E Ink Tablet That Can Run Logos
Does anyone know of a tablet that has an E Ink screen that can run the Logos mobile app (maybe based on Android)?
I currently run Logos on an iPad mini. I like the Logos app so I can access all my Logos books, but at times, I also like the E Ink screen of devices such as the Kindle when I need to perform long-term reading, since it's more comfortable on the eyes than an iPad screen.
If there's a way to have the best of both worlds (tablet that can run the Logos app while still having an E Ink screen), that would be ideal.
Other reading apps I use that would be good to run on the tablet: Hoopla, Libby, Nook, Accordance, and ChristianBook Reader.
I'm curious as to what is out there.
Thanks!
Comments
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Nathan Parker said:
maybe based on Android
Unless you were hoping for the web app, It would only work if it were android.
There are a number of threads about various android eInk devices, but I personally don't own any. You would want one which is good about updating to the latest versions of Android, else run into early obsolescence.
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Nathan Parker said:
Does anyone know of a tablet that has an E Ink screen that can run the Logos mobile app (maybe based on Android)?
Hi Nathan,
I am using an Onyx Book Poke2 as E-rink reader, with Android running on it. Logos mobile app works fine. Also Kindle, Kobo, Public Library app, and other Android apps. Just for reading it works great.
In the meantime there are newer versions like Poke3 or versions with a bigger screen. Others in this forum have shared their experiences about these.
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Nathan Parker said:
Does anyone know of a tablet that has an E Ink screen that can run the Logos mobile app (maybe based on Android)?
Hi Nathan,
I am using an Onyx Book Poke2 as E-rink reader, with Android running on it. Logos mobile app works fine. Also Kindle, Kobo, Public Library app, and other Android apps. Just for reading it works great.
In the meantime there are newer versions like Poke3 or versions with a bigger screen. Others in this forum have shared their experiences about these.
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Good info! Two questions:
1. Do they have any models with more than 32GB of storage in this screen size range? I couldn't tell on their website.
2. How well does it handle staying up-to-date with Android releases?
Thanks!
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1. Don't think so. Successor Poke3 has 32Gb. For me more than enough, as it is just meant for reading
2. Does not. My Poke2 is A9 and Poke3 is A10. No problem for me, as I don't use it for sensitive stuff
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I have an Onyx Boox Note Air 2. It is a much larger device than the Poke - 10.3 in. display, similar to an iPad - and runs on Android 11. It has 64GB of internal storage.
Onyx had an uneven record in the past in maintaining updates on their devices. However, they seem to be doing much better with their newer devices. For example, although some newer Onyx devices can ron Logos/Verbum easily, several people (myself included) experienced problems trying to run it on the Note Air 2. I used the feedback feature to inform Onyx of this. Someone from Onyx replied to me, saying that our app needed more Google dependencies than the device had, and that they would fix this in the next update.
I received that update today. I have Verbum on my device, so I tried installing Logos. It installed flawlessly.
That's only one anecdotal example, I grant you, but it shows me that Onyx is more committed to customer service than they ere when I first bought a device from them.
I wish Onyx offered 64GB of internal storage on all their devices and not only the larger ones. That said, I'm very impressed with my Note Air 2.
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Good info! Pretty much as long as Logos and other e-Reader apps would be supported for a while, that's what I would care about. I have an iPad when I need to run other apps, but I would be using this for reading Logos and other eBooks.
64GB would be nice since if I needed to load up a bunch of eBooks across apps (ChristianBook and Accordance prefer the books to be downloaded instead of streamed), I'd have a little more cushion if I wanted to throw more books on there, but I guess I could overcome it by deleting books I'm not actively reading (which I did on my Kindle when I had one).
Thanks again for all the useful info!
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Hi Nathan,
If you are going to jump on it, be aware that you need to activate Google Play store first before you can download the apps. I have read in these forums that sometimes a timezone setting can prevent activating play store. Which can be quite annoying when you are not aware of this.
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Good to know. I'll do more research before I decide whether to jump on it or not. It is good to know there is at least an option in case I want to venture in this direction. It's great to know you've had success with it.
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There are delays when setting up the Google Playstore on Onyx Devices. Sometimes up to 24 hours.
Also never forget that restarting a machine after installing is sometimes necessary, and if there is a time delay, sometimes multiple restarts might be necessary.
These devices can do more than most people know how to do it on them. And things stop and start working after each update.
I am vision impaired. There are some books that I can read on my large screen onyx device that I cannot read on any other device. There are also plenty of books that I cannot read on it, but can read other devices. I hate owning so many devices, but as I lose more and more vision, and if I qualify for assistance in purchasing a device, I gratefully accept it. I need my Onyx when I need it.
