Tag NOTE

The current generation of e-book readers has torn down the walls separating it from typical Android tablets. In fact, except for the display and customized home screen, these devices are pretty much Android tablets using E Ink panels instead of LCDs or OLEDs. While this empowers e-readers to be able to do more things, there’s also the risk of going overboard with features that may burden the user, both literally as well as figuratively. Fortunately, there’s quite a wide range of options for those who want different things from an e-reader, ranging from the most basic to the most powerful, but that also makes it harder to choose the right one for your needs. The new Onyx BOOX Note Air3 C promises the middle ground between these two extremes, so we give it a good test to see if it really offers a new experience or is just a rehash of a recent product.

Designer: BOOX

Aesthetics

Although BOOX is probably better known for blurring the lines between e-readers and tablets, it can also be credited with changing the face of e-readers for the better. While these devices started out as simple yet uninspiring small slabs of plastic, the current generation can stand with their heads held up high, proudly displaying their more elegant designs. The BOOX Note Air3 C carries this tradition with a minimalist yet elegant appearance that attempts to resemble the appearance of a thin book. In addition to the wide bezels surrounding the display, the left side has a very wide margin similar to the spine of a book. Of course, you can flip the e-reader around if you prefer that margin to be on the right side, and the UI will rotate as well.

The overall design of the BOOX Note Air3 C is mostly flat, from the front to the back to the edges. It’s the trend in tablets these days, so it gives the device a more modern appearance compared to the curved backs of typical e-readers. It’s arguable whether this design is more ergonomic, as we’ll see later, but there will be little debate that it looks premium. It also feels premium, with a light yet solid aluminum chassis that is sure to stand the test of time and your bag. There are very few markings on the device, most of them on the “margin” side and its edge. There isn’t much visual noise that will distract you from what matters the most: reading on the screen.

That 10.3-inch screen size is admittedly still a novelty among e-readers, most of which are designed to easily slip inside small bags or hold comfortably in bed above your head. It is, however, also the perfect size for viewing most reading material, including comics, manga, and magazines. Some papers, particularly those in A4 size, will look a bit compressed, but the crisp and sharp Kaleido 3 E Ink panel still makes such content comfortable to read. Of course, it’s a color E Ink panel, which looks fantastic on the matte screen. Of course, colors are limited and muted compared to regular tablets, but we’re talking about eye-friendlier e-paper displays here anyway.

All in all, the BOOX Note Air3 C presents a minimalist design that really contains the basics for an e-reader. There isn’t even a camera, a.k.a. document scanner, unlike its BOOX Tab Ultra C look-alike. Save for the minimum branding accents, it has very few distractions in terms of appearance and even controls, allowing you to be fully immersed in what you’re reading instead.

Ergonomics

The Onyx BOOX Note Air3 C is by no means a small device, especially when compared to common e-readers like the Amazon Kindle. While that does mean it has more screen space for comfortable reading, it also means it’s larger and heavier than your typical e-book readers. That, in turn, has implications on how comfortable it is to use, especially for long periods of time.

With a weight of 430g and a size of 226 x 193 x 5.8 mm, it is almost comparable to a 5th-gen iPad Air (2022) but also considerably lighter. That still means it’s going to tire out your arms when you hold it up too long and it will hurt a lot when you accidentally drop it on your face while lying in bed. There’s still an ongoing debate on whether flat edges are more ergonomic because they don’t easily slip from your hand or if curved is the way to go because it’s kinder to your skin.

Where the BOOX Note Air3 C really shines is in the comfort it brings to your eyes thanks to E Ink technology. Unlike typical LCD or OLED screens, it doesn’t shine light directly toward your eyes and uses front lighting instead. It is gentler on the eyes and solves most of the blue light problems that screens have (if you don’t turn on the front light), so it’s definitely a significantly better option for those who love reading all the time. Like most of BOOX’s devices, you also get to select the level of brightness and the warmth of the light that you’re comfortable with, allowing you to fine-tune the reading experience to your personal tastes.

