I Home Alone'd my big ereader for a mini on vacation, now the jumbo's gathering dust

Published Oct 28, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Tom has been covering technology since 2019, having worked as part of the phones team at TechRadar and then as an editor at What to Watch. Since 2025 he’s been a freelance contributor for many more brands including Digital Trends. BGR, TechRadar Gaming, TechAdvisor and GamesRadar. He's written about myriad topics over his career including phones and tablets, headphones and earbuds, fitness and AV, and enjoys adding more beats to his repertoire. Outside of technology he’s also written reviews and features on games, movies and sports, having worked for many years as an editor at movie & TV website WhattoWatch. He's attended tech launches, product shows, movie premieres and game launches to do so. Tom is based in London, UK, and when not covering technology he does work in the film sector, enjoys to run, cycle, climb and play tennis, and plays several instruments. My go-to e-reader, the Onyx Boox Tab C Ultra, is a huge device. I love using it for work and for creativity, as it's better than a tablet in several ways. But for reading, its 10.3-inch screen is total overkill. I was reminded of this when packing for a recent holiday, in which I could only bring a single backpack for a week-long Mediterranean trip. I wanted to read on the beach, but I couldn't fit the giant slate and my trunks in my bag. Luckily, I had an old small-form e-reader gathering dust, and so I decided to throw caution to the wind by ditching my go-to model and see if the Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro could treat me just as well. The Ultra got the Kevin McCallister treatment and was left home alone. Why I'd ignored my phone-sized e-reader for so long Its small size wasn't always important I wasn't kidding about my Onyx Boox Palma 2 Pro gathering dust; I hadn't used this phone-sized e-reader in so long that I didn't know where it was. After turning my flat and storage locker upside down, I found I'd left it in my partner's flat. So it'd been ignored for ages. It'd been months since I last used it, and while I liked it when I tested it for coverage, it just hadn't found a place in my usual tech roster. That is because I prefer larger e-readers for work and note-taking, and I generally read physical books when I can. I rarely use e-readers for reading, so I didn't need the Palma. That is, until my holiday required something small. With its 6.13-inch screen, the Palma is smaller than my Ultra and much lighter, at 170g (the Ultra is 480g). Even shrouded in its protective folio case, it slipped into my bag as easily as my passport. So I decided to ditch my big, bulky e-reader and blow the dust off the Palma 2 Pro to see if it could serve me as well as my tried-and-true model. A device for all seasons, as long as I keep things simple Great for reading, but not the jack-of-all-trades it hopes to be I wanted a device for reading. Thankfully, it was great for reading. The light build of the Palma meant I could easily slip it into my bag, both en route to the airport and while packing for the beach at the apartment, and never had to negotiate to bring the e-reader or my aftersun. It's also easy to hold for ages. Heavier devices can make your arm ache if you read for a while, but that's not the case with something small like this. The Palma 2 Pro is designed for holiday jaunts thanks to its size. After all, it is named after a Mediterranean city; its title demands you take it to the beach. I was a little worried about eye strain, given the small screen, but the Palma is versatile in its display features. Plus, most reading apps let you adjust the font size, so it wasn't an issue. I've kept some information hidden from you. The Palma 2 Pro isn't your simple Kindle-like e-reader, for reading and nothing else. It runs Android, with the Play Store letting you download any app you want. Yes, even Netflix or games. This is great for reading, as you can download from various bookstores. I had something on Play Books I wanted to finish, and several short story collections on the Kindle, so the Play Store meant I didn't need to rely on Onyx's reading app. However, I missed most of the Play Store's potential. I didn't want social media, or games, or even productivity apps. This is a powerful device — it needs to be, to run Android — and if you just want to read, it's all squandered. A side effect of that power is that the Palma's battery life doesn't compare to most e-readers. I had to charge it twice on my week-long holiday, while a Kindle will last for weeks of reading on a single charge. That's fine enough for a holiday like mine when you're never far from a charger (even if bringing only a single power adapter meant I had to be sparing with which devices I powered). But it's not ideal while traveling or when off the grid. Resolution 1648 x 824 (300dpi) Storage 128GB Screen Size 6.13-inches Processor Snapdragon 662 An e-reader isn't just for sunny holidays A few days after returning from my holiday, I had to go to a remote part of Wales. Again, I brought the Palma, and its size made it just as useful when I was huddled in a cottage with a coffee, hiding from the rain. To me, my Ultra is a work device, and ditching it on holiday wasn't just about saving space; it was about symbolically leaving work behind for a week. That's why I also left my laptop behind; when you're away, you want no reminders of the 9-to-5. Since returning, I haven't turned my Ultra back on; now it's the device gathering dust. I'm coming around to the emerging trend of tiny e-readers, and I get why people are buying tiny ereaders like the Boox Picco.