Tuesday, March 26

PocketBook Touch HD 3, analysis and opinion



It is said that nowadays little is read. However, the statistics insist on contradicting this myth with figures such as after the pandemic, 64.4% of the Spanish population considers reading as a leisure activity or that the 5.2% say they regularly listen to audiobooks.

In this context, it is not unusual for an electronic book or ereader manufacturer to launch a product like the PocketBook Touch HD 3 we’ve been testing for a few weeks.

For the 158 euros it costs, the PocketBook Touch HD 3 is presented as one of the best alternatives to amazon kindleswith a very complete proposal in terms of connectivity and versatility when consuming electronic texts.

PocketBook Touch HD 3
Screen E-Ink Screen Letter | 6-inch diagonal with a resolution of 1,448 x 1072 pixels | Automatic brightness sensor | temperature control | 300 dpi
Processor 1 GHz dual core
RAM and storage 512MB of RAM | 16 GB non-expandable
Battery 1,500mAh | up to 6 weeks
connectivity WiFi | Bluetooth | Micro USB and micro USB headphone adapter
Dimensions and weight 163 x 108 x 8mm | 155 grams
Resistance IPX7
Supported formats and platforms Compatible with Adobe DRM and eBiblio | Supported formats: ACSM, CBR, CBZ, CHM, DJVU, DOC, DOCX, EPUB, EPUB(DRM), FB2, FB2.ZIP, HTM, HTML, MOBI, PDF, PDF (DRM), PRC, RTF, TXT, JPEG , BMP, PNG, TIFF, MP3, OGG
Price From 158 euros

Analysis of the PocketBook Touch HD 3 by sections:

Compact, light and connected – everything I ask of an e-book

we start the PocketBook Touch HD 3 review speaking of its design, something that does not go unnoticed in this model, and that has earned the praise of those who have seen it in my hands these weeks that I have been testing it.

The PocketBook Touch HD 3 has a dimensions of 163 x 108mm and a 8mm thickness that allows you to accommodate it in your hands during long reading sessions without too many problems. In addition, it is IPX7, so you will not have to worry about the ereader if you get caught in the rain unexpectedly.

Their 155 grams They also have a lot to do with that comfort, so that the hands do not get tired when holding the device. In addition, the rounded corners on the bottom and the smooth curve on the back make the grip more conformable as well.

The polycarbonate back sports a striking copper color with a matte finish that reduces the presence of fingerprints (although it does not completely prevent them), in which the brand name stands out in a prominent central position.

The front is dominated by some 9mm bezels with a noticeable chin under the screen. The brand logo is located in this space, and just below it, the Options, Back, Forward and Start buttons that will help us to control all the operations of the electronic book.

At the bottom edge we find the micro USB connector and the power button that lights up. We did not find an audio jack or other connectors, but PocketBook has included a micro USB to audio jack adapter to be able to connect a wired headset with a 3.5 mm jack.

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The truth is that it has caught my attention how light and compact it is, and I have been able to carry it without major problems in my coat pocket when traveling on public transport.

Another point that I really liked about this PocketBook Touch HD 3 is the connectivitywith support for dual band Wi-Fi networks (2.4 and 5GHz) and Bluetooth to connect headphones.

This WiFi connectivity opens up some really cool features on this PocketBook Touch HD 3, like synchronization of content from Dropbox or sending book files to the PocketBook cloud to sync them to your device.

Excellent behavior with light, but a little slow with gestures

The electronic ink screen is one of the keys to this type of device. Hence the extensive autonomy of its battery and its sharpness in reading texts that, unlike LCD or OLED screens, only update the screen when its content is changed, bringing it closer to the reading experience of paper.

The PocketBook Touch HD 3 comes with a 6-inch touch screen with e-Ink Carta technology capable of displaying 16 levels of gray on one 1440 x 1080 pixel resolution which leaves a density of 300 dpi.

All this data is translated into very well defined texts, which do not tire the eyes like LCD screens. In addition, this screen has the SMARTLight technology, that illuminates the screen by adjusting brightness and tint based on ambient light.

I have not only found this very useful for reading in low light before going to sleep, but I have also appreciated reading in full sun, since it increases the brightness and improves the visibility of the texts.

The sensor is quite reactive and works very well in most cases, but it is somewhat conservative with the brightness in broad daylight forcing you to manually adjust the brightness level.

The tactile response of the screen has not convinced me so muchthat I have noticed it somewhat lazy in the reactions to the touches and gestures on the screen.

I did not expect to find the tactile fluidity of a smartphone, but something more fluid that did not go back to the first touch panels where you touch an icon, a second later it goes dark indicating activation and another second later it performs the desired action.

