INKPAD 4 : Why Pocketbook limits contrast + performance problem - terible device

[Michal Jancik]

Hi.

Why does Pocketbook limit the contrast strength on all devices on the new E-INK Carta 1200 screens?

- I have upgraded from Inkpad 3 to Inkpad 4, I was really looking forward to the new EINK 1200 screen and I am very disappointed.

-As in the case of the "Pocketbook ERA", the contrast of the screen is completely unimpressive and very average.

- In addition, the performance of the Inkpad 4 is in no way better than the Inkpad 3, for 300 Euro I basically see no difference compared to the device that came out 5 years ago!

Of all the devices I've tested from the Kindle, Kobo, Tolino models, the Pocketbook has the worst contrast level, so I'd say it's the worst optimized e-reader on the market.

It amazes me that the performance (everything takes a very long time) is completely identical for an 80$ reader as for a 300$ reader. In addition, for a rather large surcharge, PB does not offer any additional functions. (in short, it's still one and the same reader that you buy for $100, only with a bigger screen, nothing more.

1) My question is, is the large reduction in contrast on the Pocketbook readers intentional on the part of the manufacturer?

2) Why are all their products so terribly optimized?

3) Using the buttons requires a stronger pressure, so they are very uncomfortable during reading. Are the buttons more flexible over time?
(the buttons are not as easy to press as with Kobo or Kinde)



I am extremely disappointed with the purchase of the Inkpad 4, for such a high price I really expected nothing else, especially on the screen side. Compared to Inkpad 3, I don't see any improvement in contrast, but I don't notice any improvement in reactivity itself, Inkpad 3 even turns pages a bit faster.
The whole benefit of E-INK 1200 screens (better contrast + reactivity) is completely messed up on this model.

>PS: When I wrote to Pocketbook support about the contrast problem with the Pocketbook ERA, they replied that I am working on a fix that will be visible on the new version of this model (a year has passed) and now I will release Inkpad 4, which suffers from the same aspect of gray writing as black writing? Even when using Koreader and trying to increase the contrast, the writing is only thicker, but not blacker, the writing is still as gray as black, really disappointed.. I will not buy Pocketbook again.

[Michal Jancik]

I'm currently trying to finish the review on Inkpad 4, unfortunately I didn't have time to finish the article due to running out of time. You can find basic information, compared with Inkpad3, Screen/Contrast, etc.:

Inkpad3 vs Inkpad 4

Click here > Definitely read before buying Inkpad 4 <

However, I was taken aback when, after connecting to the Inkpad4 device via the terminal, information about the CPU and RAM was displayed, that it was the same processor as the previous Inkpad3. Does anyone have more detailed information about the CPU used in Inkpad4?

After comparing the [Inkpad 4] and [Inkpad 3 PRO] motherboards, I came to the conclusion that they are essentially almost identical. They only differed in the screen, I'm quite disappointed ... in the case of Inkpad4 it's very difficult to talk about any Upgrade.

The Inkpad3 motherboard looks good and, at least compared to the Inkpad4, which has a battery from some unknown Chinese manufacturer, has a battery made by Pocketbook.

[Cyfranek]

I did quite simple comparision - InkPad 4 needs more time to open the same book as InkPad 3. Quite sad.

[Michal Jancik]

Originally Posted by Cyfranek

I did quite simple comparision - InkPad 4 needs more time to open the same book as InkPad 3. Quite sad.

Yes, that is unfortunately true.
However, this also applies to models like the Pocketbook Verse (basic) version and the Lux 5, which I compared with the Inkpad4. Inkpad4 is the slowest, even when turning pages, while I would expect the opposite with the E-INK 1200 screen. I do not know why ..

As you say, “Pretty sad.”

Just for reference. One device is a premium model, the other is the cheapest model of the same manufacturer, you can see some difference

One costs $99 the other $255, can you tell which one is which?

* Yes, the model on the left has two more wires at the battery



PS: I'm asking Inkpad4 visitors or owners if you could share your bad or good experiences with this device. Thanks

[Cyfranek]

What is good in InkPad 4, it's better designed. Thanks to separation of battery from the screen it's more resistant to broken screen's glass problems.

[rkomar]

The more pixels on the screen, the longer the time to render the contents on display. There is a price to pay for higher resolution.

[Cyfranek]

Both InkPad 3 and InkPad 4 have the same resolution 1872 × 1404 (300 ppi), but predecessor is faster. That's the problem here.

[Michal Jancik]

Originally Posted by Cyfranek

Both InkPad 3 and InkPad 4 have the same resolution 1872 × 1404 (300 ppi), but predecessor is faster. That's the problem here.

I am of the same opinion..

This may be due to the fact that the Inkpad 4 uses a significantly slower eMMC storage chip compared to the Inkpad 3.

Under the hood, Inkpad3 is significantly better than version 4. Inkpad4 is premium only from the outside.
(When I calculated the installed components, the production price of the Inkpad4 outside of the screen cannot be higher than $50 )

Today I tried the Inkpad Color 3 and it is significantly faster, everything reacts basically immediately, so it is equipped with a newer Quad-Core (and OS Linux 4.*) processor compared to the Inkpad4 which is 8 years old Allwinner B288 limited to Linux 3.*.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

This may be due to the fact that the Inkpad 4 uses a significantly slower eMMC storage chip compared to the Inkpad 3.

Under the hood, Inkpad3 is significantly better than version 4. Inkpad4 is premium only from the outside.

I wonder why they did that? Usually it's the other way around - newer devices are better (or at least the same - almost never worse). Is Pocketbook in danger of going bust that they feel the need to cut their costs so drastically?

