Unfortunately, the buggy and near-unusable software mar an otherwise excellent comic book eReader and note-taking equipment.
Large-format e-readers cost a fortune.
So,Reinkstone’s $429 Kickstarterfor a 10.1-inch color eReader could seem worth buying.
Is this a case of buyer beware, or is it just a fantastic deal?
Who Is Reinkstone?
Reinkstone is a subsidiary of Wiwood.
Wiwood is an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), which means it makes devices for other companies.
Its reputation suffered after its partner, Wisky, botched a Kickstarter for the E-PAD, an E-Ink e-reader.
The tablet received almost no firmware updates and a significant number of backers received no product at all.
DES Color Slurry (Left) compared to Kaleido Plus (Right)
Reinkstone’s public relations team assured me that they are not related to the E-PAD.
I’ve spoken to several industry experts about Reinkstone and Wiwood’s trustworthiness.
Hardware Specifications
What Do These Specs Mean?
The Processor Is Not High End
The processor is aRockchip RK3566.
It’s designed for home theater rather than for tablets.
However, it does include provisioning for ePaper panels, meaning it can operate a bistable display.
The performance of the flash storage is about half of what you would expect on a budget smartphone.
While large, it’s also extremely slow.
That said, I didn’t notice any load issues when reading comics or launching apps.
Electronic books aren’t very large, though.
Even so, more resource-intensive activities would feel slow and as if mired in tar.
What’s DES Color Slurry ePaper Technology?
How Does It Look?
Display Electronic Slurry ePaperis a non-E Ink ePaper technology.
Stacked together, these materials create color images, with the black-and-white positioned under the RGB polymer layer.
Where E Ink uses micro-capsule technology, DES employs “cofferdams”.
The cofferdam structure permits a higher color saturation compared to E Ink.
DES will almost certainly suffer from teething issues in software development as well as manufacturing issues.
For example, the engineering sample indicates permanent image retention along the sides of the panel.
Reinkstone’s decision to use an untried technology is risky.
My suspicion is that they won’t be able to fix at least a few major issues.
According to Reinkstone, the manufacturer isWuxi Wei Feng Technology.
DES’s far higher color saturation is absolutely stunning.
I’d compare it to reading old comic books.
Even so, the colors seem faded compared to a high-quality magazine.
On the downside, DES lacks the crispness of Kaleido Plus.
Text and images have a faint diagonal pattern stitched across them, like embroidery.
On closer inspection, this looks like it’s because of the way DES’s cofferdams are arranged.
Kaleido Plus suffers from almost no visible pixelation or image smearing.
Its images and text are more seamless in appearance and its page turns look flawless.
The main reason for the higher saturation levels could be more than a technology difference.
The Low-Cost Hardware Means You Aren’t Getting a Special Deal
There’s no unbelievable deal here.
Reinkstone chose low-cost components to fulfill its design objectives.
Everything from the touchscreen layer to the DES color ePaper screen represents a compromise between cost and quality.
Ultimately, the price of the Reinkstone would be above average, if this weren’t a Kickstarter.
But because consumers take on all the risk in a crowd-funded campaign, the price appears about right.
You’re getting roughly market rate for a 10.1-inch color eReader and digital notepad.
To illustrate this point, the Boyue Likebook P10 costs $330.
It’s very similar to the Reinkstone R1 in all characteristics.
DES Color Slurry (Left) compared to Kaleido Plus (Right)
The native app only reads PDF files and even then it reads only a few of my PDF files.
How Do Comics and Color Content Look?
It looks slightly worse for reading text.
The differences are in the blacks.
Black colors appear more vivid and defined compared to the looser, puffier looking DES panel.
Taking Colored Notes on the Reinkstone R1
The standout feature of the R1 is its note-taking abilities.
Unlike the Remarkable, the R1 uses a passive stylus.
However, you could expect virtually none of the refinement in a Boox-series eReader.
While there is a placeholder button for optical character recognition (OCR), OCR does not yet work.
Unfortunately, I’ve tried and failed to find this setting.
Furthermore, its note-taking app lacks a pen-tip tool.
That means you’re free to’t switch to a fine-tipped writing implement.
In other words, the R1 isn’t designed for digital artists.
Repairability
Like all tablets and smartphones, the R1 is not user serviceable.
I didn’t even take a stab at open it up.
Warranty Policy
As a China-based manufacturer, Reinkstone’s warranty policy is an odd 13-months.
They cover return shipping, but you pay shipping to China, which always costs a fair amount.
And whether or not they honor their return shipping is unknown.
Firmware Updates
In the eReader space, few companies provide visible or long-term firmware update policies.
The only company that seems to regularly update its software and firmware is Onyx.
My Onyx Boox Nova Pro has received at least three years of firmware and software updates so far.
The question is whether or not they will get there.
Front Light Problems
The front light’s brightness is far too high at its minimum brightness setting.
No Expandable Storage
A fundamental flaw with the Reinkstone R1 is that it lacks expandable storage.
No Amber Lights
Like all color ePaper products, the Reinkstone R1 lacks amber-colored lighting.
Its backlight color is white and it’s a bit hard on the eyes.
I couldn’t verify whether the backlight is PWM.
My guess is that it is.
I do not know whether any of these features will make it into the final version.
Inaccurate Touch Screen
Finally, there’s a moderate in severity issue with the touchscreen accuracy.
Should You Buy an Reinkstone R1?
You get what you pay for.
Most of the time.
Sometimes, you just get ripped off.
The Reinkstone seems to be a case of “you get what you pay for”.
The engineering sample in my possession suffers from an endless number of software bugs.
And the note-taking experience is exceptional.
I’ll continue to update this review as Reinkstone releases further firmware updates.
Unfortunately, the buggy and near-unusable software mar an otherwise excellent comic book eReader and note-taking gadget.
