Boox M96
Boox M96, N96 and M96plus
- Made by: Onyx
- Released: July 2014, M96plus 2015
- Predecessor: Boox M92
- Languages Supported: English (Translations in other languages available in forums. See thread: Need your help. Translation of Onyx UI to other languages)
- File Types Supported: PDF, TXT, HTML, EPUB, CHM, PDB, MOBI, FB2, DJVU
Contents |
Overview
- Uses Android 4.0 operation system, better compatibility, stronger expandability and wider applicability
- Well-integrated features like purchase, download, reading, sharing, note-taking, make your reading more enjoyable;
- Full-screen Electromagnetic touch with stylus makes note-taking, annotation, page turn easily managed; Paper-like handwriting to easily take notes, annotations, flip, preserving the original handwriting, make you feel like writing on paper.
- Physical function keys on the left side, classic five-way navigation key on the right side, easy to operate without electromagnetic pen, combining full screen touch, makes it easy to manage your BOOX;
- Built-in Speaker with 3.5mm earphone audio output, supports TTS, audio books and music play, let your eyes and ears enjoy reading and listening at the same time;
N96 Series
The N96 series matches the specifications of the M96 plus except as shown in this section.
- 4 screen configurations, E Ink Carta screen available, older ones have E Ink Pearl.
- N96 - Capacitive + Digitizer touch
- N96ML - Digitizer touch + front light
- N96CML - Capacitive touch + front light
- N96C - Capacitive touch
- Storage - 16GB
- Buttons are on right side of screen.
- Battery - 3000mAh LI-ION Polymer Battery, 4 weeks.
- microphone built in to record audio.
- stereo speakers built in for audio
Specifications
M96 and M96 plus are the same except for the amount of RAM and storage.
- CPU: Cortex-A9 1G Hz
- RAM: 512Mb (M96) 1024M LPDDR2 (M96plus)
- OS: Android 4.0 - upgradable via Wi-Fi. (Currently limited to new versions of the Android 4.0.4 software provided by manufacturer and/or (re)seller)
- Screen: 9.7" E Ink Pearl 16 level grayscale
- Touch: Digitizer with stylus
- Resolution: 1200 x 825, 150 dpi
- Flash: 4GB, 3.5G available for user, M96plus 8GB.
- Expansion: SD (up to 32G)
- Connections:
- Battery: 1700mAh LI-ION Polymer Battery, 300 cycles charging
- Runtime: Approximately 2 weeks
- Adapter: 5.0V,1A,
- Charging: approximately 3 hours
- Size: 241 x 178 x 11mm
- Color White / Black
- Weight: 520g approx
- Operative Temp: 0°C- 50°C
- Book Format: PDF, TXT, HTML, EPUB, CHM, PDB, MOBI, FB2, DJVU, RTF, DOC
- Photo Format: JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP
- Audio Format: MP3,WAV
- Web Browser included
- Language: many
- Contents DRM: EPUB、PDF support
- Dictionary Support: stardict
- TTS Support
- Notes Support
- Annotation Support
- Refresh: A2 / Partial / Full fresh for optional
History
Replaces the Boox M92
See Also
- Onyx web site - OnyxInternational.com
- Onyx web site - eReader-Store.de
- http://www.onyx-international.com/ select the model.
- MobileRead Forums - Onyx Boox
- Wishlist: Boox M96 wishlist
- Battery replace BOOX M96
Software
Disclaimer: Information provided below is in good faith. However, the author can't vouch for its veracity & validity in all situations. No guarantee implied or intended. Proceed at your own peril!
Applications
- You can use the information in this thread to forcefully install applications which are reportedly incompatible.
- Good-E-Reader is good resource listing e-ink compatible apps. Also acts as an alternative to the default Play store.
- Kindle app optimized for eink devices
- Eink friendly black theme for ADW launcher
- Some more eink love
Firmwares
Currently known firmwares for the model sold by eReader-Store.de: The first post/OP of Booxtor's thread M96 + T68. Updates and more ... (with an even older description) or the downloads section at eReaderStore.de only lists the latest update.zip from his site (the description might be older), so I felt compelled to keep a backup copy offsite for reference/historical perspective at Android File Host. Individual file URL's follow. Rename the downloaded ROM file to update.zip (if not already done) & flash. Or manually boot into recovery & flash any random name from external storage.
