The Pocketbook Era is a brand new e-reader that is utilizing the brand new E INK Carta 1200 e-paper display panel. The updated technology increases the contrast of the image by 15% and improves the response time of the touch screen by 20%. The 7-inch diagonal screen is the optimal size for reading at home or on-the-go – the device is still compact but, at the same time, displays more text on one page than a classic 6-inch e-reader. Thanks to the SMARTlight function, which allows you to adjust brightness and color temperature, you can enjoy eye-friendly reading in any lighting conditions.
The Pocketbook Era features a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen display with E INK Carta 1200. The resolution is 1264×1680 with 300 PPI. The screen is protected by a layer of glass and is flush with the bezel. The screen features enhanced anti-scratch protection, which gives more confidence in the device’s safety, even in the most active use. Moreover, waterproof PocketBook Era is ideal gadget for reading in the bathroom or outdoors. The e-reader is protected from water according to the international standard IPX8, which means the device can be immersed into the fresh water to a depth of 2 meters, for up to 60 minutes without any harmful effects.
There is a front-lit display and color temperature system to read in the dark. This e-reader has an all-new design and does not have the traditional buttons on the bottom of the screen like previous Pocketbook readers. However, it does have manual page turn buttons on the side of the screen, which is useful if you don’t want to exclusively rely on touchscreen interactions.
Underneath the hoods is a dual-core 1GHZ processor and 1GB of RAM. There are two different colors to choose from and each one has different storage. Sunset Copper with 64 GB of memory, and Stardust Silver with 16 GB of memory. You can charge device and transfer data, thanks to the USB-C port. You can listen to music via the single speaker or pair wireless headphones or earbuds with Bluetooth 5.1. Another helpful feature for those who prefer listening to books is Text-to-Speech which turns any text into a natural-sounding voice audio track. Just two clicks and the device will read aloud any text file in one of the 26 available languages. It is powered by a 1700 mAh battery and the dimensions are 134.3×155.7.8mm and weighs 228G.
The Pockebook Era is running Linux, so you won’t be able to install any apps. You will be able to buy a number of books via the Pocketbook Bookstore. However, you can sideload in your own books, since it supports a wide array of formats, such as; ACSM, CBR, CBZ, CHM, DJVU, DOC, DOCX, EPUB, EPUB(DRM), FB2, FB2.ZIP, HTM, HTML, MOBI, PDF, PDF (DRM), PRC, RTF, TXT. If you are an audiobook fan, you can also sideload in your personal collection. It supports M4A, M4B, OGG, OGG.ZIP, MP3 and MP3.ZIP.
The Era will be available sometime in July and you can pre-order it today from the Good e-Reader Store. It starts at $199 for the 16GB version and $249 for the 64GB of storage.
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.