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By TarasBuria · Posted
DuRoBo Krono Review: Portable E-Ink reader with great ideas that need a bit of improvement by Taras Buria Phone-sized e-readers are gaining traction these days, with more people treating them as a getaway device to cure phone addiction (or at least they are trying to) or having a more pocket-friendly reader that is easier to carry and hold. The market now has plenty of such readers to choose from, and DuRoBo is the latest addition, a new player that offers a more interesting approach to the idea. The Krono is a $279 e-reader with an interesting twist, which tries to make the device more fun and ergonomic. Here is my review. Disclaimer: DuRoBo provided the review sample without any editorial input or pre-approval. The Krono comes in a phone-sized box with pink accents. Inside, you get the device itself, a short user manual, and a USB cable. The cable is a bit old-fashioned, Type-A to Type-C, which is a bit disappointing. Hot take: I would rather have no cable in the box rather than another Type-A cable that gets immediately thrown into my box full of similar cables I never use. The Krono also has no charger in the box, as it relies on accessories you already own, which is fine with me. Here are the specs: Dimensions 154 x 80 x 9.0 mm or 6.06" x 3.15" x 0.35" 173 g or 6.10 oz Materials Black or White plastic Display 6.13-inch E-Ink Carta 1200, 1,648 x 824 pixels, 300 ppi Touch-capacitive. Dual-tone frontlight. Processor 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 (QTI SM6350) 2 performance cores at 2.07 GHz 4 efficiency cores at 1.71 GHz Memory 6 GB Storage 128GB, non-expandable ~104GB available out-of-the-box Operating system Android 15 with a custom launcher Connectivity Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Battery 3,950 mAh battery Buttons and port USB Type-C port Power button, Volume button, Smart Dial Breathing Lights Audio Mono Speaker and Dual microphones In the box The Krono, a Type-A to Type-C cable, user manual Price $279 on Amazon First impressions Right off the bat, no, this is not a phone replacement. Do not approach this device thinking it can serve you as a dumb phone to cure your TikTok addiction. In addition to the fact that the Krono has no cellular connectivity, I strongly believe that no amount of extra devices can fix your phone addiction until you put some serious effort into it. The Krono is a phone-sized e-reader, a companion for your phone dedicated to reading without distractions. The DuRoBo Krono is made of plastic with a very fine texture. It is hardly premium, but I also cannot say it feels cheap. The device is also a bit thick, quite dense, and well-built without rattling or cracking. You get to choose between two colors: white and black. The front has quite thick bezels, which is hardly surprising for an e-ink device. These things use front light, with LEDs usually placed on the screen perimeter. While I do not mind thicker bezels, the notably larger chin cheapens the look a little. What I mind is a notable seam between the display and the main case, which, after just two days of use, collected plenty of dust and specks. The back of the Krono is what makes the device stand out. There is a cylinder (DuRoBo calls it the Axis) embedded in the back of the reader, housing three elements: a power button on the right edge, a Smart Dial on the left edge, and "Breathing Lights" on the back. An etched DuRoBo logo sits below the cylinder, and it is the only piece of branding you can find on the device. Overall, the design and materials are very unassuming, but the cylinder with additional control elements certainly elevates the look and makes it more interesting. Other physical elements include two microphones (one on the top edge and one on the bottom edge), a USB Type-C port, a volume rocker, and a single mono speaker. There is no fingerprint reader, so if you want to protect your device, a PIN is your only option. The official TPU case is not the most premium-looking Display The Krono has a 6.1-inch E-Ink Carta 1200 touchscreen display with a resolution of 1,648 x 824 pixels (300 ppi). The display is front-lit, and you can adjust the brightness and temperature from cool to warm. Unfortunately, the Krono lacks automatic brightness and temperature adjustments, and you cannot set a custom schedule for the frontlight. However, you can set it to always enable frontlight so that you can see what is happening on the screen when turning it on in a dark environment. On the bright side (get it?), the front light can get extremely dim so that the screen is barely readable in a pitch-dark room. The front light is also uniform across the screen, with no noticeable temperature gradients. I am very susceptible to uneven front light, and it is very easy for me to notice it, but the Krono is doing a very good job in this area. I also like that the edge shadow is not very prominent and barely visible in the black variant. E-Ink Carta 1200 is not the newest generation (there are Carta 1250 and 1300), but it is still a good display. It supports three modes: Clarity, Speed, and Quality. In Clarity mode, text is very sharp and easy to read, but you trade that for more ghosting, a slower refresh rate, and more artifacts when the display changes images. Speed mode, as the name suggests, boosts refresh rate and reduces ghosting, but fine print