Pocketbook has announced a new color e-reader that could well change the game: the Pocketbook Era Color will be available in May, 2024.
The Pocketbook Era Color is a color version of the Era and also a competitor to the Kindle Oasis and Kobo Sage.
It features a 7-inch diagonal Kaleido 3 color e-ink screen with a resolution of 1264 x 1660 pixels (300 PPI) in black and white and 632 x 840 pixels (150 PPI) for color.
It features an asymmetrical design with buttons on the side, is IPX8 waterproof, has an illuminated touch screen and offers all Pocketbook's advanced software options, such as text-to-speech, audiobook reading and excellent compatibility with ebook file formats.
The Pocketbook Era Color is well equipped under the hood, with a quad-core 1.8 GHz ARM processor, 1 GB RAM and 64 GB storage.
Now we come to the great strength of this e-reader, which is its price. Pocketbook has announced a price of $259.99, with release scheduled for the end of April 2024 just like the new Kobo Libra Colour.
The price of the Pocketbook Era Color e-reader is almost identical to that of the Kobo Sage or Kindle Oasis, but with the added benefit of a color screen.
This is a significant testimony to the advances made in color e ink screen technologies, not only in terms of color rendering, but also in terms of the decreasing cost of manufacturing these screens.
With the price of such a complete e-reader well under $300, we can assume that future models costing over $200 will all have to switch to an e-ink color screen to remain relevant on the market.
I'd already had this impression with the release of the great Pocketbook InkPad Color 3, which ended up being barely more expensive than the Pocketbook InkPad 4 and its black-and-white screen: a minimal price difference that tips the balance in favor of the InkPad Color 3 in terms of value for money.
Finally, here are the technical specifications of this new Pocketbook Era Color e-reader:
- 7-inch color E Ink Kaleido 3 screen
- Resolution of 1264 x 1660 pixels (300 PPI) in black & white and 632 x 840 pixels (150 PPI) for color
- Touch screen
- SmartLight illumination with blue-light filtering
- 1.8 GHz quad-core ARM processor
- 1 GB RAM memory
- 64 GB storage
- Supported ebook file formats: ACSM, CBR, CBZ, CHM, DJVU, DOC, DOCX, EPUB, EPUB(DRM), FB2, FB2.ZIP, HTM, HTML, MOBI, PDF, PDF (DRM), PRC, RTF, TXT
- Speakers
- Bluetooth 5.4
- 2500 mAh battery capacity
- Dimensions: 134.3 x 155 x 7.8 mm
- Wifi
- USB-C