Performance

Similar to the latest generations of BOOX devices, the BOOX Note Air3 C is really an Android tablet at heart, both in hardware and in software. It’s powered by a 2.4GHz octa-core processor, most likely a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 series, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The screen is a 10.3-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 panel with a 300 ppi pixel density for black and white content and 150 ppi for colors, pretty much the gold standard for now. It has a Wacom digitizer layer for input with a stylus, which we’ll get to later. Rounding up the specs is a microSD card slot, built-in speakers and mic, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and a fingerprint scanner on the power button.

If most of these sound familiar, you might have already seen or even bought the Onyx BOOX Tab Ultra C. They’re almost identical, save for the smaller 3,700 mAh battery and the lack of a camera that serves as a document scanner. The latter is honestly something that felt quite superfluous on the BOOX Tab Ultra, so it’s a bit encouraging that an unnecessary feature was removed to help cut down on costs. Cutting the battery capacity in half, however, is a bit too drastic, even if it results in a lighter build. Battery life is still a lot better than regular tables, running for days rather than just hours, but it won’t last more than 2 or 3 days of constant use, especially when running a lot of apps.

Those apps will mostly come from the Google Play Store, thanks to being a certified Android 12 device. That means you have access to the same library of apps available to tablet owners, whether or not they make sense to use on an E Ink screen. Performance won’t be the same of course, especially for apps with fast-changing content like games and videos, but you can run them at least. It also means that you won’t be lacking sources for content since you can install the likes of Amazon, Kobo, and more. And yes, you can do your Web browsing, social media, or even work on this device. The built-in speakers are serviceable but not that great, so you’ll want to pair it up with wireless earphones if you really want to enjoy audiobooks or podcasts.

Of course, the real star is the Kaleido 3 E Ink screen, which shows clear, crisp, and sharp text, especially in black and white. Colors are naturally not vibrant and look more like pastels, but that’s on par with current technology. The screen is quite responsive and fast, thanks to the BOOX Super Refresh technology, and it is really at the top of its class. The BOOX Note Air3 C offers the usual four speed modes where you get to trade quality for quick refreshes. Thankfully, the custom user interface lets you choose the mode on a per-app basis rather than just as a global switch.

The BOOX Note Air3 C ships with the Pen 2, the version of BOOX’s Wacom-compatible stylus that doesn’t come with a dedicated eraser on the opposite end. Thanks to using a standard technology, however, you can use different kinds of Wacom styluses if the free one isn’t your cup of tea. On built-in apps as well as a few chosen ones like OneNote, the stylus is smooth, fluid, and accurate. Unfortunately, any other app outside those will reveal the lag that is more a limitation of the slow E Ink screen rather than a flaw in Wacom technology. Hopefully, BOOX will open up its pen optimizations to all apps soon.

Another big difference from the BOOX Tab Ultra C is a lack of pogo pins for connecting a keyboard folio cover. In fact, BOOX doesn’t have such an accessory for this model, which means people who want to type will have to make do with a Bluetooth or USB-C keyboard instead. It’s not a huge deal-breaker per se, but it does change the narrative a bit. While the BOOX Tab Ultra C seems almost geared for productivity, including typing documents, the BOOX Note Air3 C goes back to the roots of enjoyable reading, just with a few productive apps on the side.

On the one hand, the feature set of the BOOX Note Air3 C doesn’t sound so sensational, especially compared to the discontinued BOOX Tab Ultra C and the new BOOX Tab Ultra C Pro. On the other hand, it actually checks all the right boxes and delivers on its promise without excessive features that few people actually use or even ask for. It performs admirably, with just a few kinks here and there, offering a solid E Ink tablet experience without unnecessary cruft that comes at a literal price.

