kept searching for alternatives and naturally, Kindle’s competitor Rakuten Kobo showed up in my searches. I checked some reviews online and a lot of people said that the performance of Kobo is on par but the prices of their books are on the higher side compared to Kindle. Another setback was I could not carry over the books I had bought on Kindle to a Kobo device, so I would have to repurchase it through the Kobo store if I want to read on their device. That was a huge no for me.
Then I came over a brand called Boox, which is an android platform e-reader. Since it’s essentially and android tablet, you can download various e-reading apps from the Google Playstore and read the books who have bought previously. It charges with USB C, and it has side buttons that allows you to flip pages easily without having to tap on the screen each time. It easily checks off all three prerequisites that I have set. I was originally set on buying their Boox Page, which was their newest device released in 2023. However, I soon found out that a new successor model, Boox Go Color 7, is going to have a colored screen. With less than $100 gap in price, I immediately decided that the Go Color 7 was the better buy and placed an order.
The screen is 7″ which is bigger than my Kindle and it’s way slimmer. I think it’s a perfect size for comics. I don’t read colored comics so there aren’t a lot of situation where I can actually see colored screen perform, but most e-books come with a colored cover, so being able to see that is a nice touch. The quality isn’t the best, though. It’s a bit grainy compared to the black and white screen.
My favorite feature of this device has to be the ability to view pages side by side. I feel like this is crucial for manga because it recreates the experience of reading an actual book. Being able to view the whole panel in one screen is very satisfying. Having the side buttons are a savior for my wrists because page turning is now less of a hassle.
As for the price… I feel like $300 for this device is an okay price given it’s an actual android tablet. But when converted to Japanese Yen, it’s a bit too expensive for my wallet. I blame the falling Japanese currency for this. But since there are no better options for this type of e-reader at the moment, I guess I’m pretty satisfied with the performance for now. I’m looking forward to read more manga and novels with this device.
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