In everyday use this causes some confusion when navigating the menus or select the readings, the double taps are increased for thinking that the first one has not worked and sometimes, it is pressed where it does not touch. In short, the tactile response is not the best.

On the other hand, gestures such as turning the page are recognized extremely quickly, even when they are the involuntary result of placing the finger on the frame, causing the page to change when touching the sides of the screen.

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For avoid those accidental touches on the screen just double-click the Options button, or customize any button to do so, and use the physical buttons while reading.

Nor did I find the text underlining, annotation and dictionary functions very comfortable.. I guess, in part, because of that lag between the click and the action.

The PocketBook Touch HD 3 integrates a gyroscope (G-Sensor they call it) that detects the orientation of the device to rotate the content and make it a little wider or make the grip more comfortable by placing the widest area on the side to accommodate the hand that holds it.

Total versatility for reading times or listening to audiobooks

Beyond the problems with touch recognition, the PocketBook Touch HD 3 offers a good reading experience, with a system based on PocketBook’s own Linux distro (Linux OS 3.035) that allows a wide range of file formats and a user-friendly interface. easy to use and manage.

The book originally incorporates a good collection of books in different languages, although in reality only a few are in Spanish. The rest can be removed, but it will be up to the user to do their homework instead of offering a sync option for language preferences.

One of the things that I liked the most about this PocketBook Touch HD 3 is the wide compatibility of file formats among which are EPUB, PDF or CBR for comics.

It supports all the usual ones, and is compatible with apps like Caliber and – amazingly enough – the PocketBook Touch HD 3 is compatible with the eBiblio platform that allows you to enjoy online loans from public libraries throughout Spain thanks to the fact that the device arrives registered with a source Adobe DRM account.

The negative point is that does not have an eBiblio client app from the device itself as it does exist on Android or iOS devices, and the synchronization must always be done from the computer application.

The built-in Adobe DRM account also allows you to upload e-books and content that you’ve purchased directly from a third-party store, though PocketBook includes its own content store in the eBook.

I found it very comfortable Send-to-PocketBook function, which allows you to send PDF files or documents to a PocketBook user account for reading on the device. also allows sync content from the cloud with Dropbox.

The device has a built-in audio player, so by plugging in headphones you can listen to an audiobook while doing something else, but you can’t listen to background music while reading. It does not have speakers, so headphones are essential for this function.

More than a month of reading without looking at the battery level and 60 minutes to recover

If electronic ink screens stand out for something, it is because of their low consumption. However, the PocketBook Touch HD 3 incorporates a variable lighting system, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, etc. Does that mean you’ve lost some of that good battery life? Absolutely.

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In fact, I have been using the Touch HD 3 for more than a month and I have only loaded it once and it was just before writing this review. It is true that the battery life depends a lot on the intensity of the screen light, the hours of use or the type of content.

According to PocketBook, 1,500 mAh battery that mounts the PocketBook Touch HD 3 They give for 6 weeks of use, but due to my reading profile, it is likely that I am closer to two months.

However, with the excuse of this test I have given a good boost to my reading and I have entered the world of audiobooks, raising the level of demand of a battery that has stoically endured just over 4 weeks of use.

Charging is done with a micro USB cable included in the box and allows charge the device in 1 hour and 40 minutes.

The Kindle has a tough rival with portability and connectivity as the best arguments

I must confess that, despite being a more or less regular reader, until now I haven’t used an e-book, but instead used the Books app on the 6th generation iPad Mini like the one we analyzed a few weeks ago.

However, the experience of using the PocketBook Touch HD 3 has convinced me in terms of visual comfort, not only because of the fact of using electronic ink, but also because of the adjustment of the intensity and temperature of the screen lighting.

Connectivity is another of the strengths of this PocketBook Touch HD 3. Being able to synchronize with the cloud, use Bluetooth headsets and, above all, be compatible with Adobe DRM and the eBiblio system has seemed super comfortable for me to load the content and save a lot of money with the loan of books in public libraries.

On the negative side of the scale weigh the tactile response of the screen and a microUSB port that is increasingly in disuse. We would have liked to find a USB C with a more efficient charge.

PocketBook Touch HD 3 is an e-book reader with a 6-inch backlit display and support for SMARTLight technology to adjust lighting and light tone. It is compatible with the vast majority of ebook, audiobook and comic book formats, providing WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The 158 euros that this PocketBook Touch HD 3 costs places it slightly below the Kindle Paperwhite 2021 that we analyzed here a few weeks ago for 189 euros, but slightly above the Kobo Clara HD which can be purchased for 139 euros.

The PocketBook Touch HD 3 makes very strong arguments as a more open and connected operating system than the Amazon model, while maintaining benefits that make him a candidate to take into account.

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