In this article, I want provide a brief overview of the different brands of e-ink tablets. I’ve used devices from all of what I would describe as ‘the major players‘ in the e-ink tablet space, however, I cannot say that this article is fully comprehensive because there are some brands I do not have hands-on experience with. These include Pocketbook, Fujitsu, Mobiscribe, Huawei, and Lenovo, as well as several generic device manufacturers.
TIER LIST
I have categorised brands into four ‘tiers’.
In Tier 1 are brands that I highly recommend and would be my top choice. In tier 2 are brands that I still recommend for particular users , bur fall a bit short of tier 1 for one reason or another. Tier 3 contains brands that I neither recommend nor do not recommend either because I haven’t got enough hands-on experience, or I feel that there are better options available from Tiers 1 and 2. And Tier 4 contains brands that I do not recommend at all.
Please bear in mind that these are my own personal opinions based on my individual experience with the listed brands.
TIER 1 (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
Boox and Supernote are my top choices for e-ink tablets.
Boox
Boox tablets are very versatile and powerful, which makes them ideal for most use cases. The hardware specs are solid, the firmware is excellent, and they run on top of Android, which means third-party apps can be installed. Third-party apps do not always work well on an e-ink screen but Boox have developed proprietary technologies, and provide several configuration options in relation to performance and refresh rates. That’s not to say that all third-party apps will work, but there is much more chance of them working on Boox than any other e-ink tablet brand (except perhaps Bigme).
On the downside, the user interface is a bit complex and so there is a steep learning curve. And customer service is variable.
Several criticisms are often thrown at Boox, however most of them are contrary to my own experiences, or are criticisms that could just as easily be aimed at other brands as well as Boox (check out my Boox page for more details).
Ratta Supernote
Whereas Boox create tablets that have the potential to do lots of things, Supernote tablets concentrate primarily on reading and note-taking activities.
This gives a more minimalist and focused experience that feels more like using pen and paper than an electronic device.
There are some useful additional apps, such as a calendar, todo list, email, a drawing app, and the Kindle app, but it is not really designed to run any other third-party apps (although it is possible). The Supernote user interface, and note-taking app are very well designed, and offer a lot of powerful features, which do not detract from the writing experience.
Their devices are designed for durability and longevity (being the only brand to provide the facility for users to change the battery themselves).
However, because they are a smaller company, they can sometimes be slow to respond to customer requests, and there have been several delays to their long-anticipated A5X.
TIER 2 (RECOMMENDED)
Whilst Boox offer the best all-round e-ink tablets, and Supernote provide the best focused note-taking experience, there are a few other brands that I would also recommend for particular use cases; remarkable, Amazon Kindle, and Viwoods.
I feel that these brands are good, but not quite my top recommendations for various reasons.
reMarkable
First of all reMarkable are arguably the biggest name in the e-ink tablet market, thanks to their excellent marketing campaigns. Their products are of very high quality, note-taking is a joyous experience, and the user interface is very clean, simple and intuitive. However, other than note-taking, the software is very limited.
In fact, other than reading PDFs and ePubs and taking notes, you can’t really do anything else with a reMarkable tablet.
reMarkable do have perhaps the best mobile/ desktop apps (which allow you to edit text – not handwriting – from other devices. But some features are hidden behind a paywall that requires an ongoing expense of a few dollars per month to access.
remarkable have a 100-day guarantee, which means you can return products within this period if you are not completely satisfied, They have an online knowledge base, and customer support is pretty good.
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Kindle e-ink tablets are focused on reading ebooks, and they perform very well in this regard. But although they nailed the tactile writing feel, the note-taking app is very limited compared to their competitors.
In addition, Kindle devices do not have any other apps and are tightly-integrated with the Kindle store – it can be difficult to read non-Kindle ebooks on a Kindle device.
Amazon have an online knowledge base, 30-day returns, and customer support is good. There’s also the peace of mind of buying from a globally recognised brand.
Viwoods
Viwoods are the new guys to the eink scene, and, as such, they are still an unknown quantity.
However, I feel they have a lot of potential – their first product is really nice and they are rapidly improving their software.
In addition, my experience with their customer support team has been very positive, and they have matched reMarkable’s 100-day return guarantee.
TIER 3 (NEITHER RECOMMEND NOR NOT RECOMMENDED
Fujitsu, Mobiscribe, Lenovo, Huawei, and Pocketbook are included here because I have not had enough direct experience with these brands or their products to offer an informed opinion.
Bigme
Bigme has both good and bad qualities.
They have developed a wide range of products that are very powerful and versatile. And they’ve developed some decent proprietary software to make third-party apps run more smoothly on e-ink screens.
However, their note-taking software is limited compared to other brands, and the user interface feels quite clunky and unpolished.
But perhaps the biggest reason for me not to be able to recommend them is Boox.
Boox and Big me manufacture very similar e-ink tablets that use Android, colour screens, and proprietary fast refresh technology. But Boox tablets are objectively better in terms of user interface and software features. And because Bigme tablets are in the same price range as Boox counterparts, there is usually little reason to choose Bigme over Boox.
TIER 4 (NOT RECOMMENDED)
I do not recommend Kobo or Meebook.
Kobo
There’s a couple of reasons that I don’t recommend Kobo.
Firstly, on a personal level, I had a bad experience with their customer support. In short, the screen of my Kobo Elipsa 2Ξ broke (for no obvious reason) less than a month after buying it. I then had a nightmare trying to get a replacement. Then the replacement had a faulty battery, so I had to go through the whole process again (getting fobbed off several times before they agreed to replace it). Two faulty units also call into question the durability of their products.
Secondly, the firmware is very limited because it is primarily focused on ebook reading. In itself, this is nor a bad thing (Amazon Kindle also focus on the reading side). But unlike Amazon, the tactile writing experience and user interface in the note-taking app is really rather unpleasant.
Meebook
Meebook produce relatively inexpensive eink tablets. However, this ‘cheapness‘ is inherent in their products.
Don’t get me wrong, Meebook devices are not totally awful. They have a half-decent reading app and an okay note-taking app.
But everything about them is very generic and basic. There’s no standout feature that sets Meebook apart from any other brand.
What’s more, they have very little online presence (nor even a useful website) and customer service is provided by non-native English speakers that often results in several misunderstandings.
So, in my view, it is usually better to pay a little more for an e-ink tablet that is more likely to satisfy your needs.
