r/pocketbook

Good morning, yesterday I got my new Era Lite, and I couldn't be more disappointed.

I'm going to check here to see if there's anything I can do before starting a return.

First of all, to say that it's still my fault for assuming that I could do something that I'm still asking a lot. I have a Kindle PW11 with jailbreak in which Koreader works perfectly. I just wanted to escape from Amazon, have the freedom to upload any type of file and be able to have (I don't ask for more) a statistics screen as Koreader shows me in kindle when it goes into suspension.

Well, I've been trying to configure this since yesterday and there's no way, when I suspend the PB I don't get more than the sleeping bed logo.

-Is there any way to put the statistics screen on the suspension screen? Or do I have to assume that it is not viable?

-I don't quite understand how the shutdown of this device behaves, I get the feeling that the PB deposed for a while being suspended always turns off, I get the factory image with the characteristics of the PB was LITE and to get it out of there I have to keep the on/off button for a while, so I understand that it is off and no mat as much I look I don't see the option to change this behavior, I just want to close the lid (with magnet) that it suspends and when the Open to be able to continue reading without having to start everything, tap on Koreader to reopen the book...

Maybe it's me but it's light years away from what I understand by ease of use, I know that I could use the native reader (or that he will be prepared for that precisely) but I don't want to give up statistics.

Should I make the return? What could I buy that had what I need?

Thank you very much for coming here and for your time!!

Greetings.

I’ve ditched my Kindle 10th Gen PW and am now trying a few different ereaders with the intent of keeping one and returning/selling the others. My use case: I’m mainly interested in books, either from the store, free sideloads and Libby. I’m also very interested in portability - I like to grab my ereader and run out to the coffee shop etc to spend some time with my books. 

Right now I’m using the Era Color and the Clara BW to read alternating chapters in The Sympathizer. On the way from eBay is a Kobo Libra 2. 

So first up: 

Pocketbook Era Color: This one was a bit of a curveball - I purchased on Amazon what was advertised as a B&W Era and instead received the color version. 

KoReader is easy to install on the Era, but I’m basically reviewing this as a stock product. I don’t particularly like using KoReader - it’s useful but the UI is something I think only tech-minded people could love and us normies just have to endure. Also, I’m of the mind that a company should be judged on what it’s done with its product, not what it could be if you go through the trouble of using outside mods. 

The hardware: Very handsome - probably the most solid feeling and best looking e-reader I’ve used so far. Which can actually be something of a demerit - it looks/feels too nice to just shove into my pocket and its size, while still relatively compact, is just wide enough that it doesn’t slip into a pocket as easily as smaller ereaders. 

The buttons are nicely done and having a “home” button to bring the reader directly to the main library is great. 

The size is kinda weird for me. Although the buttons make it seem like it should be a one-hand experience, the Era is just wide and heavy enough to make it just as likely the reader will use two hands after a little while. The Era is so nice looking/feeling that it’s actually something you want to pick up and hold. I noticed in my time using it that I didn’t read with it just placed on the table very much - I always wanted to have it in my hand. 

The screen: I get what people mean about the color e-ink screens being dark and less focused. The latter bit I don’t mind too much, but the darkness gets a bit annoying when you know pushing up the lighting is going to drain the battery faster. It also makes me wonder if I’m getting the benefits of using e-ink - supposedly less eye strain - if I’m just having to max out the lighting to get a decent visibility. 

I actually do like the color bit. I don’t read manga or comics on my ereaders, but I do appreciate seeing the color on the book covers. That’s something I actually miss now when I go try my other readers. 

I’m neutral on the 7” vs 6” screen size. The Era’s 7” is nice on the eyes, but I’ve found that 6” screens give me the impression I’m reading faster because I’m turning more pages. Nice kind of a placebo affect, that.

The UI: This is where the PocketBook kinda fails me. The UI is almost great but has too many minor annoyances to really gel for me. Once I get things set and can start reading these complaints generally go away, but the Era is not as “set and forget” and other readers I’ve had.

Set up is a bit too convoluted, at least if you’re in the U.S. It asks you to sign in to your PocketBook account. If you're in the US, don’t even bother with setting this up - just skip all this because the store is (understandably) focused on the German market and you’re going to be sideloading books anyway. But you might have to do this if you want to use Cloud loading via Dropbox or email - I haven’t gotten that far yet. 

