Boox Palma 2: The smartphone-like e-reader gets a revamp

Photo: Boox

Boox, a relatively newer player in the e-reader market, has announced the Palma 2, an updated version of its compact smartphone-sized e-reader. 

Priced at $280, the same cost as the original, the Palma 2 is available for pre-order in ivory white or deep cyan black.

While it is more expensive than premium e-readers like the $200 Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, the Palma 2's smaller size and access to thousands of apps have made it a strong alternative to Kindle and Kobo devices.

The device runs on Android 13, which makes it possible to support android apps. It retains the same 6.13-inch 300 ppi E Ink Carta 1200 display, and offers 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Though Boox has not released full details about the processor, it claims a "faster octa-core CPU," which should speed up its performance.

A notable addition is a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button, making it easier to unlock the device securely with one hand. The copy and paste feature has also received an improvement over the predecessor, making it more convenient to deal with texts.

Although Palma 2 is an e-reader, not a full-fledged smartphone, it stills comes with a rear camera similar to its predecessor. The 16MP camera is accompanied by a flash, which Boox suggests is handy for scanning documents.

Boox also announced two new e-paper note-taking devices. The 10.3-inch Note Air4 C, priced at $500, features a next-gen Kaleido 3-colour e-ink display with faster refresh rates and an octa-core processor for a 50% performance boost over its predecessor. It also runs Android 13 and offers a tablet-like UI for better customisation.

Meanwhile, the black-and-white Boox Note Max, a 13.3-inch stylus-enabled tablet, features a slim 4.6mm profile and E Ink Carta 1300 display. It will be available for preorder for a price tag of $650 in the coming weeks.