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Best Color E Ink Tablets
There is an emerging market of colored screen in the E ink Tablet world and this trend is on the rise with people wanting more from their E Ink device. This has resulted in a quite a few Colored E Ink devices in the market.
The biggest name that comes in mind when it comes to Color E In Tablets is Onyx Boox but other brands are making their way with devices getting better and better over time. Lets dive in and find out if Color E Ink Tablets are the right choice for you or not.
Table Of Content
- Understanding Color E Ink Display
- Our Picks For The Color E Ink Tablets
- Comparison Table Color E Ink Devices
- List of Color E Ink Tablets
- Are Colored E Ink Tablets and LED Tablets similar?
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Best Color E Ink Tablets
There is an emerging market of colored screen in the E ink Tablet world and this trend is on the rise with people wanting more from their E Ink device. This has resulted in a quite a few Colored E Ink devices in the market.
The biggest name that comes in mind when it comes to Color E In Tablets is Onyx Boox but other brands are making their way with devices getting better and better over time. Lets dive in and find out if Color E Ink Tablets are the right choice for you or not.
1. Understanding Color E Ink Displays
Color E Ink displays use a E Ink technology to display a limited range of colors. These displays use a color filter array to create color, with each pixel consisting of a red, green, and blue sub-pixel. The color pigments are added to the black and white particles used in grayscale E Ink displays, allowing for the display of a limited range of colors.
Though color E Ink devices are capable of displaying color, they are still limited in their color reproduction capabilities compared to traditional LCD or OLED displays. They typically have a lower color gamut and less vibrant colors. Furthermore their screen type may vary, latest of them being.
Keleido Screen
The Keleido screen uses a color filter array (CFA) that is placed on top of the e-ink display panel. This allows the screen to display content in color by using a combination of red, green, and blue filters. These screens are unique because they can display content in both black and white and color.
It provides a natural reading experience by allowing users to read books and documents in color. Additionally, the Keleido screen uses very little power, which means that e-readers with this screen can last for several weeks on a single charge.
DES (Direct E Ink Screen)
The Direct E Ink Screen (DES) is a type of e-ink screen that was developed by Sony Corporation. This screen is unique because it does not use a color filter array (CFA) like the Keleido screen. Instead, the DES screen uses a direct color pixel matrix that is embedded within the e-ink display panel.
The DES screen is ideal for e-readers and other devices that require high contrast and fast refresh rates.
Gallery 3
This screen employs Advanced Color E-Paper and can display over 50,000 different colors, which is achieved through a four particle ink system: cyan, magenta, yellow and white, which allows a full color gamut at each pixel.
In Gallery 3 the update time has decreased significantly. This is a substantial improvement over the first generation of E Ink Gallery, which had a black and white update time of two seconds and color updates of ten seconds. In addition, Gallery 3 will have an improved resolution of 300 pixels per inch (ppi)
2. Our Picks For The Color E Ink Tablets
- Boox Note Air 3 C (Best Overall)
- Boox Tab Ultra C
- Boox Tab Mini C (Best A6 Sized Color E Ink)
- Mobiscribe Wave C (Best Budget Color E Ink Tablet)
- Good E-Reader & Bigme Galy
- Bigme Ink Note Color
- Onyx Boox Nova Air Color
- Pocketbook Ink Pad Color
3. Comparison Table Color E Ink Tablet
| FEATURES | BOOX TAB MINI C | BOOX TAB ULTRA C | MOBISCRIBE WAVE C | BIGME GALY | BIGME INKNOTE C | ONYX BOOX NOVA AIR C | POCKETBOOK INKPAD C | BIGME B1 PRO Max+ C |
| Release year | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2023 | 2022 | 2022 | 2020 | 2022 |
| Display | ||||||||
