Very interesting! Only accepting pen input means zero risk of interference with your hands, accidentally triggering any on-screen touch elements while writing with the pen. Also - I love hardware buttons. I wish more devices had more of them. To this day I think every Android device should have a back and a home button at the very least.
Totally agree and glad to see someone appreciate the pen only input. Super useful for me, and yea with pen only input, buttons are a must. Thx for the comment
Hey it’s good to see another smaller Tech channel that makes such quality videos! Just wanted to say that I received one of these tablets from Penstar to review on my channel and I’m working on a video now. I think it’s awesome to be a part of showing the world this new product!
That's awesome! Good to see there's another reviewer with this device, was starting to think I was alone, lol. I'm subbed to your channel, very good content over there :) Thanks for stopping by.
@@rantsabouttechnology Awesome, I’m subbed to yours as well! I had basically all the same first impressions as you and am excited to keep seeing more things we can learn about it!
Hello👋🏾 You're like the third person that's told me that. So, I'm happy to have helped. It really is a pretty unique device that has some features that others don't. Lemme know what you think when you get it. Enjoy!
This may be one of my favorite videos yet. I like the simplicity of the device and what seems like good intentionality. It will be interesting to see what your conclusions are. I don't see it replacing my Supernote, but it might have been in the running if it had been around back when I was looking. The no capacitive touch is interesting because it reminds me of the Palm Pilot. Not sure if I would miss it, but might. I do worry about the price at $369 when you compare it to the Boox Go 10.3. Overall, really good introduction to the device. Thanks!
Thanks bro! I also dig the intentional nature of the device. The price is slightly cheaper than most other options when you factor in the case and pen that it comes with. but yeah, the price should have been around the 299$ mark for everything, imo. I guarantee the case and pen have it at that price. It reminds me of my old Apple Newton's Pen-only display, so I'm used to that already too. It's also been refreshing to use it without thinking about my fingers hitting something. Heads up they have a table of contents feature here. Works differently, but equally as good. Lots of little things here that make it interesting.
Interesting device. So far I don't see the innovation although lack of capacity touch is an interesting choice. They got rid of the main problem with Supernote - palm rejection, although no gestures either. I like its battery - 6000 mAh is pretty much and should last a month of use. Has voice recording in notes which is also a nice addition. I'm definitely looking forward for more of this :). PS. I can hear already those loud moans "Whaat, no 300ppi screen?" and "Android 11 only?" :). Specs aren't great so won't be snappy with 3rd party apps.
Yea my next video is addressing those shortcoming in the hardware specs. I honestly think for writing, you don't need a beefy processor with alotta RAM. It's only when you wanna throw scrolling, and video motion that it becomes an issue. With a focused device like this, that kinda power may not be needed. We'll see.
🙋♂️Hey Roderick! long time no see. The UI on this device is very similar to the ViWoods widgets and all on the home screen. I think it should sell for around $275.00 as its using older technology compared to other devices out at present. Thank you for sharing this device with us. Kudos from NYC🗽.
Hey Dan, thank for the comment. Still trying to get my hands on that Viwoods device. But since when do I need a device to talk about it. Okay you've convinced me. Time to do a Viwoods Rant! :) Thanks for the idea, lol.
I have a super note nomad. I rarely use touch while interfacing with the nomad. I believe a dedicated eink writer is better off without hand/ touch input.
Price points for e-ink devices needs to drop, especially when I can get an Ipad for about the same amount with 3rd party pen and paperlike cover. Way more for my money, with proven support.
@@RichCinema good point. The problem is the other devices sell waaaay more numbers than eInk devices. So eInk needs to become more mainstream before the price drops on the tech. With the mainstream success of the Boox Palma, we may get there sooner than later though. Thanks for the comment.
Just looked this up, and yea, you're right! It does. Looks like Onyx may be testing out a Pen Only option in the Chinese market. Maybe if it does well, they'll bring it over🤞🏾 Thanks for the info!
An intriguing device, to be sure. I'm not sure what to think about it. I see a lot of interesting innovation coupled with some things I'm not sure I like. But it will all come down to how those elements come together, which I have no idea what the outcome will be. Looking forward to future videos!
No backlight. Fail. Not eveyone will always use in perfect light. For example I'm laid up in bed after a minor op. I need to take some notes, but light is not good enough so need to use Surface work pc.
0:08 - *2GB RAM* - That seems to be going in the wrong direction by _'clipping its wings'_ with regards to longevity, I can see sluggishness on the horizon.
