PocketBook Verse Pro Color review – A color display and audiobooks in a compact e-reader
To read or be read to?
With its 6-inch, color e-ink display and Bluetooth to connect to speakers or headphones, you can use the PocketBook Verse Pro Color to enjoy both e-books, comics and even audio books. Does the cheap and portable e-reader do enough to impress in our review?Florian Schmitt, 👁 Florian Schmitt (translated by Andrew Dickson) Published 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 ...
Possible competitors compared
Bewertung | Datum | Modell | Gewicht | Laufwerk | Groesse | Aufloesung | Preis ab | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69.5 % | v8 | 10 / 2024 | PocketBook Verse Pro Color unknown, unknown | 182 g | 16 GB eMMC Flash | 6.00" | 1448x1072 | |
| 75.4 % v7 (old) | v7 (old) | 05 / 2024 | PocketBook Era Color unknown, unknown | 235 g | 32 GB eMMC Flash | 7.00" | 840x632 | |
| 68.7 % | v8 | Tolino Vision Color MTK 8113T | 200 g | 32 GB SSD | 7.00" | 1680x1264 | ||
| 67.9 % | v8 | Tolino Shine Color MTK 8113T | 173 g | 16 GB eMMC Flash | 6.00" | 1448x1072 |
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here.
Case and features – Compact and with Bluetooth
Handy e-book readers are practical things since they can easily be stored in a handbag or, if necessary, in your pocket. If they also happen to come with the color screen and Bluetooth found in the PocketBook Verse Pro Color (allowing you to enjoy audiobooks via headphones), nothing stands in the way of a relaxing trip, right?
The Verse Pro Color is housed in a very compact case: Although it has the same-sized display as the Tolino Shine Color and is 9 grams heavier, it has, however, a significantly slimmer and smaller chassis. Consisting of plastic, the rear is adorned with a vertical stripe pattern. The reader feels good in the hand, and at 182 grams, it is still light enough to be used one-handed for longer periods.
Nevertheless, the case can be twisted and gives when pressed, which means we wouldn't put the e-reader under too much strain. By contrast, we wouldn't be too concerned if it ended up in the water on a trip to a nearby lake: The PocketBook Verse Pro Color is rated IPX8 waterproof.
With 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage, the PocketBook Verse Pro Color is well-equipped, and although there isn't a ton of space for audiobooks, the small e-reader should be able to house a library of up to 10,000 e-books. Additionally, you get 2 GB of free storage in the PocketBook Cloud, via which transferring e-books from a PC to the device itself or from one e-reader to another is a straightforward task.
The RAM is larger, for example, than the Tolino Shine Color. This means the PocketBook Verse Pro Color ought to run the smoothest of the two devices and, therefore, avoid problems handling even slightly demanding tasks. We will take a closer look at this aspect in the "Performance" chapter.
The USB-C port on the bottom edge of the e-reader can either be used to charge the device or connect it to a PC to transfer data. Bluetooth is also available for connecting wireless headphones or speakers to play audiobooks.
Communication and software – Linux and its own store
Even for a smartphone in this price category, WiFi 4 would be a very poor feature, but for e-readers, this is quite the norm. However, Wi-Fi is used very seldomly for downloading larger amounts of data such as updates or audiobooks. But then you do have to be a bit patient because although the PocketBook Verse Pro Color's 40 MBit/s might not sound too bad when compared to its similarly-priced peers, a data transfer speed of 5 MByte per second could lead to longer waiting times with larger audiobooks.
The operating system is based on Linux, which means the manufacturer can decide which functions to offer, and above all, it doesn't have to pay commission for books sold, as is the case with Android. The result is that you can browse the PocketBook store, download reading samples, and buy books directly. This doesn't happen as smoothly as it would on a PC or smartphone due to its slower internet and slight input delay, but it's most definitely an option if you run out of reading material when on the go.
The software is clearly tailored to the main purpose of the e-reader: reading books. The main menu is home to tabs for the library, audiobooks, and the store. You can also take notes, and, under Apps, you will also find a browser, music player, photo album and even a few small games such as sudoku or solitaire to pass the time.
| Networking | |
| PocketBook Verse Pro Color | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| PocketBook Era Color | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Tolino Vision Color | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Tolino Shine Color | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Operation and sustainability – Hardware buttons are on board
The device is operated via the touchscreen, which, as previously mentioned, suffers from noticeable input lag. Once you get used to it, you can navigate relatively speedily (for an e-reader) through the menus. Additionally, text input isn't too laggy, which means you can operate the PocketBook Verse Pro Color fairly smoothly overall.
