Bookeen has a storied history in the e-reader world and has been making devices for over a decade. Their primary focus has been consumer devices, basic ebook readers that give users the ability to buy and read books. The Paris based company sells their products in France, although they ship all over the world, the most value you would get, is if you speak French. This has all changed with the advent of the Bookeen NOTÉA, a 10.3 inch digital note taking device, which is aimed at the professional segment.
The NOTÉA features a 10.3 inch black and white E INK Carta HD e-paper display with a resolution of 1872×1404 with 227 PPI. This device is perfectly suited for reading A5 documents, the size of the screen is three times larger than that of a standard six inch e-reader and allows you to display all your digital documents with unparalleled comfort. Thus, the display of PDF files that are much too small on a standard e-reader finally becomes possible on the NOTÉA. With the accompanied stylus, you can freehand draw, take notes and edit PDF files. It has a front-lit display to read at night and comes with a blue light filter is also present to preserve the user’s sleep cycles. The screen also has palm rejection technology.
Underneath the hood is a 1.8 GHZ quad core processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. You can charge the device and also transfer documents via the USB-C port. It has Bluetooth 4.2 for wireless headphones, but also has two stereo speakers to listen to audiobooks, music or podcasts. It is powered by a respectable 4,000 mAh battery and the dimensions are 191.1×252.5x8mm and weighs 460g. It is running Android 8.1 and you can install your own apps via sideloading.
The Bookeen NOTÉA comes with a very unique stylus. The pen has 4,096 degrees of pressure sensitivity, which means the lighter or harder you press, the thicker/thinner the lines will become. The top of the pen is removable, with a USB port, you can connect up a USB cable to your MAC/PC and charge it. The cap is magnetic, so it is easy to remove. The design of the pen is grey, it has a power button to turn on or off, helps conserve battery life. It also has a back, forward and eraser button on the sides.
It is going to be available on Amazon in the coming weeks and is already for sale on the Bookeen website for €399.
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.
