Electronic e-ink readers have a couple of undeniable advantages. Incredibly long, at the present time, the duration of work without recharging, as well as comfort for the eyes under the condition of normal external lighting. In all other respects, these devices are not competitors to gadgets with LCD displays - smartphones and tablets. But, thanks to its strengths, readers live, develop, and even hybrid devices appear.

Of course, creating a smartphone with two displays is a strong and extraordinary step. But what should those who are not ready to buy a new smartphone and carry with them a separate gadget to read books? The original solution offered PocketBook: the smartphone is inserted into the cover, the cover of which is a small reader. Simple and elegant. True, the decision was not universal. PocketBook CoverReader designed exclusively for Samsung Galaxy S4. But this is, in essence, a device-experiment for probing demand.

Main characteristics:

• Display: 4.3 ”EPD, 480 * 800, 217 ppi
• Formats of electronic books: PDF (Adobe DRM), EPUB (Adobe DRM), DjVu, TXT, FB2, FB2.zip, CHM, html (basic), CBZ, CBR, BT; Corresponds to the application for Android PocketBook Reader
• Image Formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, WebP
• Touch screen: 2 touch zones
• Dimensions: 69x146 mm
• Weight: 40 gr

Recommended retail price: 3,490 rubles.
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Design and construction

To install PocketBook CoverReader, you will have to remove the back cover of the smartphone and install a “smart cover” instead. The design of this side almost does not change, the Samsung logo just disappears.



The back cover of the CoverReader is made of glossy plastic, almost the same as the original one. The front cover has a soft-touch coating and is mounted on a rubber jumper. Unfortunately, numerous fingerprints immediately worsen the presentation.



On the back of the front cover is a touch screen display on electronic ink. Under it are located the buttons of page turning recessed into the body. In the closed state, the lid is held by a magnet, but not too tight. The cover is very light, only 40 grams, and subjectively almost does not increase the weight of the smartphone. The display is slightly recessed inside, but there is a risk that with external pressure, the screens may touch.

The reader is turned on automatically when you open the cover. Display resolution is more than enough for comfortable reading. According to subjective sensations, the device is capable of displaying up to 16 shades of gray.

Impressions of work

To ensure the work of "smart cover" uses two applications. The first is called very intricately: CoverReader, and is designed to customize the text, design and selection of notifications.



The second application is called PocketBook Reader. This is the e-book viewer. The manufacturer claims support for a large number of formats, including comics (PDF (Adobe DRM), EPUB (Adobe DRM), DjVu, TXT, FB2, FB2.zip, CHM, html (basic), CBZ, CBR, CBT). Although it is unlikely it will be convenient to view them on such a small display for readers. With PocketBook Reader you can also customize the size, text and background colors, set the size of the fields and much more.



PocketBook CoverReader allows you to create notes and use widgets. Supports the display of covers with headers, access to network libraries (OPDS-catalogs). If you like to listen to audio books, you can turn on the automatic voice reading function. At the same time, we had no complaints about the speed of the device, all tasks were performed quickly and without brakes.



In fact, the cover is only a display device, and both applications run on a smartphone. When you click on a special icon on its display, the text display is turned on on the reader. You can scroll through the pages either with buttons at the bottom, or with the movement of your fingers across the display. All settings are made only through the smartphone.



While reading, you will not miss phone calls or SMS thanks to pop-up notifications. But the answer will have to switch to the display of the smartphone.

Conclusion

If you are accustomed to classic readers, the display of the “smartphone” size may seem too small for comfortable reading. But it is rather a matter of habit and is not a disadvantage. After all, a lot of people read books on their smartphones. Most likely, such cover-readers, if received, will be distributed only as a result of substantial improvements. In particular, it is necessary to ensure compatibility with a much larger number of smartphones, to give an opportunity to respond to messages from the reader’s display, to provide support for notifications from social networks and instant messengers. Perhaps it makes sense to add your own battery, because now the device is completely dependent on the smartphone battery. In other words, PocketBook CoverReader has become a trial step, which is unlikely to be followed up.

See the full version of the review on the website Hi-Tech.Mail.Ru .