ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Boox Palma 2 Professional is offered now for $399.
- With 5G and entry to the Google Play Retailer, you will have entry to all the main book ecosystems in a smartphone-like type issue.
- In depth notetakers would possibly discover the display too small, and the colour show wants correct lighting to return alive.
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The brand new and improved Boox Palma 2 Professional from Onyx is the model’s newest digital paper pill, retaining its smartphone-adjacent type whereas introducing a number of new options: stylus assist, a {hardware} bump, and, most notably, a coloration show.
Retailing for $399, the Palma 2 Professional additionally will increase in value by $100, options 8GB of RAM as a substitute of 6GB, and is provided with a brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor for quicker load occasions and improved responsiveness. You even have 5G connectivity in a hybrid SIM slot that helps a MicroSD card.
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It is nonetheless fairly small for a digital paper pill, and it nonetheless resembles a telephone, however nearer inspection reveals a novel, tough texture that resembles paper — or maybe papier-mâché — one thing I’ve but to see on one other handheld system.
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It feels premium and strong, and the distinctive texture supplies a tactile expertise, though I’ve some issues about how properly this materials withstands moisture or dust. That is one system you do not wish to set down on a grimy desk, or that errant drop of marinara sauce will stick with you ceaselessly.
For that cause, I extremely suggest getting the protecting case, which is not terribly priced at $22, and can maintain it clear and the display protected.
The 6.13-inch backlit Kaleido 3 coloration show includes a subdued, pure palette that is supposed to resemble a newspaper or print journal, and is extremely customizable with a spread of preset refresh modes and coloration choices.
Coloration shows are the most recent development for E Ink gadgets, exhibiting up in current upgrades throughout the board this 12 months. Though they actually add worth, I nonetheless preserve that coloration — by itself — does not routinely “make it higher”. Customers nonetheless need crisp textual content, clear refresh occasions, and responsive UIs, and no quantity of coloration will make up for the shortage of those options.
That stated, the show on the Palma 2 Professional actually seems good, with vivid (for an E Ink pill) coloration tones and a practical, paper-like degree of saturation. The Kaleido show’s vary of coloration is simple on the eyes however nonetheless simply distinctive sufficient to enhance the expertise.
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Customers will wish to optimize the show with the completely different presets provided within the menu, as textual content can seem small and faint, and with out the backlight, it’s somewhat dim. Ghosting is to be anticipated, however fast refreshes clear it up, which is definitely carried out with the big selection of customizable fast actions.
The display itself additionally has a noticeable depth, showing barely distant from the floor, particularly across the bezels. This detracts considerably from the “paper-like” expertise and is the one factor that edges the Palma 2 Professional away from an expressly premium consumer expertise. Finally, nevertheless, it is a matter of non-public notion.
Swiping down from the highest of the display will carry up the Management Middle, the place probably the most generally accessed settings dwell. The E Ink Smart menu lets you modify the refresh mode and the show’s coloration profile, one thing you may wish to tinker with, relying on what you are doing.
HD Mode, for instance, permits for crisper pictures with extra vivid colours, splendid for viewing graphic novels or magazines the place you are spending extra time on every particular person web page, because it’s barely slower to load. Regal mode is greatest fitted to e-books, with clear textual content and minimal animations. You can too modify the colour modes right here, with a couple of presets or the choice to get granular and convey up sliding scales for distinction and vividness.
Navigating the UI is made simpler with the pen — Boox’ Ink Sense Plus — which is a pleasant stylus in its personal proper however restricted to the system’s small measurement. The pen-to-paper expertise is gorgeous, with little or no lag and a responsive really feel, however the small show and even smaller floating toolbox within the Notebooks app affords a restricted quantity of room for notes or sketches.
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Moreover, the pill’s small measurement leads to inevitable palm interference, and the fast button, positioned proper on the level of the index finger, requires a studying curve to keep away from by accident activating.
In that sense, I would not suggest the Palma 2 Professional for customers who need it solely for in depth writing or extra detailed sketches — I might suggest the ReMarkable Paper Professional Transfer as a substitute, because it’s extra suited as an e-reader first, with its versatile toolkit and deep properly of software program. That stated, it is completely able to performing as a notepad for fast ideas.
Like Onyx’s different Boox tablets, the Palma 2 Professional runs Android 15 and, with entry to the Google Play Retailer, permits customers to entry any downloadable apps and their related ecosystems.
This is among the important attracts of the Boox line of merchandise: from the big selection of customizations to being untethered from anyone ecosystem, customers have unfettered entry to all the large e-book libraries on the market: Amazon’s Kindle, Google Books, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Rakuten’s Kobo, and so forth. This little system may be all of these gadgets without delay.
The Google Play Retailer continues to be probably the most various in choices, and for anybody who likes to hop between completely different apps (together with e-book fans, with assist for Bluetooth earbuds), the Boox Palma 2 Professional has quite a bit to supply.
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Moreover, the Palma 2 Professional does assist 5G connectivity, nevertheless it is not suitable as a standalone smartphone, which means you possibly can’t make calls from the system over provider networks, even with a SIM card. Nonetheless, you should utilize Wi-Fi-enabled calling apps, akin to WhatsApp.
This makes the 5G factor solely essential for customers who want dependable information web connectivity, however actually not a requirement for all — or possibly even most — customers.
By way of battery, the three,950mAh lithium-ion polymer cell is well-equipped for dozens of hours of use time, though take into account that retaining it on pace mode with brightness turned all the way in which up will drastically scale back battery life in comparison with a extra modest refresh fee.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Boox Palma 2 Professional is a premium, expressly moveable e-reader that gives customers free rein to all the main e-book ecosystems. It is a important improve from the Palma 2 and the unique Palma from final 12 months, retaining what made the system nice whereas innovating on its use case.
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Its compact measurement is nice for anybody who needs a one-handed system, because it handles extra like a smartphone and fewer like a Kindle or pill. Nonetheless, you need to be dedicated to the diminutive type issue, because the display could also be too small for in depth writing or drawing with the stylus, and textual content can seem small and faint in case your settings aren’t optimized.
At $399, it isn’t precisely low-cost, nevertheless it’s not overly costly, both — particularly contemplating its various {hardware} and comparability to competing gadgets.
