We had the opportunity to test the new InkPad 3 Pro, a mid-range eBook Reader with IPX8 certification and a 7.8 ″ E-Ink Carta HD screen for a few weeks.
The e-Readers are spreading more and more on the market since, partly due to the last lockdown, partly due to the inexorable advancement of remote work, we all spend most of our days in front of the screens, even during study hours. An eBook Reader would allow to “break up” the intensive use of PCs, smartphones or tablets in favor of a more comfortable reading. These devices are in fact equipped with a panel e-Ink, that is the technology that simulates ink on paper in order not to tire the eyes. The product subject of this review, the PocketBook InkPad 3 Pro, is equipped with front backlight, 7.8 ″ HD Carta e-Ink display and waterproof. Below is the complete technical sheet:
- Display: tecnologia E-Ink Carta gives 7,8″ HD with 300dpi;
- CPU: Dual Core (2 × 1 GHz);
- RAM: 1GB;
- ROM: 16GB for internal storage NON expandable;
- connectivity: Wi-FI, Bluetooth, porta USB-Type C;
- battery: 1900mAh;
- dimensions: 8 x 136 x 195mm;
- weight: 225g;
- color: Metallic Gray;
- YOU: Linux based proprietary;
- Price: 269€
Design and Ergonomics | PocketBook InkPad 3 Pro review
The terminal has a rectangular design with the 2 rounded lower corners and the slightly convex lower frame that houses the 4 main buttons: Home, Back, Forward, Menu. Along the bottom edge there is the power button and the USB Type-C input for charging. Nothing to report on the remaining profiles. The body is made entirely of plastic, but despite this there are no creaks or other signs that could lead one to think that a fragile object is being handled.
The only real drawback is that the type of material attracts fingerprints and dirt very easily. The weight of suns 225g combined with its small size make it manageable and easily transportable. Finally, the certification IPX8 will allow you to use it with a certain serenity even during a day at the pool. In the package, in addition to the lowercase (and skimpy characters) instruction manual, there are a USB-A / USB Type-C charging cable, an adapter to connect wired earphones and finally a soft case to store the device.
System Software | PocketBook InkPad 3 Pro review
The proprietary operating system rests its foundation on Linux. What will surprise you, after the first initial setup, will be its record speed when switching on and off. Once you hold down the power button for a couple of seconds, the PocketBook it will take 5 seconds flat to show you the Home. The interface is clean, fast and above all clear for anyone who has never handled an e-Reader in their life. The main screen will show in the foreground some books that have already been read as well as a small carousel where the best-sellers of the moment are listed. At the top there is a drop-down menu (which opens either with the physical ‘Menu’ key or by touching the small arrow in the center) which will show date / time, battery charge status, Wi-Fi / Bluetooth signal, active backlight icon as well as any system messages.
At the bottom, on the other hand, there are 5 icons to access the sections respectively:
- Bookshelf: the set of all the books present in the memory;
- Audio books: it contains, in fact, all the audiobooks downloaded and which can be requested to be read by voice (only via wired or Bluetooth earphones);
- Shop: it is the PocketBook store where you can buy books, mostly in English;
- Note: collection of all the notes marked directly on the book you are reading;
- Applications: in this section there are several programs including a Web Browser, a calculator, various dictionaries, an application for drawing (the stylus non is included in the package), an audio player, an image player and various games such as Chess, Solitaire and Sudoku.
It must also be said that all the physical buttons, even the on / off button, they can be customized through the system settings. An example is to be able to take a screenshot or open the multitasking manager by double pressing the power button.
Features | PocketBook InkPad 3 Pro review
Starting from the reading software, I can say that it is very fast in changing the page and that it has several functions that facilitate the readability of the characters. In fact, it will be possible to modify theline spacing, margins, fonts, letter size as well as activating the hyphenation function, insert notes (via keyboard, hand, or stylus) and highlight the text. The formats supported by this player are: ACSM, CBR, CBZ, CHM, DJVU, DOC, DOCX, EPUB, EPUB(DRM), FB2, FB2.ZIP, HTM, HTML, MOBI, PDF, PDF (DRM), PRC, RTF, TXT. It is also possible to view images in the following formats: JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF. Regarding the supported audio formats, however, we have: MP3, OGG and for audiobooks the formats MP3 e M4B.
Note of merit for the presence of the gyroscope, thanks to which you can rotate the device horizontally in order to take advantage of the longer side of the display for reading. Curiously it is not possible to rotate the image in the system menu. It is really a shame instead find the absence of an audio speaker for listening to audio books or MP3 files, forcing the user to never be able to do without earphones. The front backlight, which can be activated both from the drop-down menu and by holding down the ‘menu’ button for 2 seconds, allows comfortable reading even in total darkness. Finally, the transfer of the files of our interest can also take place through cloud services such as DropBox for example, without having to physically connect the PocketBook to a PC.
General performance | PocketBook InkPad 3 Pro review
I will now talk about how my user experience was overall. Regarding the reading software, I find it practically perfect, it has all the functions that can be useful for underlining or taking notes. Perhaps the only thing that I really feel pointed out is the inconvenience of the “online dictionary”, that is the function able to search for terminologies for us whose meaning we do not know. It is poorly managed as it leans on Browser Web integrated into the device. With the latter, in fact, I found myself using it often just to test its quality, which is not good at all. It is slow, many web pages will crash (an example is the Lichess chess site) and it is buggy.. The slowness is probably also due to the lack of it RAM installed on this e-Reader, only 1GB.
It also has positive sides, however, since being able to use the terminal horizontally it will be pleasant to read the latest news as if it were a newspaper. It also works “quite” well in viewing pages like LinkedIn, but a mysterious bug will sometimes scroll the news feed without you giving any input to the display. Another sore point is that when you use this software the battery will suffer a lot. While with a read-only use the battery of 1900mAh guarantees a duration of at least 1 week and a little more, with the intense use of the PocketBook for web browsing you will lose 1 percentage point every 3/4 minutes. The remaining pre-installed applications work fine, the one for drawing is very basic but I have not found any anomalies.
Conclusions
At the end of this discussion, I can assert that the PocketBook InkPad 3 Pro it is a good product for reading or listening to audio books. It should be emphasized that it can also be used in “dangerous” contexts considering that it has been waterproofed against splashes of water. Therefore, for those wishing to read on the beach or in the pool it can be a device to be seriously considered. The problem could arise for those looking for something more taking into account that the Web Browser is very limited and it is not possible to install external markets. The storage capacity is not expandable, but the 16GB of internal memory will be more than enough to store a disproportionate amount of eBooks. It could have aspired to a higher rating if only it had received the necessary software fixes.
What do you think of the new e-Reader of PocketBook? Let us know your opinion below in the comments. Finally, do not forget to follow us on our Instagram page, on our YouTube channel and stay connected on TechGameWorld.com.it to stay constantly updated on all the news from the tech world!
Points in favor
- Quality and definition of the e-Ink panel
- Impervious to water
- Fairly comprehensive reading software
- Physical customizable buttons
Points against
- Lack of a speaker
- Slow and unstable web browser with some web pages
- Alternative markets cannot be installed
- The screen is not very oleophobic