Last month Onyx released a phone-sized ereader called the Boox Palma, and I’ve been tempted to buy one but I just can’t do it. There are a lot of things I like about the Palma but there’s one thing I just can’t get past and that’s the high price.
The retail price of the Boox Palma is $279.99, so with taxes you’re looking at a $300 purchase. And for some annoying reason Onyx still refuses to sell their smaller devices from their Amazon store, but at least it’s being sold from B&H now so you don’t have to order it from China and hope it arrives without a busted screen.
The thing is I just can’t justify that high of a price for a mini ereader. The much-larger Kindle Scribe is selling for less than that right now while it’s on sale, and it comes with a stylus and a Wacom touchscreen, unlike the Palma. Even Onyx’s 6″ Poke5 ereader sells for $169 so why are they selling the 6.13″ Palma for over $100 more?
The Palma is an interesting device and I’d like to have one for reading on the go, but charging nearly $300 for it is just crazy talk.
Part of the problem is they over-specced it and added pointless features that nobody cares about like a rear camera, while not making it an actual phone that could be useful for other things than reading.
I don’t need 6GB of RAM on a small, portable ereader, and could never use a quarter of the 128GB of storage space in an entire lifetime—it’s supposed to be an ereader not a video player, and it has a microSD card slot anyway so why does it need so much storage space. I also don’t have the slightest need for a camera on an E Ink device.
If they would’ve made it a functional phone then the price would make sense on some level. But charging $300 for a small-screen mini ereader with limited uses makes no sense at all.
Hopefully at some point Onyx will release a Boox Palma Lite with trimmed down hardware and a more reasonable price.
Bought a 1st gen Inkpalm to scratch this itch, it’s all the power I need for half the price.
It seems very expensive to me, although in the past I have also paid a lot of money for expensive e-readers like the 6″ Kindle Oasis. I will buy it (unless a cheaper version comes out first), but when I can afford it (the Tab Mini C, which I think is a splendid e-reader, has left me out of pocket).
In terms of features, Android apps should run very smoothly with its 6GB of RAM (the Tab Mini C’s 4GB is very noticeable), so on that front I welcome them. Storage space is a little too much for me, but there are people who could use it (I’m thinking about audiobooks).
If Kobo would update the Mini with all of today’s features and sell it for under $150, they would own the small screen market. People are still trying to get their hands on the old one. Used ones sell for more than the original price.
There is no price for peace of mind. Just do it. Otherwise, you’ll continue to think about it, throughout the day, at night, in the mornings. That’s too taxing. You’ll find no relief until you have it in your hands. The way I see it, you’re not spending $300 on a book reader, you’re spending it on peace of mind to alleviate the anxiety that comes from not having it, and continuing to dwell upon it. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s not that serious. If so, I’d still do it. YOLO. Besides, I’d love to see your review on it.
The Palma is not just a simple but expensive reader in a smartphone case.
I use it as a work companion for always having it with me to my Boox Tab devices:
– I continue to doodle only on paper and scan with the camera things worth keeping.
– I make audio recordings of my thoughts, meetings, minutes and they are immediately converted to text format.
– and it’s my standard reader for when I’m on the go, waiting, etc.
All of this requires the power, space and also requires the price.
You’re right. I think as a dedicated small-screen ereader, it is over-spec’d and pricey. But I think the Palma is a multifunctional device and not just an ereader. The size makes it much more convenient to carry around as a daily use device than my Kindles.
Google Play store support allows for installing 3rd party apps and I would imagine the ample storage space helps with this as well as audiobooks.
I prefer to look at an e-ink screen vs my phone so I intend to use the Palma as a work device as well…for emails, taking notes, scanning documents.
The Super Refresh tech seems impressive too. I’ve read that some people have installed social media apps, watched YouTube videos and even Zoom with little to no ghosting. Not sure I’d want to do that but I can see myself doing a lot of web browsing with it.
A Palma telephone with a color e-ink screen and please take my money..
Why not Hisense A9? It’s been rooted recently.
It takes a bit of reading, and could get funky (Chinese screens showing up), but you end up with normal Google Play.
I installed Opera, Lithium, Telegram etc., works ok.