PocketBook InkPad 4 and PocketBook Era (and its screen controversy)

[Frostbite]

I am the lucky owner of a PocketBook InkPad 4. This is my first e-reader. I first thought about the Kindle, then about the Kobo and the PocketBook. Since I am located in the EU and since I am now using an e-reader, the PocketBook seems to me to be the most suitable device for my use case. I use e-readers to read books, I do not read comics or manga, so I do not need a colour device.

I have been very impressed with e-reader devices with e-ink, and I am extremely satisfied with the InkPad 4. I read a lot more, read faster and have more fun.

But... I have a wife

She was also interested in this device, so we need another one. I thought about other brands, but I decided on PocketBook. I like my current device, its software, build quality, the screen is great (for me) and I can read anywhere without any problems.

For the second device, I chose the PocketBook Era. Same brand, same features (sync with PB in the cloud, send to email ...) and it works with all the e-books I have. I should perhaps mention that I also use Calibre to manage my library of e-books.

I ordered the PocketBook Era from the German website pocketbook.de. The delivery was fast and I ordered the bundle with the Era and the original cover flip for 220 €. Good deal.

Era had more than 80 books pre-installed (in English, German and some other languages). A nice addition.

I have to say that I am very pleasantly surprised. For some reason, the Era is slightly faster than the InkPad 4. Maybe because it has a smaller 7-inch screen, whereas the InkPad 4 has a 7.8-inch screen and the processor has to "work less". I find that the 7-inch design suits me a bit better. It is so nice to read on the Era. Oh, of course. The screen is perfect! I have read a lot on the web about the Era's screen, that the screen is very bad, the letters are not clear, and everything is smudged and unclean. Maybe the first Eras really were like that and could be "fixed" later with a software update, but I can confirm that the screen of the Era I received today is clear and easy to read, just like in the InkPad 4. There is a small difference, though. The Era's screen is slightly more brownish or yellowish than the InkPad 4 (see attached pictures). It's not better or worse, it's just different for some reason. But that doesn't bother me at all.

PocketBook Era is so comfortable to hold and read. I think all my next e-readers will be 7-inch.

The original PocketBook Era cover is made of a slightly different material than the original InkPad 4 cover. I like the InkPad cover better. This one for the Era is not as soft, it's a bit more textured, but still nice to hold.

At the moment I am absolutely convinced about PocketBook. I am sure that other well-known brands are also excellent, but I do not want to mix brands at the moment. It is easier that way.

I hope this is useful information for someone. Thank you for reading.

[rcentros]

Looks good. Thanks for all the pictures. I almost bought an Era when they first came out. But I was waiting for Newegg (where I bought my HD 3) to get them in stock so I could bypass Amazon — which never happened as, apparently, Newegg and PocketBook where in the process of voiding their contract. (Newegg was an official for awhile in the U.S.) Once I started hearing rumors of bad screens I decided I didn't need another eReader anyhow. But if I buy one in the future, it will probably be the Era. I like PocketBook readers.

[Frostbite]

One thing I have noticed on Era. On the top and bottom right corners of the screen, you can see some brighter light (cold). It is noticeable, but you can't see that in images. Not sure if this is only with my device though.

As already said, InkPad 4 has a bit more natural screen colour. But the form factor of Era is just great. It is so nice to hold it, so much easier than the InkPad 4.

Buttons on Era are very silent on click. On the InkPad 4, the buttons are more audible (like clicking), but the left/right buttons are slightly more convex and easier to feel.

So, as always, you have some compromises.

As for the sync and reading position. Sometimes it can be a few pages off. But, I noticed when I open the book on another device, I move to the next page and then I get a notification to sync the reading position. So it works, just need to be a bit patient.

[Michal Jancik]

I like your enthusiasm, but it's too quick to compare and praise the screen based on just one product. Since you live in Europe and you like the ergonomics of the ERA, you could try the KOBO LIBRA (it is also cheaper), which has a significantly better screen in terms of contrast and writing sharpness. Another factor is the setting options, here the pocketbook basically provides only 3 options for the margin alignment and the font size, nothing more.

In the case of KOBO, the device is reactive (the pocketbook is still as slow as 10 years ago), the KOBO settings are significantly better and offer more options for editing the font.


