Pocketbook is best known for their line of popular e-readers in Eastern Europe. They have had terrible success with their products in North America, due to the lackluster hardware and overall design. The company is hoping to turn their fortunes around by getting into the accessory business. Pocketbook has just developed a new case for the Samsung Galaxy S4 that will allow users to read on the e-ink screen and save precious battery life on the phone itself.
The Pocketbook Cover Reader is basically a second screen that has a resolution of 800×600. You need to use the official Pocketbook app in order to read books and setup your reading preferences. Readers can turn off the Galaxy S4 screen and just read on the e-ink screen. The case is designed to flip your phone on its back and use the e-ink screen as the reading panel. This won’t kill the phone battery by using the color display. Additionally, missed calls and received SMSs are displayed on it.
The new CoverReader will use Plastic Logic’s flexible EPD product; the 4.8” display will be manufactured in the company’s Dresden facility. This new display has a range of benefits, as such screens are flexible, shatterproof, ultra-thin, ultra-lightweight, power saving, and daylight readable.
According to Enrico Müller, Sales Manager of Pocketbook Readers GmbH, CoverReader is a highly anticipated product on the market, and that is why the company plans to expand the line of smartphone CoverReaders for such brands as HTC, Sony, and Samsung.
Indro Mukerjee, CEO Plastic Logic, said: “We are excited to be working with Pocketbook on a number of projects and this smart mobile accessory application is a market segment with huge potential, for which our technology is ideally suited.”
e-Ink is transitioning from being exclusively in e-readers to phones. The Onyx Android phone has a pure e-ink screen and the Yota Phone out of Russia is certainly making noise. It will be interesting to see if the new Pocketbook case will catch on. There is no news of availability or pricing yet, but likely will go on sale by the end of the year. Samsung Galaxy S4 users can download the Pocketbook Reading App from Good e-Reader.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
