Boox Adds Three E-Ink Tablets as TechRadar Guide Weighs Boox Against Kobo

According to TechRadar, the two brands sit on different sides of the market. Kobo specialises in ereaders, keeping a small range of models that are all geared towards reading and, in some cases, annotating and note-taking. Its devices offer an offline-first experience and are almost all waterproof to the IPX8 standard, which the guide says means they can withstand up to an hour in two metres of water.

Boox, owned by parent company Onyx, takes a broader approach. Its tablets run a full version of Android, so users can install apps from the Google Play store and use the devices for many different tasks. TechRadar describes Boox as a particularly good option for Kindle owners looking to switch, because the Kindle app can be installed and access to existing books is retained.

The Boox range covers four main lines. The Note series spans Mini, Max and Air sizes and is billed as an all-in-one productivity tool; the devices are on the thicker side, and the larger options accept a magnetic keyboard. The newest models in that line are the Note Mini C and the Air6 C. The Go series also offers different screen sizes, the smallest an ultra-compact six inches, and is marketed as travel-friendly and generally thinner than the Note series; its newest options are the Go 6 (Gen II), the Go 10.3 (Gen II), the Go 10.3 (Gen II) Lumi and the Go Color 7 (Gen II). The Palma models have the size and shape of a phone, with a 6.2-inch screen, and are designed for reading and note-taking on the move; the newest are the Palma 3 and Palma 2 Pro. The Tab series appears to be limited to the Tab X C, a large ereader tablet with support for a magnetic keyboard.

Kobo's lineup currently has four ereaders. The Clara range is the most basic, with the smallest screens at six inches, storage limited to 16GB and no writing support, and is available in black-and-white or colour versions. Buyers who want writing support and compatibility with Google Drive and Dropbox can choose between the Libra Colour and the Elipsa 2E. The Elipsa 2E has a 10.3-inch screen and ships with a Kobo stylus included; it is the only model in Kobo's lineup that is not waterproof.

TechRadar said it left several specifications out of its comparison. Battery capacity was excluded because runtime depends heavily on how a tablet is used: mainly reading with a low backlight will deliver many days of use even from a small battery, while heavy note-taking or internet browsing drains a larger battery relatively quickly. Screen resolution was also excluded, since it is almost always the same, at 300ppi in black and white and 150ppi in colour on devices that support colour, and the display technologies used are not described in standardised terms, making cross-brand comparison difficult. Supported file formats are broadly similar across the models, with PDF, EPUB, EPUB3, MOBI, TXT, CBR, CBZ and RTF among those covered, and the guide advises checking a brand's own site for a specific file type before buying.

For UK buyers, TechRadar notes that some models are available only direct from Boox at the moment. Prices on the Boox Europe store are given in Euros only, but UK versions are available and do not appear to be shipped from abroad.

On buying advice, the guide recommends a Kobo for readers who want to read in the bath, citing the IPX8 waterproofing that covers almost the entire Kobo range.