Characteristics
Next to the PocketBook Color was the Onyx Boox Poke2 Color in 2020 one of the first eBook Reader with an E Ink Kaleido display. Even if the then new display technology made a much more mature impression than that E-Ink Triton Technologie a few years ago, there were a few teething problems. On closer inspection, these suggested that it would be better to wait one or two display generations before buying, unless you are absolutely waiting for an e-inkcolor display is dependent.
With the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color, the second Onyx color eReader generation was released in 2021. The device now uses E-Ink Kaleido Plus as a display technology.
As with the Boox Poke2 Color, the market launch took place almost at the same time as the PocketBook InkPad Color, with which Onyx and PocketBook can be mentioned in the same breath as pioneers of Kaleido technology.
E-Ink Kaleido Plus with better viewing angle stability
After a brief confusion of names, after which the second generation of Kaleido technology was initially launched with the name “new Kaleido”, the official name later changed to Kaleido Plus.
The Onyx Boox Nova3 Color uses this technology, which means that a significant innovation has arrived: the color display is now significantly more stable in terms of viewing angles. If you look at the display at an angle, the colors no longer shift. With the first Kaleido generation, this was still clearly visible on one axis (albeit less pronounced than with E-Ink Triton).
The advance was possible because you could further reduce the distance between RGB sub-pixels and the underlying E-Ink display. This reduction also ensures better color saturation.
Bigger display, same pixel density
The screen diagonal has grown to 7.8 inches, while the pixel density has remained the same at 300 ppi. The display resolution is 1872×1404 pixels. However, this only applies to the e-ink display.
The RGB layer still only offers 100 ppi. The lower resolution is clearly visible during operation, primarily with colored text. Colored areas tend to look somewhat coarse-pixelated at the edges.
The screen is only illuminated in one color, ie it is not possible to adjust the color temperature with the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color. This option is only available in Onyx Boox Nova Air C.
Unfortunately, Kaleido Plus could not eliminate the biggest disadvantage of the first generation. The RGB subpixels are always visible as tiny, dark dots. With pure black and white text display, you can still see the subpixel matrix. This means that a Kaleido display for reading only (without comics and manga) is currently more of a second choice.
Extensively equipped
Otherwise there is hardly anything to complain about: With Android 10, the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color uses a relatively modern version of the operating system. This means that the vast majority of current apps can run without any problems. With the color display, the use of Android apps is also much more attractive than on a monochrome e-ink screen.
The slow response time of the e-ink screen due to the design has a limiting effect. However, there is a small remedy for this problem on the software side: The e-ink display mode can be changed easily, so that the image update is much faster. However, this increase in speed comes at the expense of display quality.
It is operated either via the capacitive touchscreen or with the help of a WACOM pen.
Features include a built-in speaker, microphone, Bluetooth, and WiFi. The eBook reader is powered by an octa-core CPU, which is supported by 3 GB of RAM. This means that even complex applications should run smoothly. The 3,150 mAh strong battery pack ensures correspondingly long runtimes and the 32 GB internal memory is also sufficiently large.
Conclusion
All in all, the Onyx Boox Nova3 Color is an interesting eBook reader that is primarily aimed at early adopters who like to use the latest technology. Although E-Ink Kaleido Plus significantly improves the user experience of the Android eReader, it has disadvantages in pure reading mode that make it difficult for all average readers to recommend it. Especially because the price of 320 euros is not a bargain.
Technical specifications
| Technical Data: Onyx Boox Nova3 Color | ||
|---|---|---|
| General | Manufacturer | Onyx |
| launch | 2021 | |
| available colours | Schwarz | |
| waterproof | no | |
| size | Dimensions | 197,3 x 137 x 7,7 mm |
| weight | 265 g | |
| Display | Displaytechnologie | E-Ink Kaleido Plus |
| display size | 7.8 inches | |
| Display resolution | 1872×1404 Pixel | |
| pixel density | 300 / 100 ppi | |
| color depth | 4096 colors | |
| Touchscreen | yes, capacitive & inductive | |
| Built-in lighting | and | |
| blue light reduction | no | |
| Plane Front | and | |
| links | USB | yes, USB-C |
| Bluetooth | and | |
| WLan | and | |
| GSM / UMTS | no | |
| Storage | Internal memory | 32GB |
| memory card extension | no | |
| functions | operating system | Android 10 |
| speaker | and | |
| Text-to-Speech | and | |
| scroll buttons | no | |
| Supported file formats | Documents Formats: PDF (reflowable), PPT, EPUB, TXT, DJVU, HTML, RTF, FB2, DOC, MOBI, CHM… Image Formats: PNG, JPG, TIFF, BMP Audio Formats: WAV, MP3 |
|
| Supported DRM file formats | not known | |
| Miscellaneous | Battery life / battery capacity | 3150 mAh |
| Layer sensor | not known | |
| Integrated e-book store | no | |
| Miscellaneous | Octa-Core CPU, 3GB RAM; Mikrofon | |