A company called Ectaco that used to be known for selling Jetbook ebook readers has recently started selling various Onyx Boox ereaders on Amazon.
The odd thing about it is they’re selling the versions that are generally sold in Russia. For the most part they’re the same exact devices sold elsewhere but instead of having names based on model numbers like the N96 and C67, they have names like Onyx Boox Prometheus and Onyx Boox Vasco da Gama.
The problem is that Ectaco is charging way more for these ereaders than the same exact devices are selling for from other retailers.
Given that fact, they’re hardly worth mentioning, but there’s one model called the Onyx Boox Monte Cristo 2 that looks interesting.
It’s kind of like a Kepler Pro lite. It has the same premium design as the Kepler Pro with the flush glass screen and aluminum alloy casing, but it lacks Bluetooth and it has 8GB of internal storage with 512MB or RAM instead of 16GB with 1GB of RAM. Plus the back is blue instead of gold.
It has a 6-inch 1442 x 1072 (300 ppi) E Ink Carta screen with a frontlight and capacitive touchscreen. It has a dual-core 1GHz processor, a 3000 mAh Polymer Li-ion battery, ASAHI safety glass, and a microSD card slot for expansion.
As far as software it runs Android 4.2 and comes with Google Play pre-installed to install apps. It also supports a variety of formats, including ePub, PDF, DjVu, TXT, HTML, RTF, FB2, MOBI, CHM, PDB, DOC, DOCX, PRC and others.
At $229, the Onyx Boox Monte Cristo is priced kind of high for a 6-inch ereader, especially when the Kepler Pro is priced at $207 at Banggood, but if the price ever comes down it could be a nice option.
“The odd thing about it is they’re selling the versions that are generally sold in Russia.”
The reason for this is that the Russian distributor (www.onyx-boox.ru) recently took over the (previously morbund) US distributorship (www.onyxboox.com). The US site lists http://www.ectaco.com as their official online store.
Nathan, not to hijack this but while we are on the topic I wanted to get your opinion about ONYX BOOX N96CML. I noticed it is priced lower now at $311 at Bangood.com.
https://www.banggood.com/ONYX-BOOX-N96CML-9_7-Inch-16G-WIFI-Bluetooth-With-Frontlight-E-book-Reader-p-1124284.html?rmmds=category
This seems like a rather good value for the specs (10 inch with frontlight). I know you covered its release a few months back and referred to it a few times since then. Did you have any more info (or hands-on experience) on it regarding quality? Maybe, you can point out to some “external” reviews or videos…
Also, any first hand experience of ordering something substantial in value from Banggood?
Thanks.
That’s not a bad price considering the Wi-Fi Kindle Oasis sells for about the same. The only hangup with that model is it uses the older E Ink Pearl screen technology. Banggood recently started selling the Carta model for $369. I was planning on ordering the N96ML Carta+ with a frontlight when they said it was going to arrive last month but it never did so I never ordered one. I can’t point to any reviews of the N96 because the only ones I ever come across aren’t very informative or they’re in Chinese or something. I haven’t ordered from Banggood yet myself but I’ve heard of a number of people doing so without a problem so that’s why I started to link to them more often, and they’re one of the few places that ships a variety of Onyx and Boyue ereaders to the US for reasonable prices (unlike Ectaco—I can’t believe they’re selling the same device for $450).
Actually even lower price with coupon ~ $288 shipped.
Thanks for quick detailed response. I poked around the web and I also see good reviews about banggood. As far as Carta version my problem it does not have a frontlight and to be honest I prefer capacitive touch to pen as I do not take notes.
I am thinking about going for it and placing an order, will let you know how it worked out….
Their website states that this unit has Bluetooth 4.0 while you claim that it lacks the Bluetooth. Was it an honest mistake on your part, or a deliberate deception? Link to site: https://onyxboox.com/boox_monte-cristo3
Yeah you got me. It’s my secret agenda to deceive people about ereader’s Bluetooth capabilities in order to take down the system. Or it could be that Onyx makes like ten different version of each model, with variations so subtle you have to pay close attention to details. For instance, the page you link to clearly says Monte Cristo 3 while the one mentioned in this article is version 2.