Onyx e-books: a quality product or an unremarkable copy?

Given the huge variety of e-book models available for purchase in the electronics market today, every customer who wants to invest in the purchase of a good product must be “savvy” with the necessary knowledge. Onyx announces its release as a “new step” in the evolution of electronic readers. Books of the latest generation are a balanced combination of high-end screen, thoughtful design and ease of use. But is everything as perfect as it seems at first glance? Onyx Boox models with which technical characteristics is more preferable to give preference? What nuances should be borne in mind when buying an electronic reader of the brand in question? Having thoroughly studied the article, the buyer will be able to determine his preferences and minimize the risk of being deceived by his expectations from the purchased gadget.

About company

In 2008, Chinese experienced engineers and technical specialists who worked at one time in world-famous companies (Google, Microsoft, Nortel, IBM) decided to create their own brand - “Onyx International”. The company was founded in Gongzhou, China. A year later, in 2009, their first development entered the technology market - the Onyx Boox 60 e-book, which subsequently won an award for its unique appearance. Seeing the popularity of the created product, Onyx begins the active development of export of personalized e-book readers to Germany, the USA, the Netherlands and Russia, and later other countries.

The increased demand that has arisen instantly on e-books created by Onyx, around the world, stimulate the company to offer quality modifications to maintain interest in the brand. Most of the Onyx Books Books produced by their entry into the consumer market created a new milestone in the design and construction of electronic readers:

• metal frame protecting the screen;
• touch screen;
• E-Ink Pearl HD display;
• multitouch function.

About product

As a rule, the buyer, when buying a gadget from Onyx, enjoys it at the “unpacking” stage. Readers, depending on the model, are delivered in high-quality white cardboard boxes with a unique design, reminiscent of a collector's edition of a book or CD. Basic equipment implies the presence of:

• the gadget itself;
• company case for storage and operation of the device;
• Operating Instructions;
• USB cable
• micro USB cable;
• charger.

Speaking about the general appearance of the device, it is worth noting, first of all, the book case attached to the manufacturer by some models. It resembles a fabric in texture, which allows the user to avoid the risk of the reader “slipping” out of his hands. Moreover, Onyx in the standard set delivers a “smart” case, which transfers the gadget to “sleep” mode when the display is touched by the upper “cover”.

The vast majority of e-books of the Chinese manufacturer have a classic "restrained" appearance. Traditionally, in addition to the power button, a slot for a memory card and an “input” for USB, onyx books have buttons (touch or mechanical) for turning virtual pages and a joystick (touch or mechanical) for secondary control. This option gives the user a choice depending on the surrounding circumstances: use the touch screen in the “touch” zones or the buttons located below or on each of the side panels of the book.

Most of the design of the e-book is occupied by a screen, in the latest models covered with an additional protective glass that is resistant to mechanical damage. It is worth noting the lack of audio output on the Onyx products under consideration. However, this characteristic does not exclude the possibility of listening to audio content on models that have Bluetooth. In this case, only wireless headphones will be needed to play the sound.

The case itself is one-piece, without gaps, backlashes, and so on, which is an indicator of the manufacturer's responsible approach to the quality of assembly of their goods. Color is optional and is usually presented in 3 traditional options: black, white, gray.

Onyx Books display diagonal differs depending on the selected model. For example, the Robinson Crusoe e-book has a six-inch screen, and its “colleague” Chronos is equipped with a large-sized display - 9.7 inches. In terms of quality, it is important to emphasize the performance of the screen based on E-Ink electronic ink technology, providing maximum reading comfort for the user's eyes. Top models are made with a touch screen that supports the multi-touch function.

The Chinese manufacturer, in order to meet the needs of the buyer in the use of the Internet and third-party applications, along with reading a virtual book, decided to develop advanced Onyx Books models based on the most popular Android operating system. Using this OS, the user can not only work with a huge number of varieties of text document formats on the purchased device, but also download dictionaries, games and other applications from the Play Market that are necessary for professional activities or entertainment.

For directly reading electronic books, the user in a number of models offers 2 standard programs for opening files. Able to "interact" with the vast majority of modern content formats, they are identical in functionality, but have minor differences in the interface.

Opening a document is possible through the application or the “file manager”. To get started, just click on the selected title of the book or the thumbnail of its cover and wait for the file to load on the device. In the process of reading, the user can bookmark, change the style and font of the text, leave comments, notes, copy or edit the text. In addition to “adjusting” the document, the function of adjusting the level of the display brightness that is comfortable for the eyes, depending on the lighting of the place of use, is significant.

