Pocketbook to Announce New eReaders Next Week, Amazon to Follow?
I know this might be hard to remember after yesterday’s stupendous Kobo news, but there are other ereader makers in the market and one of them will be announcing new gadgets next week.
Pocketbook is holding a press conference next week. This Ukraine-based ereader company is expected to announce 3 new devices, including a color ereader, an ereader with an HD E-ink screen, and an updated 7″ Android tablet.
But before I get to the products I expect Pocketbook to announce, I have a question. Have you considered the timing of next week’s press event?
I think the Pocketbook press conference raises some interesting questions. It was announced right before Kobo launched the Aura HD and happens a week later.
Kobo made an announcement this week and Pocketbook is announcing next week, and that leads me to think we might possibly be seeing ereader makers respond to the products they know that their competition have in the works.
If I am correct then Amazon might have an announcement of an amazing ereader some time in the next month or so. It’s not out of the question that Amazon plans to reveal that they’re using a Liquavista screen on their next Kindle. They have to come up with some way to match the Kobo Aura, after all.
I know that I have been saying since January that Amazon is buying Liquavista and it might be getting old. But now that Kobo has an awesome product in the Aura HD I think Amazon is going to have to release their own awesome ereader just to stay competitive.
And there is also a chance that B&N could be getting ready to announce something wonderful, though I doubt a new Nook would spook either Pocketbook or Kobo.
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There is no firm data on this so we could be in for a surprise, but the current rumors suggest that Pocketbook will unveil the PocketBook Touch Lux next week. This is expected to be a 6″ ereader with an HD E-ink screen and a frontlight. It’s the next-gen model for their existing 6″ ereader, and it is rumored to retail for 139 euros.
Note that I am calling out the rumors on these details; for all we know Pocketbook might have the 6.8″ screen found on the Kobo Aura HD. That is not very likely but it is also not impossible.
In addition to the Touch Lux, Pocketbook could also announce the Pocketbook Color, the 8″ ereader that they have been working on since at least November 2012. I have almost no details on this ereader, but it is supposed to have an 8″ color E-ink screen. It is also supposed to have a frontlight, which as we have seen in past conference videos will likely improve the color quality. I have no info on specs, price, or release date, but then again I can’t see that anyone else has that info either.
The third new product that Pocketbook might reveal next week is an updated model for the SurfPad, one of their 7″ Android tablets. Again, I don’t have any info on the specs pr price, but the new device will probably have a higher resolution screen and a faster CPU. The specs on the current model suggest a weak budget tablet, so it would make some sense to improve upon it.
I don’t really find any of the devices expected to be released next week all that interesting, but to be honest that is because yesterday Kobo set a new standard. That news has also made me wonder if competition is heating up in the ereader market again.
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