Review of the Pocketbook Touch e-book. Shell and pre-installed applications

01.10.2021 ethnoscience

Operating the device is simple, pleasant and convenient thanks to the multi-touch display and unique interface. E-book text appears sharper and richer on the high-contrast E Ink Pearl™ screen. Changing images and turning pages occurs faster due to processor performance and high screen refresh rates. An elegant, thin body, a pleasant-to-touch back panel coating and high quality materials and workmanship of the device create a tactile feeling of comfort and pleasure from using the PocketBook Touch. This is 100% mobile device, which you will be comfortable using in any conditions.

Display

The PocketBook Touch screen size is 6 inches. It is made using E Ink® Pearl™ technology and has a resolution of 600x800 pixels. Distinctive feature This screen has minimal power consumption and maximum visual similarity to plain paper. In addition, the screen supports 16 shades of gray, which allows it to accurately display complex texts and illustrations.

Control

Operating the PocketBook Touch device is simple, pleasant and convenient thanks to the multi-touch display and unique interface.

Nutrition

The capacity of the built-in lithium-ion battery is 1100 mAh. One battery charge is enough to read 8000 pages. The device can operate for up to one month without recharging (operating time depends on the mode of use and the settings selected by the user).

Text-to-Speech

The device supports the Text-to-Speech function, which makes it possible to listen to your favorite book in any of the 26 languages available for download on the site. Four of them are already pre-installed on the device!

Connection

PocketBook Touch electronic readers provide fast Internet access. In cafes, hotels, airports and other public places you can access the Internet thanks to the built-in Wi-Fi module (802.11 b/g/n).

Eye safety

Compared to conventional LCDs, E Ink screens do not have flicker, which causes eye strain. In addition, such a screen reflects the light falling on it in the same way as regular paper. As a result, when reading, your eyes get tired much less than when using electronic devices with other types of screens (PDA, communicator, phone, laptop or computer). You can read from such a screen for hours without fear for your eyesight, just like when reading a regular paper book or magazine.

Performance

PocketBook Touch is equipped powerful processor Freescale with a frequency of 800 MHz, which ensures high speed of the device in any application. Also, thanks to the processor's performance, it has become possible to implement a multitasking function, which allows you to simultaneously open several books and applications (browser or player) and instantly switch between them.

Multi-format

PocketBook Touch has the multi-format functionality that is familiar to all PocketBook devices. The device supports 15 text formats and four graphic formats.

Dictionaries ABBYY® Lingvo

Pre-installed ABBYY® Lingvo dictionaries will help you quickly determine the meaning of unknown words without closing the book.

RSS reader

Featuring an easily customizable RSS reader and module wireless communication you have the opportunity to read actual news on your favorite websites at home or visiting cafes, hotels, airports and other public places where you can access the Internet using Wi-Fi.

Obreey Store

Obreey Store is a new multilingual content platform from PocketBook, implemented using modern technologies.

Obreey Store's assortment includes:
- Books of various genres
- Educational programs for children
- Textbooks and reference books for schools and universities
- Dictionaries ABBYY® Lingvo, Collins, Universal and others
- Periodicals - Audiobooks
- Thematic podcasts

Characteristics

Display	()
Backlight	-
Touch screen	Capacitive multi-touch
Dimensions	114.5 x 175 x 9.5 mm
Number of shades of gray	16
Color	White black
Battery (active reading)	Li-Ion Polymer, 3.7 V, 1100 mAh, up to a month without recharging (working time depends on the mode of use and user-selected settings)
CPU	800 MHz
RAM	128MB
Flash memory	2 GB (the amount of memory available to the user depends on the configuration software your device)
Interface	Micro USB
Memory slot	Micro SD up to 32 GB
Audio output	3.5 mm
Book formats	EPUB DRM, EPUB, PDF DRM, PDF, FB2, FB2.ZIP, TXT, DJVU, HTML, DOC, DOCX, RTF, CHM, TCR, PRC (MOBI)
Image formats	JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF
Audio formats	MP3
Weight	195 g
Gyro sensor	-
Speakers	-
Camera	-
Wireless connection	Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n)
Services and applications	Text-to-Speech, Bookstore, Browser, Audio Player, Calculator, Dictionary, Calendar Clock, Chess, Kerchief, Photo Album, RSS Aggregator, Sudoku, Scribble, Handwritten Notes
Housing material	Plastic, ‘soft-touch’ coating
Developer	PocketBook

The book is developed on the basis of a dual-core processor Freescale clocked at 800 MHz, providing unprecedented performance and rapid completion of assigned tasks.

On an elegant black body, located 6 inch screen and a resolution of 800x600 pixels, manufactured according to E-Ink Pearl technology standards. The unsurpassed features of this screen are its incredible resemblance to a regular printed page and its ultra-efficient power consumption. In addition, the screen supports “16 shades of gray”, which allows you to accurately display complex text material and illustrations. You don’t have to worry about your eyesight with a new e-reader, since unlike a standard LCD monitor, the E-Ink screen does not have harmful flicker.

Model PocketBookTouch 622 supports the most popular text and graphic formats. In addition, without looking up from reading your favorite book, you can find out the meaning of this or that unknown word - and all this thanks to the availability of various dictionaries.