Sustainability

Onyx hasn’t really scored well in this department and, unfortunately, it is keeping its track record. It’s definitely comforting to see it use more metal and less plastic in its devices, though that seems to only be true for its larger readers. It at least has been quite restrained in its packaging and doesn’t ship with a charger, so material and e-waste are reduced. It still uses plenty of plastic, though, so that knocks off a few marks from its grade.

The BOOX Note Air3 C is, fortunately, built to last thanks to its durable body and solid build quality. There’s no formal dust or water resistance, of course, but that’s also not surprising for this line of devices. When accidents do happen, repairs are going to be quite difficult considering there won’t be many shops offering services. You’ll have to gamble on sending the unit back to Onyx or the few authorized service providers they have around the world.

Value

At $499.99, the BOOX Note Air3 C is hardly inexpensive as an e-reader or even as an Android tablet. That price does include the BOOX Pen 2 and a folio cover, so you do save a bit in the long run. It’s still not something you’ll be buying on a whim and will definitely require some decision-making. How many of the things you read are magazines, comics, manga, or other kinds of content that are easier to read on a larger screen? How many of those would require color to really enjoy? And why would you choose it instead of Onyx’s other e-readers that come in a variety of sizes and prices?

It all boils down to having the right ratio of features and price, bringing the core features you need for an E Ink device, including a few hues of color, without bumping the cost up too much. The BOOX Tab Mini C might be good for reading anywhere, anytime, but it might be too small for some types of content. The new BOOX Tab Ultra C Pro, on the other hand, has all the bells and whistles, practically replacing the BOOX Tab Ultra C, but has a significantly higher asking price as well.

Verdict

Where there were once just three or so e-book readers in the market, we now have a wide variety of brands and models to choose from. While that’s great for the market and users, it can also make things a bit more complicated when choosing to buy one. Onyx itself has quite a selection, and its newest lineup expands the roster even further. With the discontinued BOOX Tab Ultra C, the new BOOX Tab Ultra C Pro, and the smaller BOOX Tab Mini C, you will definitely wonder what the new BOOX Note Air3 C can offer to make a difference. The answer: a solid E Ink experience with a reasonable price tag.

The BOOX Note Air3 C doesn’t simply heap on features just for the sake of having them there. It carefully distills the experience down to the basics but delivers it in a way that’s almost perfect. You get a well-performing Android tablet with a fast and sharp color E Ink screen wrapped in a subdued but elegant design. Yes, it could use a bit more battery, though that would have also made the device heavier as well, and yes, the price tag is a bit hard to swallow. But if you’re looking for a long-term investment in an e-reader that’s going to last you for years, then the BOOX Note Air3 C is definitely something you should consider adding to your cart.

With so many smartphone brands and models available today, it’s not an easy task to stand out from the crowd, especially when you’re not one of the big five. Some companies employ visual gimmicks or technical buzzwords just to catch people’s attention, only for those products to fall flat once they land in users’ hands. It takes no small amount of effort and careful thought to create a design that not only looks great but also checks all the other boxes of an excellent user experience. The Infinix NOTE 30 VIP claims to be one such item, so we took its fancy Racing Edition for a spin to see if it really matches up to the expectations of a smartphone that was made to blaze a trail in the market.

Designer: Infinix

Aesthetics

As its name clearly says, the Infinix NOTE 30 VIP Racing Edition’s overarching theme is one of speed, taking inspiration from heart-pounding and thrilling street races. And when it comes to race cars, who better to know the spirit and design of speedsters than BMW’s design powerhouse, Designworks. But unlike some smartphones that boast of BMW branding, Infinix goes beyond just using themed colors or stripes to make the NOTE 30 VIP epitomize the spirit of speed that these cars exhibit, both in looks as well as in feel.

Right off the bat, this racing-inspired version of the Infinix NOTE 30 VIP is nothing like any other smartphone you’ve seen before, including those that also claim spiritual camaraderie with race cars. The way it uses a special vegan leather material doesn’t simply slap on a cover on the back of the phone but fully envelopes the surface to create a unique aesthetic and tactile experience. Even the camera bump is fully covered by the organic texture, giving the phone a more unified appearance with no metal or glass awkwardly sticking out. The embossed check-flag pattern creates a subtle nod to the racing culture, demonstrating Infinix’s meticulous attention to the smallest details.