I was thinking the same thing. Then I realized that the reMarkable 2 has even worse stats (1GB RAM only 8Gb internal storage ect.), and it's been going for almost 5 years now, and still selling like hotcakes the last time I checked amazon. I'll be making that point in the next vid. Thanks for the comment.
@@rantsabouttechnology Indeed, the reMarkable is a phenomenal product and can do allot with minimal specs by writing their own software, but what limiting the RAM does tell me is that this model is never likely to have access to Google Play, and if it ever does... will struggle to run many apps. It's the old Apple and Windows thing of the nineties all over again, Windows simply lazily jacked up the hardware to force it to run almost anything while Apple was able to keep the hardware at a minimum by writing the software for its hardware. Its getting competitive out there in the e-ink world which tells me there's money to be made, but as Kitt mentioned recently, thats a good thing as competitively could bring down the costs if similar products if they start to under cutting one another.
The bad news: 227ppi, 1872 x 1404 resolution, Android 11, 1.8 quad-core, 2GB Ram, and 32 gb storage. Why does it need a 6000mAh battery? For ten dollars more, one could get the Boox Go10.3 with better specs. It will be interesting to see how the Penstar eNote N10 does in the test. I am not holding my breath.
The specs are lacking, I will admit, and will address those in my next video. But like I was just telling someone else, that kinda power may not be needed for just writing, ala reMarkable 2. Basically same stats and that thing is still selling like hot cakes. I'll put it through it's paces and see what we have. Thanks for the comment.
Yeah, my buddy's got a Boox, and I was torn between rM2, Boox Go, and this new Penstar. Gotta say rM2 felt a bit lacking in features, and Boox’s interface is too chaotic for me. Plus, the pen feels super pixelated. But Penstar? Honestly, the pen's way better than I expected, and it comes with a cover and double the replacement nibs Boox gives you. Well worth it!!!
@purplecowideal Yea, I'm finding that the Penstar is really in the sweet spot as far as features go. Not too many to get complicated and convoluted, but enough to be useful. I love it!
Your reaction to the "replacement nib plate" (7:20) is so much that it starts to confuse me. I know that you have reviewed reMarkable 2. Isn't the design an exact copy from reMarkable 2? or did reMarkable 2 not have this when you reviewed it? or am I missing something here that the design is special in some other way?
Hello, the remarkable card doesn't have the nib extraction tool. Which makes the process super easy. Or did I miss something? That's why I was so excited. If the reMarkable card has it, then I missed it.
I see. My reMarkable card does have it. Though it is at the bottom of the card instead of the middle now that I look at it. So I guess it is not an identical copy.
Yeah...I get that you don't like erasers. But I'm not wild about TH-cam personalities who put aesthetics before performance and who over-emphasize their personal biases.
Well TH-cam personalities are just people with cameras and the balls to talk to the world about their likes and dislikes. That's like youtube, in a nutshell. It'll be sad to see ya go, but have a great holiday :)
I wouldn't consider an iphone very durable for a carry around device. I wish they were plastic. How many have you bought for your children thru the years? haha
LOL, I've bought too many to count brother. One day we'll go back to those, or many someone will decide to actually make a good one outta plastic. I thing eInk phones are closer than ever to mainstream.🤞🏾
This wasn't a review unfortunately. It was an unboxing, as the title implies, rather explicitly, I might add. All my unboxings are shows though, so wait for the review which is coming shortly. But if you didn't like my "unboxing", please don't watch my "Rants", you'll never come back😂
Very interesting! Only accepting pen input means zero risk of interference with your hands, accidentally triggering any on-screen touch elements while writing with the pen. Also - I love hardware buttons. I wish more devices had more of them. To this day I think every Android device should have a back and a home button at the very least.
Totally agree and glad to see someone appreciate the pen only input. Super useful for me, and yea with pen only input, buttons are a must. Thx for the comment
Hey it’s good to see another smaller Tech channel that makes such quality videos! Just wanted to say that I received one of these tablets from Penstar to review on my channel and I’m working on a video now. I think it’s awesome to be a part of showing the world this new product!
That's awesome! Good to see there's another reviewer with this device, was starting to think I was alone, lol. I'm subbed to your channel, very good content over there :)
Thanks for stopping by.
@@rantsabouttechnology Awesome, I’m subbed to yours as well! I had basically all the same first impressions as you and am excited to keep seeing more things we can learn about it!
Very exciting! Im a real estate agent using Boox 10.3 for notes, always a fan of new devices.