Libby set up requires you to make an account with Adobe (bytebooks.com is your friend here if you don’t already have one) and enter that info. Nothing major, but it’s still another step or two you have to do on an outside device. 

Setting margins on this thing is all but impossible to do on the stock OS. I installed Koreader just to tweek the margins enough to prevent the text on a few books from bleeding right into the extreme edges, becoming all but unreadable. 

I did NOT find the page turning to be as slow as some people have said, but I have found that changing the lighting to be oddly stuttered. I’m also minorly annoyed that getting to the lighting menu requires one or two taps. Kobo knocked it out of the park on the Clara BW I have where it’s a gesture that doesn’t even require going into a menu. [Edit: Thanks folks for showing me that there IS a gesture-based light adjustment! It's a bit laggy compared to the Clara BW swipe, but it is there and it is convenient.]On the Era, I feel like I’m constantly fighting to get good lighting - even setting it to “auto” gets me wonky, all-but-dead-looking screens.

I don’t see where to change the book progress bar on this thing or even if you can without using KoReader. From what I can tell, you only get the book page counter at the bottom, something I’ve never found useful given that you don’t know how many “taps” equal a page. This again is something I find much more well done on the Kobo - chapter progress in “taps” on the top and total-book progress on the bottom. 

The device sleep page (a sleeping cartoon ereader) is kinda childish. Changing it requires creating your own template using GIMP or another image editing program and mucking about in the Era's root menu. It’s not impossible, but why in Dawg’s name PocketBook doesn't allow the option of setting the current book cover as the device’s sleep image is beyond me. Update: Apparently there's a way to do this, but it's for some reason not showing up on my device.

And I just discovered one feature I quite like - the RSS news feed is well done and something I like to have on an e-ink screen. We'll see how much battery will drain from my using this feature for the NYT and WSJ, among others.

So far I really want to like the Era more than I do. As a physical product, it’s the nicest ereader I’ve used, hands down. I like the color book covers. But the constant need to tweek settings before I actually read a book is kinda annoying and it not being a true “grab and go” device for me is a checkmark in the “con” list.

I am in the trial period for a reMarkable device. I really love the writing experience, but there are some cons that are making me consider other e-ink notetaking devices.

My friend has an Inkpad Eo that I tried out and I could not stand the writing feel - too slick. Do any of the PocketBook note-taking devices come close to the tactile feeling of writing on reMarkable? Alternatively, does anyone have suggestions for good screen protectors that can help with this? I know I won't get the exact same experience as reMarkable, but getting close could be nice.

Hi all, new transplant from a Kindle and I’m a little stuck on the Libby x PB integration. I can borrow a book just fine within the onboard Libby app (or on another device), but PB keeps asking me to download Adobe Digital and log in before I can read that book.

I’m moving away from Amazon due to the abundant lack of privacy, so not very excited at being asked to download a different cloud software app with essentially the same privacy concerns to use the Verse Pro. Am I missing something in setup?

Bonus question: both the Libby app and scrolling through the preloaded downloads are terribly slow. Is this expected? Do I need a different PB model? Tysm.

I am a first time user of Pocketbook and so far I am lost. The interface is rather confusing and I am unable to use this device. I am using Boox Go 6 which is Android.

One of my issue is while trying to sign in using Qr code. Apps > Services > PocketBook Cloud > Sign in. First I am getting some 400 error. I tried the next day, the QR code is not getting scanned.

Please advice me what to do.

Also, do you have a service link BooxDrop to easily transfer files?

Ik wil graag me boeken lenen en op e-reader zetten zonder computer. Hoe doen jullie dat.

After 15 years its finally time to replace my 16 year old Kindle 4th gen because I wanted sent-to-device via Email and backlight. So I bought a PB Era.

Setting it up was already a pain because the books I previously uploaded to my PB Cloud wouldn't be synced to my PB. Resetting, logging out, logging in, nothing worked and every time you have to enter the credentials manually because after the app scanned the QR code nothing happened.

So I deleted PB Account, created a whole new PB Account, uploaded all the ebooks again, syncing, finally the 90 ebooks are on the device (around 300mb).

Opened the first two ebooks (MOBI format): A short sand clock symbol, then nothing. No error message, nothing. Yes, these ebooks worked completely fine on my old Kindle and no, the files are not corrupted.

Decided to open another ebook, this time an EPUB. It literally took 90 seconds to open.