I also use my onyx device for signing government forms that require a handwritten signature. Twice, I would have missed critical deadlines due to a worker's negligence and office shutdowns if I didn't have this device.
I cannot recommend one of these devices to everyone. I think a lot of people think they will use it more often than they do. It is awkward and slow and requires training, and it is another device to have to get up and find and turn on and keep charged and updated.
May the Lord give you wisdom on how to best prepare to accomplish the tasks He has given you to complete. God's ways leave me scratching my head.
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Good points. Thanks for sharing. Some good things to consider. The reason I'm interested in one is I spend way too much time starting at computer screens, even when doing lengthy reading. When I had a Kindle, it was easier on the eyes and allowed me to get away from backlit screens for a while. My only drawback of it was it was too tied into Amazon's ecosystem (obviously), and I have a major investment in Logos and other eBook platforms. Having an E Ink Tablet that runs Logos might get me away from the backlit screens for a bit and be easier on my eyes for long-term reading.
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Nathan Parker said:
Good points. ... Having an E Ink Tablet that runs Logos might get me away from the backlit screens for a bit and be easier on my eyes for long-term reading.
It is worth it for books that you will read cover to cover. I read fewer and fewer books cover to cover. Life just keeps getting faster and faster. I skim. I rush. I get frustrated when I want to instantly move and convert data to another device and format. I keep thinking more will help, but more seems to just to be more trouble to learn, keep track of, and maintain.
As soon as you get comfortable reading your book on the e-ink device, if it is worth reading, you want to share some part of it in some way.
I feel like I am on a hamster wheel, running faster and faster, and still getting nowhere. Is the solution to buy even more, learn even more, and work even harder? I don't know.
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Since I'm a PhD student with an over 30 page bibliography for my major and a 7 page bibliography for my minor and have to master my field, I don't have the liberty of not reading through the entire works. :-)
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I reviewed the Mobiscribe a while back. https://www.kevinpurcell.org/mobiscribe-notepad-the-e-ink-notepad-android-device-review/
It's not as good as the Onyx devices.
Both will un Logos but not well.
Dr. Kevin Purcell, Director of Missions
Brushy Mountain Baptist Association0 -
Kevin A. Purcell said:
It's not as good as the Onyx devices.
Both will un Logos but not well
As far as I understood from your review, the MobiScribe doesn’t run Logos at all. While my Onyx Boox Poke2 runs Logos Mobile app quite well. To be sure, this is because of Android 4.4 on MobiScribe and Android 9 on Poke2
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Right. I put it out there as a warning ... "Don't get this one"
I also had the Onyx Boox Note 2 and it ran Logs but not well. I don't think any of these are ready for prime time as Android devices.
Dr. Kevin Purcell, Director of Missions
Brushy Mountain Baptist Association0 -
Nathan Parker said:
Since I'm a PhD student with an over 30 page bibliography for my major and a 7 page bibliography for my minor and have to master my field, I don't have the liberty of not reading through the entire works. :-)
If you need to finish books, cover to cover, rather than looking for nuggets to quote and export, then I think a large screen e-ink device is probably worth it. Just beware of the learning curve and setup time. My Onyx is an Android device, BUT it is not like any other android device that I have ever used and some of the critical settings are in the weirdest places.
Good luck!
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Kathleen Marie said:
I think a large screen e-ink device is probably worth it.
Large Screen? Why?
I love my Kindle Paperwhite. Forget OS, Apps, Screen, etc. and just consider the physicality of the device... its size and feel is far superior to a regular iPad for "just reading."
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JT (alabama24) said:Kathleen Marie said:
I think a large screen e-ink device is probably worth it.
Large Screen? Why?
I love my Kindle Paperwhite. Forget OS, Apps, Screen, etc. and just consider the physicality of the device... its size and feel is far superior to a regular iPad for "just reading."
Some charts and images in some books don't display properly on a small screen, even if the font is set as small as possible.
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Kathleen Marie said:
Some charts and images in some books don't display properly on a small screen, even if the font is set as small as possible.
...but if my goal was primarily reading, I personally would want the best device suited for that purpose. In the rare case I needed to view a chart, etc. I could simply use another device.
I understand that your purpose and usage will be different than mine.
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Without realizing it, maybe the non-fiction authors that I read use charts and tables and columns more often than the non-fiction authors that others read, or maybe I am reliant upon them more than usual. It is very annoying for me not to be able to read critical conclusions that the author chose to format into columns. I am talking about regular text that is meant to be read, not pictures and maps.
Sometimes even the table of contents is unreadable on a 6 or 7 inch screen. When I read, I first look for the big picture of the book. I always read the table of contents first. If I cannot even read that with ease, I am off to a very bad start. People say that I could get lost in a paperbag. I can follow maps easily, but struggle to imagine the whole from the pieces.