Since you are using a Pocketbook, I would recommend you to install Koreader, the installation is very simple and you will see that everything will be almost 10x faster.
There is no need for ROOT, Jailbreak or anything like that, just unzip the downloaded file to the root directory of your Pocketbook.

https://github.com/koreader/koreader/releases

• You download the appropriate file for pocketbook
• Extract the uploaded file to your Pocketbook devic
• Now Koreader will appear in your applications and you can start it.

[Frostbite]

You are right, I am comparing only InkPad 4 and Era from the same brand. I've just read about how bad the Era screen is also in relation to the InkPad 4. But it's not.

I was thinking about Kobo a lot, especially the Libra, but went with PocketBook again because of the things already mentioned before.

Of course, I would like Kobo someday, but currently, it is what it is and I am satisfied. It suits my needs to read books.

I already tried Koreader and removed it after one day. It is too confusing to me, cluttered and the UI is just bad. I am aware of many extra options it adds, but I don't need any of them At least not that I know I miss anything with the PocketBook OS. My reading experience is smooth for now.

I don't know, I just don't need the Koreader I guess.

[ajmc]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

you could try the KOBO LIBRA (it is also cheaper), which has a significantly better screen in terms of contrast and writing sharpness. Another factor is the setting options, here the pocketbook basically provides only 3 options for the margin alignment and the font size, nothing more.

In the case of KOBO, the device is reactive (the pocketbook is still as slow as 10 years ago), the KOBO settings are significantly better and offer more options for editing the font.

This is completely opposite to my experience. I was struggling to choose between these two devices and ended up purchasing both, intending to return one. The Libra arrived next day and I used it without complaint for a week and more until the Era arrived (from China). Despite being comfortable using the Libra, once I started using the Era I never even briefly considered going back. In addition to several other good points the Era's screen is BETTER than the Libra's in terms of sharpness and contrast and the device is more responsive!

It should be said that the Kobo is fine; the Era just looks better, feels better, is more compact, has a speaker, better respects privacy, has better battery life and no doubt other benefits I've just got used to. Sure, it was slightly more expensive, but not a lot - and it was worth the extra in my opinion.

I would agree with your KOReader recommendation though; the Pocketbook software is OK but I really like the customisation that KOReader allows.

For the OP (Frostbite) - regarding the screen colour difference, do you have the same colour temperature set for the frontlight on both devices? I personally control the frontlight (both brightness and colour) manually rather than using the Pocketbook schedule feature.

[notatree]

If it's not too much trouble, would you be willing or able to share a picture of the two in the same book at 0% brightness and warm 5% brightness?

[Xaenor]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

I like your enthusiasm, but it's too quick to compare and praise the screen based on just one product. Since you live in Europe and you like the ergonomics of the ERA, you could try the KOBO LIBRA (it is also cheaper), which has a significantly better screen in terms of contrast and writing sharpness. Another factor is the setting options, here the pocketbook basically provides only 3 options for the margin alignment and the font size, nothing more.

There is a recent photo comparison of Libra 2 and Era on reddit, and to me it rather clearly demonstrates that there is no significant difference in screen quality between the two, even when looking side by side:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ereader/com...parisonreview/

[Michal Jancik]

Originally Posted by Xaenor

There is a recent photo comparison of Libra 2 and Era on reddit, and to me it rather clearly demonstrates that there is no significant difference in screen quality between the two, even when looking side by side:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ereader/com...parisonreview/

My experience with the listed products is based on my own experience, moreover, photos are often subjective. In addition, for me, some photos on some discussion forums are completely misleading, I have already encountered that a fan of this or that product posts a photo where his or her preferred product looks better, or they use filters and the like when taking photos .
*Even a slight change of the backlight is enough (the backlight is never the same with these devices) and I have a completely different result, see photo*

Spoiler:

On various discussion forums, we can also see comparisons of photos that were (or were not) taken with lighting = completely different results for the same figure. In short, the photos on the forums are only very indicative.

Spoiler:

.. Anyway...

Both models use completely different screens, in addition, the Pocketbook ERA has additional screen layers, which means that thanks to this alone, the KOBO Libra 2 has an advantage in contrast.

When I compared e.g. Leaf 2 - "white" and "black", even though it is a completely identical model with the same E-INK 1200 screen, one model has a recessed screen and the difference in contrast can be clearly seen with the naked eye.

