June 4, 2010 at 13:32PocketBook 302 - a super reader or a monster?
A couple of weeks ago, the PocketBook 302 electronic reader fell into my hands . This model is interesting first of all with a powerful filling - here is the touch screen , and wifi with bluetooth , and built-in applications. Honestly, this is the first reader I have used for more than a few hours, so I was happy to describe my personal impressions and thoughts about it.
Let's start with the look. There are unusually few buttons on the case, since they are not needed - the main control is on the touch screen. In fact, there are only six buttons: the inclusion, the "central button" (such as on the iPhone - returns to the top level or brings up the menu), and two pairs of paging buttons (back and forth) on both sides. Buttons can be redefined in any way.
On the upper side there is a power button, a slot for a microSD card (a 4Gb card is included) and a telescopic stylus. Why I need a stylus in our age of touch-based interfaces is not clear to me. The reader is perfectly controlled by fingers, especially since the screen is large (6 inches, 600 by 800). On the bottom side there is a mini-USB connector (through which the device can be connected to a computer and / or charged), a full USB host connector (into which you can insert a USB flash drive or anything), a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. On the side there is another hole for charging (round), and why it is needed - I also did not understand, the device charges perfectly via mini-USB.
The body material is pleasant to the touch, it reminded me of the carbon body of my Sony Vaio. It’s clear that it’s not carbon - but it still looks good, it doesn’t really get dirty and is easy to clean. The dimensions of the book are quite large, but it fits comfortably in the hand, and the rounded edges of the case contribute to this. I was most pleased that the book fits into my bag for documents, so it’s convenient to carry it with you. You can take the book in your palm as a whole, clutching it on both sides with your fingers - this is the most convenient way to hold it, but it’s inconvenient to press the paging buttons. The buttons themselves were disappointing - they are not pressed clearly, sometimes you have to press hard. The case sometimes noticeably crunches in the hands, and the screen itself “crunches” when you drag it with your finger. PocketBook 302 is heavier in weight than many other readers (I intended 279 grams) - apparently, the rich filling affects.
The screen is of course the most important thing in the reader. In this case, it is a touch screen, which, as you know, affects the quality of the picture. Indeed, at first glance I was disappointed - the image is not very contrasting, the glossy layer (actually the touch screen) visibly glares. True, in the course of use I got used to it - in almost any situation, you can turn the reader a little and find a position for comfortable reading, without noticeable glare. But anyway - touch screens are still far from a good paper book.
As for the direct reading abilities of the book, then everything is in order. A bunch of formats are supported (FB2, FB2.ZIP, TXT, PDF, DJVU, RTF, HTML, PRC, CHM, EPUB, DOC, TCR), you can customize the font size and typeface. The FB2 format is preferred - it is always displayed perfectly. There are problems with some PDFs, but even complex documents render acceptable. Pages are flipped quickly, redrawing the screen is two-pass (with inversion, and not just blackening over with black - which is good in my opinion). Here it should be noted that the reader draws on-screen menus by default in one pass, so “translucent” traces of the text are visible on them. The type of redrawing can be changed in the settings, but in my opinion, fast rendering is acceptable for on-screen menus, because the display speed is important here.
To manage the electronic library on the computer, you can install the free Caliber program (they already wrote about it on the hub ). It is very powerful, allows you to convert almost anything to anything, and has a bunch of various settings. In particular, with its help it is possible to tear out materials (not only RSS) from any sites on a schedule, convert them into a book of a suitable format and upload to a reader. For a perfect setup, it is better to know python, since scripts for pulling from sites in Caliber can be written on it. When you connect the reader, Caliber immediately recognizes it, displays both storage (built-in and MicroSD card) and books filled in them.
Now the most interesting thing is communication capabilities. The PocketBook 302 has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth interfaces, and with their help it can go online (including through a phone with GPRS). WiFi works confidently, but it’s not very convenient to configure it - you have to go far into the menu and guess the type of authorization (WEP or WPA). From a network, a device can for example download RSS feeds. In addition, through the built-in client, you can search and download books from the BookLand electronic library- in my opinion this niche is very promising. Attention, this device even has a browser! True, this is more of a joke than a serious feature, since the rendering of pages is apparently done by the same library that is used to view html books - as a result, many sites look unrecognizable. However, you can go to Yandex or a news site and read something.
Special attention deserves the application. You can install programs on PocketBook, and these programs can be developed by everyone - the SDK is open. For example, there is the Clock application - turns your device into a desktop clock. There is a “Photo Album” - turning a reader into a digital photo frame - of course, monochrome. Many third-party applications (mainly games) designed for the 301 model do not work here - because in 302 there are simply no hardware buttons for which the programs are designed. But the traditional “Snake” and “Solitaire” solitaire are well-controlled from the screen. The device and music play, but the sound quality, as one would expect, is below average. Constant background hissing and howling, the sound is compressed, sometimes it stutters, the bass is low - in general, it will work for audio books and podcasts, but do not try to use it as a music player. The video device does not play, no ;) In general, when I saw all this, I remembered ... yes, about the iPad :)
Finishing firmware, making more applications - and there will be such a harsh alternative to a fashionable tablet for real geeks ;) By the way, the device has Linux inside (the busybox is the same as in many home routers), but I could not access it via ssh (although surely someone can get to the bottom).
