BOOX is a gadget maker that refuses to let its products get labelled. Is the BOOX Note Air5 C a tablet? Maybe. Is it a digital notebook, or maybe a laptop? It could be either, or both. You get the idea. Now, the new BOOX Palma 2 Pro continues this tradition.
The BOOX Palma 2 Pro is one of those delightfully odd gadgets that sits somewhere between a smartphone, an e-reader, and a minimalist productivity device, like the personal digital assistant we talked about previously. But it is clearly more than what the PocketMage is. For starters, it has colors, as suggested by the product name, BOOX Palma 2 Pro Color Mobile ePaper.
Think of it as a phone form factor Kindle that happens to run on Android and lacks the vanity fair, or the electronically induced, vibrant, sensual pleasures that threaten your attention span. It’s a pocket-sized Android E Ink device with cellular data, designed primarily for reading, note-taking, and distraction-light apps (read: less enticing apps). However, it is not here to replace your phone outright because of a very obvious feature, or lack thereof. More on that bit in a sec. It is here to get you off the phone and hopefully do something more productive than doom-scrolling TikTok videos.
It is not the most pleasing gadget to look at, to be honest, thanks to the unusually broad bezel that borders its 6.13-inch Kaleido 3 color E Ink screen, which does both mono and color (4,096 colors). This screen boasts 300 ppi (824 × 1,648 resolution) in black and white, which is actually pretty sharp. However, in color, it is a decent 150 ppi (412 × 824). Like an e-reader, it has a front light with a choice of warm or cool color temperature for night reading.
Under the hood, it benefits from Qualcomm’s mid-range chip, the Snapdragon 750G from 2020, and gets 8 GB of RAM plus 128 GB of storage. The latter is expandable with microSD support via the hybrid slot. For connectivity, it rocks Wi-Fi, along with Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, and supports 5G data SIM. Oh, right. The “very obvious feature, or lack thereof,” is, well, the lack of voice calls. It does do data, as mentioned a sec ago. It does, however, have GPS.
Other notables include a capacitive touch glass screen with flat cover lens, stylus support (USI 2.0, 4,096 pressure levels), a fingerprint reader coexisting with the power button, page-turn buttons which are also the volume buttons, a Smart Button, a 16 MP rear camera (yes, really!) with LED flash, G-sensor for auto-rotation, light sensor, a USB-C port, built-in speaker, built-in dual microphones, and a 3,950 mAh battery, which should be more than sufficient to power possibly more than a day thanks to its power-sipping nature.
It runs on Android 15 with Google Play, which means, if you so choose, you can be distracted by Kindle, Libby, Pocket, Notion, RSS readers, and even messaging apps. Oh, you can install Spotify, too, so it also has your music needs covered.
As the product name suggests, this is not the first. However, the previous Palmas were grayscale only. With color, you can now read comics, scrutinize diagrams, pore over PDFs, surf the World Wide Web, and of course, annotate notes—in color.
The device measures 159 × 80 × 8.8 mm (6.3 × 3.1 × 0.35 inches) and tips the scales at around 175 g (6.2 oz).
If anyone’s interested, the BOOX Palma 2 Pro Color Mobile ePaper can be had for US$399.99.
Images: BOOX.