BigmeinkNote Color + E-Reader 10.3" 6G 128GB Dual Cameras TF Card Slot, Notetaking Digital Epaper E Ink Tablet with Stylus and Cover

Here are the important things to remember. This is a fantastic e-reader device. It is a nice large size at 10", and the e-ink screen also supports color. Color really improves the reading experience and makes coloring and drawing a real possibility. It is not a replacement for an OLED tablet. If you want to watch movies and play games exclusively, then this isn't the correct device for you.With that said, Bigme has really innovated on this device and produced something truly unique in the market. They have done the groundwork for you to create any e-ink workspace that you want. The preinstalled software is just okay, so the first thing you will do is load up the app store and install your favorite e-reader, audiobook player, your web browser, and note-taking software. It's up to you because this device works with virtually every app on the store!After that, all your passwords and favorites are synced, and you're ready to get to work.One thing that is really fantastic out of the box is the settings page. This is a tablet like no other, and it has customizations like no other. They've included a very useful "user guide" which explains the variety of settings available. I was impressed with the detail and clarity of this user guide because some areas of the tablet still have non-English characters. The startup screen and box contain non-English characters which initially made me nervous, but the software itself is almost completely devoid. The firmware update is also not translated, but the download button was obvious. These are mostly software issues that may be changes in your version of the device and didn't negatively impact my experience.You can make customizations to the display quality of the E-Ink, opting for faster refreshes, better colors, or crisper text. You can also customize the screen refresh frequency to eliminate ghosting. This can be adjusted on a per-application basis so your experience can be adjusted based on the main purpose of the app: faster refresh for the web browser or higher quality for e-reading.Another great setting is their screenwriting settings. Not all apps support pen input, so they have created three screenwriting settings that give you pen input in virtually any application. Screenwriting captures your input, and then after a slight delay, applies any screen input to the active application. I was concerned it would slow down color changes and switch to eraser. Amazingly, it captures all writing and tap input and then applies them in order. You can write on the screen with multiple color changes as fast as you can tap, and it correctly applies the input into the app. I tested this with OneNote and was unable to outpace it even with random scribbling and taps.The pen itself has a connection to the tablet and charges automatically while the device is sleeping. This is much more convenient than having to source AAAA batteries or carry a USB-C cable to charge the active pens. The simplicity of this makes the pen much more convenient to maintain. The matte screen does a good job of simulating a pen on paper experience and reduces glare from bright light. The pen does not include a clip, but aftermarket 9mm clip-on clips can be applied to secure the pen in a pocket or bag.The pen input works well with 3rd party slide input and is a very fast way to enter actual text. I felt like I could type faster with the slide than I could handwrite. In default mode (No on-screen writing mode), the on-screen slide is a little behind my pen, but didn't have any impact on my sliding speed. I was immediately able to just ignore it.Color reproduction is good. Again, it's not an OLED screen, but it displays really well in bright sunlight. In dark scenarios, there are two adjustable backlights. One is a yellow color for night use, and the other is a daylight white color. The white is better for colors, but they are both very good and can be turned on together and blended to get your desired color tone. If you want to take handwritten notes in the dark, this will be a great asset and eliminates the need for a flashlight. (Think outside or on a dark airplane)Battery life is decent. If you put it in airplane mode, it will last longer than with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth active. You can expect a full day (24 hrs) of heavy use or multiple days sitting on a desk next to your computer. It charges with USB but doesn't have super-fast charging (10W is the real power consumption when charging from 0%).I joined a few online video meetings and video calls. The video displayed on the tablet is naturally a low frame rate. I was pleasantly pleased that the video on the recipient's computer was smooth. Looked just like I was using a traditional tablet. This would be a great way to screen share and annotate with the pen.The speakers were good enough for music and audiobooks, although similar to other mobile devices in quality. Small and middle-range sound only. However, Bluetooth had no problems connecting to my wireless headphones. With headphones, it was just as good as my Android phone. This is consistent with other mobile devices.Bottom Line: If you're interested in a smart notebook or high-end e-reader that can be customized to your liking, this is a great device. It's a premium price tag but well worth it. You'll have to do some customizations to get it exactly how you want it. The effort is worth it for the good user experience. If you can't install an app on a smartphone, then you won't be able to use this product.

I've owned a few EReaders over the years. From the first Sony Prs models to kindles to kobos. Each of them had their pros and cons. Some could be sideloaded with your books bought from places other than Amazon easily and others....you had to be creative. Regardless, I bought and used them for the purpose of reading books.What does that have to do with this Bigme that I just dropped the most money I've ever spent on a E-Ink device? Well, everything.First off, it's not a tablet, not an I-Pad, and I didn't buy it to replace one. It should never be compared to those devices. I bought it because I've always wanted an Eink reader that had a descent sized screen comparable to a hard-cover book, be in color so I could set the book cover as a screen saver and see the cover as it was meant to be seen, also to read comics and colored Manga, and have a memory card slot that gives me enough memory that I will never feel nervous about using it all up.I've waited a long time for those things and this Bigme finally checks all my own personal boxes. The colors are not as bright as a tablet display, and the pictures they show you here on Amazon are.....misleading in that respect, but overall I'm satisfied.True, there's a learning curve to the device that, to me, loses one star. And the cover it comes with feels flimsy with weak magnetism to hold the reader in place....take care.Also some of the apps are in Chinese, but those apps are not necessary to an American user...as far as I can tell. The UI is a little strange to navigate, but I recommend just tapping each button and setting to see where you end up. It'll give you the quickest way to learn the system.You will need to be comfortable navigating an Android system, regardless of how oddly it's set up, to get what you want out of it. I've connected it to the playstore, downloaded my preferred epub reader app, downloaded my preferred comic app, sideloaded my book library to a micro sd card that I've placed in the device, learned how to set the screen-saver with the image of the book I'm reading, and am now content with it.I don't care enough about the note taking or camera funtion on it to go into any of that, but I like the pen with the buttons to change the book page. I might experiment a little with the feature that allows you to write on the book you're reading. But I'm not sure. That creeped me out when I found scribbles in real books I checked out from the library so I might not.Also I'm not going to try to play videos or games with it because..... again it's not a tablet. Its strengths are in how it displays static images, not moving ones.The firmware updates that it'll periodically need also are in Chinese so unless they change that you'll never know what improvements were made unless you can read Chinese. I'm not all that sad about this. I can't read the language, but a good rule of thumb, if it's in Chinese and presents you with a choice of two buttons press the one on the right. That seems to always be the "OK" or "Enter" button.So is it worth 699 plus state tax? It'll depend on what you want it for. If you're looking for an EInk IPad to play videos and games I'd say no. However, if you want to read books and see color book covers, read comics, magazines, and other PDFs in color, however faded like old newsprint, and in sunlight, and enjoy a battery life better than your average tablet.... That's all up to you.To me it was worth it. That and it being sold on Amazon made me feel more confidant of the purchase. If I didn't like it I could have easily returned it. I've heard way too many bad things about buying EReaders from Good Ereader to risk trying to get one from there.Anyway, I hope this helps anyone whose considering buying one.