The iReader Ocean 3 comes across as a nice little e-reader device. It is compact and extremely lightweight. It has got a stellar display which makes reading off it an extremely pleasurable experience. Another inherent positive of the Ocean 3 is its Android platform, which means buyers won’t be tied to a particular content stream. Just install the e-book reader app that you like and get started with the reading of your choice.
The design
There is nothing new here. The Ocean 3 comes with the same asymmetrical design as its predecessor, something that again was first popularised by the Kindle Oasis. So, there is the familiar hump on one side at the back which might look a bit ungainly when viewed from the back but offer a lot of practicality. The extended spine is great for holding the device with one hand while reading or operating the device with the other. At just, 160 grams, it is never a chore to hold the device either.
The device is also extremely thin but sturdy. The rear also gets a low pile rubber coating that again is reminiscent of a Kindle device. That makes for sort of an anti-slippery coating and does not attract fingerprint marks as well. On the top lies the power button that comes in a distinctive shade of red. There also lies the USB-C port, a status indicator light as well as the mic. On the bottom of the spine lies the speaker. There also is a pair of physical buttons placed on the thicker spine for convenience.
The display
The Ocean 3 comes with a 7-inch E Ink Carta 1200 display having 300 PPI resolution. That might seem standard fare though iReader stated the clarity is now better by 25.57 percent while screen compression has improved by a huge 86 percent. All of this comes on the back of the usual advancements that the E Ink Carta 1200 display brings along. That includes 20 percent better screen response times than its predecessor, image enhancement mode, and black & white color inversion mode.
Apart from these, the Ocean 3 also boasts of a new tempered glass tech which makes the display thinner without sacrificing its rigidity. Plus, there is also a 28-level warm and cold front light feature that ensures you always have the most optimum reading experience irrespective of the ambient lighting condition.
The UI
iReader has done a good job of keeping the user interface simple yet effective. It’s easy to get started and use. There are just three tabs at the bottom – Bookshelf, Store, and Settings. These are pretty much self-descriptive. The Bookshelf will lead you to your library, which is where your actual books are stored. Here you have three tabs – Books, Notes to Book, and Book List.
The Store is where you can buy new books but isn’t likely to be of much use in English-speaking regions given that there are very few English content books available. That said, there is always the option to side-load your content, which can be books, comics, manga, PDF, or whatever. Now, here again, the preferred method for side-loading books is likely to be via the USB port. You can also do so via WeChat and Baidu though that would be the preferred option for Chinese rather than international users.
Then Settings is where you have different controls for every aspect of the e-reader. Here you have options like WLAN, Bluetooth, Read, Display, General, Tools, Privacy, System & Update, and About.
Here again, most of the options mentioned are self-descriptive. However, mention must be made of the Display option which has something interesting to offer in the form of Image Enhancement. This when turned on does a great job of making the display look smoother with none of the grayscale display gradient visible when it goes from light to dark or vice versa. This is true for not just any image shown on the e-reader but for the display as a whole.
Then there also is the Tools option which you can consider as the placeholder for all the apps you have on the device. The apps that come pre-loaded include Translate, Dictionary, YouDao Cloud Notes, Evernote, File Manager, File Import, Baidu Network, Transfer, Music, and Record. Unfortunately, those are also the set of apps that you have to make do with as there is no option to add more apps. There are a few tabs at the top – All, Learning, Transmission, Other – which basically sort the pre-set apps.
The Translate app has limited functionality in that it only serves to translate between English and Chinese and vice-versa.
Tapping on the hamburger icon at the top right provides you with a few more options, those being Batch Management, New Folder, File Manager, Cloud Books, Vocabulary Book, Sort By, and Display Mode. The Display Mode will let you choose between 9-grid, 16-grid, and list display options.
Among these, File Manager is the one that you are likely to use the most. It’s the one that lets you have access to your storage area where your stuff actually is. Those can be your images, music, books, dictionary, file import, export, and so on.
Just to the left of the hamburger icon is the option for File Import, File Export, Baidu Network, and Transfer.
Swipe down from the top will also reveal a bunch of options and shortcuts. Those include Power saving mode, Global refresh, Rotation lock, Screenshot, Smart assistant, and Lock Screen.
Then there are a bunch of light options including the option for controlling Warm and Cold lights. Other pre-set options include Lights off, Daytime, Night, Quilt, and Custom.
Books
As already stated, the display looks brilliant and inviting. You will love reading books or manga off it. Page turn speeds are quite fast too. Tapping along the center of the display will reveal several menu options including Setting. This again is where you get to Fonts, Font Size, and Layout. The Setting is also where you can invoke the Dark mode. Long-pressing on a word will lead to options like Note, Underline, Copy, Search, Encyclopaedia, and Share. The default dictionary can function even in the absence of an active internet connection. When it is a manga that you are looking to read, the 7-inch display is just perfect to show manga content.
Unfortunately, the Ocean 3 e-reader is not perfect for reading PDFs and that has to do with the size of the display. The PDF files load perfectly though the font is just too small and almost unreadable. You can pinch-and-zoom but that again isn’t the most effective way to read, particularly if it is a long-form text. So, if you intend to use the e-reader mostly for reading PDFs, you can safely skip past Ocean 3.
Audio
The built-in speaker is loud and can fill the entire room though the sound quality isn’t anything to shout home about. It’s basic and lacks bass but serves the purpose, nonetheless. The default music player app is also quite simplistic which isn’t a bad thing either. It comes with only a few controls which include the volume control, Loop all, and List. Then there are the forward, back, play/pause button,s and scan options.
Included within the Music app is the Record app which you can use to make some recordings. Those again get saved within the Music app and can be played back by the same music player. The recordings can also be transferred to your laptop or any other suitable device via the USB port.
Conclusion
iReader from China might not be a household name when it comes to e-note and e-reader devices, but it has been in the business for quite a few years now. The reason many aren’t even aware of its existence is that it has largely been operating within China till recently. None of its products came with support for the English language either though things changed with the launch of the Smart Air late last year.
Now, with the new Ocean 3 e-reader, the company has delivered yet another polished product designed to offer a pure e-book reading and listening experience. It sports compact dimensions, is well-built, and has a Kindle Oasis-like feel to it. In fact, it has got some stellar specs to its credit all of which make the Ocean 3 quite a nice e-reader that could be worth every bit of your hard-earned money. Now with worldwide availability and a relatively affordable price tag, the Ocean 3 is an excellent e-reader in its own right. It can also fill the void for those who might be longing for the latest gen Kindle Oasis.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