The main menu is presented in the form of pages social networks, therefore consists of applications, shortcuts and an event feed. Thanks to functions" Multi- Touch" , operating the device is very simple and comfortable. With one touch of the screen, you can turn pages, go to the "Main Menu", make various settings and much more.

The e-reader also comes with an exciting feature "Text-to-Speech", which will help convert texts to speech.

And, of course, that's not all! After all, the developers provide the ability to connect to a wireless Internet network using built-in adapterWi- Fi.

In addition to all the advantages listed above, the e-book is endowed with a unique content platform ObreeyStore, which contains a huge number of books in a variety of electronic formats. In addition, in it you will find a lot of children's educational programs, useful reference literature, textbooks, periodicals and audiobooks.

For sincere reading lovers, the device’s memory was initially entered 100 best books from around the world. One battery charge will last a long time - you have a whole month of efficient operation of the device at your disposal!

The pleasant coating on the back of the device creates a feeling of comfort and pleasure during use.

By the way, if you are looking for a device that you need directly for reading your favorite works, then the new e-book PocketBookTouch 622Black will be an ideal choice among many similar models.

Characteristics of PocketBook Touch 622 Black

Display Specifications
Type	E-Ink, capacitive, Pearl, touch, grayscale: 16
Options	6 inches, 600x800
Built-in backlight	No
Supported Formats
Text	TXT, DOC, PDF, fb2, ePub, DjVu, RTF, DOCX, TCR
Graphic	JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG
Sound	MP3
Other	HTML, CHM, ZIP, RSS
FM tuner	No
Convert text to voice	There is
Processor and memory
CPU frequency	800 MHz
RAM	128 MB
Built-in memory	2048 MB
Memory card	MicroSD
Maximum memory card capacity	32 GB
Connecting and charging
USB interface	There is
WiFi	There is
Nutrition
Battery capacity	1100 mAh
Duration of work	8000 pages
Design and dimensions
QWERTY keyboard	No
Dimensions (WxDxT)	115x175x10 mm
Weight

On March 1, Pocketbook presented their new e-reader Pocketbook Touch. The manufacturer positions this model as a compact and stylish reading device with a touch screen and Wi-Fi support.

Contents of delivery:

EBook
USB cable
Instructions
Warranty card

The book comes in a beautiful white and green box.

Design, construction, control elements

Looking at the Pocketbook Touch, I can definitely say that the company has found its own unique design and is sticking to it. Externally, the model resembles Pocketbook A7” and Pocketbook A10”: the same back made of black plastic and a white rim.

The main material of the book is white matte plastic, the back is made of black plastic with a soft-touch coating. Similar material was used in A7 and A10 and has proven itself to be excellent. Both the frame and the back are resistant to dirt, and fingerprints are practically invisible.

At the bottom end are all the device connectors: 3.5 mm for headphones, microUSB for connecting to a PC and charging, and a slot for microSD memory cards. There is also a power button and a “reset” hole.

Below the screen we see a navigation panel of three buttons and an indicator light. The “forward” and “backward” buttons are merged into one key, which does not in any way affect the ease of use. All buttons have a soft move, a slight click is heard when pressed, there are no complaints about them. The “home” button returns the user to the main menu; pressing it for a long time brings up recent actions (like on Android), you can quickly go to the last opened books, turn on music or take a screenshot. The “menu” button is responsible for calling up options in books and applications.

When pressed hard, the lid creaks slightly; this drawback does not manifest itself in everyday use. All Pocketbook devices are assembled at the Foxconn factory.

Dimensions

The device has typical dimensions for a 6” reader; the book is comfortable to hold for a long time, even in one hand. It will easily fit in a bag or backpack; if desired, it can even fit in a large jacket pocket.

Pocketbook Touch- 175 x 114.5 x 9.5 mm, 195 grams
Amazon Kindle (2011)- 166 x 114 x 8.7 mm, weight 170 grams
Pocketbook Basic 611- 122x176x9.7 mm, weight 175 grams

Display

The screen diagonal is 6”, its resolution is 600x800 pixels. The display is made using E-Ink Pearl technology, thanks to which the image looks clear and contrasty. Using E-Ink Pearl also reduces power consumption by up to 50%. The capacitive touch panel (with multi-touch function) is implemented in the form of a plastic layer above the screen.

I liked almost everything about the screen, firstly, the anti-reflective coating: this is not marketing tinsel, but a really working function, the device has practically no glare, secondly, the good screen coating (the plastic here does not bend when pressed, like in cheap books) and, thirdly, using capacitive technology, the device responds to the slightest touch. Display - definitely strong point of this book.

Autonomous operation

The device uses a lithium-polymer battery with a capacity of 1000 mAh. I read on the device for 10 hours and surfed the Internet for about half an hour, during which time the book’s charge did not decrease by a single point. Manufacturer states time battery life(when used with Wi-Fi turned off) up to a month, and apparently, these words are not far from the truth. Most likely, you will charge your Pocketbook Touch no more than once a month.

Performance

The device uses a processor with a clock frequency of 800 MHz. Volume random access memory- 128 MB, internal memory - 2 GB (all system data is in this memory, so initially about 1.5 GB is available to the user). The book works quickly. Scrolling, zooming, switching through menus, entering text and handwriting - all these actions are performed quickly and without lag.

