- Boox has teased a little ‘Picco’ reader
- It only has a 3.97-inch display, which likely makes it a rival to Xteink devices
- It has a front light and a microSD card slot, and it can run Android, but many questions remain
There’s a lot more to readers than Kindle and Kobo these days, both in terms of brand names and form factors, and one such brand is set to offer a new, really small form factor for reading on.
Boox (via GoodEreader) has just teased the Boox Picco, which will be the first device in a new ‘Tile’ product line. It only has a 3.97-inch screen, making it far smaller than even the phone-sized Boox Palma 2 Pro. In fact, it is even marginally smaller than the recently launched Xteink X4 Pro.
Xteink has so far had the micro-led market almost to itself, with this latest model sporting a 4.3-inch screen. Whether an even smaller screen is better or worse is debatable, but the Boox Picco may have some advantages over the X4 Pro.
Most notably, there’s a good chance it’ll run Android, as Boox devices typically do. This would mean you could install apps like Kindle and Kobo, instead of having to sideload books like you do on Xteink readers.
In addition to that, we know that the Picco has a monochrome epaper screen, a front light and a microSD card slot, all of which are in line with the Xteink X4 Pro.
Great potential, but lots of unknowns
I love the idea of the Xteink devices, but my biggest hesitation in buying one is the lack of Android, so now I’ll wait and see if this is a better alternative. But it might not be, as there’s still a lot we don’t know about Boox Picco.
First, the USP of Xteink devices is their ability to magnetically attach to the back of phones, and there’s no word on whether the Boox Picco will be able to do the same. Still, this seems like an obvious inclusion, so whether it’s through built-in magnets or an optional magnetic case, I’d think it’s likely.
It also remains to be seen how attractively priced the Picco will be – the Xteink X4 Pro is $109 / £84 / AU$159, so Boox probably can’t afford to charge much more than that if it wants this to be a hit.
Plus, while Android is likely, it’s not guaranteed. Since this is such a small device, Boox can opt for a simpler operating system.
Even if it’s running Android, there’s a good chance it’s running a very old version, as is often the case with Boox devices. That would make it potentially less secure, and therefore something I would be reluctant to log into my accounts on. It will also mean that apps may stop being compatible with it over the next few years.
Still, I’m cautiously hopeful that this could be the little leather of my dreams — there’s no word on a release date yet, but I expect we’ll learn more soon.
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