Same goes for the Inkpad 4, even though I'm using a proper E-INK 1200 screen, because of those extra layers, it loses sharpness and contrast that goes a bit gray.

[ajmc]

Well, here's an unexpected update... having not touched the Libra for months I thought I'd have a look at it again last night; the battery was (fairly unsurprisingly) flat, so I plugged it in to the charger and went to bed.

First thing this morning I turned it on and was shocked to find lots of horizontal lines across the screen which didn't go away with many screen refreshes, different books, turning the device off and on again, fiddling with the frontlight etc.

Long story short is that it's on its way back to Amazon - reading online I'm very glad I didn't buy it from Kobo as others appear to have had to fight tooth and nail to get any kind of recompense.

Oh well, the money will be more useful than a backup e-reader sitting untouched on the shelf for months on end...

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Michal Jancik

Both models use completely different screens, in addition, the Pocketbook ERA has additional screen layers, which means that thanks to this alone, the KOBO Libra 2 has an advantage in contrast.

I usually read with the warm light on anyhow, so I don't think the slight difference would be that noticeable to me. The Era vs Libra 2 comparison that you linked from Frostbite's post tells me that the Libra 2 and Era not as far off as I imagined they would be, considering some of the negative reviews about the Era. And, again, under warm light I'm guessing the difference would be even less noticeable.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by ajmc

Long story short is that it's on its way back to Amazon - reading online I'm very glad I didn't buy it from Kobo as others appear to have had to fight tooth and nail to get any kind of recompense.

I'm sorry to hear that. I wonder what happened to cause it.

[Michal Jancik]

Originally Posted by rcentros

i usually read with the warm light on anyhow, so I don't think the slight difference would be that noticeable to me. The Era vs Libra 2 comparison

I read books mainly in the evening, and when it comes to PB ERA or Inkpad4 (illumination 10% light + 100% warm tone), the contrast of the sharpness of the writing is completely correct with this setting. For me, reading on Libra 2 is sometimes too sharp (especially in the evening) and sometimes I have to reduce the sharpness or change the font.
Of all "7/6.8" inch devices (for reading ePUB books) I was most impressed by the BOOX Leaf/Page.
As for the quality of the screen (excellent blackness and accuracy of writing both during the day and in the evening), it has all the settings that I use most (including the settings for spacing between paragraphs, contrast or sharpness of writing), it is very reactive and fast, even when reading WEB pages.

For me, the weakest link of PB ERA or Inkpad4 is the ancient HW, such as the Alwiner B288 CPU (with this CPU, the Pocketbook has blocked any possible development due to the limitations of the kernel and SDK, so I wouldn't expect any new features and optimization in the future) that PB has been installing in its readers for almost 10 years, identical CPUs can be found, for example, in the Touch Lux or HD3 series (which is a completely different price category, just Inkpad4 it costs almost $300, PB could have made a slightly better processor choice here).I stopped using Pocketbook because I often need to use notes and dictionaries, which is not exactly Pocketbook's strong point, and ERA or Inkpad4 was practically unusable for notes due to its slowness (opening and working with notes is really slow, in home conditions for someone who only takes notes This will probably be acceptable, but in my case it is practically useless.

I use Inkpad4 exclusively for reading PDFs, it is a strong point of that model, it even offers a reflow function. Overall, I like the Inkpad4 screen very much and it really reminds me of paper.

I will definitely go back to the Pocketbook, maybe for the model with a color display, what makes the Pocketbook unbeatable is the file and library manager, in my opinion PB has the best version of the file manager ever compared to competitors like Kobo or Kindle, Tolino.

Each user should use the e-reader that suits them, regardless of whether it has 5% better contrast (there are more important things).

[Frostbite]

Originally Posted by notatree

If it's not too much trouble, would you be willing or able to share a picture of the two in the same book at 0% brightness and warm 5% brightness?

Hello,

Here are the images. Not much of a difference.

[Frostbite]

Sorry, no images.Trying again.

EDIT: gosh, how I hate this platform. I am planning to launch a forum dedicated to e-readers. Contact me if anyone would like to join later. Anyway, for some reason, the attachment manager is not working on my mobile. I'm travelling so I will post images in a couple of days from home.