It is interesting to realize that maybe I am reading non-fictions books like I walk around a new neighborhood and that my strengths and weaknesses are not typical.
Before my eyes got this bad, I did use 6 and 7 e-ink devices for novels. At one point, I had a 3G Kindle device with free unlimited cellular downloads at a time when I had nothing but a government issued trac-phone with 120 minutes and no cellular data or wifi at all, That thing was my baby and barely left my side. At some point, even novels became difficult to read on it, when the text was so large that entire paragraphs could not fit on the screen at once. Again, this is a map type thing with me. I need to see the entire paragraph and at least one sentence before and after, or my comprehension plummets.
When I read only a few sentences on a screen at a time, I notice that the same issues are present that I have when listening to an audio book or an audio lecture or sermon. There is a loss of comprehension if I have no outline or visual support to organize what I am hearing.
You have given me something to think about. Thanks. I didn't realize that the issue might be my over-reliance on the text displayed in columns, not my inability to see them displayed correctly.
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Kathleen Marie said:
Before my eyes got this bad, I did use 6 and 7 e-ink devices for novels.
Well, that may be part of the problem too.
I have only recently moved to reading glasses, so who knows what the future might hold for me!
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JT (alabama24) said:Kathleen Marie said:
Before my eyes got this bad, I did use 6 and 7 e-ink devices for novels.
Well, that may be part of the problem too.
I have only recently moved to reading glasses, so who knows what the future might hold for me!
Loss of eyesight changes things! I am trusting God about mine. I have already seen how he has used my weakness to make me more useful.
As soon as you increase the font size, bad things happen to the formatting. It overflows the space designed to hold it, and even if the book creator programmed what happens in that event, it does not mean that is what happens. But even without enlarging the text, anytime there are columns, there is the possibility of mess.
On another forum, an author asked people whether they preferred footnotes or endnotes, and I asked him about his target audience. Footnotes are more likely to display badly on small screens, inexpensive devices, and the devices of people in other countries.
Alexa can read aloud novels. but when she comes to footnotes and text in columns, she says some crazy sounding things. LOL. I am curious to see how the introduction of home robots affects how the text in books is formatted, and if this will also benefit humans reading ebooks on small screens.
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Side question: If I have an APK of the Logos app, does the Onyx still need the Google Play Store app, or can I just install the Logos app directly from the APK?
Thanks!
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I do not remember if I tried to run Logos on the Onyx before I installed Google, but I have run Logos on Android devices that do not have Google Playstore installed.
Amazon appstore on Chinese devices can be a pain sometimes. Sometimes the Amazon appstore must be open for the apps installed through it to open, especially if they are paid apps.
I think Logos from APKpure has been my best success in general. Things change, though, and I just keep trying to keep up. I have another app from an unnamed company that is far more trouble than Logos!
I have an e-ink phone that was demoted to an audio player when my phone provider suddenly switched off the 3G as they updated to only 5G that is not compatible with the most common Asian and European 5G channels. Most of us with 4G and 5G devices didn't know we were mostly running on 3G till it was turned off and we were down to 2G and our phones stopped ringing, because it took too long for the phone to cycle through 5G, 4G, and 3G before trying 2G. Mostly I have no idea what I am talking about. LOL. I just know my lovely phone stopped working as a phone and I was heartbroken.
Gradually I am finding other uses for it, and primarily it runs downloaded audiobooks in my Bible Software programs, so I don't have to clog up the storage of my Onyx with such large files. Also with the slow response of e-ink screens, it is easier to read along on the onyx while I have the ink phone running beside it. It is easier to pause the audio, while I click on a footnote or popup.
Good luck!
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Good to know. Thanks!
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Hi Nathan, I just found this thread as I too am now looking into this. I'm wanting to find an E-Ink tablet so I can use both Logos and One Note. Would love to hear what you decided and what you would now advise? Thanks!
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For the moment, I'm still using an iPad mini for Logos (and all my other reading apps), but I also picked up a Nook GlowLight 4 that I can sync my Barnes & Noble purchases and ChristianBook purchases (plus my local library's books) to. I don't plan to use it a ton. I'm going to be going to Israel next year, so I might use it on the plane to and from Israel to do some reading, plus use it occasionally on vacations when I'm limited in Internet access. If I ever don't want to keep it, I have a neighbor who takes all my unused tech gear and collects it.
Kevin Purcell did invest in an E-Ink tablet he's running reading apps on. I'd recommend messaging him and see if he has some input (maybe he could update this thread). I'd also love to read a blog post from him on E-Ink tablets.
Dr. Nathan Parker
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