Shell and pre-installed applications

When you turn it on, we are presented with the initial screen, divided into two parts, at the top there are “recent actions”, where a list shows the last books you opened in chronological order. If you have added several new books, the line “+5 new books” appears; if you tap on it, a list of these books will open.

At the bottom there are 8 menu items, I’ll try to briefly talk about them.

Library. Here you can view all the books available on your device. Sorting by date, author, series, genre, format or creation date is available; the last item is especially convenient if you need to quickly jump to recently added books. To the left of the book's title is its format, and to the right is the number of pages read as a percentage. In the upper right corner you can see the “Search” button.

Favorites. Here are all the books added to your favorites.

Notes. All saved quotes can be found here.

Music. A simple music application. All songs are presented in the form of a list; you can enable repeat or random playback. During playback, the music application icon appears in the status bar, so you can quickly launch it from there.

Dictionary. A separate application ABBYY Lingvo. 4 languages are available: Russian, English, Ukrainian and German. It is made very conveniently, the touch screen responds to input quickly, so there are no negative emotions from the dictionary. “Live search” is available, i.e. The results are shown as you type, however, due to the speed at which the image is updated, this function is not very useful.

Applications. 8 built-in applications are available.

Calculator.

Watch.

Kerchief.

Photos.

Pocketnews. Application for reading RSS feeds.

Scribble. Application for entering handwritten notes. You can also enter plain text. The response speed when entering is very good.

Sudoku. 4 levels available. Out of habit, I chose the most difficult one and could not solve it even in an hour and a half, despite the fact that I really love this game and have been playing it for a long time. The application is executed at a decent level: you can enter not only the final numbers, but also the expected variants of the numbers.

Browser. You can read simple pages from it, but sites with a lot of pictures are more difficult to view due to inconvenient navigation. You can move around the site only using buttons or on-screen arrows, i.e. You can't scroll the page with your finger

Search. A simple utility for searching all books.

Settings. All available settings are here.

The manufacturer specifically emphasizes the presence of multitasking; by holding down the “house” button, you can go to the last books you read, turn on music and take a screenshot. I'm delighted with the last feature.

Reading

When you press the “menu” button or tap in the center of the screen while reading, a menu for working with the book opens, here you can go to the desired chapter or page, make a note, turn on the dictionary, flip the image or enable the text-to-speech function. I'd like to go into some more detail about some of these options.

Notes. You can highlight text with a highlighter, then open it in the Notes section of the Start screen, as well as in your book outline. Handwritten notes are available, and you can draw directly in the book. The eraser can be used to erase selected text or a handwritten note; the text of the book is not erased. In addition, you can take a screenshot of the screen. Once you add a handwritten note/highlight text, it remains in the book itself.

Settings. Here it is worth highlighting the ability to change the font, enable/disable hyphens, increase/decrease the font step when using a pinch, change the line spacing, and most importantly: the ability to adjust the width of the margins. In many e-books, the indents are very wide, but here you can reduce them to a minimum.

Dictionary. When you call the dictionary from below, a window with the translation opens. In its right corner there are 5 options available: “exit”, “list of similar words”, “translation”, “bring up the keyboard” and “change language”. The dictionary is made very conveniently, I enjoyed using it.

Changing the display orientation. When you call this option, the letters ABC are shown in 4 orientations; tapping on the desired one sets the orientation.

Ease of reading

Pocketbook Touch supports the following formats: EPUB DRM, EPUB, PDF DRM, PDF, FB2, FB2.ZIP, TXT, DJVU, HTM, HTML, DOC, DOCX, RTF, CHM, TCR.

Agree, quite an impressive list. I will try to briefly talk about the ease of reading in each format. In FB2 and EPUB, the content is available, it is convenient to navigate through footnotes (tapping on a footnote opens a comment, pressing the “back” button returns to the text), in EPUB for some reason sometimes the text ends in the middle of the page, and then continues on the next one, in FB2 it’s like this no problem. All styles and formatting are displayed beautifully. In doc, docx, txt, the text is displayed well and fits perfectly to the screen size. In PDF and DJVU, the “margin trimming” function is available; you choose to what extent to trim empty margins using the frame, and press “ok”. This significantly improves the process of reading these formats. However, reading djvu and pdf with small text is still uncomfortable; a book is suitable for these purposes large sizes. In addition, if you are reading an enlarged PDF, then moving to the bottom of the text is inconvenient; the book processes finger scrolling slowly (this slow processing only appears in PDF/DJVU).

When reading any format, you can change the scale using a pinch. Tapping in the upper right corner automatically takes you to the main menu, tapping in the upper left corner makes a bookmark in the book, tapping in the center brings up the menu for working with the book. Tapping in the lower right and left corners scrolls the page back, tapping in the lower center scrolls the page forward. Gestures are also available. If you swipe from top to bottom, the book goes to the next page, if from bottom to top, then to the previous one. The implementation of touch control is done at a high level. The bottom panel displays the number of pages read or battery charge and time.

Comics and manga

The black and white display is conducive to reading black and white Japanese comics. The Pocketbook 6” diagonal is a comfortable minimum for reading manga. If you have good eyesight, then you will be comfortable reading comics with the Pocketbook Touch, but if not, then it is better to pay attention to models with a large screen.

Interfaces

The device has Wi-Fi (b/g/n). Connecting to it is available in the settings. The operation of the module itself is not satisfactory, but due to the lack of special software for downloading books, the module turns out to be practically useless. It would be nice if the manufacturer added its branded Obreey store to the firmware.

