There is a simple problem that anyone who reads on a tablet in bed knows well. You get comfortable. You pull the blanket up. And then you have to reach out to swipe the screen. Your arm gets cold. Your cozy setup is ruined.
BOOX thinks it has a fix. The company just announced a small wireless device called the Tappy. You click a button and the page turns. You never have to touch the screen at all.
The Tappy connects wirelessly to your ePaper tablet. Pairing takes only a few seconds. Once it is connected, you can move forward or backward through a book with a simple press of a button.
You can set your tablet on a desk, put it on a stand, or mount it next to your bed. Either way, you keep your hands wherever they are most comfortable. No stretching. No cold arms.
The BOOX Tappy has three different settings. You switch between them by holding down both buttons for five seconds.
The first setting is for normal reading. One click flips one page. The second setting is for scrolling. This works well for news sites or very long articles where you need to move up and down. The third setting is for listening. If you are playing an audiobook or some music, the buttons let you skip to the next track or go back to the previous one.
If you own a BOOX tablet that runs software version 4.2 or newer, you can do more with the Tappy. You can swap what the left and right buttons do. You can also set up a double click or a long press to handle other tasks. For example, you could make a long press refresh your screen or take a picture of your display.
The Tappy has a curved shape that fits nicely in your hand. It is small and light. The buttons make a soft click when you press them, so they do not feel cheap and they do not make a lot of noise.
Battery life is solid. A single charge lasts for weeks. It charges through a USB C port. A small light on the device tells you when it is pairing, when you have switched modes, and when the battery is getting low.
BOOX has not said how much the Tappy will cost or exactly when it will go on sale. But it is clearly aimed at anyone who wants a more relaxed, hands free way to read.