Especially since there are a few hardware buttons on the bottom of the reader, which make navigation easier: The left button takes you straight back to the home screen, the right button is used to switch the device on and off and, in between, there are two-page scrolling buttons which can also be used, for example, to help you navigate through your library. They possess a tangible pressure point but maybe click somewhat too noisily if a quiet read in bed is your thing.
An e-ink device's very low energy consumption means reading will be a much less resource-hungry activity than on a conventional tablet. Not to mention real books, which require considerable resources due to the felling of trees and complex paper production. PocketBook points out that the production of 10 conventional books requires as many resources as the manufacture of a single e-book reader.
Otherwise, however, the manufacturer is still not particularly focused on sustainability: no recycled materials were used in the manufacturing process, although the packaging is mostly plastic-free. The manufacturer also offers not only refurbished devices but also a 20% discount if you send your e-reader for recycling after use. Overall, however, there are only general attempts, such as CO2 reduction during manufacturing and transportation, without naming any concrete measures.
E-reading – Looking up words is cumbersome
The PocketBook also offers a partner program for bookstores, which even makes it possible to preinstall the book dealer's store on the device itself. Similar to Tolino, this means you can support a local bookstore.
A variety of formats are also supported, such as the electronic comic formats CBR and CBZ. The Kindle formats AZW and AZW 3 are readable, but only if the content isn't copy-protected. On top of this, you can also read e-books in the following formats: ACSM, CHM, DJVU, DOC, DOCX, EPUB, EPUB(DRM), FB2, FB2.ZIP, HTM, HTML, MOBI, PDF, PDF (DRM), PRC, RTF and TXT.
Reading on the screen is a very pleasant experience due to its high contrast, and if desired, you can not only have black text on a white background but also switch to a dark mode, which then displays white text on a dark background. However, that also affects photos which are displayed in negative colors.
The wide range of available fonts can have their sizes incrementally adjusted, meaning you have numerous alternatives if you're not happy with the default font. You can take notes within the book, search for terms and turn hyphenation on or off at the end of a line.
The dictionary has a separate mode which is slightly more cumbersome than that found in other e-readers. It first has to be activated before you can look up words.
There is also a read-aloud function which offers a variety of male and female voices covering 26 languages. However, the quality is not the same as you would find with a professionally recorded audiobook: the emphasis is often wrong, and the system also has problems with new expressions. Nevertheless, it is a good stopgap solution for anyone who has reading difficulties or doesn't have their hands free.
Display – Very bright lighting
An e-ink display works completely differently from an LED or OLED display: The screen content is displayed using very small ink droplets, which are positioned using electrical voltages. Once the image has been created, no further power is required. Rather than having to be continually refreshed, as is the case with other display technologies, it remains permanently visible.
With color e-ink displays, there are two different resolutions: The PocketBook Verse Pro Color offers 1,448 x 1,072 pixels for black and white images and half the resolution - 724 x 536 pixels - with color images. The total of 16 shades of gray and 4,096 colors that can be displayed is, of course, much less than you find with other display technologies, but it's sufficient for comics or pictures in books.
The e-ink display offers excellent contrast and is legible in bright environments, even without any lighting on the device itself. However, when it gets dark, there are LEDs on the front of the screen that can be activated. At up to 142 cd/m², they can get quite bright compared to other e-readers and, additionally, you can adjust both their brightness and color temperature to different levels.
