Boox is an interesting company. The China-based E Ink device maker sells so many products that it’s difficult to figure out what one is right for you. There’s the tiny, phone-like

Palma 2
, the pricey, stylus-equipped Note Max, and then the more e-reader-like Go series, including the Go Color 7 (and soon, the Go Color 7 Gen II).

Given the Boox Go 7’s 7-inch color screen size and overall design, the $250 tablet is designed to compete directly with e-readers like

Kindle’s Colorsoft
and

Kobo’s Libra Color
. While I’m still loyal to my Libra Color because I appreciate its single-use simplicity, over the past few weeks I’ve jumped into Boox’s versatile, Android-powered E Ink world.

There are quite a few things I don’t like about the E Ink tablet that I’ll cover in an upcoming story, but it’s also surprised me in a few ways, particularly with regard to how versatile it is.

Boox Go Color 7

Resolution

1680 x 1264

Storage

64GB

Brand

Boox

Screen Size

7-inch

RAM

4GB

Screen

HD Kaleido 3 Carta 1200 with flat-cover lens

Expand

Related

Boox’s Palma is a flawed E Ink gadget that helped me stop doomscrolling

The tiny e-reader has several issues, but it helped me overcome one of mine and read more.

Having access to Android apps is more useful than I expected

There’s still just enough friction to prevent me from doomscrolling

I always find it difficult to concentrate on reading longer-form content on my smartphone, tablet, or laptop. The siren song of the never-ending doomscroll or a random

YouTube
video always calls out to me, and I find myself ditching whatever I’m reading far more quickly than I’d like. This is why I’ve been big on single-use e-readers like the Kobo Libra Colour. Despite their limitations, they keep me focused and, in turn, actually reading.

But after spending a few weeks with Boox’s Go Color 7, I understand the appeal. Throughout the day, I’ll often take down Notes in Google Keep, whether it’s grocery lists, tasks I need to complete, or even Pocket-lint headline or story ideas. Since the Go Color 7 is powered by Android, I can just open up

Keep
and write down whatever I need to without having to pull out my phone. The experience isn’t exactly smooth, even when you turn up the app’s refresh rate (more on this later), but it works and has me turning to my phone a little less, which I appreciate.

This brings me to my next point. Part of what makes the Boox Go Color 7 work is that you can’t comfortably use it as an E Ink Android tablet (The Verge’s David Pierce had similar thoughts about the Palma). Social media apps are a laggy mess and YouTube videos look awful on the Go Color 7 E Ink display, regardless of how high you turn up the screen’s refresh rate. But a podcast on Spotify or Pocket Casts, or launching Firefox to quickly look something up? Boox’s Go Color 7 can easily handle these tasks if you turn the app refresh rate up.

Maybe you’re tired of typing in your passwords manually and want to install

1Password
on the E Ink tablet, just like you would on a smartphone? You can do that too. There’s just enough friction here to prevent me from diving into apps I don’t want to be using when I’m focused on reading, but the Boox Go Color 7 is still capable enough for simple tasks like short note-taking or listening to a podcast. This means I’m comfortable leaving the house with just Boox’s Go Color 7 if I want to do some phone-free reading at a nearby park.

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Accessing my library of Kobo books was easier than I expected

Just download the app and you’re in

sw

One of the reasons I’ve never considered switching to a Kindle is because I already have a pretty substantial library of Kobo books. Thankfully, making the jump to Boox’s devices is simple if you’re

coming from Kobo land
. All I need to do is download the Kobo app from Google’s Play Store and sign into my account (of course, with the help of 1Password), and my library is there. I’m even able to pick-up books where I left off on my Palma 2, or Kobo Libra Color, making the reading experience that much more seamless.

This also makes installing apps like Libby, which is commonly used by libraries, very easy, alongside Pocket (which you

can also use with a Kobo
), Google’s eBookstore, Moon+ (which is really popular with Boox users), and more. The fact that the Boox Go Color 7 runs Android opens up app compatibility that’s much wider than e-readers from Kindle and Kobo.

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I’ve never used a E Ink tablet that’s this customizable

You can really make Boox’s Go 7 your own

With the exception of Kobo’s app for some reason, you can customize exactly what you want the Boox Go Color 7 two side buttons to do. This is something I’ve really appreciated over the past few weeks. On top of that, each app’s refresh rate can be customized.

I’ve quickly learned that the Kobo app doesn’t need a fast refresh rate, but if I’m using Pocket Casts or Firefox, I have to turn up the refresh rate considerably for the app to be usable. To do this, select the three-line settings option beside the refresh button at the bottom of the Go 7’s navigation menu. You can then pick between Normal, Speed, A2, and Regal. You can also change other settings like an app’s DPI and color by long-pressing on its icon and selecting Optimize.

Maybe you want to change the system-wide font? You can do that in the settings. Perhaps the standard

Android System Bar
is an eye-sore for you. Don’t worry, just make it only appear when you swipe down on the display. You can also change the Home Screen to launch several different options, including your apps or settings. It’s even possible to change how many presses you need to make on the screen before it does a full-system E Ink display refresh (the default is 10).

I’ll have more on Boox’s Go Color 7 soon, including some of the key issues I’ve experienced with the E Ink tablet over the past few weeks.

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3 new Boox Palma 2 features you won’t find in the original

Is the Palma 2 a worthwhile upgrade over the Boox Palma? Not really.