[Michal Jancik]

G

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I wonder why they did that? Usually it's the other way around - newer devices are better (or at least the same - almost never worse). Is Pocketbook in danger of going bust that they feel the need to cut their costs so drastically?

on the inkpad has been upgraded: waterproof IPX8, new e-ink Carta 1200, USB-C, integred audio, Bluettoth, new buttons and construction.

However, in terms of quality, the global crisis of some chips may have played a role in the selection of some components.

inkpad is no exception, when I compared the motherboards of other readers, for example Verse and Verse PRO, ERA, I observed very little difference between the more expensive and the cheapest ones. This also concerns the quality of the installed batteries. The previous generation was equipped with better quality batteries made by Pocketbook, so PB using batteries from some China manufacturer JiJan

[wold]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

Today I tried the Inkpad Color 3 and it is significantly faster, everything reacts basically immediately, so it is equipped with a newer Quad-Core (and OS Linux 4.*) processor compared to the Inkpad4 which is 8 years old Allwinner B288 limited to Linux 3.*.

Just a guess, it could be the screen drivers/software support for the newer screens require linux 4.x, and backporting those to the older e-reader platform (=inkpad 4 with 3.x) ran into issues.

Or more processing was moved from screen hardware to the e-reader CPU (IIRC like laserprinters and postscript, etc)... if any processing is required at all

[Michal Jancik]

Originally Posted by wold

Just a guess, it could be the screen drivers/software support for the newer screens require linux 4.x, and backporting those to the older e-reader platform (=inkpad 4 with 3.x) ran into issues.

Or more processing was moved from screen hardware to the e-reader CPU (IIRC like laserprinters and postscript, etc)... if any processing is required at all

It seems to me that the support and required libraries are supported since kernel version 3.1, but I'm not 100% sure.

In any case, it's a shame that Pocketbook didn't choose the same CPU that they put in the COLOR 2-3 (Quad-Core 4 x 1,8 GHz) and for the Inkpad 4 model, which has the same CPU that we can find in the readers of the previous generation "Touch HD 3" or "Touch Lux 5" what are the readers of books from a completely different price category..

(for almost $300, I expected at least a Quad-Core B300 and faster LPDDR4 RAM, rather than an older Dual-Core B288 on DDR3.)

Inkpad 4 Interface speed :

NON YOUTUBE VIDEO LINK :
https://cod-box.net/wp-content/uploa...speed-test.mp4
YOUTUBE VIDEO LINK
https://youtu.be/NeE5aI7_YXM?si=JjVR87UsM6Iu_tpW

Spoiler:

Fortunately, the whole situation is saved by KOREADER, in which the overall used device is significantly more reactive, which again indicates that the problem with optimization is probably still on the PB side.

In addition, KORADER allows advanced font settings, contrast, sharpness, DPI, in short everything that PB lacks. I'm not a demanding user, but in my opinion, PB could have developed the options for setting books a little better, because just setting the font size and 3 different margin settings seems like a good limit for the year 2023.

[Loopscoop]

I have to agree that the InkPad 4 is a very poor device. I have used it for a few weeks now, having previously used a 1st gen paperwhite, and otherwise not having much experience with ereaders. It hardly feels like an upgrade from that 11 year old device, as the battery life is worse and it takes longer to open footnotes and links (and in practice is much slower to open large epubs converted from a corresponding azw3, and larger files in general). It is very slow and unresponsive, and the contrast is very poor as you say.

I only checked a couple of reviews before buying to see if there were any glaring faults. My inpression is that the ecosystem around reviews and discussion of end user product testing and experience are as poor as the device.

I use koreader exclusively, which thankfully makes the device usable (and probably imminent migration to a new device eaay and painless), but even with that the device is a disappointment.

My requirements and usage needs were:

~8 in high quality display
Hassle free Koreader support (for self created dictionaries and decent translation options, unified annotations/highlights that are easily exportable etc)
Good support for RTL scripts
Academic reading, pdfs, comfortable two column views etc

I decided to buy pocketbook to support a more open platform that doesn't officially discourage sideloading e.g. koreader and doesn't require setting up accounts etc. Very much regretting this, as playing with a friends paperwhite 5 made me realize how much better amazon is at optimizing their devices.

Add to this the fact that there is no screen lock with pin, that koreader struggles to control the in device wifi, and that the screen provides greyed/washed out print, and as you point out the device uses the same, if not worse, hardware than the five year old inkpad 3.

The device is also painfully slow with large files, and while it is expected that scanned pdfs will be a bit slower as they are images, the performance is much worse than I think anyone could reasonably expect.

Seeing what you have written about the inkpad color 3, it does seem to be a huge step up. Maybe it is possible to return this device and get that instead, as the price difference is small and i already have the cover for it. Have no need for color, but if the device has updated hardware and is actually responsive, it might be worth it.

[Loopscoop]

Unable to edit my previous post, but wanted to add that it seems the color filter on the inkpad color 3 is always visible even in black and white mode, and darkens the screen considerably.

Have to say the contrast situation on the Inkpad 4 is very bad and it makes text seem very blurry.

Increasing font weight can help slightly, but not enough.

[chrisridd]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

However, I was taken aback when, after connecting to the Inkpad4 device via the terminal, information about the CPU and RAM was displayed, that it was the same processor as the previous Inkpad3. Does anyone have more detailed information about the CPU used in Inkpad4?

Is there a list anywhere of the actual CPU models used in each Pocketbook? PocketBook is very vague, and their FCC tests don't seem to include internal photos of the devices. At least with Kobo and Onyx we can derive some details from those internal photos.