Here’s this phone-sized e-reader wants you to replace one-handed doomscrolling with one-handed book reading
If you’re anything like me, you’re full of good intentions when it comes to reading, but don’t necessarily see them through. It’s all too easy to fish your phone out of your pocket when you’ve a spare few minutes. At which point, you dedicate yet more of your day to flicking between apps that serve up doomscrolling, dopamine hits and abject misery in roughly equal measure. If that sounds all-too-familiar, the PocketBook Q should be just the ticket.
Conventional e-readers can be tricky to stash about your person. By contrast, the PocketBook Q is properly pocket-friendly, being roughly the size of a smartphone. And at just 130g, you’ll barely notice it nestled in your trousers.
More importantly, the PocketBook Q makes one-handed reading a doddle. Physical buttons (hurrah!) let you turn pages without pawing at the touchscreen, leaving your other hand free to grip a train handrail, carry a bag, or fend off a pack of ravenous wolves with a sword.
Read the room
PocketBook reckons the 5.84in adaptive SMARTlight touchscreen looks fab in any scenario, from bright sunlight to murky darkness. It can adjust brightness and colour temperature to suit your needs. And IPX4-rated water resistance means it can handle the odd splash at the beach or when standing in the rain, like a chump, waiting for a bus.
It’s designed to be flexible too. The PocketBook Q supports 25 ebook formats, along with Bluetooth and on-demand text-to-speech – ideal when your eyes are done for the day. But its Linux OS doesn’t want you installing a slew of apps. Instead, the book-focused setup encourages you to slow down and focus rather than drowning yourself in the latest horrors blazing through social media. The 1550mAh battery should last a month too, meaning you’ve no excuse not to use it.
Whether this will be a new chapter for my everyday carry remains to be seen. But if the PocketBook Q makes good on its promises, it could neatly fit into a lifestyle based around mindful, single-task devices that do one thing well. Want to check it out yourself? The PocketBook Q will be turning pages – and possibly heads – later this year, priced at $235/£175.
