Boox Nova Air C Impressions

 

Nova Air C Backlight off

I like tech and I especially like tech with styli. I had a Note and upgraded to the Ultra. My computer flips and has a pen. Now I have an e-ink tablet ... with a stylus. I do use the stylus on my phone to write notes. I'm hoping to use the stylus on the Boox for making notes when I read books. That sounds like it's a process to learn. For a really good introduction to this device, check here and here. This is an expensive device so make sure you have a specific use in mind.

That said, I wanted to get a larger device and was willing to give colour and a stylus a shot. I have a Poke 3 so I'm familiar with Boox; I have to admit the Kindle Scribe gave me some FOMO. This is a 7.8" screen which was as large as I want to go for a device that may fall on my face as I fall asleep while reading. I'm happy with the experience I got with the Poke 3 - I can get library books and read books from all the stores. I haven't used the default app (yet) because I tend to upload through Play Books. I have to explore upload options (I do tend to get epubs). NeoReader has some features, like page keys, that I'd like to try.

The Nova Air C is quite a bit heavier than my Poke and the included cover is not as "nice". and by nice I mean it's kind of floppy when it folds back because of the wider spine. I've got a pen holder on order that should help how the case folds and store the pen better. The magnet is ok but the pen gets in the way.

So the most important part - reading! I wanted colour just for reading magazines. I'm used to the AMOLED screen of my phone and computer so I would want that quality of display for reading graphic media. These colours are fine but not intense. I find a lot of screens too bright so the contrast for reading works well for me with the settings available. I love the screen size. If you want phenomenal battery life, you'll have to accept screen ghosting. I found the Nova Air C to be much more responsive than my Poke 3.

Backlight on 

Sooo...would I buy again if on a budget? I would stick with my Poke 3. If the Poke 3 broke, I would look at a Leaf but I suspect, from the splash screen that it would be the same speed as my Poke 3 which is mildly annoying so yeah, likely. It would be nice to be able to check performance out in a store before purchasing but that's not available. 

New tech in the house one first impressions

 

When Samsung did their event that asked by computer's can't be more like phones I was hooked.\I have a Surface Go I had been unhappy with the screen because it really sucks outside...and in the end, it is a little small. Although I'm very happy with my Samsung phone, I had a Samsung all-in-one that was horribly laggy and full of things I didn't want.  Still, that AMOLED screen...but that multilingual keyboard...what the heck I'll get the high-end processor and see how it goes. I ended up with the 13" 360.

A moment to appreciate genius packaging

I have glasses for long distance driving and often use prescription sunglasses when driving in summer. Last year one of the arms of my sunglasses lost a screw. In true procrastinator fashion, I waited until we had sunny days again to try to fix it.

Found the fixit kit in the second drawer I checked - yay me! It has a fine screwdriver and some replacement screws. What makes this genius is all the screws are in little Tygon-like sleeves to stop the screws from rattling around and spilling. No need to try to shake a screw out, simply insert the screw driver into the sleeve, pull it out of the container and use it as a guide for screwing the arm in place. When the screw is seated the tube will be on the screw driver. They even used coloured tubing for the lower layer of screws!

I think I got this for a few dollars somewhere. Well worth it.

A book and 2 apps

I routinely escape my doom scrolling (now with REDDIT - oh no!) by reading books and writing reviews on Amazon and/or Goodreads. This time I'm putting the review here! By coincidence I've also added 2 new apps to my phone so I thought I would include a first impression of them as well.

Review - 3 items

Hope you and yours are doing as well as possible as we come out of "Stay at Home" whatever that's meant for you.

Our spending habits didn't change too much but now that it's warmer out we can implement some of the changes. Blogger has changed so formatting for the pictures will be a bit different - oh well. Read ahead to see what I think of adjustable ring video doorbell mount, a silicon cookie sheet and the phone case I'm currently using.

MarioKart Tour - Cabin Fever saver

Nintendo fan here! I even stood in line for the Wii back in the day and we still have 2 DSs and a bunch of games around. We did a lot of Wii Fit and Wii sports nights with friends but the most fun was MarioKart. I was super pumped to see a mobile game come out and was not disappointed. For me, the free version has hit the sweet spot of rewards while punting you back to real-world responsibilities - like Bennie! So I was really surprised to read such a negative review from Engadget.

Each race is fairly short and you can only collect a certain amount of coins and experience points before hitting the daily cap. Rubies are doled out frequently enough that you get to use the pipe without paying and you can use tickets to level up to earn more points in a race. I usually hit a wall 3 days before a tour ends - if you don't keep collecting stars, new tracks don't open. Challenges are a good range of "keep playing" points and "do tasks" to earn extra stars and coins. New Tour = several open tracks.

You can play a long time without knowing all the ins and outs. I collected tickets for ages before really exploring the menu button and using them to upgrade karts, drivers and gliders. Game mechanics are good. I tend to keep my thumb on the screen all the time even though you don't need to and it can result in unintended motions. It's a drain on the phone battery but not too bad.

This is a freemium game; you can purchase rubies and play packages as well as a monthly subscription. Coming soon is a multi-player mode which I'm meh about. I suppose for people used to countless hours playing games, this game wouldn't be appealing but for a casual gamer like myself, it's a nice break with firm disengagement opportunities.

Galaxy Note 10 accessory review

Winning combo

I dropped my S8 a few weeks ago and replaced it with a Note 10. That means the hunt was on for a case. I also wanted to have a cardholder and took the opportunity to try a PopSocket. The winner in this whole thing was Amazon followed by Best Buy.