It looks like Pocketbook is going to be entering the pocketable ereader market soon (with a name like “Pocketbook” maybe they should’ve thought of doing that sooner), but maybe not in the way we were expecting with the popularity of Xteink’s ereaders taking off. This is more of a competitor to devices like the Boox Palma.
Pocketbook’s German division has announced the upcoming release of the Pocketbook Q, an ereader that looks like a smartphone but isn’t actually a phone at all. And it runs Pocketbook’s Linux-based software so you can’t even install Android apps on it and pretend it’s a phone like you can with the Palma.
First off, the Pocketbook Q is only listed on Pocketbook’s German website at this time; it isn’t listed on Pocketbook’s main website, so we don’t even know if this is going to be available internationally yet, but they probably just wanted to announce it early locally since they’re going to have it on display at IFA in Berlin on September 4th-8th.
The Pocketbook Q sports a 5.84″ E Ink Carta 1300 screen with 300 ppi, and it features a Smartlight, which it their term for a frontlight with warm and cool temperature control. The size is a little smaller than the Boox Palma 2, which has a 6.13″ screen, but it has the same screen ratio where it’s twice as tall as it is wide, which is completely different than standard ereaders. Even though the screen is close to 6″ like the basic Kindle and Kobo Clara, it’s actually much narrower than those devices because of the different ratio.
The specs aren’t anything to get worked up about, but it is using a different CPU than other Pocketbooks, a Rockchip RK3566. It has 1GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, but this model does not have a memory card slot. It does have a USB-C port, and it supports Bluetooth and WiFi, and it has a rotation sensor. It’s also IPX4-rated for water resistance.
The weight is listed at 130 grams, which is quite a bit lighter than Onyx’s Palmas, but the battery is less than half the size at 1550mAh (and it probably still lasts longer than its Android-powered competitors).
It’s runs Pocketbook’s standard Linux software so it will support all the usual features, including text-to-speech, and it has the Libby app onboard so you can borrow ebooks and audiobooks through OverDrive. It supports a number of common ebook and audio formats, and it supports LCP DRM and Adobe DRM.
The Pocketbook Q is not available to purchase yet, but the price is listed at €199, which is the same price as the Pocketbook Era Lite that I just reviewed. The press release says it will be available in silver beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026.
It looks like it could be a good option for those that want a pocketable ereader, and while it’s twice the price of the new Xteink X4 Pro (and nearly twice the size), it’s a lot cheaper than Android alternatives. The name is suspiciously close to a former model, the Pocketbook IQ, but that was a tablet (yeah, Pocketbook used to make tablets too, and that one ran Android 2.0!), so I guess we can let that slide.
Leave a Reply