After a week of integrating the Boox Tab Ultra C into my daily routine, I thought it would be useful to share my hands-on experience with you. This will hopefully shed light on this device’s capabilities and quirks, especially for those of you considering purchasing one.
My Current Tech Setup: iPad Pro and Kindle Oasis
I’ve used my iPad Pro primarily for annotating documents, taking notes, and journaling. While it has served me well, I often grapple with the guilt of keeping the iPad screen on for extended periods. You might ask, “is it bad to keep an iPad screen on for a long period without any action?” While it isn’t detrimental to the hardware, long-term usage can certainly contribute to faster battery degradation.
Another limitation I’ve encountered with my iPad Pro is its functionality outdoors, primarily due to glare and screen brightness. Outdoor reading? A big no-no with the iPad. Enter the Kindle Oasis, my go-to device for outdoor reading. It’s not just its anti-glare screen that appeals to me but also its significantly lighter weight, which makes reading, especially before bedtime, more comfortable. However, the Kindle’s functionality remains primarily limited to reading - but that’s what it was designed for, right?
Why Boox Tab Ultra C?
I decided to explore the e-ink tablets market, and eventually, the Boox Tab Ultra C caught my attention. Compared to other e-ink tablets, like the SuperNote and Scribe, the Boox Tab Ultra C checked a lot of the boxes for me: It has a backlit screen, versatility through its Android OS, and pastel colors!
Living with the Boox Tab Ultra C
Having the Boox Tab Ultra C is like always having a paper notebook around, ready to be scribbled on anytime. The color filter does make the screen somewhat gray compared to the conventional black and white e-ink screen, but the backlight compensates for this. Trust me, even when using it outdoors, the backlight can be handy, depending on your orientation towards the sun.
The Boox Tab Ultra C has a resolution of 300 PPI for black and white content, ensuring a crisp text reading experience, similar to the Kindle. Additionally, the color feature, while not essential, is nice to have. You know what they say, “It’s better to have it and not use it than to want to use it and not have it.”
Being an Android device, the Boox Tab Ultra C allows you to download various apps. While video consumption isn’t its primary function, it’s possible in a pinch. Keep in mind, though; although it doesn’t replace your iPad or other tablets for video content, for online article reading, it’s less straining on the eyes than the iPad.
One feature that stands out is the device’s note-taking experience. While it doesn’t perfectly mimic writing on paper, it does offer traction, making it responsive and suitable for journaling. Its native notes app even has AI handwriting recognition, and it’s pretty accurate! A neat feature is the ability to lock individual notepads with a unique password, enhancing privacy and making it suitable for journaling.
The reading app is packed with features - from text-to-speech, highlighting, and annotation capabilities to a handy translate functionality. But, my personal favorite is the calendar app, which shows your notes and readings for the day in addition to a multi-page memo area you can write on.
The Pain Points
However, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns with the Boox Tab Ultra C. Despite being smaller than my 12.9” iPad, it’s not as light as you might expect. At 16.9 oz, it can be tiring to hold with one hand during reading sessions.
One bug that’s been bothering me is the occasional disappearance of the beginning of a stroke when writing. It usually reappears after refreshing the screen or pressing the pen eraser on the screen, but it’s still an annoyance. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a software update to fix this issue.
Also, while this might be a minor annoyance for me, many have complained about the camera bump, which can make the tablet wobble if placed flat on a surface. Additionally, holding the device by the Boox logo bezel can cause a crackling sound, a minor detail that makes this $600 device feel cheap. It’s worth noting, as tech entrepreneur Aleksandr Volodarsky points out in a tweet, that the quality of tech products can often be inconsistent during the first three months of mass production. This is something potential buyers might want to consider before making a purchase.
Moreover, I have encountered some issues with Android bugs. There have been instances when the screensaver becomes blank or overlaps with the content after unlocking the device. In most cases, locking and unlocking resolve many of these problems. However, I once experienced a situation where the device refused to unlock and required a long press on the lock button to reboot. It then showed a loading page for a couple of seconds and even opened a recently used app on its own. The cause remains a mystery.
Transitioning to Boox Tab Ultra C
Transitioning from the Apple ecosystem to the Android world of Boox Tab Ultra C was not seamless. If you’re like me, living within the Apple ecosystem, I recommend finding cross-platform apps before transitioning. Also, try not to overload the device with apps you don’t need. After all, the Boox Tab Ultra C is a device intended for reading and writing.
Conclusion
To wrap up, the Boox Tab Ultra C doesn’t replace my iPad or my Kindle, but it’s a perfect bridge between the two. I continue to use my iPad almost like my laptop, and the Kindle for reading books on the go, before bed, and books I don’t care to annotate.
One last nugget: If you notice a bright spot on your screen while using the backlight, it’s likely to be debris. I freaked out for a moment when it happened to me, so I thought it’s worth mentioning!
The Boox Tab Ultra C is a fascinating gadget that adds value to my routine, despite its quirks. If you’re looking for an e-ink device that offers more than just reading, it’s worth considering.
Until next time, keep exploring and learning!