| Screen type | Kaleido 3 | Kaleido 3/Carta 1200 | Kaleido Plus | Gallery 3 | Kaleido Plus | Kaleido Plus | Kaleido 3 | Kaleido Plus |
| Screen size | 7.8" | 10.3" | 7.8" | 8" | 10.3" | 7.8" | 7.8" | 10.3" |
| Resolution (Color) | 1404 x 1872 | 2480 x 1860 | 468 x 604 | 464 x 624 | 936 × 702 | 468 × 624 | 468 x 624 | 936 × 702 |
| Resolution (B/W) | 702 x 936 | 1240 x 930 (C) | 1404 x 1872 | 1440 x 1920 | 1404 × 1872 | 1404 × 1872 | 1872 x 1404 | 1872 × 1404 |
| Pixel density (dpi) | 300ppi/150ppi | 300ppi/150ppi | 100(C) 300(B/W) | 100 (C) 300(B/W) | 117(C) 226(B/W) | 100(C) 300 (B/W) | 100(C) 300(B/W) | 117(C) 227(B/W) |
| Hardware | ||||||||
| CPU | Octa-core | Octa-core | 1.5 Ghz Quad-core | 2.3GHz Octa-core | 2.3 GHz octa-core | 1.8 GHz octa-core | Dual Core 1Gz | Quad-core 2.3 GHZ |
| RAM | 4GB | 4GB | 4Gb | 6Gb | 6Gb | 3Gb | 1GB | 6GB |
| Storage | 64 GB | 128 GB | 64Gb | 128Gb (Expandable) | 128Gb (Expandable) | 32Gb | 16 GB | 128 GB |
| Battery | 5,000mAh | 6,300mAh | 2500mAh | 3000mAh | 4000mAh | 2000mAh | 2,900mAh | 4000 mAH |
| Thickness | 8.3 mm | 6.7 mm | 8.1mm | 6.95mm | 4.6mm | 6.3mm | 8mm | 7.7mm |
| Weight | 310g | 480g | 285 g | 320g | 477g | 235g | 225g | 990g |
| Connectivity | Wifi+BT+OTG | Wifi+BT+OTG | Wifi + BT | Wifi + BT | Wifi + BT | Wifi + BT | Wi-Fi + BT | Wifi + BT |
| Operating system | Android 11 | Android 11 | Android 12 | Android 11 | Android 11 | Android 11.0 | Linux | Android 11 |
| Google Play Store | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ |
| Handwriting recognition | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Other Features | ||||||||
| Backlit Screen | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Speakers | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Microphone | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto-Rotate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⨯ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Waterproof | ⨯ | ⨯ | ✓ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ | ⨯ |
The Note Air 3C is the latest addition to the remarkable lineup of e-ink tablets from this manufacturer. It comes with a E Ink Kaleido 3 display technology with the beloved Note Air 2’s features, particularly the paper-like screen feel.
The Note Air 3C retains the same stunning design. The device is incredibly thin at just 5.8mm, which is impressive for a front-lit e-ink tablet with a 10.3-inch screen. The ingenious aspect of the Kaleido 3 screen is that it doesn’t require switching between black and white and color modes. This means black and white content is consistently displayed at 300 PPI, and color content is always at 150 PPI.
Running on Android 11, the Note Air 2 Plus offers the capabilities of a full-fledged Android tablet. It comes with Boox’s OS, ensuring a stable and efficient user experience.
The performance of the Note Air 3C stands out. Thanks to the new octa-core CPU and updated system, the device is significantly faster than its predecessors. The BSR (Black and Sepia Red) technology, dedicated to reducing ghosting and enhancing display speed, is a highlight.
Related: Check Out Detailed Review of Boox Note Air 3C
Why we like about it?
- Fastest Writing Latency: It has the fastest writing latency on the market, offering a highly responsive writing experience.
- Outstanding Writing Experience: The Note Air 3C provides the best overall writing experience of any device. Thanks to Boox Super Refresh (BSR) technology and a front light, it combines a crisp display with a fast refresh rate for an exceptional writing and reading experience.
- Excellent Color E-Reader: The device offers a top-notch color e-reader experience, with a 300 PPI black content screen, making it an ideal choice for readers.
- Affordable Price: When compared to other e-readers, particularly the Tab Mini C, the Note Air 3C offers a competitive price point.
- Android 12: The inclusion of Android 12 enhances the device’s versatility, enabling access to a wide range of apps from the Google Play Store.
- Powerful Hardware: With a more potent CPU, enhanced RAM, and faster overall performance, the Note Air 3C is notably faster than comparable models.
The Boox Tab Ultra C maintains a professional yet modern design, with a new metallic green-gray color scheme that exudes elegance.
