Pros
- More colours
Cons
- Limited availability
- Shipping delays
- Inconsistent communication
- Screen 'staining'
- Ghosting
- Poor performance
NOT RECOMMENDED: This was a Kickstarter campaign, and the backers have reported long shipping delays, inconsistent communication and a poor quality product when it was finally delivered. Therefore, this tablet is not recommended and all ratings have been set to zero.
Last updated: September 2023
The Topjoy Butterfly was a Kickstarter campaign for building a tablet using a new screen technology called DES Slurry, which boasts more colours than currently available colour e-ink screens.
I was not a backer for this device (too many warning signs) and so haven’t had any hands-on experience with the device (and it is unlikely I ever will). However, a few eWritable readers did back the campaign and kept me updated with the story.
Unfortunately, there were several issues with the campaign, including long delays, poor communication from Topjoy, and when the device was finally shipped, not everyone got their tablet.
Those that did receive their tablet reported that although the screen did display a lot of colours adequately, there were several issues including ghosting, sluggishness and permanent ‘staining’ on the screen.
This tallies with what has been published online by other Topjoy Butterfly backers.
So, I cannot recommend the Topjoy Butterfly at this time for anyone that plans to use it as a productivity device. The only subset of users that might find this useful are those that have a technical curiosity about DES Slurry technology and want to see it in action first-hand for themselves.
For an alternative 7.8″ colour tablet, you might want to consider the Boox Tab Mini C or Bigme S6 Color+.
About the author
Dan Dutton is passionate about E-ink writing tablets, which bring together the pleasure of writing on paper with the power of digital technology. When he bought his first tablet, he realised that there wasn't a lot of unbiased information available for people that were considering buying an E-ink tablet, and so he built eWritable.