Conclusion

The recommended price of the device is 7,000 rubles, for this money the user receives a full-fledged e-book with a nice design, support for many formats, built-in dictionaries, a normal matte E Ink Pearl touch screen and a Wi-Fi module. I liked almost everyone about Pocketbook Touch: it performs almost all functions well e-book In addition, the book is fast and supports multitasking. Among the shortcomings, I would note the meager equipment, poor work with PDF and djvu and the inability to navigate through some menus using buttons. However, in my opinion, Pocketbook definitely made a good e-reader.

Evgeniy Vildyaev (

Very, very many Russians love to read – that’s a fact. However, over the past 5-10 years, those who do it the old fashioned way (that is, use paper books) have become fewer and fewer - people are switching en masse to electronic devices. They read from the screens of PCs and laptops, tablets and even smartphones. A separate caste of “literary readers” uses special gadgets – readers.

Why do you need to buy a special reading device when you can do the same thing, say, on a tablet? It's simple: the readers are equipped with special E Ink screens (electronic ink technology). It is they – these displays – that make reading from pocketbooks not only very comfortable (the text looks exactly the same as on paper), but also absolutely safe for vision. In addition, such screens are very, very economical in using battery power. One charge is enough for about a month of using the reader. In contrast to just 1-2 days in the case of a tablet or smartphone.

Leader Russian market electronic readers over the past 5 years has been the company PocketBook, its share is now approximately 70%. PocketBook products are sold not only in Russia and the CIS countries, but also in Europe, Asia, the USA, etc., which also indicates its very serious position in the field of “reading” technologies. Today we are testing a new product from this company - PocketBook 625 Basic Touch for 8,000 rubles. This is the most affordable pocketbook with an E Ink Carta screen, that is, an electronic ink display of the latest generation. Let's take a closer look at the model.

Contents of delivery

PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 comes in a rather ascetic package. In the box you will find the reader itself, a USB cable, a user manual and a warranty card. Unfortunately, the network Charger not included in the standard delivery package. Probably, the developers decided that everyone already has this accessory (from a smartphone, tablet, etc.). In addition, the “reader” can be charged from any USB port, for example, from a laptop. This is understandable - literally 15-20 minutes of such charging will ensure the operation of the reader for 1-2 weeks. Actually, this is the essence of electronic ink screens.

Appearance

PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 has the same design as the vast majority of readers from this brand. Appearance attractive, ergonomics are good. So why change anything?

The frame around the screen is made of matte plastic, and the control keys and the back are made of pleasant to the touch and practical soft-touch (“rubberized coating” effect). Thanks to the latest PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2, it does not slip even from wet hands. In addition, this material is not easily soiled, and scratches that may appear over time are practically invisible on it. The device is assembled conscientiously: there are no visible gaps between the panels of the case, no burrs on the plastic, and when pressed and twisted (within reasonable limits, of course), the case does not creak. In general, the “hand of a master” is felt.

Almost the entire front panel of the PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 is occupied by the screen. Below it are four hardware control keys. They are made of velvety plastic. In addition, the buttons are slightly concave, just to fit the shape of your finger. Pressing the left key returns you to the main screen (“Home”), the two middle ones are responsible for turning pages and navigating the menu, and the right one opens the context menu. In addition, you can configure what will happen with short and long presses on a particular button. That is, the controls are thought out as much as possible, the pocketbook can be very flexibly customized to suit you.

Back panel PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 is slightly curved and has a special thickening at the bottom. Thanks to this, holding the device is comfortable, even after several hours your hands do not get tired.

The top and side ends of the PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 are unencumbered. But on the bottom there is a power button, a port for charging (MicroUSB) or connecting to a computer, and a slot for a memory card. It is worth noting that the latter is not at all necessary here, since the reader has as much as 8 GB of built-in memory. This is enough to download several thousand books.

Display

The screen is the main part of any electronic reader, regardless of the manufacturer. The display of the PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 is in perfect order. The new product uses a 6-inch matrix with a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. Both the first and second digits are standard for middle-class readers. It is worth emphasizing that the resolution of “electronic ink” and LCD screens are different things. For reading, 800 x 600 pixels are enough, while for viewing videos and photos on the same tablet this would not be enough. However, if this is critical for you, then you can take a closer look at the more expensive model - PocketBook 631 Touch HD with a higher resolution - 1448 x 1072 pixels. True, it costs much more - 12,500 rubles.

The text on the display of PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 looks clear. Moreover, it looks exactly the same as on paper. In general, this is the peculiarity of E Ink technology. What is very important, PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 uses the latest generation matrix - E Ink Carta. If we compare it with the screen of the previous generation - E Ink Pearl - then the first has a higher contrast (15:1 versus 12:1). The result is a clearer and richer image.

We also add that the PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 screen is capacitive touch. That is, you can control the reader not only using hardware keys, but also by pressing your fingers on the display. In addition, multi-touch support is implemented here, that is, you can conveniently and quickly scale the text by moving your fingers apart and closer on the screen.