This android color E Ink Tablet features a 10.3-inch Caleta 3 display. This marks a significant advancement, as it’s the first 10.3-inch device from Boox to offer a 300 PPI resolution for black and white content. The device boasts a specially designed GPU that enhances screen refreshing and minimizes ghosting, addressing a common issue with color e-ink panels.
The Tab Ultra C boasts a Qualcomm octa-core CPU clocked at 2.02 gigahertz, accompanied by 4GB RAM and 128 gigabytes of storage. It operates on Android 11, providing users with access to a wide range of apps and functionalities through the Google Play Store.
The Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C provides an exceptional reading experience. Backlit screen, fast refresh rate and support of third party reading apps means you can read books from your favorite book store like the kindle library. The writing experience on the Tab Ultra C is smooth and responsive.
Related: Check Out Detailed Review for Boox Tab Ultra C
Why we like about it?
- Highest B/W & Color PPI screen among A5 devices
- Fantastic screen resolution and refresh rate
- Great hardware specs
- Android with Google Play Store
- 16MP rear-facing camera for scanning Docs
- G-Sensor & Light Sensor
- Extendable Storage
- Audio Boos Support (speakers and microphone and USB-C Audio Jack)
- OTG Support
- External Keyboard Turns it into Tablet PC
The Boox Tab Mini C is the latest addition to the Tab series . The Boox Tab Mini C, a compact and portable E-Ink tablet, is a smaller counterpart to the Boox Tab Ultra C. With a 7.8-inch color E-Ink display and the power of Android, it offers a convenient alternative for users who want the benefits of color E-Ink in a more compact form factor.
The design of the Boox Tab Mini C is undeniably elegant, with a premium aluminum alloy build. The front features a flush screen, although the paper-like grayness along the sides can be a minor distraction.
The Boox Tab Mini C runs on Android 11, offering support for a wide range of Android apps. It is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB storage. The tablet features dual speakers, a microphone and a USB-C connector.
In addition to handling PDFs, comics, and mangas, the Boox Tab Mini C also offers a seamless experience for reading regular books.
Related: Check Out Detailed Review for Boox Tab Mini C
Why we like about it?
- Highest Color PPI screen for A6 Sized devices
- Fantastic screen resolution and refresh rate
- Great hardware specs
- Android with Google Play Store
- G-Sensor & Light Sensor
- Audio Books Support (speakers and microphone and USB-C Audio Jack)
- OTG Support
The software features, particularly for handling PDF files, are extensive
Mobiscribe is somewhat a underdog in the E Ink Tablet Market. They have compact yet inexpensive devices and the newest edition to their line of e ink tablet is the Mobiscribe Wave and Mobiscribe Wave Color.
Mobiscribe Wave Series are the only one in the market which are waterproof and this makes them stand out from rest of the E Ink Tablet.
The Mobiscibe Wave Color Runs on Android 12. The system is using a custom-built UI that offers a nice overall user experience. At 7.8 inches, its Kaleido Plus screen dazzles with a resolution of 468 x 604 pixels (color), furthermote it has almost all features that a reader should have. Backlit screen, G sensors, light sensors, speakers and a solid hardware to back it up.
Related: Check Out Detailed Review Of Mobscribe Wave Color
Why we like about it?
- The only waterproof E Ink Tablet
- Fantastic writing experience and quality.
- Great pressure sensitivity and a great pen.
- Notebook functionality and flexibility
- OCR conversion works offline
- Ability to store and backup notes externally in their native format.
- Excellent note search and management Interface
- Great value for money
The Bigme Galy features an 8-inch Gallery 3 color e-paper display. It will have 300 PPI color resolution, which allows a full color gamut at each pixel. The Bigme Galy is running Google Android 11 and ships with Google Play preinstalled. This will give users the ability to download and purchase millions of apps.
Underneath the hood is a A53 2.3 GHZ octa-core processor, 6GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. Which is extendable as well.It is very slender and the tablet is crafted with a combination of aluminum alloy and glass back panel to achieve a slim profile and luxurious texture. There is an 8MP rear camera, and a 5MP front-facing camera.
Related: Check out In depth Review of Bigme Galy
Why we like about it?
- Features dual cameras with OCR technology for scanning
- fingerprint sensor to unlock your device and set a passcode for more security.
- 4 noise cancelling mics will handle audio dictation, voice recognition or various voice communication apps.