- rel. 2015, May 6th - Android File Host
- rel. 2015, Feb 25th - Android File Host
- rel. 2015, Feb 4th - Android File Host
- rel. 2014, Oct 13th - Android File Host
- rel. 2014, Sep 26th - Android File Host
- rel. 2014, Sep 2nd - Android File Host (you WILL need to do a factory reset to make Play Store work)
- rel. 2014, Aug 21st - Mobileread forums, Android File Host (Translators' update, you may need to do a factory reset to make Play Store work)
- rel. 2014, Aug 8th - Mobileread forums (extract the update.zip from the flash tool zip), Android File Host
- rel. 2014, Jul 21st - Android File Host
Flashtool
Flash tool from Mobileread forums/Dropbox or Android File Host can be used to recover a bricked ereader. It will install the ROM build from 2014-08-08. You might be able to use the same process as the T68.
Root
There are reportedly several ways to root the M96:
- Bin4ry v33
- Cydia Impactor
- TowelRoot v1 - It hangs the device on the firmwares from Jul 21st & Aug 8th. Just reboot the device after waiting for sometime & root should be available after reboot.
- Kingo Root
Similar models
The Onyx Boox M96 shares a lot of things with its smaller sibling, the T68. You might be able get some answers from the Boox T68 if required.
Troubleshooting
Booting into fastboot mode
- Turn off the M96 if not already done so.
- Press both Power + Next buttons & hold till the LED color changes from orange to purple (orange + blue).
- Then release Power, but keep Next pressed till 'BOOX Reader' logo shows up. The LED color will remain purple (orange + blue).
- Now release Back as well.
- You're in Recovery mode.
- Use the fastboot/adb commands to push recovery/update/ROM etc. to the M96.
Booting into recovery
- Turn off the M96 if not already done so.
- Press both Power + Back buttons & hold till the LED color changes from orange to purple (orange + blue).
- Then release Power, but keep Back pressed till 'BOOX Reader' logo shows up or when the LED color changes to blue (orange goes out).
- Now release Back as well.
- You're in Recovery mode.
- Use Back key to highlight the required item & press the D-pad to select it.
Manually flashing a firmware from recovery
- Use the instructions above to boot into Recovery mode.
- In the recovery options that show up, select the second option 'apply update from external storage'.
- Select the zip file from the (external) SDCard which you want to flash.
- It will show you something like '-- Install /sdcard/subfolder ...' (where subfolder is the path where you've placed the file you want to flash) for a minute or so. Don't be frightened, or disheartened.
- After a while it will show you something like this:
- Finding update package...
- Opening update package...
- Verifying update package...
- Installing update package...
- Checking Update Package Matching
- Done Package Matching
- Writing Bootloader...
- Writing Logo...
- Writing boot image.
- Extracting boot image.
- Extracting system image...
- Writing system partition...
- Update from SDCard complete.
- At last it will highlight 'reboot system now'. Just press the D-pad to select. (If you're using the version 1.6 from Jul 21st, it will reboot on its own, without any selection required from your end)
- Voila!
Tips & tricks/Trivia
- You can't seem to be able to mount the internal & external storage to the PC via USB if 'USB Debugging' is on. Remember to turn it on however, otherwise in case of an issue, you might have to resort to manual flashing the firmware from recovery as given above.
- Switching the internal/external storage for gaining more storage might be possible (might cause some unforeseen issues however) as mentioned at XDA.
- To open a file with a particular reader, press on the ebook icon & hold for the menu to come up & then release & select the eReader app you want to open it with. You can even chose the default app using this method. Next time you need to change the default app, just try this method out.
- To prevent avoidable battery drain due to the M96 behaving like a phone:
- Default Launcher -> Apps -> Settings -> Wireless & Networks -> Data Usage -> Mobile Data -> Off, unless you plan to add a sim card for 3G/4G data connectivity in the near future.
- (As of the ver. 2014-09-26, this IS required) Rename /system/app/Phone.apk & /system/app/TelephonyProvider.apk, unless you plan to make calls anytime soon with your ereader.
- If the OTA update doesn't install for you, or gives you the error like 'signature verification failed', try to update with the SDCard unplugged.
- A good resource for the T68, applies to M96 as well: Onyx Boox T68 Tips and Tricks Guide
- You can force screen refresh by long pressing of menu button (upper button on the left side).
- Taking screenshots, screen capture - instructions.
- Replacing the screen saver - instructions