This PocketBook Era review falls flat for the summer. If you want an eReader to freely read all the books you want during the holidays, this could be the product for you! Let’s see it in detail
Summer, holidays … What could be better to sit under an umbrella and read a good book in peace, looking from time to time towards the sea. Well … Get under an umbrella to read from an eReader of course! Seriously, the benefits of using an eReader are now well known. This is an ecological solution because it saves a lot of paper. It is also a more compact and lightweight solution, if you are a very avid reader you will feel the difference. In short, we can not do without tell you about this new PocketBook Era in this review. Let’s find out in detail!
PocketBook Era Review: Design and Ergonomics
Let’s start with the design of this product. Like other eReaders in this range, PocketBook Era too sports an asymmetrical design which allows you to easily hold it with one hand, also accessing the physical buttons, without covering the screen. The keys on the side are slightly raised, this allows you to have a better grip without spoiling the elegance of this device. At the same time, the actuation force of the buttons is high enough to ensure that they are not pressed by mistake.
Also there rubberized plastic knurling on the back helps a lot to improve ergonomics. However, since the back is essentially flat, even placing it on a surface remains very stable. The slightly rounded corners are beautiful to look at and increase grip. In short, we understand how we always find this dualism, this double focus on originality and usability. PocketBook has perfectly managed to combine ergonomics and design in an elegant and easy to hold product. It can be held in the hand for hours and looks good when pulled out of a designer bag.
PocketBook Era review: a few features
Like any product, the technical component must be considered. The most important part is certainly the screen and here we are on the safe side: it is a E INK 7-inch 1200 paper with 1264 × 1680 resolution (300 ppi), with anti-glare treatment and backlighting with adjustable temperature. In short, one of the best around. Reproduces texts with great precision, even the smallest ones. And it can be used in any conditions, whether in direct sunlight or in the room at night. And it also has an anti-scratch treatment.
Hardware side we have a dual core processor and 1GB RAM which are sufficient to open and scroll through large files, keeping a decent reactivity. The 32 or 64 GB memory allows you to store a huge amount of books. In addition, thanks to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 and USB-C port it is easy to transfer files within the device – which eats up a bit of everything, we are talking about 19 formats for the text including PDF, mobi, ePub, 4 formats for images and 6 for audio. Yes, because we will be able to listen to music and audiobooks directly from the eReader through the integrated speaker or using the Bluetooh connection with headphones. There 1,700 mAh battery it can last for weeks.
Finally, a nice gem is the IPX8 certification. It means you can read underwater as PocketBook Era is protected from dives to a depth of 1 meter or more. Pool, sea, bathtub, nothing can scare this eReader and you can enjoy the pleasure of reading wherever you want. The operating system is similar to that used by the Kindles and Kobo, but customized in some respects, graphical and otherwise. The graphics are quite intuitive. While some gestures are a bit difficult to activate, they could have been designed better. PocketBook also provides several ways to transfer files from PC and smartphone to the eReader, including Dropbox.
PocketBook Era review: user experience
Let’s move on to the user experience which is also the most important part. After about 20 days of use we are ready to give you our impressions.
All-round reading
PocketBook Era is all about reading. While there are some extra features that we will delve into later, those who buy this eReader do it mainly for reading books. And with this eReader you can really read everything. It handles native eReader formats such as ePub very well. You can choose the font size and the page is rearranged accordingly. But this is simple.
E if we turn to PDFs? Even though the 7-inch screen isn’t huge, thanks to the high resolution it displays a whole page well. The software also allows you to read the document by columns, which is very useful for certain types of content. Otherwise, you can adjust the content to the width of the screen and scroll through the pages. We are pleasantly surprised by the smoothness and responsiveness of the eInk screen: the refresh is fast and a good fluidity is achieved.
Comics, manga and more!
The traditional reading experience is truly satisfying. But with PocketBook Era we can go further. Reading manga and comics is not a problem. The reader reproduces the details with good accuracy, so much so that it can also be safely used to read newspapers or magazines online. Being equipped with a browser, you can also read websites and news online, but the hardware cannot guarantee satisfactory performance.
Another story for audiobooks. The built-in speaker is great and the possibility of using the Bluetooh is very convenient so as not to disturb others. Also text-to-speech is well implemented: in English it works very well, in Italian the voice is a bit too robotic and not very expressive but it works. Then there is the possibility of looking up words in the dictionary or looking for it online. Here too the English version works very well, there is also the possibility to save the translation as a note. Notes that we can also create freehand or by typing on the keyboard. Let’s say that it is not exactly immediate, but if you want to highlight some particularly significant phrase or write down a thought, you can do it safely.
Lo official store unfortunately not well stocked with products in Italian (but there are some for free), while in English there is a lot of stuff. Without the ability to use third-party apps, you’ll have to manually transfer the eBooks you buy. But not bad in short.
Conclusions
We come to the conclusions. With a price of around 200 euros and the features it sports, this PocketBook Era is probably the best value for money eReader in this range. Great for traditional reading, also winking at something more. An overall positive experience net of a few small defects! That’s all from the mobile devices section, keep following us!
Points in favor
- Good ergonomics
- Elegant and functional design
- Really great display
- Audio compartment
- IPX8 certification
Points against
- Some difficult gestures to perform
- Lack of stores well stocked with titles in Italian
- Some extra features misfire