How the hell is my old Kindle, which is old enough to drink beer in my country, 90 times faster than the PB Era?

And no, I dont want to install Koreader, just because I wanna read some ebooks after a stress full day at work.

Is my PB just at the beginning this slow because of the freshly installed updates whatsoever and is there any way of opening my MOBI books?

Otherwise, that device is going straight back.

Thanks

Hii!! Just got a pocketbook as a gift. Was going to send pdfs through email but they're too heavy, how can I send them to the e-reader?

What are we all using a e-reader covers or sleeves to keep are readers safe? I’m not keen on the official pocketbook ones, but I really want to keep my new verse pro colour safe as I tend to take my e-readers everywhere with me.

Is there anyone that own pb touch lux 5 and can give a little review? Its so hard to find reviews for this specific model, im interested with this one mainly because the buttons and its 6” . How’t the durability of this, im a long time kindle user and not sure about buying pb because i heard it randomly freeze and stuff. As for keeping the screen not cracked, i had no problem taking care of ereaders. And how many hours of battery it last before it needs to be charge again? Appreciate the input!

Looking to get away from closed systems and i like the look of pocketbook just wondering how durable it is? I don’t want a device that dies on me within a couple of years and is hard to repair. Also how much difference does sizing matter? I’m trying to decided between 6 and 7inch screens? Also how are coloured screens with pocketbook? I’ve tried coloured screens with kobo and found them really difficult to read on.

Good morning.
I currently own a Kindle paperwhite 11, which I've had for three years, I'm going to give it to my son, i like in the PW11 its build quality and screen clarity, but I don't like everything else about Amazon. I don't use any online stores, and I want a black and white e-reader. After a lot of research, I've narrowed it down to two options: the PocketBook Era Lite (which I have a 20% discount on its official website, bringing the price down to €160) or the Boox Go 7, which would cost me €269. I'll only use it for reading books; I don't read comics, manga, or anything like that, and I don't need access to stores like Amazon, Kobo, or similar.
I've seen that the Era Lite's build quality is mediocre and it feels like a low-quality item. If anyone owns one, can you tell me if this is the case? I'm leaning towards the Boox because of its build quality, but I'm not sure if the price difference is worth it.
Thank you so much!

Hello. This is my first foray into e-readers. I got myself a Verse Pro. My intention is to use it exclusively with Libby. I opened up Pocketbook x Libby, and the first book I tried to read popped up with "login to read adobe drm protected books." I entered the email and password for the Adobe account I created and click activate, and it keeps telling me "invalid login or password." So I try clicking "create Adobe id." The browser opens, which promptly comes up with an error: This site can't provide a secure connection. What am I doing wrong?

Hello. I have a pocketbook era. I would like to have a new model, but I do not know which one would be appropriate for me. I don't need anything apart from the books and slightly bigger screen if possible. Any advice is more than welcome. Thanks.

Hi all, I’ve had my Pocketbook Verse Pro for almost a year. Never any complaints, until last month. I was reading in bed at night and the battery when I put my Pocketbook down was about 60%. When I woke up next morning, it was completely drained, even though I’m sure I put it on standby mode.

The week after, the same thing happened. I thought it might be a corrupted file, so I deleted all ebooks and hoped that would solve the problem.

This morning, the same thing happened: it was 70% last night when I went to sleep, drained this morning.

Has anyone experienced the same thing? If so, did you ever solve it?

Edit: I tried a factory reset yesterday, but today woke up to a drained battery again…

So, as the title says, I'm looking for somebody who could help me get over a couple of functionally absolutely irrelevant but otherwise incredibly important things.

1. I've seen it's possible to change the sleep image from the sleepy pillow to something custom. How can i do that? googled into oblivion, abused ai, couldn't find how

2. how to make the sleep book cover image respect what I'm currently reading in koreader? currently it only changes when i manually open the book with epub reader 3. even though i have the pb sync reading plugin setup in koreader. maybe I'm doing smth incorrectly?

3. any other cool tweaks you'd recommend?

so far I've setup shelfmark with calibre web automated and use opds in koreader with cwa progress sync to keep it synchronized. works like a charm. zen ui koreader plugin gives the ui the refined feel it lacked originally.

tl;dr super happy with current setup, just those couple of things i can't find how to do that bug me haha

Hi everyone, I for the life of me can’t find settings that would allow me to lock the screen from turning.

Thanks for any help!