Pocketbook Era first look

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by rcentros

(More than you need to know about ducks.)

From a 30 second Google, I get the impression that the Aflac duck is a mascot, not an actual, living duck. my profile pick was cropped from a photo of a very real duck on a delightful Twitter feed called "why you should have a duck"

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Are you sure he's not one of the Aflac duck's body doubles? There's like ten million of them in America alone — and these originally came from China and/or southeast Asia. According to Wikipedia the Chinese named them shi-chin-ya-tze, which roughly translates to "ten pound duck." So, I guess, they weigh about ten pounds.

I like ducks. We have a lot of Mallards in the irrigation ponds around here. Much smaller than the American Pekin, as the biggest mallards are about 3.5 pounds but that's at the very top of the scale. Full grown, they can be as light as 1.5 pounds.

(More than you need to know about ducks.)

Around here, we've got a couple of ducks who come and go. Not sure what kind of ducks they are.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

From a 30 second Google, I get the impression that the Aflac duck is a mascot, not an actual, living duck. my profile pick was cropped from a photo of a very real duck on a delightful Twitter feed called "why you should have a duck"

Still looks just like the Aflac duck.

[trekk]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

I hope we see some reviews on Youtube, for "we few, we happy few" who have nothing to do with Facebook.

It's a public group, so you don't have to sign up to FB to see the pics

There's another video online on badereader. It is just another unboxing. Peter seems to like the packaging very much, just skip the first 3 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVcNshD4tpM

[eMole]

Well, those unboxing videos reveal that the strange cover thing (seen in the official intros) is NOT shipped with the device.
At least there's an indication where it would attach to the reader.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by trekk

It's a public group, so you don't have to sign up to FB to see the pics

I understand. I did follow the links after your post. It's just that I get so many links in emails (without description) that I've formed a habit not to follow them.

Originally Posted by trekk

There's another video online on badereader. It is just another unboxing. Peter seems to like the packaging very much, just skip the first 3 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVcNshD4tpM

Well, I skipped to the 3 minute mark where the reviewer was "thrilled" at how the Era slid out of the wrapper ("It slides right out like that. Wow!") and then skipped to the 5:03 mark after he said, "Very nice... Instantly to the touch it feels great..." Seeing that he's one of the few people in this country who is hawking these readers (under four different websites, I believe) I'm not surprised he's "thrilled" by this PocketBook Era.

Maybe it's just two sites with four entry points... BadEReader Store, Find-e-Reader Store, PocketBook Store, BadEReader's Shopify Site. The one that is especially irritating is the PocketBook Store. People will be tricked into thinking that's part of PocketBook International.

[Uncle Robin]

It does look like a nice reader, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Pocketbook now sells and ships to my country. But to but one here (inc shipping) is $70US more than a Libra 2 and only $60US less than a Sage, so it's not competitively priced. I don't see this 7 inch device as offering any killer advantages over Kobo's 7 inch, and when the Sage is on sale, it would be a lot more reader for a little more money

[trekk]

70 USD more for an ERA compared to a Libra 2 is a lot. In Germany the prize for the Libra 2 goes from 170 to 190 EUR, the Pocketbook Era will cost 199 EUR, that is a difference of 9 - 29 EUR.

Pocketbook will sell the Era together with a cover for just one additional EUR. I can also get a 10 % discount, so buying the bundle for 180 EUR incl. shipping is a no-brainer for me.

The Sage is too big for my daily commute, I also don't need the extra functionality. It also is quite expensive in Germany (366,97 EUR for the Sage + Stylus + Cover). This corresponds to two Pocketbook Era + Cover.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by trekk

70 USD more for an ERA compared to a Libra 2 is a lot. In Germany the prize for the Libra 2 goes from 170 to 190 EUR, the Pocketbook Era will cost 199 EUR, that is a difference of 9 - 29 EUR.

Pocketbook will sell the Era together with a cover for just one additional EUR. I can also get a 10 % discount, so buying the bundle for 180 EUR incl. shipping is a no-brainer for me.

The Sage is too big for my daily commute, I also don't need the extra functionality. It also is quite expensive in Germany (366,97 EUR for the Sage + Stylus + Cover). This corresponds to two Pocketbook Era + Cover.

I couldn't be bothered with the Sage's note-taking either, so no stylus needed for me. The Libra 2 here is about the same price as the ERA, the difference is the shipping - I could buy a Libra 2 locally, and pay a bit less than the ERA with free shipping, while I would have pay around $50USD to get the ERA shipped here. If Pocketbook ever gets a local reseller here, then the ERA would be a serious contender for me

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

... But to but one here (inc shipping) is $70US more than a Libra 2 and only $60US less than a Sage, so it's not competitively priced. I don't see this 7 inch device as offering any killer advantages over Kobo's 7 inch, and when the Sage is on sale, it would be a lot more reader for a little more money

In the U.S. the price difference is $20 (when compared to the Silver, 16 GB, version). From there it would depend on what features you prefer. But at $70 difference you have to like the Era a WHOLE lot more more to pay that much of a premium.

If I was in the market for 7" reader (I'm not currently) I would definitely prefer the Era because I like some of the PocketBook features better, especially "built-in" ADE.

[trekk]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Seeing that he's one of the few people in this country who is hawking these readers (under four different websites, I believe) I'm not surprised he's "thrilled" by this PocketBook Era.

Yes, trustworthy is not what comes into my mind when I think of Michael and Peter. Surprisingly, they are always among the first to get their hands on new devices.

[cellaris]

Originally Posted by trekk

Pocketbook will sell the Era together with a cover for just one additional EUR. I can also get a 10 % discount, so buying the bundle for 180 EUR incl. shipping is a no-brainer for me.

These combined offers and promotions are what keep me buying PocketBook products in Spain. Fortunately PocketBook Germany ships free of charge to Spain (5-7 days delivery time) and also applies the promotions. I bought a PB InkPad X for the price of a Kobo Forma. Of course, in Spain it is relatively easy to find deals on Kobo devices from local suppliers (a Kobo Libra 2 can be had for around 155 € with the right promotion). My dilemma is not which device to buy, but why not buy both devices.

[teamug]

Pocketbook readers are sold in electronics stores here, but the brand doesn't seem to have any real presence except for a website where they don't sell anything, and an Instagram profile. On the Instagram they posted 7th of July saying "Today we launch the new Pocketbook Era", which isn't true, since it's not for sale or even pre-order anywhere in Norway and never has been... That's the only mention of the Era.

On their local website they aren't promoting it, which baffles me, don't they want us to want to buy their new product? Oh well. I guess it turns up somewhere for sale eventually. I'm just curious what the price will be (probably more than in the rest of Europe).

[trekk]

Originally Posted by cellaris

My dilemma is not which device to buy, but why not buy both devices.

And everytime a new ereader appears on the market this dilemma begins anew.

[Sirtel]

For me the dealbreaker is the software - you apparently cannot adjust the font weight on Pocketbook readers, which for me is an indispensable feature. If not for that, I might be mildly interested in the Era.