Tencent has just released their first E INK smartphone in China. This phone is designed to buy and read ebooks from Wechat Reading and Kindle. You can sideload in your own ebooks such as EPUB, Mobi and TXT, however it will not read PDF files. It is running the Android Go edition of Android 9, but you can’t sideload in your own apps, you also can’t sideload in PDF files, since there is no file browser. Almost every aspect of the phone is locked, unless you have a mainland China phone number or can access Wechat QR codes. It retails for around $139.99 USD and is available on JD.
Hardware and Software
The Tencent Pocket Reader features a 5.2 inch E INK Carta HD e-paper display with 284 PPI. The screen is flush with the bezel and is protected by a layer of glass. It has a front-lit display, with around 12 LED lights that are positioned alongside the side of the bezel and project light evenly across the screen. There is no color temperature system. There are a few different speed modes to increase the performance of some of the pre-loaded apps, such as normal and A2.
Underneath the hood is a Cortex A53 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. It has WIFI, 4G, Bluetooth 3.1 and is powered by a 2000 mAh battery. The dimensions are 144x74x7.9mm and weighs 130g. The phone is black and has volume buttons on the side, along with a power button. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can listen to some audiobooks or music. There is an SD card slot, capable of 32GB of additional storage.
Android GO is a nice and lightweight OS for phones that don’t have much processing power or memory. There are a handful of e-reading apps that are preinstalled, such as QQ Reader, Wechat Reader and Kindle. These apps are the Chinese versions and you can buy books and read them right in the app. There is a small app store, but you need a phone number from China just to use it. You also have a contacts list, SMS, Edge internet browser, library, note taking app and a few widgets. If you drag your finger down from the top of the screen you can adjust the front-lit display brightness settings, configure WIFI or engage in one of the speed modes.
Wrap up
Tencent is a massively huge company with a presence both in and out of China. They’re currently the third and 5th largest instant messaging service in the world with WeChat and TenCent QQ respectively and are the largest company in the world in the video game industry. Outside of mainland china, the device is fairly locked down, leading you to numerous roadblocks unless you have a mainland Chinese phone number or are willing to scan countless QR codes to get to where you need to be. But standing on its own is a fairly capable, Mini EPUB reader. Simply connect the USB C to your pc, and side load in all your ebooks to your heart’s content.
The screen itself is quite capable, you can turn pages with the volume buttons to utilize it with one hand, and it even has onboard audio so you can take advantage of TTS, which is something the ink palm by xiaomi can’t even do. You also have the ability to use internet explorer, yes, internet explorer, as your internet browser to read ebooks online, or even access stores like Amazon and the Sony Reader store But, this is the definition of, you get what you pay for. It’s under $150, and it is definitely geared towards a market that it was never intended to be used outside of China.
Tencent Pocket Read
$149.99
Pros
- Tencent E INK Phone
- Good selection of reading apps
- Android Go OS
- SIM/SD Card
Cons
- No value unless in China
- Cannot sideload in PDF files
- No ability to sideload apps
- Chinese only, no other languages
- nonstop barrage of QR Codes
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.