Just in case, we’ll tell you about the advantages of E Ink technology over conventional TFT screens that are used in laptops, tablets and smartphones. The first is low power consumption. After all, when displaying a static image on an E Ink screen, the battery charge is not consumed at all. Energy is spent only when “turning” the page. Thus, a full charge of the PocketBook is enough for about a month of intensive reading (in the case of PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2). Secondly, text on the E Ink screen looks exactly the same as on plain paper. While reading, it feels like you are holding an ordinary paper book in your hands. Third (and most importantly), E Ink displays are practically harmless to vision. The fact is that they do not have a flickering backlight (as in TFT matrices of the same tablets), which causes eye strain and irritation. Therefore, you can read from pocketbooks for hours on end without your eyes getting tired. And fourth, “electronic-ink” screens do not fade or glare even in bright sunlight, unlike TFT displays, which you have to peer into in clear weather. So for long-term reading, it is better and safer for your health to use a pocketbook reader rather than a tablet/smartphone/laptop.

Functionality

PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 supports all popular e-book and document formats in Russia: PDF, PDF (DRM), EPUB, EPUB(DRM), DJVU, FB2, FB2.ZIP, DOC, DOCX, RTF, PRC, TCR, TXT, CHM, HTM, HTML, MOBI and ACSM. In total there are 18 pieces. Agree, it's impressive. For example, Kindle, popular in America (and among some domestic users), recognizes only 4-5 formats. As a result, you need to search for books either in a specific extension, or convert, which is also not very convenient.

The library in PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 has many sorting functions.

In order to “drop” a new book onto the PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2, it is not at all necessary to connect it to the computer using a cable. The device has a built-in Wi-Fi adapter. Thus, books can simply be sent by email to the reader, or through the DropBox client - to do this, just move the file on your computer to the DropBox folder, and the book will appear on your “reader”. In addition, Wi-Fi is needed for Internet surfing (yes, the PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 also has a browser) and updating the firmware over the air. By the way, the latter are published with enviable regularity - approximately once every two months.

Conclusion

PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 is a bright representative of middle-class readers from the market leader. The latter is very important, since PocketBook’s leadership position implies thoughtfulness in everything, even in the smallest things. That’s right: here you have an ergonomic case with excellent build quality, a completely eye-friendly screen of the latest generation, support for all popular book formats, Wi-Fi, and many other useful functions. At the same time, the price tag for the device is quite reasonable - PocketBook 625 Basic Touch 2 can be purchased for 8,000 rubles. In general, a must-have device for reading lovers.

PocketBook Touch 2 | Introduction

Our test laboratory received a new e-reader from the Pocketbook company - Touch 2 (model 623), which continues the line of devices called Touch. What distinguishes it from the previous version is the presence of a built-in backlight, which can be considered a significant advantage, since the current e-book market cannot boast of a large number of such models. Of those sold in the Russian Federation, only books from the i63 Kopernik and Kepler series, also recently announced by this company, can be noted, and together with other versions of this book, since it is not an author’s product, unlike devices from Onyx and Pocketbook. However, we should not forget about the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight, however, the first is available only upon ordering, it is not officially sold in our country, and the second has a backlight of a lower quality level, so consider it as a serious competitor precisely in this parameter not worth it. You can learn more about the new Pocketbook Touch 2 from our review.

Characteristics of PocketBook Touch 2 (623)
Products webpage	Official page PocketBook Touch 2 (623)
Retail price	About 7 thousand rubles in Russia
Display	6" E Ink Pearl HD (1024×758), 212 dpi, backlit, 16 shades of gray
CPU	Freescale 800 MHz
RAM	128 MB
Flash memory	4 GB, expandable with micro-SD cards up to 32 GB
Interfaces	Micro-USB, 3.5 mm audio output
Book formats	PDF, PDF (DRM), EPUB, EPUB(DRM), DJVU, FB2, FB2.ZIP, DOC, DOCX, RTF, PRC, TCR, TXT, CHM, HTM, HTML
Image formats	JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF
Music formats	MP3
Dimensions and weight	175 x 114.5 x 9.5 mm, 198 g
Wi-Fi support	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Additional functions	ReadRate, Text-to-Speech, Dictionaries, Browser, RSS Reader, Audio Player, Calendar, Calculator, Games, Handwritten Notes, Library
Battery	Lithium-Pol, 1000 mAh, 8000 pages

PocketBook Touch 2 | Appearance and equipment

The PocketBook Touch 2 e-reader comes in three color options: black, gray and white; we received a black version. There are no differences in design from the first model, it looks similar. The back panel is made of plastic with a soft-touch coating, thanks to which it slips less in your hands, but it very quickly takes on an unflattering appearance, becoming covered with fingerprints. Therefore, we recommend regularly wiping the book with a napkin. On the back, in large letters, the name of the company is written at the top and a brief Technical information at the bottom. Most of the front panel is occupied by the screen, around it there is an even two-centimeter edging of lighter-colored plastic from which the front panel is made. More space is left under it, about five centimeters are allocated to the control buttons. These are, from left to right, the Home button, the back and forth rocker, and the Menu button. Above them in the middle is a milky white LED indicator. The power button is located on the bottom panel, next to all available connectors (from left to right): audio output, micro-USB port, reset button, micro-SD card slot.

The book came to us in standard packaging, almost exactly the same size as it was. The kit included a cable for connecting to a PC and charging and a short user manual. Unfortunately, a micro-SD card was not included in the package - you will have to buy it separately. There was also no cover, which makes the purchase cheaper, but also increases the risk of breaking the book. There were no separate cases for the PocketBook Touch 2 at the time of publication of the review, but the cases from the first model fit perfectly with it, so there will be no problems with this.

