PocketBook 360° - new 5" ebook reader

[Nate the great]

Read me first: I've received word from the manufacturer that my source for this info was wrong. The device exists, but it does not belong to Pocketbook. We are now getting reports that due to a contract dispute, it will be sold by Bookeen.



Editor's Note: The following links go to webpages that are not in English. If you need them to be translated, Google has translation tools here.

PocketBook is a Ukraine based Netronix distributor similar to Bookeen. The reader software they ported is FBReader, and they just announced that they will support an open source project called PocketBook Free.

They've been selling the PocketBook 301 for some time now, and recently announced a new 5" reader called the 360°. Technical details are sparse, but you can find pictures here, and a brief writeup here. All I know so far is that the device probably has an accelerometer.

[igorsk]

Check also this thread.

[Abelturd]

It looks nice, the design is more sophisticated. It's not quite unlike txtr (similar placement of control elements, the idea with the accelerometer).
I would like it more with 8" screen though, the same design but with bigger screen. I don't have much use for these teensy-weensy displays.

[HarryT]

A 5" device is a nice size for a large pocket - provided it's tough enough to resist screen flexure.

[nelsonescorcio]

Is it just me that feels it has a cheap look?...

[Abelturd]

You can tell the price from just looking at it?

[JSWolf]

I have to agree that 5" is too small and 6" should be the minimum size.

[nelsonescorcio]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have to agree that 5" is too small and 6" should be the minimum size.

7" (or maybe 8") seems, to me, the magical number.

[HarryT]

Remember that there are a great many people who read on a PDA-type device, typically with a 3" or 4" screen. I would buy a 5" device, if it supported the formats I want, for its portability.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have to agree that 5" is too small and 6" should be the minimum size.

I have to wonder how much real experience you have with a 5" screen?

Lets start with the fact that ebooks got started on PDAs and cell phones, often with 2.4-3.0" screens. I will grant that such small screens are not conducive to long stretches of reading.. but many people have and continue to read on them. Certainly the iPhone and iPod Touch with their 3.5" screens have become a major factor in the ebook world.

Now, having started with an iPod Touch and then migrated to the 5" Jetbook, I can say quite confidently, that it is perfectly possible to enjoy reading on a 5" screen. I have read a number of novels on the device in the past several months and have never found the 5" screen to be in any way a distraction. While a slightly larger screen might be nice, I would not move to a 6" screen unless said device retained the overall pocket friendly size of the Jetbook (Which might be possible if all controls were moved to a touchscreen interface).

I am not saying that a 5" screen is right for everyone, or even for every type of reading. But please let us remember that just because a particular device doesn't suit our particular needs, it doesn't mean that said device isn't exactly what another person needs.

--
Bill

[nelsonescorcio]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

I have to wonder how much real experience you have with a 5" screen?

Lets start with the fact that ebooks got started on PDAs and cell phones, often with 2.4-3.0" screens. I will grant that such small screens are not conducive to long stretches of reading.. but many people have and continue to read on them. Certainly the iPhone and iPod Touch with their 3.5" screens have become a major factor in the ebook world.

Now, having started with an iPod Touch and then migrated to the 5" Jetbook, I can say quite confidently, that it is perfectly possible to enjoy reading on a 5" screen. I have read a number of novels on the device in the past several months and have never found the 5" screen to be in any way a distraction. While a slightly larger screen might be nice, I would not move to a 6" screen unless said device retained the overall pocket friendly size of the Jetbook (Which might be possible if all controls were moved to a touchscreen interface).

I think he meant (I know I did) dedicated devices (which is the case).

Off course you can read in a 5" device. Even in a 4" or 3" one! And off course you can enjoy it (millions do everyday)! But that does not change the fact that for a dedicated reading device 6" is, as far as I am concerned, the minimum for reading with real confort. Why do you think paper books have the size thay have? How many paper books smaller than 6" are out there?

[nelsonescorcio]

HarryT, off course portability is a value. But every time you choose portability, you are, in a way, putting other values in second place... Aren't you?

[Marysart]

Originally Posted by nelsonescorcio

Is it just me that feels it has a cheap look?...

I actually think it looks classy. It has a sort of 70-ties feel to it.
(yeah yeah the seventies classy I know )
From the pictures at least I find this one the most aesthetically pleasing of all the readers I've seen so far.
It also looks comfortable to hold and no sharp corners. I think it looks very tactile.

For me 5 inch would be sufficient to read novels on. I personally would not want to read fiction on a device bigger then 6 Inches.
I usually read in bed and after having held an 8 inch Ilead I know I would find it awkward to hold.
I've already decided that for technical texts I would need a screen that could display a4 size pages.

[nelsonescorcio]

Originally Posted by Marysart

For me 5 inch would be sufficient to read novels on. I personally would not want to read fiction on a device bigger then 6 Inches.
I usually read in bed and after having held an 8 inch Ilead I know I would find it awkward to hold.

Fair enough.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by nelsonescorcio

HarryT, off course portability is a value. But every time you choose portability, you are, in a way, putting other values in second place... Aren't you?

Yes, absolutely. One of the reasons I sold my iLiad was because I found it too large to carry around with me everywhere I go, which is what I do with my CyBook. Portability is a primary concern for a, well, portable, device.