603 PB 302 vs. PB 603: differences?

[raccoss]

Hi, this is my first post. I'm from Italy. I'm sorry if this point was already discussed, but I can't find it.

It's a month since I've decided to buy a eReader but I'm still puzzled by some points. One of the biggest is:

- what's the difference between PB302 and PB603?

They have quite the same price and quite the same features. But there are very few news/opinions online about the 603. Why?

[kacir]

Originally Posted by raccoss

Hi, this is my first post. I'm from Italy. I'm sorry if this point was already discussed, but I can't find it.

It's a month since I've decided to buy a eReader but I'm still puzzled by some points. One of the biggest is:

- what's the difference between PB302 and PB603?

They have quite the same price and quite the same features. But there are very few news/opinions online about the 603. Why?

302 is old model. Discontinued. Manufactured by Netronix. PocketBook company doesn't let Netronix manufacture its newer models. *Long* time ago we were led to believe there would be some firmware improvements and that those changes were imminent. Most of those highly anticipated features weren't realized yet.

603 is very new model. Some things are not working yet and we are told that some interesting improvements are imminent ...
I personally will consider buying another model, such as 603 when I read an independent review (preferably several independent reviews) that my desired features are implemented and working reliably ... Sigh ...


302 has classical, cheap touchscreen, with sensitive layer on the top. This impacts readability, the first versions had ugly shiny screens. The touch screen works with finger, stylus, finger in glove ... anything that touches it, but the precision isn't great.

603 has Wacom "touch screen". The sensitive part is under the screen, so the readability of screen is excellent. You have to use provided special Wacom stylus.

302 has USB guest port so you can connect it to PC, and ALSO USB host so you can read an USB stick on the device. Long time ago we were led to believe that release of drivers that would let you use other hardware, such as keyboards was imminent ...

603 only has USB guest port for connecting to PC.

There are much more differences.


603 has come to marked only recently, so that might be a reason you are not seeing so many reviews.

[adbosch]

PB302: discontinued almost at the day of launch
PB603: not yet discontinued

[v1k1ng1001]

You want the 603!!!

[mtravellerh]

Originally Posted by adbosch

PB302: discontinued almost at the day of launch
PB603: not yet discontinued

The 302 was discontinued but we still supply full technical support for it and continue developing firmware updates.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by mtravellerh

The 302 was discontinued but we still supply full technical support for it and continue developing firmware updates.

There is no firmware image for the 302 on the official (English) Downloads page. I assume this is because there never has been a generally released firmware upgrade for the 302.

[mtravellerh]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

There is no firmware image for the 302 on the official (English) Downloads page. I assume this is because there never has been a generally released firmware upgrade for the 302.

No, this is because there will be a new update soon and PB does not want people to download an old firmware version.

[HenkH]

Originally Posted by mtravellerh

No, this is because there will be a new update soon and PB does not want people to download an old firmware version.

This means: the current firmware has some bugs and lacks several features. The new firmware may be released in march (but it also may come later, since all other Pocketbook products have a higher priority).