Zotero on the Onyx Boox, Android 13

Jon Rubin
Has anybody got one of these e-readers and tried to run the Android version of Zotero on it?
Would be a handy feature if it works.
  • adamsmith
    Yes, a fair number of us have Zotero on a Boox. Zotero's pdf reader is a bit wonky, esp. with annotations, on the e-ink display, but totally workable (there's also a Zotero integration by Boox that lets you use Neoreader). It's popular enough that I believe Zotero is testing on Boox.
  • Claire_Hebting
    Hello,
    I'm thinking about buying either a Boox e-reader or a Remarkable Pro Paper to use with Zotero.
    Is it possible to translate a PDF file in Zotero using the “Translate” plugin on a Boox e-reader?
    On my computer, I use Zotero on a Mac. Are the features the same on Android?
    Thank you for your answer,
    Claire
  • ridvanbinici
    No, Zotero's mobile apps, both ios and android, don't support plugins.

    But if you have Zotero storage subscription, you can use Boox's Zotero integration to download PDFs and to upload them back. In this way, you can use Boox's NeoReader app and its translation option for selected text.

    I have to add that, I found Boox's Zotero integration a bit wonky at times. Since I no longer have a Zotero subscription, I am not aware of any improvements to that.
  • glatzor
    Hello,

    I am using Zotero on my Tab Boox Ultra C (older device) for some time now. I abonded my reMarkable 2 since I could not find a good solution fo accessing my Zotero documents (this was some years back).

    I would not rely on the build-in Zotero integration of Boox. Theroretically it would allow you to read your documents using the native reader application and to make notes using your pencil. But the syncing / downloading is quite unstable and I had a lot of occaisons that even logging in didn't work.

    But the native Zotero Android app is quite nice. You can test it on your phone or tablet before buying a Boox device (the iPhone and Android app are quite simialar). The new reading mode (text reflow of PDF documents) is really fantastic. Read aloud seems to be comming soon (turining your PDF articles into audio books). But you cannot use the pencil to make hand written annotations in daily life. The responsiveness of the pencil on the Boox devices is just too low. But page flipping and scrolling in the Zotero app is really nice.

    Boox provides a general translation feature. So you can select text in the reader view of the Zotero application and choose translate: This will open a new window with the translation. This works with single words or paragraphs but not with several pages.

    The mobile Zotero apps are mostly for reading. So there are not feature comparable with the desktop application.

    There are workarounds for bot remarkable and boox devices to use third party file synchronisation services. But those also have some shortcomings. Especially since Zotero doesn't store the hightlights in the PDF file anymore.

    If you want support for a pencil I would recommend taking a look the iPad. Using eInk devices comes with a lot of compromises.

    Cheers,

    Sebastian
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