Same here, looks like it might be good, especially with its, "writing" centric focus. We'll see. Stay tuned :)
ive had many remakable and boox products, decided to purchase the Penstar after watching your unboxing video, excited to try it out when it shows up
Hello👋🏾
You're like the third person that's told me that. So, I'm happy to have helped. It really is a pretty unique device that has some features that others don't. Lemme know what you think when you get it. Enjoy!
I have one. It is wonderful!!! 🎉🎉🎉
That's awesome! Was beginning to think I was alone, lol.
How do you find reading on it?
Nice video! I love digital note taking solutions.
Thanks! Yea, it's kinda my thing too :)
Good job. If you want background music, it should be a little more in the background--maybe half the current volume.
@@blitherithicus bro you totally missed the point, I was doing a music video 😆
Thanks for the comment ☺️
Good music video. The talking part kind of gets in the way though.
This may be one of my favorite videos yet. I like the simplicity of the device and what seems like good intentionality. It will be interesting to see what your conclusions are. I don't see it replacing my Supernote, but it might have been in the running if it had been around back when I was looking. The no capacitive touch is interesting because it reminds me of the Palm Pilot. Not sure if I would miss it, but might. I do worry about the price at $369 when you compare it to the Boox Go 10.3. Overall, really good introduction to the device. Thanks!
Thanks bro! I also dig the intentional nature of the device. The price is slightly cheaper than most other options when you factor in the case and pen that it comes with. but yeah, the price should have been around the 299$ mark for everything, imo. I guarantee the case and pen have it at that price.
It reminds me of my old Apple Newton's Pen-only display, so I'm used to that already too. It's also been refreshing to use it without thinking about my fingers hitting something. Heads up they have a table of contents feature here. Works differently, but equally as good. Lots of little things here that make it interesting.
Interesting device. So far I don't see the innovation although lack of capacity touch is an interesting choice. They got rid of the main problem with Supernote - palm rejection, although no gestures either. I like its battery - 6000 mAh is pretty much and should last a month of use. Has voice recording in notes which is also a nice addition. I'm definitely looking forward for more of this :).
PS. I can hear already those loud moans "Whaat, no 300ppi screen?" and "Android 11 only?" :). Specs aren't great so won't be snappy with 3rd party apps.
Yea my next video is addressing those shortcoming in the hardware specs. I honestly think for writing, you don't need a beefy processor with alotta RAM. It's only when you wanna throw scrolling, and video motion that it becomes an issue. With a focused device like this, that kinda power may not be needed. We'll see.
🙋♂️Hey Roderick! long time no see. The UI on this device is very similar to the ViWoods widgets and all on the home screen. I think it should sell for around $275.00 as its using older technology compared to other devices out at present. Thank you for sharing this device with us. Kudos from NYC🗽.
Hey Dan, thank for the comment. Still trying to get my hands on that Viwoods device. But since when do I need a device to talk about it. Okay you've convinced me. Time to do a Viwoods Rant! :) Thanks for the idea, lol.
I gotta disagree! When I was looking into ViWoods, it felt like a straight-up rM2 clone, so I passed. 😅
I have a super note nomad. I rarely use touch while interfacing with the nomad. I believe a dedicated eink writer is better off without hand/ touch input.
Agreed!
Price points for e-ink devices needs to drop, especially when I can get an Ipad for about the same amount with 3rd party pen and paperlike cover. Way more for my money, with proven support.
@@RichCinema good point. The problem is the other devices sell waaaay more numbers than eInk devices. So eInk needs to become more mainstream before the price drops on the tech.
With the mainstream success of the Boox Palma, we may get there sooner than later though.
Thanks for the comment.
The menu that pops up after selecting text u wrote, i wish boox had that
Ikr! That's just one of the cool features I found in this device. Update dropping tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by!
It looks like hanvon n10, all the specs are similar and only pen input is there.
Just looked this up, and yea, you're right! It does. Looks like Onyx may be testing out a Pen Only option in the Chinese market. Maybe if it does well, they'll bring it over🤞🏾
Thanks for the info!
An intriguing device, to be sure. I'm not sure what to think about it. I see a lot of interesting innovation coupled with some things I'm not sure I like. But it will all come down to how those elements come together, which I have no idea what the outcome will be. Looking forward to future videos!
Yea I think there are some good things here. But we going to find out!
Wow that is two years old product Hannon N10！does it come with books. N10 comes with about 2000 ebooks
I'm not sure what you mean here.
Are you going to do a comparison on Viwoods vs. Penstar?
Unfortunately, I haven't been sent the Viwoods product. Still in talks with them about it, so it could happen :)
I'll keep ya updated.
