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Comment by devindotcom | Hacker News Reader

I have a Palma (they sent for review) and I think it's great, though I agree it probably isn't worth the price for most.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/03/boox-ereaders-poke-5-palma...

But the text looks good, the light is nice, and you can even install apps that aren't too demanding - a crossword or something.

I've found that even a Clara HD or BW (the latest version) can be a bit bulky when you're going out with no bag, but the Palma fits in any jeans or jacket pocket and is excellent to have when you find yourself with 20 minutes to wait and no desire to doomscroll. I hope these things get more popular and accessible.

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The narrow screen seems very, well, narrow... I haven't used it though, so maybe it's not as bad as it seems. I do like larger-ish text.

I have a 6" PocketBook, and it fits in all my trouser pockets, although I do agree it's slightly large overall it's not too bad.

I have both a Kindle Oasis and Palma and I like the Palma much more for when I'm laying in bed. It's lighter and easier to one-hand, but most importantly is it's easy to hold while laying on my side. The narrower screen isn't too bad if you're mostly reading EPUBs or AZW3 files where they reflow text appropriately. I have it set up to use the volume rocker for changing pages. The included case makes the buttons a little... mushy for my taste, but I've otherwise been largely impressed. The fact that it runs Android means I can install an IETF RFC app and Instapaper and sync easily, which has been a surprisingly huge plus for me as well.

It took a little getting used to - i had the same qualm. But honestly, I don't mind now at all. The text adjustment is very fine in the default reader and the resolution is high, so pick a font you find readable and it's really not so different from a pocket paperback page.

Yea, this -- love the size, hate the aspect ratio.

The Boox e-reader I have lets you rotate the screen in 90° increments—not sure if the Palma does too, but reading horizontally probably wouldn't be too bad.

Although at the end of the day I do most of my reading on my phone anyway, and it's surprisingly fine once you get used to it.

> even a Clara HD or BW (the latest version) can be a bit bulky when you're going out with no bag, but the Palma fits in any jeans or jacket pocket

This is such a nice but underrated feature of ereaders. I can fit my Kindle in the back pocket of my jeans without it being uncomfortable (just don't sit on it!) and it's really nice to not have to worry about shoving it back in a back or anything like that.

Install termux on it, get a pocket keyboard and you have an all-day (week?) terminal.

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