- The PocketBook Q is a new ereader with a 5.84-inch screen
- It's slimmer and lighter than most phone-sized rivals
- However, it doesn't run Android, limiting your access to apps
It seems like there’s a growing hunger for small ereaders, as following in the footsteps of the Boox Palma series, the Viwoods AiPaper Reader, and the even smaller Xteink devices, there’s now the phone-sized PocketBook Q.
This new ereader has a 5.84-inch E Ink Carta 1300 touchscreen with a 788 x 1576 resolution, a front light that lets you adjust both brightness and color temperature, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a 1,550mAh battery which supposedly allows for more than a month of reading on a single charge.
It measures 154 x 75.8 x 6.5mm and 130g, making it even smaller and lighter than the Boox Palma 2 Pro and Viwoods AiPaper Reader, though its screen is smaller too, with both of those having 6.13-inch displays.
So this essentially sits somewhere between those devices and the likes of the Xteink X4 Pro with its 4.3-inch screen.
Apps included but this doesn't run Android
In any case, the PocketBook Q also has physical side buttons that you can use to turn pages, and it works with Libby for borrowing digital library books. It also has broad format support for both ebook and audio files.
Plus, it comes with an IPX4 rating, for resistance to splashes and moisture, and there’s a text-to-speech tool.
There are a handful of pre-installed apps such as a book store, a browser, and a dictionary, among a few others, but this doesn’t run Android. Rather, it runs PocketBook OS — an operating system based on Linux, so you’re not getting access to the wealth of apps you’ll find on Android.
That helps keep the device focused on books so you avoid distractions, but also means you don’t have access to the likes of the Kindle or Kobo apps on there. That limitation is another way this differs from devices from Boox and Viwoods — though it’s in line with Xteink.
If the PocketBook Q sounds appealing, you’ll be able to grab one for $235 / £175 (around AU$330) when it launches in “late fall” — likely meaning sometime in November.
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