and text become more jagged. Finally, Quality mode is only available in Android apps. It has the lowest refresh rate, but in return, you get much better visuals, improved gradients, and more. Like brightness and temperature, you can toggle modes from the control center. It is available when swiping from the top-right corner of the screen (the top-left is for notifications). I also like that the Krono can work as a desk clock when not in use. It has a bunch of screensavers, including horizontal clocks with time, date, and current battery level. The screen refreshes once per minute, and battery drain is extremely low (not even 1% in 24 hours). It is a great use of the technology, and another thing I wish more e-ink devices featured. Smart Dial The Smart Dial is Krono's main party trick. It sits on the left side of the device and serves multiple purposes. You can twist or press it to perform various actions, depending on the current use case scenario. When reading books, twisting the dial flips through pages, and pressing it refreshes the screen. On the home screen, the dial adjusts the brightness, and holding the dial pressed launches voice note recording. Finally, a quick double press launches the DuRoBo AI chatbot. While the dial scroll is not notched, it is very smooth and has haptic feedback that confirms your actions, which feels very nice. As a long-term Apple Watch user, I love the idea behind the dial. It feels very natural and oddly satisfying to use, especially with that subtle haptic feedback. I never liked flipping pages with touch input, and I strongly believe each e-reader should come with some sort of physical controls for turning pages. The Krono has both volume buttons (which also work as page turners) and the dial, so you are free to use whichever you prefer. With that said, the dial is not perfect. For one, it sticks out of the case way too far for my liking, raising concerns about durability and longevity when carrying the Krono around in a pocket (it is a pocket-sized device after all). Also, it has too much wobble, which cheapens the experience and makes it feel a bit flimsy and unsecured. While there are two plastic guards on the Krono's case, they are way too small for any kind of protection. I also think DuRoBo should let users customize dial actions (the only available customization is scroll direction), particularly for long and double presses. Not everyone needs voice notes, and DuRoBo AI does not work without an active internet connection, leaving the long press essentially useless when offline. I do not mind these features, and I genuinely think they are useful, but I would rather have the ability to toggle between screen modes, turn the frontlight on/off, or launch my favorite app. I also agree with people on Reddit asking developers to let users adjust the dial sensitivity. I hope this is something DuRoBo can implement with a software update to make the experience more personalized (it is a Smart Dial, after all) and incentivize users to fiddle with the Dial more often. The Dial is a fantastic idea, so please, guys, improve it a little. As for ergonomics, they are mostly fine, but the dial's position may feel a little awkward and way too high. When I use a phone or a phone-sized gadget, I tend to rest one of its corners on my palm for a more secure grip. With the Krono, such a grip is impossible because you cannot reach the dial even with big hands. You have to lower the reader a bit and hold it like a bottle without any extra support for the bottom edge. Such a grip is not necessarily uncomfortable (the Krono is also light enough for it), but it requires a bit of muscle retraining. Sometimes, I do not bother with the dial and hold the Krono like my phone, flipping through pages with volume buttons, as they are perfectly positioned for my right-hand thumb. Interestingly, when testing the Krono, I would often find myself thinking that a roller embedded in the long plastic cylinder on the back of the device would have been a much more comfortable solution. There is a free idea for you, guys. Software The Krono runs Android 15 with a very minimal launcher on top. The home screen presents you with a list of apps, a scrollable list of widgets, and your user profile. Widgets can display time, calendar, or recent books for quick access. You can also add or remove apps from the home screen to keep the most useful stuff around without tapping "Apps." I like this minimalistic approach; it looks clean, easy to understand, and light. I understand that some may find the list of all apps way too clean, but fortunately, DuRoBo lets you switch to traditional icons. The reader also has a bunch of preinstalled apps: Read: The default app for reading. Browser: A Chromium-based browser. Files: A simple file manager. Music: A simple music player. Spark: A voice recorder with transcription support and AI summarization DuRoBo AI: A built-in AI chatbot. Transfer: An app for file transfer over Wi-Fi. If that is not enough, there is the Google Play Store, where you can download all the extra apps you need, alternative readers, podcast apps, chatbots, and more. DuRoBo is not trying to give you an all-in-one device. The standard software experience is quite minimal, which makes it easy to approach and learn. The standard reader supports EPUB, EPUB3, AZW3, MOBI, PDF, TXT, DOC, and DOCX, which is more than enough to let you read most books