Two new Likebook ebook readers from Boyue recently turned up for pre-order at Banggood, the Likebook Plus and the Likebook Air.
The Likebook Plus first showed up a couple of months ago.
Like the Kobo Aura One, it has a 7.8-inch 300ppi E Ink screen.
The Likebook isn’t waterproof like the Kobo but it does have some unique features of its own, including a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, Bluetooth, support for audio, and an Android operating system (4.2.2) with Google Play onboard.
Other features include a capacitive touchscreen, a frontlight, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and it has WiFi of course.
It weighs in at 290 grams and measures 198 x 144 x 8.3mm. That makes it a bit heavier and thicker than the Kobo Aura One, but it has a larger 2800mAh battery.
It also has 16GB of storage with 1GB of RAM, but no memory card slot. The built-in reading app supports ePub, PDF, MOBI, TXT, FB2, RTF, HTML, and DJVU.
The pre-order price of the T80s Likebook Plus is currently $195.75 USD at Banggood with free shipping, and it also comes with a case. It is expected to start shipping next week.
So, would I be able to install the Kindle reading app, the Nook reading app, and Overdrive which would then enable me to download library books with nothing but this e-reader?
You’re better off getting a Kobo Aura One if you want library book integration. Most 3rd party apps are too unreliable and unpredictable because they weren’t designed for E Ink. Some work okay but most don’t. The Kindle app worked pretty well on the Inkbook Prime, which has the same software as the Likebooks, but it’s still no where near as good as using an actual Kindle.
Thank you for the information. It looks better price and specs, except waterproof. Meanwhile Onix boox Nova, is only a prototype.
Ereader technology seems to be progressing towards the quality of a tablet in rendering the “scrolling” of images and text as smoothly as possible. I feel it unfortunate then that reviews of this recent Boyue neglect showing its capability to do this. There seems a trend in which the apps are not shown which enable a devices full potential. What is the point in high powered Cpus and Ram if pages are turned “keyboard style”, who does this when reading sites on their phone for instance? E-Ink monitors and phones can display videos and scroll PDFs undisturbed by refreshes or rendering, yet failings of the stock apps are focused on, and discussion involves whether one front light is more balanced, or how many font sizes there is compared to the last model. I would personally encourage reviewers to focus a little more (in addition) on the progression of ereaders, that is, the exciting advances in technology and innovations.
aliexpress might be cheaper because they have those coupon things. I got it for $185 because I got $10 in coupons from clicking on stuff on the site during black Friday.
What drove me crazy about my Inkbook was the *really* lousy reader software. Moonreader was a much better solution but required a bunch of hoops to get to, every time the device was first opened or went to sleep.
A dedicated OS like Kobo, Kindle or Nook is much (much) better
I run this ereader side by side with a 2nd generation kindle. I do this because I used both divces as aids for studying physics thence looking at technical papers, sometimes hand written notes.
The likebook plus is much more responsive, much better screen, is evidently snappier. Furthermore I have installed with problems various apps that I use including linking it up to my google account.
I am, however, using third party apps for pdf files as they render better by doing so. Battery life is also not as good but this was to be expected from a 300dpi screen. I have tested the resolution to ensure it meets the specs.
The newest paperwhite has the same resolution, though im not sure about touch responsiveness. I suspect the added ram is also what allows the reader to function quickly whilst doing a number of tasks.
I am very happy with my device, both in terms of build quality and function. It competes with higher end devices whilst being 40% cheaper.
I was meant to say “without problems”
Buenos días amigo, (Good morning friend).
Para informaros sobre un nuevo ereader: (About a new ereader)
Boyue Likebook note 10,3
博阅科技
http://www.boyue.com/category.aspx?nid=58
I wonder if they’re ever going to release it. It first appeared in 2016 and I’ve yet to see it being sold anywhere. They might as well give up on it at this point if they’re going to go with Android 4.4 and a single-core i.MX6 CPU. The Boox Note has better specs and Android 6.0 so I don’t know why anyone would want to buy the Boyue. They’re lagging way behind Onyx at this point.
I like the physical specs of this, but the use of Android 4.2.2 is likely a deal breaker. This is a 2012 operating system! Even Android 4.4 is a 2013 system. I like to be able to sync clouds to my e-readers, and these antique versions of Android won’t allow that. Google Drive now requires Android 5.0, e.g. Why do so many black and white e-readers use 6 year old operating systems? Too many apps may not work correctly with them. I am willing to get older versions of some apps to work around this problem, but when some major apps like clouds don’t work on 4.2.2, I am less interested. Nathan: do you know of any Android e-readers that use Android 5.0 or higher?
The newer Onyx models have Android 6.0 but that’s basically just the 13.3-inch Max 2 and 10.3-inch Note and it hasn’t even been released yet. They’ll probably release some smaller models with Android 6.0 later this year.
Sorry, Android 4.2 may not be incompatible with Drive–but something about my Boyue T62D made it recently stop being compatible with Drive, either directly, or accessed through a service like ES File. Oddly, an Onyx i86 I have which runs Android 4.0 can still access Drive.