To summarize, I will say that quite a few remarks arose about the device, but most of them relate to firmware - this gives hope that they will be fixed. As far as I can see, the manufacturer is working on the firmware, and updating the firmware is very simple. A serious flaw in the form of a glare screen is technologically insurmountable - anyone who wants to touch will have to endure (they say there are special matte films for such screens - but I have not seen). Is it worth it or not - you decide. For someone who just reads and does nothing else, I advise you to take a non-touch screen - you can also scroll through pages with buttons. But only touch makes it quite convenient to type, say, a note on the on-screen keyboard. In general, the scope of PocketBook 302 can be described as a "not-only-read-only device" - and in my opinion, this class of devices has a future.
On the upper side there is a power button, a slot for a microSD card (a 4Gb card is included) and a telescopic stylus. Why I need a stylus in our age of touch-based interfaces is not clear to me. The reader is perfectly controlled by fingers, especially since the screen is large (6 inches, 600 by 800). On the bottom side there is a mini-USB connector (through which the device can be connected to a computer and / or charged), a full USB host connector (into which you can insert a USB flash drive or anything), a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. On the side there is another hole for charging (round), and why it is needed - I also did not understand, the device charges perfectly via mini-USB.
The body material is pleasant to the touch, it reminded me of the carbon body of my Sony Vaio. It’s clear that it’s not carbon - but it still looks good, it doesn’t really get dirty and is easy to clean. The dimensions of the book are quite large, but it fits comfortably in the hand, and the rounded edges of the case contribute to this. I was most pleased that the book fits into my bag for documents, so it’s convenient to carry it with you. You can take the book in your palm as a whole, clutching it on both sides with your fingers - this is the most convenient way to hold it, but it’s inconvenient to press the paging buttons. The buttons themselves were disappointing - they are not pressed clearly, sometimes you have to press hard. The case sometimes noticeably crunches in the hands, and the screen itself “crunches” when you drag it with your finger. PocketBook 302 is heavier in weight than many other readers (I intended 279 grams) - apparently, the rich filling affects.
The screen is of course the most important thing in the reader. In this case, it is a touch screen, which, as you know, affects the quality of the picture. Indeed, at first glance I was disappointed - the image is not very contrasting, the glossy layer (actually the touch screen) visibly glares. True, in the course of use I got used to it - in almost any situation, you can turn the reader a little and find a position for comfortable reading, without noticeable glare. But anyway - touch screens are still far from a good paper book.
As for the direct reading abilities of the book, then everything is in order. A bunch of formats are supported (FB2, FB2.ZIP, TXT, PDF, DJVU, RTF, HTML, PRC, CHM, EPUB, DOC, TCR), you can customize the font size and typeface. The FB2 format is preferred - it is always displayed perfectly. There are problems with some PDFs, but even complex documents render acceptable. Pages are flipped quickly, redrawing the screen is two-pass (with inversion, and not just blackening over with black - which is good in my opinion). Here it should be noted that the reader draws on-screen menus by default in one pass, so “translucent” traces of the text are visible on them. The type of redrawing can be changed in the settings, but in my opinion, fast rendering is acceptable for on-screen menus, because the display speed is important here.
To manage the electronic library on the computer, you can install the free Caliber program (they already wrote about it on the hub ). It is very powerful, allows you to convert almost anything to anything, and has a bunch of various settings. In particular, with its help it is possible to tear out materials (not only RSS) from any sites on a schedule, convert them into a book of a suitable format and upload to a reader. For a perfect setup, it is better to know python, since scripts for pulling from sites in Caliber can be written on it. When you connect the reader, Caliber immediately recognizes it, displays both storage (built-in and MicroSD card) and books filled in them.
Now the most interesting thing is communication capabilities. The PocketBook 302 has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth interfaces, and with their help it can go online (including through a phone with GPRS). WiFi works confidently, but it’s not very convenient to configure it - you have to go far into the menu and guess the type of authorization (WEP or WPA). From a network, a device can for example download RSS feeds. In addition, through the built-in client, you can search and download books from the BookLand electronic library- in my opinion this niche is very promising. Attention, this device even has a browser! True, this is more of a joke than a serious feature, since the rendering of pages is apparently done by the same library that is used to view html books - as a result, many sites look unrecognizable. However, you can go to Yandex or a news site and read something.
Special attention deserves the application. You can install programs on PocketBook, and these programs can be developed by everyone - the SDK is open. For example, there is the Clock application - turns your device into a desktop clock. There is a “Photo Album” - turning a reader into a digital photo frame - of course, monochrome. Many third-party applications (mainly games) designed for the 301 model do not work here - because in 302 there are simply no hardware buttons for which the programs are designed. But the traditional “Snake” and “Solitaire” solitaire are well-controlled from the screen. The device and music play, but the sound quality, as one would expect, is below average. Constant background hissing and howling, the sound is compressed, sometimes it stutters, the bass is low - in general, it will work for audio books and podcasts, but do not try to use it as a music player. The video device does not play, no ;) In general, when I saw all this, I remembered ... yes, about the iPad :)
Finishing firmware, making more applications - and there will be such a harsh alternative to a fashionable tablet for real geeks ;) By the way, the device has Linux inside (the busybox is the same as in many home routers), but I could not access it via ssh (although surely someone can get to the bottom).
To summarize, I will say that quite a few remarks arose about the device, but most of them relate to firmware - this gives hope that they will be fixed. As far as I can see, the manufacturer is working on the firmware, and updating the firmware is very simple. A serious flaw in the form of a glare screen is technologically insurmountable - anyone who wants to touch will have to endure (they say there are special matte films for such screens - but I have not seen). Is it worth it or not - you decide. For someone who just reads and does nothing else, I advise you to take a non-touch screen - you can also scroll through pages with buttons. But only touch makes it quite convenient to type, say, a note on the on-screen keyboard. In general, the scope of PocketBook 302 can be described as a "not-only-read-only device" - and in my opinion, this class of devices has a future.