without third-party software. As for customizing the reading experience, you can select one of five built-in fonts, adjust size and thickness, adjust margins and spacing (only three variants for each), change text alignment and direction, toggle the reading status bar, and switch to dark mode. There is also text-to-speech, which utilizes Android's default TTS tech. While I like the simplistic approach, I cannot help but feel DuRoBo could have made the built-in reader a bit more customizable. However, I am not going to bog down on this, as you can always install any other reader you prefer using the Play Store or by sideloading an APK. Getting books to the Krono is very simple. Given that the device is an Android smartphone without cellular connectivity, you can transfer files via a USB Type-C cable, download them using the built-in browser, share them over Bluetooth, or use cloud storage. My favorite was the built-in Transfer app. It is simple, reliable, and very well-designed. I was surprised by how well-designed the web portal is. It is fast, pretty, and properly categorized. Well done! Once you have your books loaded, you can highlight or underline text, add annotations, bookmark pages, check the table of contents, and ask AI about the selected text. Unfortunately, the Krono has no built-in vocabulary, but again, that is something a third-party reader could fix. Overall, the built-in reader is light and snappy, with just the minimum amount of features for a regular user to enjoy reading books. The Krono has no built-in reading tracking, so stat nerds will have to look for third-party reading apps. However, you can set a daily reading goal, and the reader will notify you when you reach it (for example, one hour). You can also set a reminder to read at a certain time, and when the time comes, the Krono will light up its back LEDs and unlock itself to nudge you. Other than that, the rear LEDs do nothing, not even showing charging progress, which is an unfortunate misopportunity if you ask me. Quirks aside, Krono's Android runs quite snappily and bug-free. Early reviews of the Krono criticized its Android 13-based software quite a lot, but now, the reader runs Android 15, and its software has fixed plenty of initial complaints. I never experienced any issues with built-in apps. AI attempts The DuRoBo Krono comes with a built-in AI chatbot. There is no information on what model powers this thing, but the system says it was "trained by Google." You can launch the bot from the app list or by double-pressing the dial. It works just like any other chatbot, and you can ask it anything by typing or using voice input. The AI saves your chats, and you can rename, export, or delete them. DuRoBo AI requires an active internet connection, and it does not work offline. Its reach and capabilities are also limited. You can only chat in the app and use it in the reader app as a makeshift vocabulary. However, the implementation is kinda awkward. You can only send a selected portion of text to AI without giving it any requests or instructions. I highlighted the word "dumb," and it apologized to me for not being useful. You also cannot ask follow-up questions or send the generated response to a separate chat. The chatbot is also slow, even with fast Wi-Fi, making the overall experience quite frustrating, which makes me again wish for the ability to remap the double press to something else. Spark, the standard voice recording app, also uses AI for note summarization and transcribing. Neither feature works offline, unfortunately. Spark records notes up to 30 minutes using Krono's dual microphones, and you can rename or export notes. Transcription quality is decent, and the speed is alright, but you can find much better solutions in the Google Play Store. What I like about Spark is that transcribed notes are not locked, and you can always type more to elaborate on your ideas, which is handy. Overall, I like that the Krono is not shoving AI down my throat, but to be honest, there is really not that much to shove. AI features here feel raw and need improvements to be more useful. Battery Life Like most E-Ink readers, the Krono has fantastic battery life. Even with a clock as a screensaver, its standby power consumption is incredibly low. And when in use, you can get weeks of reading on a single charge. Without the front light, my unit never sipped more than one or two percent of battery during a one-hour reading session. It was nice to see plenty of battery-related settings. You can limit charging at 80% to protect battery health long-term, check the number of charging cycles, manufacturing/first-time use date, battery health, and the maximum capacity. Additionally, the Krono lets you select what hardware remains enabled when sleeping. This lets you keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on (say, if you want to receive notifications, for some reason) and keep audio playing when locked. Turning these features off effectively eliminates any standby battery drain. I left my Krono sitting for 24 hours with a clock screensaver on, and it did not drop a single percent. The pretty big 3,950 mAh battery justifies the device's thickness and ensures you do not have to charge it for long periods. Speaking of charging, it is capped at only 10W, which is a bit disappointing, as getting such a big battery to 100% takes a notably long time in the era of super-fast