As if the vegan leather treatment wasn’t already unique enough, Infinix and BMW Designworks go a step further by adding a feature that gives a little bit of flavor to the phone. In line with the trend of bringing decorative lights to the back of phones, the Infinix NOTE 30 VIP Racing Edition presents what the brand calls “3D Lighting Leather,” an innovative design that lets strips of light shine through the leather material when it is turned on. The three colors of these light strips not only represent BMW Motorsports’ iconic branding but also represent speed, performance, and power. It’s a small yet tasteful detail that adds to the phone’s character and cements its image as an extension of a street race car.

It isn’t just the phone’s back that catches one’s attention in a pleasing manner. The sharp red edges contrast beautifully with the softer black rear, lending it an elegance that you’d expect to find in more expensive designs. The flat screen, whose bezels gently curve to the sides, also complements this aesthetic, delivering a design that exudes both speed and class in a single product.

To really complete both the VIP and the Special Edition experience, Infinix ships the NOTE 30 VIP Racing Edition with a ton of freebies all designed around that same theme. Small gestures like these give a product that extra level of attention that truly sets it apart from ordinary, mass-produced phones.

Ergonomics

The most beautiful phone will simply be a pretty face if it turns out to be an unusable slab of glass and metal in your hand. Fortunately, the Infinix NOTE 30 VIP Racing Edition isn’t that, and it manages to look stunning while also giving you confidence when you hold the smartphone in your hand. Part of that is thanks to the textured surface of the vegan leather material that delivers a better grip, but the design also has another small yet critical detail that improves the phone’s ergonomics.

The minuscule embossed triangle in the palm grip takes inspiration from racing car steering wheels to offer the necessary traction for your hand, increasing your grip on the phone. With this anti-slip wrapping, the NOTE 30 VIP Racing Edition gives you confidence that you’ll be able to hold it in a stable and safe manner, which is probably going to be necessary considering how light the phone feels in your hand at only 190g. Just like how race car designs not only give speed but also stability, the Infinix NOTE 30 VIP Racing Edition embodies this duality in a beautiful and satisfying manner.

Performance

Of course, this special Infinix NOTE 30 VIP’s racing chops don’t stop with its looks. Infinix has stepped up its game by endowing the Racing Edition with some of the best hardware for performance, making you feel like breezing through tasks and games with aplomb. The new MediaTek Dimensity 8050 might not sound familiar compared to something that has “Snapdragon” in its name, but its performance isn’t exactly sub-par. You might find yourself adjusting settings in heavier games like Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail, but for all intents and purposes, it is able to handle most mobile tasks without breaking a sweat.

The phone comes with 12GB of RAM out of the box, but it’s possible to extend that to 21GB by borrowing some memory from the 256GB internal storage. The latter might sound a bit measly until you hear about a feature that you’ll rarely find in smartphones these days. The Infinix NOTE 30 VIP actually has a dedicated slot for a microSD card slot to expand that storage, giving it an edge over other phones in both mid and premium tiers.

Uptime with the 5,000mAh battery is decent as well, which is surprising given how powerful the phone is. Charging at 68W, however, sounds a bit disappointing considering how many of its peers are already boasting 100W speeds. Then again, few of those can also boast of supporting wireless charging and fast 50W wireless charging at that. Even better, Infinix ships with a specially themed wireless charger as part of the VIP Racing Edition box so you don’t have to go hunting for one on your own.

