InkBook is expected to start shipping a new ebook reader by the end of July called the InkBook Explore.
It has a 7.8-inch E Ink screen with 300 ppi and a frontlight with adjustable color temperature, just like the Kobo Aura One.
The design is similar to the 6-inch InkBook Prime with the flush front screen, the page buttons on each side, and the sensor button below the screen.
InkBooks are made by Boyue but the InkBook Explore has different specs than the 7.8-inch Boyue LikeBook Plus so it appears to be a new custom model.
The InkBook Explore has 8GB of internal storage space and a microSD card slot for expansion, along with a single-core CPU with 1GB of RAM.
It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but no audio support, and the buttons are programmable. Considering the larger size it’s pretty light at 242 grams.
InkBooks run software based on Android 4.4.2 and they are open to install apps, but the older Android version is incompatible with a good share of apps. Too bad Boyue still hasn’t started using newer software, but they did update the user interface, according to the description. The included reading app supports ePub, PDF, MOBI, TXT, FB2, HTML, RTF, and CHM formats.
They started taking pre-orders for the InkBook Explore in Poland a couple weeks ago from the InkBook website. The pre-order price is equivalent to about $200 USD.
InkBook, aka Arta Tech, also sells InkBooks on Amazon so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the InkBook Explore turn up for sale at Amazon next month too.
Sounds like the absolute perfect device! A 6-inch e-ink screen was for an older time when people were afraide of having phone screens more than 4inches. Now people want bigger screens and eink has not caught up. The only flaw….this 7.8 inch screen is unable to download ANY Amazon book!!!! Amazon has such a monopoly on their devices! I wish one of these e-ink companies would stand up and make a lawsuit against azon for not allowing people to use their devices for reading. It’s not right and totally a monopoly mentality.
You can probably sideload the Kindle app like on the other Inkbooks.
I did it on Prime. Works more or less OK. Doesn’t react to paging buttons though, you can page only touching the screen ;(. Dictionary works fine, that’s a huge plus to their carma
Or quit whining and just buy an Amazon Fire…lol…
But it supports mobi. It is one of the kindle’s formats, isn’t it?
I would recommend them also to do in white colour body, then I would buy. White body doesnt get worm on the sun when reading. That is why I bought Kindle Papperwhite.
This looks like a deal for $200.
It’s 209 Euro. More like $250 🙁
I’ve been unimpressed by Boyue’s ereaders and Android ereaders in general. Old versions og Android, unpredictable battery life and issues with apps developed with color in mind (GUI sometimes unreadable).
If Google Play is included this would be just fine. I had an InkBook 8 – until I somehow lost it two weeks ago. I liked the reader but its major fault was no access to the Play Store. I bought it because I wanted an Android reader not tied to any ecosystem. I tried mightily but could not get it to work to no avail. Most of the apps were available on the Midiopolis store but really, if the e-reader is running Android, just include Google Play..
Hi, Sherry! You don’t need Google Play on Android reader, APK Pure works just fine and installation is supereasy, at least on my inkBook Prime. 🙂
Part of my disappointment was my fault. I wanted Google Play to access apps that I had purchased – seamlessly. I know extracting the app and then side loading onto the InkBook works but it seemed a bit remiss to not include Play. So, when the DH’s NST died, I bought him an inkBook Prime knowing that I would have to do this.
Off to check out APK Pure now…
Regarding the micro SD card slot — is it for sure? I couldn’t find any mentioning of it on the site, and card slot is critical for me…
The spec sheet on their website says it has a “microSD port (up to 32 GB)”.
Oh, I see it at your link to PL page. I was looking at EU, and the specs there are not that detailed. Thanks, this changes everything, the only choice left now is whether to preorder on site or wait for Amazon(I’m in US) 😉
Oh, one more open issue actually — a smart cover. They offer a sleeve as a gift with preorder, but something like their Yoga one for Prime would be much–much–much preferable
I’ve contacted their customer support, they confirmed the card slot and said they will update EU page info. Two more good points — they also confirmed:
a)Amazon US sales are planned, though something like a month later than from the site
b)There will be Yoga smart cover, same as it was for Prime.
Life is good. Though I’d prefer a snap mechanism on the cover rather than this purely magnetic one.
7.8 inch? Sounds good and probably will look good too, but isn’t a bit too big for a regular pocket? I have right now a Classic 2 and I love it (despite the sluggishness when load more than 500 books into the library, despite it has to be rebooted every time you disconnect it from computer). It has no front light tho so I’m thinking to preorder this one, but… idk…7.8 inch? I travel a lot and I need it to fit my pockets
Nah, 7.8 ereaders are too big for pockets, IMO.
Does the Inkbook explore has an A2-Mode that u can activate manually like the boox and boyue ones have?
Also i saw at the polish homepage of inkbook that it has only 512MB ram. Bit cunfusing.
I don’t remember Boyue’s software having a manual A2 mode, at least not on the Inkbooks. I see what you mean about the RAM. One page says 1GB and the other says 512MB. The other 7.8-inch Boyue devices have 1GB but the other Inkbooks have 512 so I guess it could go either way.
Nathan,
Do you plan on reviewing this reader, assuming it is made available in the US? I really like my Aura One, but have been thinking lately that I might like some hardware page turn buttons. A comparison review between the InkBook Explore and the Aura One would be great.
I understand you can’t review everything, but I was just curious about this device.
Yeah, I’ll review it when it becomes available on Amazon. I like the page buttons too.
Será que tem o idioma português ( Brasil ) ? estou muito interessado em trocar meu jogo aura onde por este. Se possível alguém me responda, obrigado.