Pocketbook has slowly been refining their CAD Reader that is aimed at architects and people involved in creating renderings using software by Autodesk. Today, at an event in Las Vegas Pocketbook has unveiled their latest design that sets a benchmark for e-ink devices.
The Pocketbook CAD now has an e-Ink Mobius display panel, which is the exact same one the Sony Digital Paper employs. The overall resolution of the 13.3 inch reader is 1600 X 1200, which will insure super high clarity to images and text. Underneath the hood is a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU which along with 512 MB of RAM. There is 8 GB of internal storage that is large enough to carry thousands of blueprints and design documents.
What makes this e-reader flexible? Instead of using plastic or hybrid magnesium alloys it incorporates a rubber housing. It also has a poly-urethane surface that prevents accidental slipping.
The Pocketbook Cad Flex looks quite different from the first generation prototype that was shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2013. I think Pocketbook attained a ton of feedback from Autodesk and design studios on what exactly was needed as a workplace extension while on various job sites.  I think this is why they came up with a more lightweight design that was resistant to scuffs when carried in a bag full of sharp objects.
I think Pocketbook is doing a tremendous job with the CAD Reader. The trend in the e-reader industry is just release a ton of products and hope for the best. This is the type of mentality that has flooded the marketplace with cheap products and jaded a number of people off of reading digitally entirely. Sony and Pocketbook are doing the smart play by aiming their devices at business professionals and putting enough time and effort into the hardware development.
Update: Pocketbook wrote in and elaborated about the flexible display. “The e-Ink Mobius e-paper panel is actually flexible on its own and we have developed a low-temperature insert casting of the body with the use of rubber to provide relative flexibility of the Pocketbook CAD Flex. But it is not totally flexible, as there are some inflexible components inside. So, although its somewhat flexible its not 100%, but our intention is to make the device more shockproof.
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.