The Infinix NOTE 30 VIP Racing Edition’s hardware selection seems almost perfect, at least until you get to the cameras, one of the things that most buyers check first. Yes, there are three cameras there led by a mighty 108MP main shooter that definitely lives up to expectations. It takes good photos with plenty of detail when there’s plenty of light around. What’s more impressive is that it can shoot 4K videos, though without OIS, something that’s still uncommon at this price point. The 32MP selfie camera is decent, but it’s made more notable thanks to dual LED flash lights that hide in the phone’s top edges, bringing much-needed lighting to your face.

Things get weird with the other two cameras on the back of the phone, a 2MP ultra-wide and a 2MP macro shooter. While the asymmetry between cameras isn’t uncommon, it’s almost unheard of to have an ultra-wide camera that low these days, even on mid-tier devices. As you might expect, they don’t produce good results, so you’re better off sticking to the main camera anyway. It might not be a deal-breaker for some people, but it does show at least one area where Infinix chose to cut corners.

The Infinix NOTE 30 VIP runs the company’s custom XOS 13 Android experience that’s thankfully already based on Android 13. It’s specifically themed to match that same racing motif, especially when it comes to the tri-color combination, and has a boatload of pre-installed apps you will have to uninstall one by one. One special feature of this Android skin is the “Magic Ring”, practically Infinix’s version of Apple’s Dynamic Island that changes the UI flanking the front camera cutout, depending on the context, like which app is being used. While not exactly original, we can expect other manufacturers to implement their own version of this UI flourish to help mask the presence of the hole at the top of the screen.

Sustainability

Although it has already started building a reputation for itself, Infinix is younger and smaller compared to other smartphone brands. So if it took giants like Samsung and Apple decades to establish their sustainability efforts, it shouldn’t be a surprise that it isn’t yet a focus for the fledgling company. That said, it’s not without any attempt at reducing its negative impact on the environment, like the use of this special vegan leather material for the Racing Edition. It might not be a 100% sustainable material, but it’s still significantly better than plastics.

More importantly, however, the Vivo V29 is designed to at least delay meeting its end from accidents. It has an IP53 dust and water resistance rating, which is almost unbelievable considering its price point. That simply means that it is less likely to die from a splash of water, prolonging its life for as long as it is still in good operating condition. The longer it stays in your hands, the longer it and its non-biodegradable parts stay off landfills.

Value

The Infinix NOTE 30 VIP Racing Edition comes as a completely unexpected surprise. The combination of premium features and an accessible price tag might be more than enough to get buyers considering this option, but it really changes the game with its high-quality design that you might have not expected from a phone on this price tier. The 3D Lighting Leather material is more than just a gimmick, delivering a luxurious look and feel with some colored light accents to drive home that street racing image.

It’s hardly perfect, of course, and there’s a list of quirks and flaws that leave us scratching our heads. One of those is the choice of cameras aside from the 108MP main shooter, which is just mind-boggling in this day and age. The biggest drawback, however, is its limited availability to very specific markets, which means fewer people will get to experience this surprisingly impressive package. That’s quite a shame, considering how everything else about the phone is worth more than what Infinix is asking for, especially with all the accessories that come with it.

Verdict

It’s not easy for a smartphone to stand out these days, especially when you consider just how many designs there are available in the market today. It’s even harder when you try to hit the sweet spot of aesthetics, performance, and price, something that even industry giants don’t get right all the time. So there’s definitely a good reason to be amazed at how Infinix managed to pull a rabbit out of its hat, with some help from BMW Designworks, of course.

The Infinix NOTE 30 VIP Racing Edition definitely embodies the spirit of street racing with intricate design details that easily remind one of the cozy interiors of sports cars. Infinix’s attention to detail leaves no stone unturned, with every side, corner, and surface matching that overarching theme. That extends inside the phone, of course, with specs that would leave you wondering why bigger manufacturers don’t follow suit. Who would have thought, for example, that we’d meet an old microSD card slot friend here, or that it would boast fast wireless charging and an IP rating at this price point? There are, indeed, some noticeable missteps, especially with the camera, but the overall package might still make you want to get your hands on one, especially for its mouth-watering $315 price tag.