Onyx Boox Poke 2 - works!

I thought I'd post a quick review of my experience running Logos Bible 8 Android app on the Onyx Boox Poke 2. So far I'm delighted with how well it works. There is no speaker but my airpods connected easily and the ESV Audio Bible played fine. With the Display in 'x' mode videos play but with eink they are obviously not great.

Installing was easy. There is an option in the settings to enable the google play store. Once signed in, and after a reboot, it works. From there I installed Logos Bible App and signed in ok. Next I filtered my library for those books I'd downloaded onto my phone, selected all and chose to download.

The Onyx Boox tries to make Android apps look better with the eink screen. I found that it actually makes it worse because some of the menus or icons then don't show up.

Settings Recommendation
Press and hold the Logos app icon on the home screen until a menu pops up and choose 'optimise'. This pops up a settings menu, under Display untick 'Whiten Apps Backgrounds' and 'Embolden Font'. DPI can stay at default. Then choose 'Refresh'. I increased my 'Animation Filter' to 300 which eliminated page turns and other animations.

With these settings I can't really fault it. I prefer page turn mode than scrolling but if you set the screen to faster mode and turn off auto refresh from the pull down menu scrolling view is actually fine!

Anyway I felt a bit brave trying it without such details on the forum so here they are for anyone who is interested.

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Comments

TCBlack

Thanks for that. I have my eyes on the note 2 (bigger screen).

JT (alabama24)

Link?

John Goodman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1115704#Comment_1115704

https://onyxboox.com/boox_poke2

I was also worried the screen would be too small. I think if you split screen a lot it would feel small but I've been reading all afternoon and its very comfortable.

Back in the day I used the send to kindle feature a lot. I had transferred over a lot of my library at the time but frequently now find books that I want to read but are not on my kindle. Having all the features of Logos Mobile app is very nice in this form.

I should perhaps say the verse picker is not very clear but since they made it massive, I type in refs anyway. Please bring back the little verse picker!

JT (alabama24)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1115707#Comment_1115707

Thanks! The price seems ok, but I wish it were available in stores like Best Buy.

Mark Nolette

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1115708#Comment_1115708

I have the Nova 2. It's a 7.8 inch display, falling in between the Poke and the Note. My Nova does some of that app optimization automatically. I can tweak its settings easily from within Verbum or any other app I use.

For me, the 7.8 inch display hits the sweet spot. Large enough to do a decent job on the occasional pdf I read, but still light enough for long reading sessions.

Luuk Dondorp

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1116007#Comment_1116007

Hi Mark,

I am looking for an e-reader like these just for Logos reading. Which of these three would be best for this purpose. As far as I can understand you would go fo the Nova. Could you do a comparison? Beside the size and wheight of the device also a smooth Logos Reading experience is important. For all the other stuff I have an iPad

Mark Nolette

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1116037#Comment_1116037

The main difference between the Poke 2 and the Nova 2 is screen size. Besides that, I believe that the Nova 2 has slightly better hardware, so it should offer slightly better and smoother performance.

It's a matter of what size you are most comfortable with. I started out with six inch ereaders. Then I tried a larger one and I was hooked. The Nova 2 is close to the iPad mini in size. If you're comfortable with that size and weight, and the price difference is not a problem, I'd suggest that you go with the Nova. If you prefer the six inch size, and/or need to save a bit of money, choose the Poke!

The Note is larger, about the size of the "regular" iPad, and also more expensive. I found the Note a bit too large to read comfortably over a longer period. However, the added size is better for pdfs, if you read many. Performance is about the same as the Nova, as the hardware is pretty close. The Note's size gives you the option of something like working with your laptop's or desktop's screen on E-Ink, using one of the third-party apps that will provide that feature.

Still, for Logos purposes, I'd go with the Nova unless you need a larger screen.

John Goodman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1116045#Comment_1116045

I chose the poke 2 because it fits very comfortably in my pocket which is great for opportunistic reading. I'm very tempted to also get a maxx 3 for the music stand etc.

Luuk Dondorp

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1116045#Comment_1116045

Thanks Mark, for this information. I will check the Nova.

Bruce Roth

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1116070#Comment_1116070

Do either of these devices allow you to change the e-ink display to white text on black background? A dark mode. I understand that the latest Paperwhite Kindle allows for this.

Mark Nolette

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1116076#Comment_1116076

Do either of these devices allow you to change the e-ink display to white text on black background? A dark mode. I understand that the latest Paperwhite Kindle allows for this.

The Onyx firmware lacks a system setting that will do this. The Onyx native reader, NeoReader, does not seem to have this feature. If it has, I have not found it! However, if an app you have installed has this feature, you can view it in dark mode. For example, the low light mode in Logos/Verbum. Third party reader apps, like Moon Reader and KOReader, have night mode. Night mode works fine on my Nova with all these apps.

In other words, you can't change everything to dark mode. But, if a specific app has night or dark mode, it will work in that app.

Luuk Dondorp

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1116070#Comment_1116070

I took the plunge and went for the Onyx Boox Poke 2. In the end I did not go for the Nova, but the smaller Poke 2. Pennywise, but I am really happy with it. Was able to download the Logos app Which after all was the main incentive to have this E-ink reader. So, I can start reading! The size is just perfect for reading. Works smoothly, although I need to find my way in all the settings. Thanks a lot guys, for advising!

Josh Weiland

Just got my Boox Nova 3 today was wondering if I’d made a mistake, frustrated with not seeing all the interface elements - your recommendations on optimizing saved the day! Thanks!

I’ve only played with it an hour or two, but am loving being able to read my Logos books on e ink again (after send to Kindle went away). The Nova 3 is nearly identical to the Nova 2 other than the addition of a speaker and running Android 10.

So far I’ve learned to use the “green” highlighter or some other color besides yellow, as the default yellow seems to fade away on e ink (at least for me).

If anyone has other suggestions on seeing highlights, please share. I’ll search the forums too.

tjebme

Thanks for the info in this thread! Ordered a Nova 3 from Best Buy.

John Goodman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1142306#Comment_1142306

I'm using underline for highlighting on e-ink. I switch between red, green and blue with different meanings although they all look the same. When I go back to my desktop its ok. I expect the next gen of e-ink will be colour. In fact, Onyx already have some colour models.