I thought I would start an owners thread for the Bigme/Good e-Reader InkNote Color here as there doesn’t seem to be a forum for it. I own both a Remarkable 2 and the InkNote Color (which I ordered through Kickstarter). Initial thoughts on the InkNote Color is that it is does many things: eReader, note taking device, android tablet, but is not the best device for any of them.
For example, the pen latency for note-taking is great. But selecting a different pen takes 0.5-1 second to respond. In fact, every action on the device takes that time. It’s not the screen refresh, as such actions are pretty instantaneous on the remarkable. Having color is nice, but you can only just make out the different colors, and the contrast of the screen (because of the color layer) is also not as good as the remarkable. It reminds me of an early mobile device: poor colors, poor contrast, slow response, clunky interface.
However, while my initial impression of the remarkable was very positive, it only took me a couple of days before I was hitting its limitations. The InkNote, being an Android tablet with full access to Google Play, in contrast, is so flexible. Transferring files is easy with OneDrive installed, and using it’s “global handwriting” feature, it’s actually possible to use apps like OneNote. Furthermore, the InkNote seems really well built, the fingerprint recognition works really well, as does the backlight, and BigMe seem to be updating and improving it on a regular basis. Hopefully they will keep that up, particularly if they share the build with the upcoming Galy. And having a single device that does everything is actually quite handy. So, while my initial reaction was not as positive as the remarkable, it’s something that I think is going to grow on me, and will use more and more as I get used to its nuances. In other words, I have no regrets on its purchase.
If any prospective buyers have any questions, I’m happy to answer them. And I hope other owners come here so we can share some tips.
Great idea, @Ashers! Thanks for starting this. I bought mine to replace my boox note 3 since its battery is getting weaker and weaker as time goes by. The color had almost nothing to do with it ;-). I haven’t even tried using the google play store other than opening it, so I won’t be much help, but can always try. I am concentrating on nagging them to get full English support for the ereader dictionary/wictionary and operating system “white screens of death” with buttons in Chinese only. Then, I’ll move on to other stuff. They did announce that the English dictionary will be in the next update…
Hola,siento escribir en español pero lo que tengo que decir no es posible hacerlo en ingles.Yo fui uno de los patrocinadores del Bigme y lo tengo en mis manos.La primera impresion ya fue mala,subieron el valor del aparato y me incluyeron los gastos de envio en el mismo,por lo que aduanas se despachó a gusto.Encima DHL me cobró por la gestion practicamente el mismo importe.Dicho esto,de entrada para lo mas que lo queria era como e-reader grande por mis problemas de vision y ahi empieza el aparato a fallar:el texto a voz(TTS)solo traduce a chino,e informando al equipo de Bigme,la primera respuesta que recibo es que descargue una app desde Google store,que no me sirve de nada porque el aparato no permite cambiar el predeterminado(o sea la de ellos).Luego me informan de que lo arreglan en la actualizacion lanzada hace dos dias y ahi viene el tercer fallo:el aparato no se actualiza,intento forzar la busqueda de actualizaciones y me salta siempre que es la ultima version.Y para terminar,que igual no es lo ultimo porque no he finalizado la exploracion del inknote,el 4G no se soporta fuera de China,de que sirve un inknote sobre todo de manera profesional si no puedes tener una sim de otro pais?Por el precio y la repercucion internacional,deberian cuidar un poco mas los detalles del aparato,y no lanzarse a promocionar otro modelo cuando este no sirve para lo que se publicitó.Un saludo.
The new update has arrived but the dictionary still looks up English words only to give Chinese definitions. that is less than useless to me, it is irritating. I would like to find out how to return it for a refund. goodEreader, please post how to do this. Thanks.
The update or a new one just installed itself again or anew. When will I have time to read if the device is continuously updating. And, no, the new version still does not allow definitions in English (unless one of the options in Chinese tells me how to do it…)
Interesting. I’m not sure which prompt with those characters that I actually hit, but I now get both chinese and english short definitions. It takes about 3 strokes to get to it and 5 to get back to the book, so it is still far from ideal, but thanks! It does prove that the English definitions are available somewhere if they can streamline the s/w a bit. Cheers!
I can understand @Pacha_Gonzalez’s frustration, as their advertising was misleading (as were their photoshopped photos of the device). But I must admit I have such low expectations for anything that I buy on Kickstarter/indiegogo so to actually receive a functioning device is a real plus. After they announced the update, it took a couple of days before it arrived on my device. I haven’t used TTS nor the dictionary so can’t comment on that. Also, I was never planning to use 4G as creating a mobile hotspot on my phone is so easy.
I do not have this device at the moment. I have a question about the latest 2022 DEC 01 update :INKNOTE_COLOR_R_2.2.6_20221201 and the “custom screensaver” update - is it possible to set the screensaver, so that the device enters STANDBY, with the last displayed app showing rather than an uploaded fixed screensaver image?
i.e. whatever app one had open (built-in or Google Play) and a “standby” mode note superimposed, so one could keep a web page, to do list, calendar, etc. “on” the display (not refreshing of course) without much power draw?
I emailed the company and they said they would be adding this soon…
I will take a look at MobiScribe thank you, it definitely “suspends” with last screen showing? Their website says one can add a custom PNG screensaver doesn’t mention suspending with the last app showing.
I tried someone’s Bigme inkNote Color and it suspended to a static image (Bigme logo on the version I tried which was November 2022 OS update).
Do you know of other Android-based tablet/e-readers that have either Google Play store or ones that allow APKs that have the suspend feature with last app showing? Most devices like Kindles seem to put up a screensaver image only - frustrating since eink could be “always showing” any content displayed.
I can’t guarantee that the MobiScribe can do that, but as far as I can tell it is the exact same device as the KingJim Freno, just with a different colour casing and branding. The Freno does keep as the screensaver whatever was on the display when it turned ‘off’.
However, I don’t think either are what you are after as they are both small and stuck on Android 8.1. Also, you can sideload Android apps, but Google Play Services do not work and Android apps sometimes seem to have a tendency to trash the battery. There are also no enhancements for using any but the built-in apps, so things like OneNote are unusable.
I believe what you want is a feature in all onyx boox with recent firmwares… been available for awhile. It will go to sleep with whatever on the screen. So one use is to leave it on their calendar memo app showing your agenda for the day. All onyx boox eink devices for many years run on Android.
Thank you, that is exactly what I want and I wasn’t able to find this out! I asked Onyx support once and either they didn’t understand my question, or, it was before they introduced this feature. Since I used Android calendar apps rather than built-in it would be wonderful to go to sleep with any Android app left on screen. Will check out an Onyx Boox!
@m278ae - The feature (to leave the current screen displayed when the device goes into standby) is now working on the Bigme/Good e-Reader Inknote Color. It’s not so obvious to find. You need to go to the normal Android home screen (icon with 4 boxes) and select the “Screen saver” app. There, you can select “transparent” as the style.
So far, Bigme seem to be pretty good with updates. They’ve been updating pretty much on a monthly basis, and I’m definitely seeing improvements with each update.
Hi, my Bigme Inknote cannot access Google Playstore or use Chrome browser after I have not touched it in awhile, can anyone enlighten me on this issue?
Google Play on my Bigme Inknote is still working fine, even with the latest updates. There is a way to reregister on Google Play if you need to. If it’s still not working, perhaps you can provide some details on the error you’re seeing?