- The stylus is ultra-precise and has laser light presenter function & connects via Bluetooth
- Screen sharing via Miracast is also good, so you can easily share your screen with others.
If you’re in the market for a new e-note or tablet, you’ll want to check out the latest model from Bigme and Good e-Reader: the InkNote Color+. This refreshed model features the latest generation E INK Kaleido 3 color e-paper. Its color e ink display provides stunning content.
Running Android 11 and with full access to the Play Store, this tablet is powerful and versatile, making it perfect for work or play. And with two cameras that can take pictures of documents and convert them to PDF files, you can easily view and edit all your important documents on the go. With its sleek aluminum body and customizable buttons, the InkNote Color+ is a true standout in the color e ink tablet market.
Why we like about it?
- The device has two cameras to take pictures of documents and convert them to PDF files,
- The backlit screen is really good with 36 white and amber lights
- Four Noise-cancelling mics for voice dictation, such as voice-to-text in the note-taking app.
- Has fingerprint sensor to unlock for extra security
- Four different speed modes for increased performance from photos to text, surf the web or watch videos.
The Onyx Boox Nova Air Color features a 7.8 inch E INK Carta HD and E INK Kaleido Plus color filter array. The B&W display has 300 PPI and the color has 100 PPI. The screen is flush with the bezel and protected by a AG glass flat cover-lens. The front light has 36 white and amber LED lights with color temperature system. The dual-tone front lights in refreshing white and cozy yellow make the 4,096 colors more comfortable to view in any environment.
Onyx comes with their seminal note taking app, which has over 16 different colors and shades to freehand draw, take notes or simply edit PDF files. It comes bundled with their Boox Pen Plus stylus.
It supports wireless headphones or an external speaker for audiobooks, music, podcasts and more, & If you don’t feel like using headphones, there is two stereo speakers. A truly feature loaded Color E Ink Android Tablet.
Why we like about it?
- It runs on android, with regular updates which means there is a ton of added security benefits.
- The pen has a ceramic tip and give a great writing experience
- For a colored E Ink Tablet the price is reasonable
- Google play store helps In installation of 3rd party apps of your liking
- Access to the entire collection of books from Kindle, Nook, and Kobo libraries. The Libby app and Marvel Unlimited are also available for download.
This device is perfect for reading comics, ebooks, manga, magazines and newspapers.The InkPad Color features an E INK Carta HD and E INK Kaleido 2 color touchscreen display. It has a front-lit display, so you can read at night and the new CFA is now optimized for white LED lights that project light evenly across the screen.
It has a G-sensor, cover sensor (for sleep covers). The Pocketbook InkPad Color runs Linux, which is the same Operating system the company has run for over a decade. This is how they can get away with a dual core processor and 1GB of RAM, because Linux doesn’t have a bunch of background processes like Android.
One of the best aspects of Pocketbook, is their support for a myriad of ebook formats.. If you don’t speak English, there is support for ABBYY Lingvo dictionaries (24 language combinations), English – German, Webster’s Dictionary 1913.
Why we like about it?
- The size is perfect for reading comics especially manga.
- The InkPad Color supports a wide range of ebook, image, audio, and document file formats, including EPUB, PDF, MOBI, FB2, DJVU, JPG, BMP, PNG, MP3, and DOCX, among others.
- The color display has a slow refresh rate which can result in some ghosting and artifacts when scrolling or navigating.
- The InkPad Color runs on a Linux-based operating system and has a limited selection of pre-installed.
- The InkPad Color is heavier and bulkier than most same sized ebook readers
5. Are Colored E Ink Tablets and LED Tablets similar?
Well sadly no, The difference is quite huge, from the color depth to pixel density to refresh rate a lot of factors make LEDs displays more appealing to the eyes
But keeping in view the benefits of an E Ink Screen the tradeoff is justified for people looking for doing a particular task like reading, writing or drawing . If you really want to do more than that then consider buying a Tablet instead of an E Ink Device.
6. Final Verdict
Color E Ink Tablets have had entered a market a while ago and are getting popularity overtime. They are getting better and better and are here to stay. The market is in the nascent stage and people aren’t sure they should buy one or not as they have other options.
Well if you feel the requirement and have the money to buy one then it can be a really good investment. We have found them really helpful for artists, comic readers and people who love taking notes on the go.
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