To maximize the convenience of frequent use of the gadget, the manufacturer has built in a line of devices of the latest generation a capacitive battery that can hold a charge for several weeks. However, it should be understood that the battery life of Onyx e-books directly depends on their “workload” during operation. So, paying exclusively to reading an hour and a half a day, you can charge your device once a month. While using the Internet simultaneously with reading and editing text at maximum brightness for 4-5 hours every day, you need to be ready to "restore" the battery once every 1-2 weeks. Objectively speaking, even the last indicator of the battery life cannot be considered critical, since even it surpasses the similar characteristic of its “competitors” created by other brands.

Top models

The list of top models of Onyx gadgets includes models:

Darwin 3

• Screen Type: E-Ink, Touch
• Display size: 6 inches
• Weight: 182g
• CPU Frequency: 1000 MHz
• RAM: 512 Mb
• Built-in memory: 8 GB
• Memory card slot: yes
• Supported formats: TXT, DOC, PalmDOC, PDF, fb2, ePub, DjVu, RTF, MOBI, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, HTML, CHM, ZIP
• Battery Capacity: 3000 mAh
• Additional functions: Wi-Fi module, automatic screen rotation

Vasco da Gama 2

• Screen Type: E-Ink, Touch
• Display size: 6 inches
• Weight: 169g
• CPU Frequency: 1000 MHz
• RAM: 512 Mb
• Built-in memory: 8 GB
• Memory card slot: yes
• Supported formats: TXT, DOC, PalmDOC, PDF, fb2, ePub, DjVu, RTF, MOBI, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, HTML, CHM, ZIP, RSS
• Battery Capacity: 3000 mAh
• Additional functions: Wi-Fi module, page turning buttons on the case

Caesar 2

• Screen Type: E-Ink
• Display size: 6 inches
• Weight: 182g
• CPU Frequency: 1000 MHz
• RAM: 512 Mb
• Built-in memory: 8 GB
• Memory card slot: yes
• Supported formats: TXT, DOC, PalmDOC, PDF, fb2, ePub, DjVu, RTF, MOBI, PRC, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, HTML, CHM, ZIP
• Battery Capacity: 3000 mAh
• Additional functions: page turning buttons on the case

Chronos

• Screen Type: E-Ink, Touch
• Display Size: 9.7 inches
• Weight: 450g
• CPU Frequency: 1000 MHz
• RAM: 512 Mb
• Built-in memory: 8 GB
• Memory card slot: yes
• Supported formats: TXT, DOC, PalmDOC, PDF, fb2, ePub, DjVu, RTF, MOBI, PRC, FB3, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, HTML, CHM, ZIP
• Battery Capacity: 3000 mAh
• Additional functions: Wi-Fi module, Bluetooth, page turning buttons on the case

Robinson crusoe

• Screen Type: E-Ink, Touch
• Display size: 6 inches
• Weight: 205g
• CPU Frequency: 1000 MHz
• RAM: 512 Mb
• Built-in memory: 8 GB
• Memory card slot: yes
• Supported formats: TXT, DOC, PalmDOC, PDF, fb2, ePub, DjVu, RTF, MOBI, PRC, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG, HTML, CHM, ZIP
• Battery Capacity: 3000 mAh
• Additional functions: Wi-Fi module, Bluetooth, page turning buttons on the case, water resistance

Onyx Boox deservedly occupy a leading position in the electronics market due to its quality, advanced functionality and additional options. Having studied the information contained in the above article, the buyer can easily choose the Onyx e-book model that best meets his needs.

Title	Darwin 3	Vasco da Gama 2	Caesar 2	Chronos	Robinson crusoe
Type of	E-Ink, Capacitive, Carta, Touch, Grayscale: 16	E-Ink, Capacitive, Carta, Touch, Grayscale: 16	E-ink, carta, grayscale: 16	E-Ink, Capacitive, Carta, Touch, Grayscale: 16	E-Ink, Capacitive, Carta, Touch, Grayscale: 16
Options	6 inches, 1024x758, 212 ppi	6 inches, 1024x758, 212 ppi	6 inches, 1024x758, 212 ppi	9.7 inches, 1200x825, 150 ppi	6 inches, 1448x1072, 300 ppi
Built-in memory	8192 Mb	8196 Mb	8196 Mb	8192 Mb	8192 Mb
Battery capacity	3000 mAh	3000 mAh	3000 mAh	3000 mAh	3000 mAh
The weight	182 g	169 g	182 g	450 g	205 g
Price	from 7500 rub.	from 6000 rub.	from 5000 rub.	from 20,000 rub.	from 12500 rub.