Pocketbook Era (Sunset Copper) Review

Electronic books or e-books have revolutionized the way we consume literature, making reading more convenient and enjoyable. Pocketbook, a renowned brand in the e-reader market, is renowned for its range of user-friendly devices. Today, we delve into an exhaustive review of one of their higher-end models, the Pocketbook Era in Sunset Copper. This review encompasses all of its features, discussing its merits, drawbacks, and how it fits into the e-reader landscape.

Design and Build

The Pocketbook Era in Sunset Copper stands out for its unique, visually appealing design. A solid, sleek, and modern gadget, this e-reader’s 7.8mm thickness makes it slightly slimmer than most counterparts, adding to its sophisticated feel. It’s also reasonably lightweight for its size, weighing in at 228g, making it easy to carry around and comfortable to use for extended reading sessions.

A distinguishing feature of this model is its waterproofing. This feature is invaluable for readers who like to enjoy their books poolside, at the beach, or even in the bath. The Sunset Copper version doesn’t deviate from Pocketbook’s design philosophy of simple elegance but adds an appealing coppery hue that makes the device stand out.

Display

The Pocketbook Era showcases a 7″ screen, slightly larger than the standard 6″ screen prevalent in the e-reader market. This extra real estate provides a more immersive reading experience, making it perfect for consuming graphic novels, academic texts, or any content where larger, more detailed images are appreciated.

The screen’s resolution is a comfortable 300ppi, which is the industry standard for high-definition displays, ensuring crisp, clear, and easy-to-read text. It boasts a flush screen, creating a seamless, smooth surface that enhances the overall aesthetic and feel of the device.

One noteworthy feature of the Pocketbook Era is its integrated frontlight and warm light capabilities. The frontlight ensures you can read in dim environments, while the warm light reduces the strain on your eyes during long reading sessions, especially in the dark. However, the lack of an auto-brightness feature might necessitate manual adjustment based on ambient light conditions.

In terms of interaction, the Pocketbook Era incorporates a touchscreen interface, making navigation intuitive. Additionally, it also provides page-turn buttons for those who prefer a tactile reading experience.

Performance and Features

The Pocketbook Era runs on PocketbookOS, a proprietary operating system tailor-made for e-reading. While it may not provide the versatility of something like Android, it guarantees a smooth, streamlined user experience focused on reading.

Its 64GB of internal storage is substantial, allowing users to store a massive library of books, magazines, and even audiobooks. The OS supports a vast array of file formats, ensuring compatibility with virtually all e-book formats available. It’s compatible with popular formats like EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and AZW, but also supports less common ones such as CBR, CBZ, DJVU, FB2, and others.

Pocketbook Era offers a text-to-speech function that can effectively turn your e-books into audiobooks, providing a welcome change for those who prefer listening over reading. It further bolsters this function with in-built speakers and Bluetooth connectivity, allowing you to connect wireless headphones or external speakers for a better audio experience.

It’s worth noting that, like other Pocketbook models, the Era does not include the Google Play Store, limiting the source of content primarily to Pocketbook’s library or compatible files manually loaded onto the device. However, the lack of ads ensures a smooth, uninterrupted reading experience.

Conclusion

The Pocketbook Era (Sunset Copper) is an upscale offering for discerning e-book enthusiasts. Its exceptional build quality, coupled with an array of desirable features, positions it firmly as a premium e-reader. A larger-than-average high-definition display, a generous amount of storage, compatibility with an extensive array of file formats, and the provision of text-to-speech capabilities make it a compelling choice.

However, the absence of auto-brightness, wireless charging, and Google Play Store access may be potential deal-breakers for some users. On the other hand, the waterproofing feature, Bluetooth connectivity, and stylish aesthetic of the Sunset Copper edition add significant value.

At £275, it’s certainly not a budget option. But considering its robust feature set and unique design, it offers substantial value for its price point. Therefore, if you’re seeking a top-of-the-line e-reader and are willing to invest a bit more for quality, the Pocketbook Era (Sunset Copper) could be the e-reader for you.

Check out our fully searchable e-reader comparison table here.

Full Specs