No backlight. Fail. Not eveyone will always use in perfect light. For example I'm laid up in bed after a minor op. I need to take some notes, but light is not good enough so need to use Surface work pc.
Yea lighting is always gonna be hit or miss. It's a tradeoff. Thanks for the comment.
0:08 - *2GB RAM* - That seems to be going in the wrong direction by _'clipping its wings'_ with regards to longevity, I can see sluggishness on the horizon.
I was thinking the same thing. Then I realized that the reMarkable 2 has even worse stats (1GB RAM only 8Gb internal storage ect.), and it's been going for almost 5 years now, and still selling like hotcakes the last time I checked amazon. I'll be making that point in the next vid.
Thanks for the comment.
@@rantsabouttechnology Indeed, the reMarkable is a phenomenal product and can do allot with minimal specs by writing their own software, but what limiting the RAM does tell me is that this model is never likely to have access to Google Play, and if it ever does... will struggle to run many apps. It's the old Apple and Windows thing of the nineties all over again, Windows simply lazily jacked up the hardware to force it to run almost anything while Apple was able to keep the hardware at a minimum by writing the software for its hardware. Its getting competitive out there in the e-ink world which tells me there's money to be made, but as Kitt mentioned recently, thats a good thing as competitively could bring down the costs if similar products if they start to under cutting one another.
@@karlmunford7000 Well put, and agreed!
How much is it?
369$
The bad news: 227ppi, 1872 x 1404 resolution, Android 11, 1.8 quad-core, 2GB Ram, and 32 gb storage. Why does it need a 6000mAh battery? For ten dollars more, one could get the Boox Go10.3 with better specs. It will be interesting to see how the Penstar eNote N10 does in the test. I am not holding my breath.
The specs are lacking, I will admit, and will address those in my next video. But like I was just telling someone else, that kinda power may not be needed for just writing, ala reMarkable 2. Basically same stats and that thing is still selling like hot cakes. I'll put it through it's paces and see what we have. Thanks for the comment.
Yeah, my buddy's got a Boox, and I was torn between rM2, Boox Go, and this new Penstar. Gotta say rM2 felt a bit lacking in features, and Boox’s interface is too chaotic for me. Plus, the pen feels super pixelated. But Penstar? Honestly, the pen's way better than I expected, and it comes with a cover and double the replacement nibs Boox gives you. Well worth it!!!
I bought a go 10.3 at the same time I purchased this Penstar. I just returned the Go. It did too much and was overly complicated for me.
@eeeeeric322I totally agree, there's a lot to like here, and love if you're a certain kinda user. More coming tomorrow.
@purplecowideal Yea, I'm finding that the Penstar is really in the sweet spot as far as features go. Not too many to get complicated and convoluted, but enough to be useful. I love it!
Your reaction to the "replacement nib plate" (7:20) is so much that it starts to confuse me. I know that you have reviewed reMarkable 2. Isn't the design an exact copy from reMarkable 2? or did reMarkable 2 not have this when you reviewed it? or am I missing something here that the design is special in some other way?
Hello, the remarkable card doesn't have the nib extraction tool. Which makes the process super easy. Or did I miss something? That's why I was so excited. If the reMarkable card has it, then I missed it.
I see. My reMarkable card does have it. Though it is at the bottom of the card instead of the middle now that I look at it. So I guess it is not an identical copy.
@@Vortexstreet huh! maybe thats why I didn't see it. awesome design either way. Thanks for bringing that to my attention :)
Yeah...I get that you don't like erasers. But I'm not wild about TH-cam personalities who put aesthetics before performance and who over-emphasize their personal biases.
Well TH-cam personalities are just people with cameras and the balls to talk to the world about their likes and dislikes. That's like youtube, in a nutshell. It'll be sad to see ya go, but have a great holiday :)
I wouldn't consider an iphone very durable for a carry around device. I wish they were plastic. How many have you bought for your children thru the years? haha
LOL, I've bought too many to count brother. One day we'll go back to those, or many someone will decide to actually make a good one outta plastic. I thing eInk phones are closer than ever to mainstream.🤞🏾
Only available in the USA 😢
Awww :(
What country are you in , if you don't mind me asking?
they copied remakerable is how
@@rush48192 lol, interesting thought. They both do have a Carta 1100 display, though.
too much of a show instead of review.
This wasn't a review unfortunately. It was an unboxing, as the title implies, rather explicitly, I might add. All my unboxings are shows though, so wait for the review which is coming shortly. But if you didn't like my "unboxing", please don't watch my "Rants", you'll never come back😂