Thanks to book clubs, my friends and I have started over the last few years, and I’ve been able to get back into reading, albeit very slowly. And rediscovering my love for reading and the amazing stories that you can fully immerse yourself in has helped me feel more fulfilled and creative. But what I struggle with the most is finding the time to read.
I’m someone who resorts to convenience because I have a million things on the go all the time (as we all do). I’ve tried to bring books around with me to read on public transport, even buying book sleeves to keep my books protected, but found that it was too bulky in my everyday bag; I’ve bought eReaders but they’ve also been too big and annoying in my handbag; and I even listen to audiobooks to feel like I’ve “read” a book, but it just isn’t the same.
But over the last month and a bit, I’ve been using the BOOX Palma 2 as my go-to e-reader, and it feels like it has made reading just that little bit easier.
Design
The BOOX Palma 2 is the size of a standard phone at 6.13 inches, and feels incredibly light to hold (lighter than what your average phone would feel like at around 170 grams), with a water repellent design and matte casing that protects it from light rain or any accidental spills.
It essentially acts as a phone without a SIM slot, running at 6GB RAM with 128GB of storage. Featuring a 16MP rear camera (with flash), you can scan through documents within a second, as well as download any of your documents or books onto the device with the convenient micro SD card slot.
The device is also Bluetooth-enabled, meaning that with the built-in microphone and speaker, audio can be recorded and played back through the device itself or any Bluetooth-compatible devices. And the USB-C Port makes this incredibly easy to charge, given the rise in popularity in this universal port.
Featuring a 300 PPI (Pixels per Inch) and a Carta 1200 Monochrome screen resolution (similar to ePaper), the BOOX Palma 2 interface mimics that of a book, and the brightness, contrast, and temperature can be easily adjusted depending on your preferred viewing style.
You’re even able to change the rate of speed in which the device can refresh with the Octa-Core CPU, which helps if you’re going between different apps. Which is also easy to do due to the similar gestures you’d use on any smart device (swiping up from the bottom of the screen or the top of the screen to access different settings and widgets).
The built-in NeoReader, a BOOX exclusive app, also gives users the ability to highlight, annotate, and translate any text.
You can also buy a protective flip case that wakes up and puts the device to sleep, as well as being able to use the case to prop the e-reader upright for hands-free usage.
But the best part about the BOOX Palma 2 that sets it apart from other eReaders is the built-in Google Play store, which gives users the ability to download any pre-existing app onto the device – and yes, that includes social media apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Performance
A huge plus of the BOOX Palma 2 is the size of the device, it’s pocketable and lightweight, which makes it effortlessly portable. But aside from the comfort of a handheld e-reader, this device has far exceeded my expectations of what this type of technology can do.
While you can buy books straight from the device (as long as you are connected to Wi-Fi), the built-in Google Play store means you are also able to download apps like Libby, Hoopla, and BorrowBox – which gives you online library access to books you can borrow and listen to as long as you have a library card. These apps worked on the device like clockwork, providing really clear and crisp text across all apps.
Apps like Spotify (which surprisingly produced pretty decent sound through the device), Instagram, Messenger, and so many other social media apps that help keep you connected can also be downloaded onto the eReader.
But because the sole purpose of the BOOX Palma 2 is its high quality and very efficient ability as an eReader, opening messages, sending messages, scrolling through the interface of each of these apps, and even the installation of these apps made the device run significantly slower, and took a long time to download despite being connected to Wi-FI.
Since it runs on an Android 13 system, users are also able to access the normal apps you’d find on a phone, like the calendar app, a calculator, and the clock app. Users can even customise the home screen to their liking (and yes, that means changing the layout of the apps on the home screen and changing your lock screen wallpaper). But it did take a while and a lot of different tutorials to figure out how to do it.
The battery life in the Palma is also really powerful. After a full charge, the BOOX Palma 2 was able to last for 5 weeks before charging it again.
While there are so many more fantastic features in the BOOX Palma 2, like the duel functionality of the volume buttons also acting as a scroll function, the added protection of a fingerprint lock or numerical lock, a dictionary, and even a torch, a feature that I didn’t feel the need to utilise was the AI Assistant, which acts as a sort of a built-in ChatGPT.
While I could see this being useful for people using the BOOX Palma 2 as more than just an e-reader, this wasn’t a feature that I was too interested in or found any use for.
But the only real downfall to the BOOX Palma 2 was how long it took to get used to the functionality of the device. I had to look up tutorials on a few aspects of setting up the device to my liking (including changing the screensaver as mentioned earlier), before I felt like I had a grasp on using the eReader at its full potential.
The software is also quite complicated, and it took a while of playing around with and looking up instruction guides to fully get the device to run smoothly.
Verdict & Value
While you can almost replace your phone with this device, thanks to the built-in Google Store, social media apps or any other app that isn’t used for the purpose of reading makes the device run slowly. Which almost defeats the purpose of being able to download other third-party apps.
But as an eReader, the BOOX Palma 2 is the perfect little companion to take with you on the go. It’s small and lightweight, and produces really clear text for any time of the day thanks to the monochrome display settings. Highly recommend for people constantly on the move, and who want something just a little bit more powerful than the standard e-reader.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: It’s compact, lightweight, versatile, and portable; The battery life lasts for at least a month of consistent use; Comfortable to hold due to the size.
Lowlights: Downloading third-party apps that process more data makes the device run significantly slower, but if you are only using the BOOX Palma 2 as an e-reader, this should be no issue. It takes a bit of playing around til the device functions at the best quality.
Manufacturer: BOOX
Price: A$299.99
Available: Now
Check out the BOOX website to buy your own BOOX Palma 2 HERE.