PocketBook Touch 2 | Working with a book

To turn it on, just press the corresponding button once, after which the startup screen appears, and then, depending on the selected settings, the last book or the main menu opens. In it, the upper half of the screen is occupied by the latest events; you can configure them by clicking on the arrow in the upper right corner. The selection is divided into two positions. The first, related to local events, is the display of downloaded books. It is possible to display all books, only those that have been opened, only those that have been added to the internal memory or to the micro-SD card. The second contains events related to the ReadRate service. These are the events of your friends on ReadRate, book recommendations from them or from ReadRate. Here you can choose any combination of these three options, unlike local events, where you can only choose one of the three available options.

The lower half of the screen is occupied by a menu where links to the most frequently used functions are located; it can be hidden by clicking on the corresponding arrow. You can open the library, favorites, notes, audio player (music), dictionary, applications, search for books in the library by title, settings. What is responsible for what is clear from the name, so we will move on to a detailed consideration of the points.

Library

Here we find ourselves in the last open location (root folder by default). Settings are called up by pressing a physical button or an on-screen button with the same icon. You can select the books to be displayed (read now, all, favorites), grouping mode (by folders, authors, series, genres, formats, date added), sorting mode (by file name, book title, opening date, creation date, series, author ). Select display type: detailed list, list with illustrations, only book covers. Displayed memory: internal and external, internal only, external only. You can enable book search by clicking on the magnifying glass to the left of the settings. To go to a higher navigation level, click the return button in the upper left corner. The library displays only files that can be read (book formats); it does not perform the functions of a file manager, which, by the way, is not here at all. Operations can only be carried out with books. Available options include opening a file, viewing information about it, marking it as read/unread, adding to favorites, viewing all books by this author or from this series, renaming or moving the file, and deleting the file. The same number of operations are available for folders, except for purely book operations. In list display modes, the number of percentages of a book read is shown; fully read books are checked.

Notes

The notes created while reading are displayed here, you can view or edit them, as well as jump to that place in the book, rename them, or delete them completely. Notes can be text (just a selected piece of text), graphic (a cut-out screenshot), handwritten (you can manually write or draw something over the text using the pencil and eraser tools).

Music

Initially, only songs located in a special directory are displayed here, but in the settings you can add individual files or entire folders for scanning. Tracks can be moved up or down in the playlist. Playlists are available for work; they can be created, edited or deleted. All operations with tracks are carried out within the selected playlist. While listening, you can select a playback mode (single, sequential, random order), go to the next/previous song, pause/play playback, increase/decrease the volume. Since there are no built-in speakers, listening is only possible through headphones.

Dictionary

When you open the dictionary, the on-screen keyboard automatically launches, where you can type the word you're looking for. An auto-completion option is available, that is, if the word you select is not in the dictionary, or you have not yet typed it in, the closest option that is in the selected dictionary is displayed. In this case, all options are then displayed in alphabetical order, that is, you simply move sequentially through the full dictionary, rather than jumping to specific items using links. To bring up the keyboard if it was closed, just tap anywhere on the screen. To change the dictionary, click on the button in the upper right corner. The list of preinstalled dictionaries is not as large as in, but it is quite enough to get started. This is an explanatory dictionary English words, English-German, English-Russian Koroleva, and ABBYY Lingvo dictionaries - English-Russian, English-Ukrainian, Russian-Ukrainian and their inverses. Additional dictionaries can be purchased on the official website, and there is a possibility that dictionaries from other models will be suitable, for example the same Pocketbook 912 Pro with a very impressive list of pre-installed dictionaries. To navigate through the dictionary, you can use the paging buttons, so you can view the entire dictionary. To exit, click on the arrow in the upper left corner.

Applications

Book Store

MP3 player

PocketBook Sync

A program for synchronizing books with your Bookland account if the books were purchased via a PC. To do this, you need to select the synchronize option on the PC, and update the list of books for synchronization on the book through this application, then they will be downloaded to the Downloads folder, from where they can be opened in new events or through the library.

PocketNews

Application for reading RSS feeds.

Scribble

Application for creating drawings. Due to the lack of a stylus, drawing is very inconvenient, so if you want to make acceptable drawings, then it is better to take a capacitive stylus, although it also does not help much, it still comes out much better. You can either insert text or draw something yourself. There are two thicknesses of pencil lines available, an eraser, undoing the previous action, moving between already created drawings, creating a new one, deleting the current one.

Browser

It doesn’t require any special explanation; it only works when there is an active Internet connection; if there is none, it prompts you to connect to the network. The functionality is very limited, and the performance leaves much to be desired.

Calculator

Our favorite full-fledged engineering calculator. The only thing he doesn’t know how to do is perform statistical processing and convert degrees to other units of measurement of angles. Can translate and work in decimal, hexadecimal, octal and binary number systems. Degrees, radians and grads are available. The functions include trigonometric, hyperbolic, logarithms, exponentiation and power roots, as well as logical functions. In general, it completely replaces a calculator, even a complicated one. The only negative is the lack of editing formulas and changing the order of actions; all operations are performed in the order in which you write them.

Klondike, sudoku

No special explanation is required here either, these are just links to game data.

