If you’re looking to get a portable phone-sized ereader, the Boox Palma 2 is currently on sale for $269.99 from Onyx’s official Amazon store. There’s also this Palma 2 bundle package that includes a clear case for the same price.
Onyx rarely puts their devices on sale unless they’re getting replaced by a newer model, but the Palma seems to be the exception since it’s been on sale a few times now.
There is a new Palma Color coming soon, so that might be worth waiting for if you want a color screen. So far there hasn’t been any word of a new black and white version, but nobody would be surprised to see Onyx release their third BW Palma model in two years because releasing minor revisions every year is what Onyx does.
At first the reports of the new Palma Color implied it would be Onyx’s first E Ink phone, but Onyx reps have since doused those flames. Apparently it’s not going to be a real phone. It will support wireless data only, so it won’t function as a true phone. You could use something like Google Voice to make calls and receive texts, but you can do that now on the Palma 2 with WiFi.
If Onyx does release a BW Palma 3 I wouldn’t expect much to change. All they did was add a fingerprint sensor to the Palma 2, and updated the Android version. Onyx’s yearly upgrades usually only come with a few minor changes, so if you don’t care about color and having to pay for a data plan on something that can’t be used as a real phone, then it might be worth saving some cash on the Palma 2 while it’s on sale.
See my Boox Palma 2 review from earlier this year for a list of pros and cons, and a rundown of the specs and features. There’s also a video review if you want to see the Palma 2 in action. It runs surprisingly smooth for an E Ink device thanks to Onyx’s BSR tech. I really like the Palma and wish there were more devices like it.
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