charging smartphones. DuRoBo Moodi The Moodi is a standalone, optional accessory for your Krono. It is a wireless remote with two customizable buttons that you can use to flip pages, control media, or scroll webpages. The accessory connects via Bluetooth. Despite having a built-in rechargeable battery, it is extremely light. While the Moodi's shape and form factor is not what I would call particularly ergonomic, it is not uncomfortable to hold and use. The Moodi comes with six removable magnetic buttons with various smiley faces. Buttons sit securely, and they have nice-feeling, albeit a little loud, clicks. It is a cute touch that adds a little more fun and character to the device. There is also an accented power button and a single status LED. The latter displays charging status and connection mode. The Moodi supports three modes: Reading: Buttons work as volume buttons, allowing you to flip pages in the built-in reader or other apps that support page turning with volume buttons. Media: Buttons work as skip forward/backward, which is useful when listening to audiobooks, podcasts, or music. Scroll: The third mode lets you scroll pages in the web browser or any other application The Krono properly detects the Moodi and presents you with an on-screen guide when you connect it for the first time (it also displays the battery level). However, you can only change modes by holding both buttons for a few seconds. It is also worth noting that the Moodi works with other devices. I connected it to my iPhone and it let me adjust volume or control media playback. Sadly, the scroll did not work, so you cannot use it to waste time scrolling TikToks. Overall, the Moodi is a cute little accessory, which I can recommend for those who read a lot. It is very useful for remote page flipping when you do not want to burden your hands by holding the Krono all the time. I only wish DuRoBo included a lanyard for the built-in loop. As for the battery life, after using the Moodi for a few days, I only managed to drop several percent of its 90 mAh battery. Despite the small size, it is rated for weeks of use, which is pretty impressive. At $35.99, I cannot say the Moodi is a must-have accessory, but I see the appeal. I prefer using the Krono with its Smart Dial, as I rarely read for more than 40-60 minutes in one sitting. However, if you have a stand and like reading for long periods, the Moodi is the right thing to have. It is a bit more expensive than regular page flippers on Amazon, but it is on par with similar products from Kobo or BOOX. Plus, it has a little more fun to it with removable buttons and better integration into the Krono. Conclusion At the end of the day, DuRoBo Krono is a nice pocket-sized e-reader. Its software focuses on the main things without trying to be everything at once. The smart dial idea is unique and great, and I wish more manufacturers had something similar in their devices. The display is also good, with an even frontlight and "always-on" support. I did not notice any deal-breaking issues with the Krono. However, you can feel that the idea needs some improvements, such as a slightly stiffer dial in a more ergonomic location, perhaps a little more premium materials, and better software customization. I hope the company won't give up on the idea and improve the dial and ergonomics in the second generation. Buy DuRoBo Krono Black - $279.99 on Amazon Buy DuRoBo Krono White - $279.99 on Amazon Buy DuRoBo Moodi - $35.99 on Amazon As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. -
By seacaptain · Posted
In what way is any of what I said incorrect? To install an update you need to close all browser instances, upping it from once a month to once a fortnight is an inconvenience for users. Particularly when updates don't offer functionality that users want (notably copilot). Security updates should come as they are needed, not on a release schedule -
By Copernic · Posted
Dopamine 3.0.6 by Razvan Serea Dopamine is an awesome free audio player which tries to make organizing and listening to music as simple and pretty as possible. Dopamine has been designed for Windows 7, Windows 8.x and Windows 10 and plays mp3, ogg vorbis, flac, wma and m4a/aac music formats quite well. The best part? It's created by long-time Neowin member, Raphaël Godart. If you’re looking for a music player to handle a large music collection, you should definitely give Dopamine a try. Dopamine 3.0.6 changelog: Fixed Manually edited album covers are overwritten on the next collection refresh Fixed AppImage package not working on modern GNU/Linux distributions Deleting song from playlist sometimes fails Playback controls only work when clicking on upper half of the buttons It's unclear that files must be tagged with an external ReplayGain scanner (for example rsgain) before normalization can take effect. Change to Artist or Album tags is not reflected in the song list view nor in the Now Playing information ReplayGain issues Smart playlist filters ignore text containing accents or other special characters Some MP3 files trigger an "MPEG header not found" error due to a too-narrow initial MPEG header scan range Changed Updated the Vietnamese translation Download: Dopamine 3.0.6 | 122.0 MB (Open Source) Links: Home Page | Forum Discussion | Screenshot | Other OSes Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware -
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