Photos

This application allows you to view photos located in the Photo folder; You simply won’t be able to view photos located in any other place. Here you can also select a display mode - list (titles only), list with illustrations (file size and type are also shown here), pictures only. After opening the view, control is carried out as follows - when scrolling from left to right, there is a transition to the previous image, if from right to left, then the image is rotated. You can also go to the previous one by tapping on the left side of the screen, and to the next one on the right. When you click on the center, the status panel is called up, where you can exit viewing, return to viewing, or call up a menu. In the menu you can view information about the file, rotate the image, and set it as a screen saver at startup or shutdown. Unfortunately, you cannot set the picture to sleep mode; only the standard one with a sleep book is available. The screen resolution is 1024x758 (not to be confused with computers, where the horizontal resolution is 768, this is a completely different story), but you can take any image as a screensaver, a smaller one will leave white stripes around the edges, a larger one will be scaled. If the image does not have the same aspect ratio, then there will also be stripes along the edges; the book cannot stretch images.

Full screen photo

Photo with status bar

According to screen size,

Resolution lower than screen

The transition between shades is smoother than the number of shades of gray.

Clock-calendar

Calls up a clock combined with a calendar. You can switch between months in order to view other dates; by pressing the central on-screen button, you move to the current month. To exit, click on the lower left corner.

Chess

Here you can play chess with a friend or with a computer opponent. It is worth noting that its level is very high, and even on the minimum difficulty it is interesting to play, let alone the maximum. In the settings you can choose whether you will play as white or black, and during the game you can exit, saving the game to continue later, or simply end the game.

PocketBook Touch 2 | Settings

Backlight

Calls up a menu that allows you to adjust the brightness of the backlight.

Personalization

Here you can customize the interface. You can select the screen saver at startup and shutdown, what to open after turning on - the main menu or the last book, system font, theme (there is only one, so there is nothing to choose from), change the assignment of keys. This item is very useful, since it allows you to change the functions of absolutely all the buttons on the device, the main thing is not to overdo it.

Net

The settings for working with wireless networks are concentrated here; you can connect to one of the existing ones, to a hidden one, and change the saved connection settings.

Date Time

The following options are available: selecting a time zone, setting the current date and time, time display format, synchronizing over the Internet.

Languages

You can change the system language, their set is more than rich, add a keyboard layout. The dictionary configuration allows you to select the dictionaries available to the application. In text voicing there are TTS (Text to Speech) settings - you can select the voice for voicing, speech speed and tone. The book copes well with simple texts, but scientific articles, fiction and other books with a specialized vocabulary are poorly read.

Accounts and synchronization

Changing and adding Book Store and ReadRate accounts, as well as changing Adobe DRM settings.

Additional settings

User Profiles

A very convenient option if several people use the book at once. It allows you to avoid disputes about what font should be in books, what brightness of the backlight, etc. Each user can save their own unique settings, which are not affected by anything.

System

Here you can format the built-in memory (if you want to completely clear it, then you can only do it here, otherwise you will get a completely inoperable device), configure backup and recovery, select the library update and database optimization mode. Set the time after which the device itself will be blocked in the absence of active actions, remove unnecessary TTS packages with voiceover options, change the USB mode - connection with a PC, charging, ask when connecting, network connection via USB.

Confidentiality

Password protect settings and enable/disable diagnostics and usage.

Text display

Text smoothing. If you enable it, it increases rendering time and power consumption. In fact, there is almost no difference, so we do not advise you anything; it is better to try both modes and choose the subjectively optimal one.

Full page update

Once every page, the screen will be completely updated. This removes the "artifacts" that are typical of E-Ink books, remnants of the previous page on the screen, but increases rendering time and reduces battery life. Here, too, it is entirely up to your taste, it is better to try and choose the optimal mode.

Status line in reading mode

Adding icons to the status bar. You can set the current page, date and time, book title, battery charge, multitasking, Pocketbook Sync, Wi-Fi, backlight. Naturally, the number of elements to be added is limited, but if it is impossible to add a new one, the book issues a warning.

Demo mode

Enable book demonstration mode. Automatically starts when first turned on.

Battery Saving

LED indication

Turn on/off the book operation indicator. Why it is needed at all is not very clear, however, regardless of these settings, it lights up during charging and connection to the PC.

Auto power off

Setting the time after which, in the absence of active actions, the device automatically turns off.

Device Information

Device model

View information about the book, model name, serial number, hardware platform, Wi-Fi MAC addresses.

Software

Firmware version, launching manual update and setting up auto-update.

You can also find out the battery charge in percentage and information about the RAM and internal memory of the device, including the external micro-SD card.

PocketBook Touch 2 | EBook

Let's start testing the e-book itself. We checked files in the following formats: EPUB, FB2, MOBI, DOC, DOCX, RTF, TXT, FB2.ZIP, TXT.ZIP, PDF, DJVU, RTF.ZIP, HTML. All declared formats are supported. While reading, you can leave bookmarks, change font settings, scale, etc. The settings vary slightly depending on the format. In the case of text formats, these are the settings for the font and display of the page on the sheet; in PDF and DjVu formats, this is the display mode on the page - in the entire sheet, with cropping margins, width, columns, layout.

