Pocketbook to Launch Color eReader Later This Year – Will Amazon Turn Green With Envy?

15.04.2020 Nate Hoffelder 22 Comments

Pocketbook has just announced that they are launching a 6″ color ereader later this year in Europe.

Details are still scarce, but we do know the device will reportedly cost 200 euros when it is released in the third quarter, and that it will sport the 4,096 color E-ink screen sported by the two Chinese ereaders announced last month. Coincidentally, neither of those devices have shipped yet, and now I think we know why (the screens haven’t shipped, either).

Heise.de says that Pocketbook called the screen Kaleido E-ink. That is not a name I have heard before, and it’s not mentioned in any of E-ink’s marketing materials.

Edit: Pocketbook says the screens going into their device have a color resolution of 100 PPI.

There actually is a company called Kaleido that makes printer ink, which could be a sign that the company is E-ink’s new tech partner (perhaps they were brought in for their material sciences expertise).

In any case, I am waiting for more info from Pocketbook, and from Kobo. I fully expect Kobo to launch their own color ereader this year (assuming the screens are available).

I am also reasonably certain that Amazon will launch a color ereader this year, but with different screen tech. I am basing that conclusion on the way three different companies have announced ereaders that don’t exist yet.

It’s almost as if they expect a bigger competitor will announce its color ereader soon, and they wanted to get a lead on the news coverage.

Comments

PocketBook Color eReader heading to Europe this year April 15, 2020 um 8:28 pm

[…] via The Digital Reader […]

PocketBook Colour eReader heading to Europe this 12 months : The Gray Wolf April 16, 2020 um 12:20 am

[…] by way of The Digital Reader […]

Name April 16, 2020 um 5:28 am

The wording of Pocketbook’s announcement shown on the device’s screen in the last picture indeed hints at a possible difference in resolution for colour and monochrome capabilities. The article on https://allesebook.de/news/pocketbook-color-ereader-mit-e-ink-kaleido-farbdisplay-981272/?PageSpeed=noscript speculates, that more pixels might be used to achieve the colour composition. It will be interesting to have a close look on the individual pixels on such a display with a microscope, in order to see, how this actually works. A quick calculation for a 300 dpi display using every two pixels for colour gives (1448*1072/2)=776128, which is suspiciously close to the (1024*758)=776192 pixels for a 212 dpi screen of the same size, a number mentioned in the Chinese reader’s announcement.

Nate Hoffelder April 16, 2020 um 8:46 am

The Chinese ereaders did have two different screen resolutions for grayscale and color modes, yes. I didn’t understand why the difference was 300 ppi and 212 ppi, but I think you explained it.

thanks!

PocketBook Color, une liseuse couleur pour cette année en Europe April 16, 2020 um 6:43 am

[…] : The Digital Reader via […]

PocketBook Color – kolorowy czytnik E Ink trafi do Europy – Tabliczni.pl April 16, 2020 um 7:30 am

[…] ?ród?o: the-digital-reader.com […]

Rk67668 April 16, 2020 um 9:33 am

Can you read this in sun light, because if not Amazon 49.00 Fire would be people’s better buy, I notice a lot of color readers from China are coming out, but no one mentions reading in the sun. This would be a nice follow up article.

vicente April 16, 2020 um 11:07 am

It is said it’s ACeP, but others color e-readers announced are printed color electronic paper.

I hope B/W ereaders prices go downn when color ereaders reach markets

Pocketbook Color, uno de los grandes fabricantes ya tiene pantalla a color || Solo eBooks April 16, 2020 um 1:37 pm

[…] Imagen y Más Información .- The Digital Reader […]

Steve H. April 16, 2020 um 3:45 pm

I am interested, but 6″ color devices just don’t make sense for me. I will buy a 9″ or 10″ device where image heavy ebooks make sense…possibly even an 8″ device.

tired April 17, 2020 um 9:31 am

We’ve been waiting for over a decade for the commercial release of color eink readers, and before they’re even released someone is already complaining that it doesn’t suit them. Give me a break!

Javi April 17, 2020 um 11:12 am

Nate…. https://the-digital-reader.com/2014/06/04/jdi-reminds-us-samsung-sold-liquavista-color-quality-trumps-battery-life/ in that article we see a 7 "screen with a resolution of 1200×1920 and 321 ppi… that is amazing and it had no success or commercial outlet.

What has changed since then?

hopefully we’ll see 10-13" color ereaders soon but… many years of continuous disappointments.

Nate Hoffelder April 17, 2020 um 1:15 pm

production costs have fallen, probably

Weekly News: 20th April 2020 – Author Help April 20, 2020 um 4:03 am

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Kobo Nia eReader is Coming Soon | The Digital Reader April 20, 2020 um 7:05 pm

[…] Remember how I've been saying that Kobo's next ereader will probably have a color E-ink screen? […]

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