09-15-2024, 03:17 PM | #1 |
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Why aren't PocketBook devices more popular?
I picked up an Inkpad Lite recently and after spending some time with it, I have been thoroughly impressed with the software.
Maybe it is because I have more a niche use case, but I am blown away by how easy it was to get up and running and how well it works out of the box. I am really surprised that more people aren't talking about these. There are so many great things about the software:
None of the cons are deal-breakers for me. Unfortunately, I will be returning the device. The form factor is not right for me or the way I read. I thought I might like a bigger device but it ends up causing me too much strain on my hands and wrists. I think, realistically, I would need to read with something to support it but that isn't really how I read. I may, however, try an Era if I can't come to terms with the Boox Page I am currently trying to make work for me. |
09-15-2024, 03:59 PM | #2 |
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Another plus is that some devices take SD cards too. The button placement at the bottom of some devices is a little weird to me though but it's great they still have them.
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09-15-2024, 04:26 PM | #3 |
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Where exactly aren't they more popular? MobileRead? MR is an English-language forum; in English-speaking countries Amazon with its Kindles dominates the ebook/ereader market. And in Canada Kobo is popular because it's a Canadian company.
Pocketbook was an Ukrainian company and is now based in Switzerland, AFAIK, so it's not well known in English-speaking countries and often is not sold there. Last edited by Sirtel; 09-15-2024 at 04:30 PM. |
09-15-2024, 04:55 PM | #4 |
Wizard
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If you look up old posts about PocketBook 301 and 360 from 15+ years ago you would see they had superior software even back then. It was super configurable and the company even sponsored competitions in writing software for it. It even had alternative UIs created during those sponsored competitions. They published developer toolkit and source code for their main reading app FBReader, so there was much improved version you could install. (They used open source to develop the app in the first place.) You could install new reading software and apps without hacking anything, just place it in an appropriate directory on reader. There was even ftpserver and linux terminal for it to help us with tinkering.
We are STILL reaping the benefits from that time. It was truly revolutionary company. After the company got successful they moved from Ukraine to Switzerland and slowly ceased encouraging tinkering. They were never big in the USA, Amazon and other American companies were dominating there. |
09-15-2024, 11:28 PM | #5 |
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One downside to the Pocketbook universe if that the bookstore (or at least the English language bookstore) sucks.
Don't get me wrong. I love the Pocketbook devices. They are my principal reading devices. But I buy my books from Amazon or Kobo and use Calibre and DeDRM to move them to the Pocketbook. |
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09-16-2024, 12:00 AM | #6 | |
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Quote:
Plus, many, once they've gotten entrenched in a particular ecosystem, don't wish to change. Many don't want to bother liberating their ebooks. They are happy as they are. And e-ink devices can last a long time. If I hadn't sold it, or wanted newer features like front lighting, my Sony 950 would probably still be serving me well. It's too bad, because the Pocketbook devices seem quite nice. I've fallen in love with my little 7" Era, and it is now second favorite behind my Kobo Sage. I'd always wanted a Pocketbook reader to try out, but I didn't prior to this summer, because they weren't cheap, and it's hard to justify yet another expensive e-ink device as a whim. I was lucky, and found a barely used 64GB Era for literally HALF-PRICE of new. At that point, I was totally willing to try one out. And am glad I did. There are some cons, some niggles, but overall I love the device. |
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09-16-2024, 10:00 AM | #7 | ||
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09-16-2024, 01:01 PM | #8 |
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Pocketbook doesn't have enough presence in the USA, for example, if a device breaks, its warranty support EU countries only, and you're out of luck. Also, you can't easily upgrade a Pocketbook device in the USA (like you can with Kindle) — in EU they at least give you a discount for a new device in exchange for the old one.
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09-16-2024, 01:15 PM | #9 | |
Sorry for my English
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But I have no reason to turn it off, I just put it to sleep. I have it set to turn off after 24 hours. Pocketbook starts from Off mode in tens of seconds too. - BOOX It can also be used without logging in - BOOX is more flexible For my using, the main negatives are PB: Errors in the overall reactivity of the device, dictionaries are very average, only completely basic settings for Font and page settings. HW equipped with CPU and podone are very backward used today already in PB books released 8 years ago.Limited kernel and SDK. PS: Dark mode, options for setting buttons and a good coating of the mentioned items are supported by almost every electronic book today. In addition, the CPU installed is still prehistorically B288, which is already 10 years old and which PB installs even in all the cheapest modelsSo I can't see anything great on the Lite version, which has a screen with a low resolution (at least for me). Apropos the mentioned BOOX Page has better contrast and sharpness compared to ERA. Personally, I would never go back to ERA from BOOX Page (I had both models for a while ). But of course stick to your preferences. Last edited by Michal Jancik; 09-16-2024 at 01:36 PM. Reason: I had both models for a while |
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09-16-2024, 04:37 PM | #10 |
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When switching to a new brand, I like to phsically see/touch/play with it before buying. I haven't seen any PocketBooks in U.S. B&Ms.
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09-16-2024, 05:32 PM | #11 | ||||
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There are things I like about the Page. In addition to what is mentioned above, the build quality seems good, the buttons are well placed and work consistently and the device is very open. There are a couple of deal-breakers for me with the Page though. The first is the power issues mentioned above. Unless you sleep the device, it takes too long to get back in-book. The other is library management. The ability to browse a large library on the device is not good. The interface is too limited. I tried working around this but couldn't find a good solution for my needs. I tried using 3rd party readers. There were some that had decent library management but they all had some flaws in the reading experience. The two I liked the best were Moonreader+ and Librera. However, both had flaws that were annoying. About the best work-around I came up with was to put the books on the device organized by series in the folder structure and then switch to the file browser mode of the library when I wanted to view it that way. There were still many annoyances though. I really wish the Boox Library would be improved. If you have thousands of books acquired over many years, it just doesn't handle that well. |
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09-16-2024, 05:36 PM | #12 | |
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I think all I have ever seen in stores is Kindles and Nooks. |
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09-16-2024, 05:55 PM | #13 |
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I think I saw my first Kobo at a University book store. At one time, Kobos were in boutique book stores. And I think they were in bestbuy in the past.
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09-16-2024, 05:58 PM | #14 |
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09-16-2024, 06:12 PM | #15 | |
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Font can be set from anything to 10 to 96. Line spacing from 0 to 150. Each margin can be set from 0 to 70. Additionally, there are settings for character spacing, paragraph spacing, 30 levels of bold and 17 levels of font enhancement. |
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