Pocketbook 360 Journal

[Prince Hal]

Firstly thank you everyone for being so helpful in answering my questins on various subjects as I have looked to narrow down my decision on which ereader to buy. So I thought I would jot down a few thoughts that might be of interest or help to others.

So, after much deliberation (nearing on the obsessive), I ordered yesterday a Pocketbook 360 from Pocketbookreader.com. I had a question about delivery so I left a phone message with customer services and I got a personal phone call back from the boss (Yaroslav). The unit was shipped that day. How about that for customer service ? I didn't get a call from Stevie J when I bought my iPod Touch.

The 360 has a 5 inch screen. So, I printed out pages from a document and cut out boxes that were equivalent to a screen size of 3.5 inches (iTouch), 5 inches (PB 360) and 6 inches (Kindle). It was a great way of getting an idea of screen size. I was really surprised as to how small the iTouch screen was. Looks much bigger in situ. Now the iTouch has a black surround, so I went for the black PB360.

Also went for the black as I liked the engravings better on the lid - squares rather than swirls.

I was somewhat concerned that the 5 inch screen might be too small for me. But it only means that you might need to turn pages more frequently, not that the words will be smaller of course. But I wanted portability. For me I have to grab moments and minutes to read. I wanted something easier to carry. The small size of the 360 I am hoping will make it more accessible to me. I previously had a Kindle 2. Great machine but I never used the keyboard (awful keyboard by the way in my opinion), but it added 2 inches to the size of the unit.

I also wanted an ereader that could clip out text from the pages I was reading so that I could put them into a Word document and a database on a PC. The 360 apparently does this according to the manual.

Okay, I was also attracted to the fact that it had a chess program on it as well.

eReaders fit lifestyles. We all want one for different reasons. I don't read books on them - much prefer hardcopies. But, I read an awful lot of articles. These might be 10 to 15 pages of Letter size. Printing these of, carrying them around, losing the last page when the staple comes out, getting them dog eared, and then having to copy quotes out - not good. So, I use an eReader. Don't need 3G connection to a book store. Don't even need to annotate, though the 360 does have an electronic keyboard if needed.

So, when it arrives, I'll test it out and let you know - just in case someone is interested. One thing I will be interested in is whether you can group books together in collections or folders. I know there is a favourite folder. Perhaps you can make separate folders in the Book folder. Perhaps the Notes Folders can be used for this perhaps. I suppose I'll find out.

So, sorry Kindle 2 - too big. Sorry Nook - secondary screen to eink display delays not for me. Sorry Sony eReader 600 - almost, really almost, but the glare. Sorry Cybook Opus - no clipping facility. Hello PB360.

Hal.

[Dulin's Books]

You can use folders- as many as you want and you can create them on the fly on the device without hooking up to your comp. you move the cursor to select a book then hold the ok button down until you get the menu then select "file" then "move to folder" then "book" then you can either select a previously created folder or select "create folder"

its all very simple

[poshm]

Hi Hal

I think you'll really enjoy your PB360 when you get it. I have a Sony Touch as well but I like my PB better because I think there are a lot more options with it.

You can create as many folders as you like on the device itself although I store all my ebooks in Calibre on my laptop and I export them all onto the PB from there. I have them organised into Genre / Author / Series / Title folders.

Also great is that you can copy / move / delete ebooks on either the micro SD card or the device itself and move files between the two. You can rename files as well. I use these functions quite a bit.

I don't make use of the text clipping but I know you can save a whole page or just highlight a section of words and save that onto the device. Someone made a post in this forum all about note-taking so you may find that very useful.

And the best thing is that it's super portable. I take mine everywhere, even in the bath with my waterproof pouch.

Enjoy and any questions - come here, we're all a friendly bunch in the PB forum

[Yar-PocketBooker]

WOW!... how about that for the device review - it started way before the subject was even delivered!)
Prince Hal, thanks!

[brecklundin]

Hal,

Nice review...and every reason you give for liking the PB360 is valid for me as well, except I don't might the keyboard on the K2i, in fact I hardly notice it is there...but also, I use the web browser often so that is a difference for me. Still I want a PB360 as my very portable reader that is also well protected right out of the box. I really dislike that the Kindle, Sony, whatever readers all need some sort of bulky and heavy cover for protection if you actually want to use your portable device somewhere other than home.

Oh, something you will be very glad of if you live in a more southern latitude is the black case...the white cases reflect waaaay too much light for me here in the SoCal sun out on my deck. The Kindles I've owned have all been downright painful to use if the sun is too bright and overhead when I am reading out there...the white turns into this super bright "optic white"...a black case will be WONDERFUL when outdoors.

Congrats on a wonderful choice in a portable reader...I was looking at the measurements and figure the PB360 is about the same size and shape as my iGo Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard...so I have been pretending it's a PB360 and just holding it to get a feel of the shape and size...it's going to be PERFECT even in my hands.

[Dulin's Books]

hahah i read on the white 360 way more than the black but I'm up here in the rain and clouds so i don't have to worry about sun glare

[Prince Hal]

Ordered online on Thursday and arrived today - Monday - standard shipping. Very nice delivery speed.

It is unboxed and as per the instructions it is now being charged for 8 hours.

So the first impressions are:

• It's light, feels lighter than a Kindle I, II or a Sony PRS 500 or 505 - but then it is a 5inch screen rather than a 6 in screen.
  Looks classy in black.
  The screen is not as small as you would think. Put it in landscape and it looks wider than a Kindle screen, but obviously shorter.
  It's all plastic, but it doesn't feel cheap.

Here are some initial pictures. The size comparison is with an iPod Touch and a $10 bill.

More to follow in the days ahead.

Hal.

[Prince Hal]

It is so light. The design is great for putting it into landscape mode giving it a really nice widescreen.

The folder creation is excellent. Certainly could not do that on my Kindle. And of course the clipping feature works great - either to a single folder or separate ones for different clips.

Screen is very clear. It's just a pity that it has to go for personal (i.e. financial reasons).

[Yar-PocketBooker]

Prince, I going to miss your reviews!... so sorry you had to sell the device...