3 causes I am not giving up my Kobo for this Andro...

Now that I’ve lined the issues I like about Boox’s Go Color 7 E Ink pill, it is time to dive into the stuff I’ve borderline hated concerning the e-reader.

Do not get me unsuitable, the Go Colour 7 is a strong, very succesful machine that appears and feels higher than any e-reader I’ve used, however when it comes really utilizing it as a studying machine, I’ve realized that I do not want an E Ink pill that may do all of it. So long as my e-reader rapidly accesses my chosen library of books, provides strong battery life, and feels nice, I am offered — typically single-use tech gadgets really are higher.

With this in thoughts, over the previous few weeks, I’ve seen that the Go Colour 7 has plenty of notable shortcomings that I do not see talked about fairly often, together with how difficult the E Ink pill is, its boot time, and the truth that its helpful app optimization options do not work with the Kobo app, the platform I primarily use for studying books.

Associated

3 ways this Android E Ink tablet outshines my Kobo

When you’re into customizing your gadgets, you may discover loads to love about Boox’s Go Colour 7.

In terms of an e-reader, I do not want Android

It is simply too difficult

Whereas I initially appreciated the truth that the Go Colour 7 is Android-based, after forcing myself to check numerous apps (largely Google Maintain), I’ve discovered I desire the purpose-built design of Kobo’s Libra Color. Positive, I can not use Google Maintain or Gmail on my Libra Color, however I need not.

After I choose up an e-reader, I solely need to learn and do nothing else. I’ve an iPhone 16 Pro and various iPads floating around for utilizing extra conventional apps. After all, some folks would possibly desire their E Ink e-reader to be powered by Android as a result of they need to do extra than simply learn books or saved articles on it, however that is not me. Over the course of a number of weeks of testing the Go Colour 7, I’ve grown uninterested in how janky apps might be on the E Ink pill and ultimately stopped utilizing them altogether. Positive, that lag created a barrier that prevented me from doomscrolling, however that additionally resulted in me reaching for my Libra Color as a substitute

Associated

4 ways I make the ROG Ally X’s awful battery life a little better

Anyway you take a look at it, the ROG Ally X’s battery is fairly unhealthy – however with the following pointers, you possibly can enhance it.

It takes too lengthy to get into really studying

It might probably typically take a couple of minutes to truly open a ebook

One in every of my greatest points with Boox’s Go Colour 7 is that it may well typically take as much as a minute or extra to get the E Ink pill out of sleep mode and truly into studying a ebook, whereas my Kobo boots out of sleep mode in only a few seconds (I’ve had an identical expertise with Kindle gadgets, too).

This would possibly sound like a minor criticism, however once I solely need to learn for a couple of minutes to kill a quick time frame, that minute-long boot-up course of seems like a irritating eternity. In a single state of affairs, I simply picked up my Libra Color as a substitute to learn whereas the Go Colour 7 booted up and by no means bothered going again to Boox’s machine. Significantly, it actually takes a very long time to stand up and operating, even from its low-power state, after which after that, I’ve to place in a passcode (you possibly can’t flip the characteristic off) and boot the Kobo or Pocket (RIP) app, which provides much more time.

Associated

This lesser-known Kobo feature helped me stop doomscrolling

Whenever you want a break from staring on the “unhealthy display” to get some studying accomplished, Pocket is nice on the Kobo.

The Kobo app cannot be optimized

That is extra on Kobo, but it surely’s nonetheless irritating

Positive, this is likely to be a “me” situation, however the truth that the Go Colour 7 works with the Kobo Android app is each a blessing and irritating. It provides me quick access to the identical library of books I’ve used for years (that is one thing you possibly can’t simply do with Amazon’s Kindle library), however the app feels extremely restricted.

First off, you possibly can’t get rid of the huge spacing within the margins of the pages, which is irritating, given I am used to adjusting that on my Libra Color. That mentioned, I admire you possibly can nonetheless regulate the textual content dimension and choose from just a few completely different fonts. Nonetheless, pages look odd with textual content cramped within the center, particularly when the font is a bit bigger.

Moreover, lots of the finest app-specific Boox options are incompatible with the Kobo app, together with the power to customise the Go Colour 7’s buttons, which do not seem to operate accurately. When you long-press on an app icon and choose Optimize, you are given a collection of choices. Subsequent, flip over to Others, and you may see Customized Facet Buttons, together with Web page-turn, Quantity, and Scrolling. Despite the fact that I’ve Web page-turn chosen, the Boox Colour 7’s aspect buttons nonetheless management the pill’s quantity, sadly.

I like Boox’s Go Colour 7, however I’ve realized I do not want the flexibility it provides relating to an e-reader. Different folks will discover these Android-powered options helpful, however I’ve a number of different gadgets that fill that function for me, together with my smartphone — all I would like is an E Ink machine that is designed only for studying.

Associated

4 reasons I don’t regret buying the budget Kindle over the Paperwhite

I bought the bottom Kindle over the Paperwhite mannequin, and I’ve no regrets.