Good e-Reader has exclusively learned that Pocketbook plans to unveil a six inch e-paper device sometime in the next few days. The PocketBook Touch HD 2’s big selling point is the new SmartLight screen which will adjust the color temperature depending on the time of day. There are two modes of SMARTlight adjustment. The automatic one, which is set by default, works depending on the time of day and considers human biorhythms. It offers an optimal variant of lighting: soft and warm for relaxed reading in the evening or more intensive for the more active hours of the day. In this way, SMARTlight constantly offers the most harmonious lighting conditions providing exceptional reading experience.There is also a manual mode for people who do not want to automate the process.
The Pocketbook Touch HD 2 features a six inch E Ink Carta display with a resolution of 1440X1080 and 300 PPI. It uses a IR sensor, which is the same screen tech the new Nook Glowlight 3 uses. Underneath the hood is a 1GHZ processor, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. There is a MicroSD card to enhance the storage up to 32GB. You will be read for around a month on this device without having to recharge, thanks to the 1500 mAh battery.
This device supports a myriad of e-book formats; PDF, PDF(DRM), EPUB, EPUB(DRM), DJVU, FB2, FB2.ZIP, DOC, DOCX, RTF, PRC, TXT, CHM, HTM, HTML, MOBI, ACSM.
There is a 3.5mm headphone jack that will allow you to listen to audiobooks or to enjoy music while reading. PocketBook Touch HD 2 supports the mp3 format and a Text-to-Speech function, which converts text into spoken voice, the e-reader will read aloud any text file in any of the supported formats.
This e-reader maintains a lot of the design principles of the Pocketbook Touch HD that we reviewed a few months ago. It has manual page turn keys, but instead of having them on the sides of the unit, they are on the bottom. I have no idea what Touch HD 2 will cost or when it will be available, but it should be within the next month or two.
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.
