Boyue now offers the LikeBook Ares, an evolution of the LikeBook Mars. What is it worth? We’ll try to find out!
An improved LikeBook Mars?
The Boyue LikeBook Ares has a 7.8″ Carta screen, with a Wacom layer that allows you to use the e-reader to take notes, a stylus. Compared to the LikeBook Mars, storage space has increased from 16GB to 32GB, enough for most uses. The e-reader also has a powerful CPU, small speakers and a microphone. However, the 3.5 jack is a bit smaller than its ancestor. The battery is a little more powerful, and the e-reader has a USB-C connection.
We stay on a Carta screen, the new generation of screens (Moibus, less sensitive to breakage) being reserved for the moment for models of 10 inches or more. The resolution and the contrast are very good.
A decent e-reader offering good performance
In use, the e-reader appears quite fluid to use, even if of course we are not on a tablet, but on an e-reader and that it is felt at the level of the display update. We can however deplore the impossibility for the moment to update it to a more recent version than Android 6.
It is possible to install applications from PlayStore, but without installing additional software, the e-reader is very good for reading PDF documents and annotating them. On the other hand, for A4 documents, the 8 inches of the screen are a limiting factor.
For a little less than 300 euros, this e-reader is interesting for those who are looking for an e-reader adapted to reading PDF documents and allowing them to take notes on their documents. For those who wish to write or draw, the e-reader is far from the quality of a ReMarkable: it is not a “digital notebook” but an e-reader, on which it is possible to take notes.
A little more expensive than the Inkpad3, this e-reader is interesting for those who want to benefit from a stylus and the AppStore. For most uses, the Inkpad3 seems preferable to me, offering the guarantee of long term updates and benefiting from a simpler and lighter system, allowing a better autonomy.