[Q] NST the only viable eink Tablet?

andTab said:

I have been looking around for an eink android tablet.
Is the NST the only option?
I understand that the screen refresh rate severely limits what you can do, but i was wondering if it is otherwise possible to run all apps?

As far as I could find, none of the other eink ereaders (Amazon Kindle, Kobo) can be rooted / made to run regular android apps.

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You can also choose a 13.3" epaper tablet from sony:

http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/sony-announces-13-3-inch-e-reader-to-launch-in-the-usa-this-may

I just can't precise if it even runs android.

I believe that neither Kindle or Kobo run android. They use a proprietary OS so, no rooting on them.

andTab said:

As far as I could find, none of the other eink ereaders (Amazon Kindle, Kobo) can be rooted / made to run regular android apps.

Click to expand...

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Check the Android on Kobo thread.
They can run Android 2.3.4

andTab said:

Though none of these eink readers runs a modern (4.x) version of android?

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there is the boyue t62 and the boyue t61 the Icarus illumina is a rebrand of the boyue t61. they run android 4.2 I think I am considering getting one myself but android L coming out in a month and that's supposed to be for low power and android one is for low costs devices so I am starting to like the idea of an android one device with eink so I kind of want to wait.

There have been several readers released recently that run "open" andriod. There is the Onyx Boox T68 and the Icarus Illumina HD. You can find a comparision review of both readers here

@andTab, you are right about the refresh rate problem, but there is a way around it: NoRefresh enabler. It's a great alternative and it works nicely, too.

The only eink tablet?

Not at all. For example the Onyx Boox T68 comes with Android 4.0, a higher resolution display, more RAM, a faster processor
and is already open (no root required).

But the NST is by far one of the cheapest EINK devices running Android

smeezekitty said:

The only eink tablet?

Not at all. For example the Onyx Boox T68 comes with Android 4.0, a higher resolution display, more RAM, a faster processor
and is already open (no root required).

But the NST is by far one of the cheapest EINK devices running Android

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Click to collapse

Right. It's not even that bad for being the cheapest.

And cheap is always good.

otg support

do we know if any of the above android eink ereaders like onyx boox or boyuee T61 , T62 support usb host function - otg?? Nowhere is mentioned exactly and is very critical for my application to add a usb smartcard reader..

Take a look at Meet Earl project, it's not out jet, but looks very promising. I can't post links, look for youtube video - it will explain everything. Nook is the best tech thing I've bought. After Earl it will be second...

Boyue T62

I just rooted and set up a Boyue T62 for an avid reader. I used an exposed module to have the page up and page down buttons trigger Tasker tasks that input screen taps, making the buttons work in pretty much every reader app. It misfires on occasion, but the user says it happens so rare that it's not even an inconvenience.
The experience of reader apps as reported by her:
Built in "Books" app for non DRM books - Works flawlessly, but finding books stored in the card isn't as user friendly as it should be.
Cool Reader - works great after you tweak the options
Nook - Nearly flawless, but there is bug with the front light. If stuck on, use light icon in the tray to turn it off. Very minor inconvenience. Page turns are slower than an actual nook, but still well within reason.
Kindle - Sluggish, but once a book is loaded, works great.
Kobo - Unusably slow, but who uses Kobo anyway?
Various "Free ebooks" apps - most work great!
PDF - not tested yet.

Other apps useful on eInk
Flipboard - Usable
"Internet" - Great for pages that have a lot of text.
Built in Email - Flawless
IHeartRadio - Flawless, excellent for music to read to
Keyring - Set up and Tutorial look like crap, but it works flawlessly after that. She had this app on a hacked Nook before, and she has yet to find a barcode scanner that can't read an e-ink screen!
Google+ - Fails to install
Google Plus mobile site - works well
Dictionary.com app - Fails to install
Play Music - Fails to launch
Facebook Lite - works well
Facebook regular app - not tested
Google Keep - Works well, but color options, obviously, are quite limited. She just uses what we assume is the default yellow, which displays clearly.
Rounder - Looked AWESOME with the victorian corners she likes, but it interfered with the tasker set up I used for the page buttons.

If you're interested, e-mail me Miakoda@KlatchNet.net, and I'll give you the code and screen coordinates to use in tasker for the buttons, and the name of the exposed module I used to connect tasker to the buttons. I don't have the reader in front of me, I'll ask her for it for a second to get that for you. It's configed so the page turns are screen taps on click, volume on long press. The refresh button is standard refresh on press, standard back light toggle on long press, and brightness options on double press. Power key is standard power on press, power menu on long press, and screenshot on double press. Interestingly enough, screen shots are color when sent to a color device. I wasn't expecting that. The double press for the backlight options is a fantastic work around for the backlight bug in the Nook app.

When I see her, I'll see if her boyue supports USB host.