There’s something off about this eReader

For people desperate to have the smallest eReader possible, the Durobo Krono is a new option. It’s a 6.13-inch phone-like device with an E Ink screen that tries to differentiate itself with a scroll wheel. Unfortunately, the device feels cheap to use.

5/10

Screen

6.13in HD Carta 1200

Resolution

824 x 1,648 (300PPI)

Storage

128GB

OS

Android 13

Krono features an E Ink Carta 1200 HD display, delivering a pure paper-like aesthetic. You can see the delicate texture unique to paper.

Pros & Cons

• Lightweight
• Screen is easy to read

• Cheap feeling parts
• Bugs in the software
• Software lacks a lot of customization
• AI feature isn’t helpful

Price and availability

The Durobo Krono was first released as part of a Kickstarter project. It can still be purchased through the site for €259, or approximately $299, as listed on the site. It comes in either black or white colors.

The hardware gives a bad first impression

Credit: Tyler Hayes/ How To-Geek

If you’re reading this, curious whether the Krono is a Boox Palma-like device for a cheaper price, you’re going to be disappointed. The Krono retails for around the same price, if not a little bit more expensive than the Boox Palma 2, and doesn’t work as well. A double whammy.

I’ve now tried both of these products, and immediately, after unboxing the Krono, it felt less premium. The rear plastic feels cheaper in the hand. Mostly, however, the scroll wheel is a bust.

The Krono’s design is built around this Smart Dial, a turning, scrolling dial that can be pressed, and which protrudes on the left side. It’s so integrated that the top of the device doesn’t lie flat on a table. The Smart Dial tube runs across the entire back of it.

There’s no weight to the scroll wheel, so it’s a little tricky to spin freely. When you do spin it, you can hear and feel it scraping against something inside the housing. Maybe this unit has a defect, but it doesn’t seem like it. It just feels cheap. It’s clear from all the surrounding parts used that there have been some serious trade-offs made from top to bottom.

Is the plastic casing actually cheap? I accidentally dropped the eReader from about three feet high onto concrete, and there was hardly a mark. I was a little bit surprised to see that result. Still, it doesn’t change how it feels to use the device daily.

Krono’s software isn’t much better than the hardware

Credit: Tyler Hayes/ How To-Geek

The Smart Dial’s poor movement is mostly a dealbreaker for me. It might not be for everyone. But if the hardware wasn’t, the software, in combination with the hardware, may be. The Durobo Krono has the beginnings of an interesting interface, but it leaves a lot to be desired.

For one thing, the Android 13 integration is lacking. Google Play wanted to use biometrics after I signed in to my account. The operating system tried to set up my fingerprint, telling me the sensor was on the back of the device. There is no fingerprint sensor on the back, though.

I encountered at least a few times when the device would only show a blank screen until it was restarted. It was hard to tell if that was a third-party app or some first-party item causing that.

More apparent than the one-off bugs is the design of the homescreen. I like the minimalism, but there’s no way to customize it. So, the top two Read and Music sections are completely wasted on me. Those sections aren’t for all music and reading-related items, just local items, manually transferred from a computer.

In 2025, no one will primarily obtain individual files and then manually move them between a computer and this eReader. It’s not happening. The saving grace is the availability of the Google Play Store to download apps like Kindle, Libby, Kobo, and Google Books. For music, Spotify is available. Why can’t I change the Read section on the homescreen to open Kindle or a folder of reading apps?

Personally, I hate the look of third-party app icons. Instead of showing the default icon like every other phone or tablet, the Krono shows two letters. So, the Kindle icon is “Ki,” Kobo Books is “Ko,” and Settings is “Se.” It looks bad and is a little confusing.

There’s a Smart Dial section in the system settings, but that only describes the multitude of functions the wheel can perform. It won’t let you customize the long press or double-tap. The killer feature, in that the thing that kills the Smart Dial for me, is that it doesn’t work in any of those third-party reading apps.

When you do turn the Smart Dial in a context it doesn’t know about, you’ll see a tiny pointed cursor appear on screen. It doesn’t move. It’s just stationary in the center of the display like a blemish you want to wipe off.

Is this eReader an AI device?

Credit: Tyler Hayes/ How To-Geek

I found the Krono device a perfectly good eReader. The narrow form factor might now be for everyone, but it works. I could slip it in my front pocket and use it in between innings at a Little League game. The screen looked good in the sun. It has also looked good at home, reading on the couch.

Maybe you don’t really want to read, though. The other pitches for this product are to be a note taker and an AI assistant. It works for those things, but I’m not sold.

Spark is the notetaking app built into the Krono. You press the Smart Dial to start recording and press again to stop. Then you can transcribe it or just listen to it. I was bored by this idea almost immediately after trying it.

Libby AI is the artificial intelligence on the device. You can speak or type to it. It worked fast to answer my first question about what it could do. But the results were confounding. It said that it could write emails and code or summarize long articles. The problem is that Krono is kind of a silo, a lone device with no IO or web browser.

The device has Wi-Fi, so this feature is fine to use at home or work, but it’s not something you buy to carry with you and use on the go.

As a device to use with the Kindle, Kobo, or Libby library app, this is a fine eReader. But I know what I’m looking for is a cheaper product, more focused on the reading aspect than one with superfluous AI features seemingly tacked on. The conundrum is that AI is an investment machine, and a startup needs to make it over the launch hump.

Should you buy the Durobo Krono?

Credit: Tyler Hayes/ How To-Geek

It was only a matter of time before the Boox Palma (or Palma 2) attracted competition. The Durobo Krono is an interesting-looking eReader, but it’s not ready for prime time. In comparison to the Palma, it feels like a hurried impersonator.

Everything about the Krono, from its chincy hardware to its infant software, has yet to fully realize its potential. With a second revision to the Smart Dial and a lot of work to allow more customize to the software, this could be a serious productivity and reading device. It’s none of those things today.

5/10

Screen

6.13in HD Carta 1200

Resolution

824 x 1,648 (300PPI)

Storage

128GB

OS

Android 13