Book title	Opening time, s (less is better)	Size, MB	Flipping delay, s/page. (less is better)
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.htm	12	2,401	0,2 (*)
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.docx	11	1,315	0,23
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.fb2	8	3,495	0,21
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.epub	12	1,597	0,62
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.mobi	8	2,207	0,21
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.txt	10	1,882	0,22
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.rtf	11	6,647	0,23
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.djvu	6	17,276	1,19
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.pdf	13	2,891	3,5
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.doc	12	3,723	0,25
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.fb2.zip	14	0,986	0,24
Anna Kareniena – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.rtf.zip	13	1,180	0,24
Anna Karenina – Lieve Nikolaevich Tolstoi.txt.zip	11	1,737	0,23

*- everything below or equal to 0.25 depends mainly on the speed of pressing the button.

All declared formats are supported, although the support is no longer up to par; apparently, too much attention was paid to the design rather than to reading the books directly. On average, books open twice as slowly as on , which is positioned as a budget book, while flipping is fast, at the same level as the speed of pressing a button. The support for DjVu and especially PDF was disappointing. If previously books opened instantly and worked perfectly, then on Pocketbook Touch 2 significant slowdowns are noticeable, and in PDF the speed is too low.

We also tested the book for opening “heavy” files in PDF format. For testing, we chose a mathematics textbook saved in various qualities, which we scanned specifically for e-book tests. You can see the results in the table below.

Not much pleasant. The indicators behave strangely - after 200 dpi there is a sharp jump down, and then the upward trend continues. By the way, the results are not the best, we expected more, you can only read some richly illustrated encyclopedia with patience.

Pressing the menu button only calls up this mode, and not immediately the reading settings. The title of the book is shown at the top, you can search for the book, add bookmarks, call up settings, all this on the top panel. On the bottom panel there is a table of contents and a transition to the page. It can be done either by simply clicking on the desired place on the slider, or by specifying a specific page by clicking on the current number, after which an input panel appears.

In the middle there is a button in the form of two open books. Clicking on it launches the ReadRate service, which, when adding accounts, publishes the news on FaceBook, VK, etc. You can add your comment and select from the positions currently read/read and like/dislike. An Internet connection is required for publication. In the settings, you can change the font and display of text on the page, rotate the screen, turn on text reading, create a note, or launch a dictionary right while reading.

You can turn pages using buttons or gestures, just like the main controls. All gestures are presented in the picture below.

We also checked the display of pictures in the book, as this often causes problems. This is not noticed here - all images are shown as they should. We also checked paragraph formatting and structural division (chapter title/part title/abstract/body text/notes) - all this should be displayed as written in the file, and not as the book deems necessary. There were no problems with this either. You can see examples below.

Of the disadvantages, the following can be noted as the most important. The firmware is very “crude”; software errors often occur, such as the inability to change text formatting, freezes when scrolling, a delay in actions of about twenty seconds, etc., and we are even warned about the latter in the user manual. For the sake of weight, the strength of the book was sacrificed. Where are those impact-resistant magnesium covers like on the 612 Pro and similar models? Now even a poorly placed needle is scary for a book, but before even small nails could be driven in...

The build quality leaves much to be desired, the case is loose, and in some places you can see gaps between it and the back cover. When working, you have to constantly use the touch screen; without it you can’t even open a book. And considering that it is capacitive, if the room is cold and you are wearing mittens or under a blanket, you will have to get out into the cold, the IR screen of the Onyx book is much better in this regard.

Also, even after the first model, it was a pity for Bluetooth, and we hoped that it would be returned. Alas, the miracle did not happen. Now you won't be able to exchange books or notes with pictures using this wonderful invention. And downloading books via your phone and then throwing them onto a book now won’t work either. Only via PC or Wi-Fi, and this is not always possible. And we were also deprived of the file manager, which is completely incomprehensible, since even the cheapest books have it, and it is very difficult to do without it. It is even impossible to simply open a picture located in the wrong directory.

PocketBook Touch 2 | Battery life

With the backlight on, the book lasted about 30 hours; if you turn it off, you can use it for almost a week, reading for half a day. These are not the highest results for an e-book; the same one lasted twice as long, which is already a good indicator. In addition, the sleep mode is implemented poorly - once an hour the backlight turns on for several seconds, which has a bad effect on battery life, so it is better to turn off the book at night.

PocketBook Touch 2 | Conclusion

We have already discussed all the main points above, so here we will only summarize briefly. The Touch series is distinguished by the absence of Bluetooth, as well as the mandatory use of a touch screen for control. This can be considered a disadvantage. On the other hand, it is worth noting the rich number of functions, along with the second model we received backlighting, and all this for an adequate price, by the way, less than the Pocketbook 612 Pro, which is already old enough to have time to drop in price to this level - about 7 thousand . rubles in Russia.

Thus, if you need an “indestructible” book with good functionality, it is still better to choose Pocketbook 612 Pro or other models from the Pro series. If you want to get a book that can do everything that comes into your head, given the proper skills, it’s better than, it’s still difficult to find (although the i63 Kepler and Kopernik models look promising), and if you need a “golden mean” between functionality and price, it’s worth paying attention to the Pocketbook Touch 2. We sincerely hope that all the noted shortcomings and errors in the firmware will be corrected, and with new version we will get a stable working book with even greater capabilities without sacrificing quality.

Advantages of Pocketbook Touch 2