E-readers are great, but if you’re going to get one, it might as well be one that you can write on like a notebook, too. And that’s pretty easy nowadays, considering the number of note-taking tablets currently available in the market. Problem is, almost every digital notepad out there is on the bigger side, likely because most people want a lot of screen real estate for jotting down their notes. We haven’t seen many options if you want a smaller digital notepad. At least, not until the Boox Go 6 (Gen II).
An upgraded version of Boox’s smallest e-reader, this one gets digital notepad capabilities on top of the original e-reader functions, allowing you to annotate your books and documents without having to purchase one of those larger tablets. And since Boox devices run a full Android build with Play Store access, you can use any note-taking app on the platform, making this potentially very useful device for a whole lot of users.
The Boox Go 6 (Gen II) retains the same 6.0-inch grayscale ePaper display as the original, making it big enough to make reading easy while still being very portable. It also retains the same 1448 x 1072 resolution (300 PPI pixel density) and dual-tone front lighting that allows color temperature adjustments. Sadly, there’s no mention of any additional screen layer that makes it better for writing with a stylus, so you just have to hope there’s good texture there when working with the outfit’s stylus. It gets slightly better specs under the housing: 2.0GHz octa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage.
You need to use it with Boox’s InkSense Plus stylus for the digital notepad functions, which is available as a separate purchase. With the stylus in tow, you can now create notebooks and save as many notes as you want. In case the onboard storage isn’t enough, there’s also a microSD card slot for additional storage capacity. You can also annotate any book or document you’re recording, with built-in tools for underlining text, highlighting sections, or straight up writing over the text onscreen. Basically, it feels like you’re working with a real book and a pen in hand. Do note, the pen isn’t designed to snap on the side of the tablet like other digital notepads, so you’ll have to carry it separately, which is quite inconvenient.
The Boox Go 6 (Gen II) retains all the e-reader functions of the first gen model, so it can read, pretty much, any digital book format in the market right now, with full access to all reading apps on the Play Store. That means, it can take on everything from ePub and Kindle format to the different comic book formats out there, allowing you to read anything to your heart’s content. It has a 1,500mAh battery, which should last a bit on an ePaper display, although this does refresh more often that your typical ereader because it’s running Android. According to the outfit, though, it should last a few days of normal use between charges. It comes with a free magnetic case.
The Boox Go 6 (Gen II) is now available for preorder, priced at $199.99 on its own or $232.99 when bundled with the InkSense Plus stylus.
