Impressive Kindle rival set for UK launch that will offer a new way to binge on books
A new rival to the Kindle, called the Era Lite, will launch in the UK soon.
Amazon's Kindle might rule the roost when it comes to e-readers, but it's getting a new rival. Swiss brand PocketBook has just announced the launch of the Era Lite, a device that offers impressive features for a pretty reasonable price. It will go on sale in the UK for £179 and includes a 7-inch E Ink Carta 1300 screen that looks and feels like paper.
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This screen gets a glare-free finish, making sure books can be read in any lighting conditions, plus adaptive SMARTlight technology adjusts both brightness and colour temperature to suit different environments
Once fully charged, PocketBook reckons the Era Lite can last for up to two months before needing a top-up, and it's IPX4-rated water resistance, so it should survive some splashes in the bath.
To improve portability and make it easy to hold, there's a slim and lightweight body with an ergonomic layout that includes side control buttons for intuitive page turning and navigation. It also supports both right and left-handed use with automatic screen rotation.
Another big bonus of the Era Lite is that it offers users an open ecosystem with full control over their content.
"Instead of being tied to a single store, readers can choose where to buy books," PocketBook explained.
"The device supports 25 popular formats without the need for conversion, while compatibility with Adobe and LCP DRM enables borrowing ebooks from public libraries, including from pre-installed Libby App."
There's no word on a launch day just yet, but it's expected to arrive this month. Of course, Amazon has also just released it's latest book-reading devices, including an impressive Scribe Colorsoft.
It features an 11-inch screen that looks a lot more exciting than the usual black and white visuals found on most standard Kindles.
The glare-free panel not only offers a premium reading experience but can also be turned into a digital notebook thanks to the stylus provided in the box. The screen even has a texture to make it feel like writing on actual paper. With this technology packed inside, owners can jot down ideas, mark up documents or add annotations to things they are reading.
Amazon is also promising a design that’s now thinner and lighter plus there are 40 percent faster page turns for a more fluid experience. Once fully charged, it can last for weeks without needing to go near a plug.
The only sticking point is its £569.99 price.