You don't have to worry about flickering with e-ink displays since the image remains unchanged after its initial creation. Due to the comparatively slow image reproduction, the display is hardly suitable for watching videos. You will also have to get used to the slight input lag. With the PocketBook Verse Pro Color, we were unable to detect any signs of the previously displayed image, as is the case with other e-ink readers, which would strongly suggest the entire page is completely redrawn.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 89 %
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
| PocketBook Verse Pro Color E-Ink, 1448x1072, 6" | PocketBook Era Color E-Ink Kaleido 3, 840x632, 7" | Tolino Vision Color E-Ink Kaleido 3, 1680x1264, 7" | Tolino Shine Color E-Ink Kaleido 3, 1448x1072, 6" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Times | ||||
| PWM Frequency | ||||
| Screen | -23% | -14% | -13% | |
| Brightness middle | 140 | 92 -34% | 114 -19% | 113 -19% |
| Brightness | 142 | 88 -38% | 108 -24% | 110 -23% |
| Brightness Distribution | 89 | 91 2% | 89 0% | 93 4% |
| Black Level * | ||||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -23% /
-23% | -14% /
-14% | -13% /
-13% |
* ... smaller is better
Performance, emissions and battery life – Relatively powerful
The manufacturer hasn't disclosed what type of SoC the PocketBook Verse Pro Color uses, only that we are dealing with a quad-core processor running at up to 1.8 GHz. Thanks to that and the device's 1 GB of RAM, the system runs very smoothly, with even input lag being at a tolerable level.
We were unable to run many benchmarks on the system, and performance measurements were only possible via the browser. This is an area where the PocketBook device is significantly faster than the competition from Tolino, the Verse Pro Color, and it leads the pack in every benchmark.
The increase in the case temperature to 35.9 °C after longer periods of load is slightly noticeable but considerably lower when undertaking normal reading sessions. The device lacks speakers which means you can connect headphones or speakers either via the USB-C port or Bluetooth.
The battery has a capacity of 2,100 mAh, making it significantly larger than the same-sized Tolino Shine Color. The run times when reading books with minimal lighting are also longer: We measured 14 hours and 29 minutes while the pages were being regularly turned. A charger is not included, but the reader played nicely with all of our available chargers and required around 90 minutes for a full charge.
| Octane V2 - Total Score | |
| Average of class Tablet (763 - 105178, n=87, last 2 years) | |
| PocketBook Verse Pro Color | |
| PocketBook Era Color | |
| Average unknown (2672 - 2794, n=3) | |
| Tolino Shine Color | |
| Tolino Vision Color | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
| Tolino Vision Color | |
| Tolino Shine Color | |
| PocketBook Era Color | |
| Average unknown (14670 - 14953, n=2) | |
| PocketBook Verse Pro Color | |
| Average of class Tablet (319 - 34733, n=75, last 2 years) | |
| Speedometer 2.0 - Result | |
| Average of class Tablet (2.59 - 572, n=64, last 2 years) | |
| PocketBook Verse Pro Color | |
| Average unknown () | |
| Tolino Shine Color | |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.9 °C / 97 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F, ranging from 20.7 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 34.5 °C / 94 F, compared to the average of 33.2 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.1 °C / 77 F, compared to the device average of 30 °C / 86 F.
Battery life
| Battery Runtime - Reader / Idle | |
| Average of class Tablet (691 - 5003, n=63, last 2 years) | |
| PocketBook Verse Pro Color | |
| PocketBook Era Color | |
| Tolino Vision Color | |
| Tolino Shine Color | |
Pros
Cons
Verdict– Great value for money
If you want your e-reader to be as handy as possible, spend a long time away from the wall power and would also like a color display, then the PocketBook Verse Pro Color is a good choice: You get a 6-inch display in a very compact case with page scrolling buttons, a comic-friendly, color e-ink display, a long-lasting battery and the support for a wide range of formats.
Even Bluetooth is on board, which means you can listen to audiobooks using wireless headphones. The processor manages to limit input lag to a tolerable level and allows for relatively smooth navigation through the menus. You shouldn't expect the kind of smooth operation you would expect from a smartphone, but performance-wise, the Verse Pro Color can go head-to-head with more expensive e-readers.
At 16 GB, the internal storage isn't particularly generous, but, by contrast, free cloud storage is included. With a manufacturer's price of $169, the optional bright display lighting, the possibility of supporting local book stores, the waterproof case and its physical buttons, which aid the system navigation, all lead to the PocketBook Verse Pro Color providing great value for money.
The PocketBook Verse Pro Color is an e-book reader with a color display that offers a lot for little money.
The Tolino Shine Color is also a very handy device but isn't as performant as our review device. That said, it will save you a few more dollars.
Price and availability
Currently, the PocketBook Verse Pro Color costs $169 on Amazon.
Note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here.
PocketBook Verse Pro Color
- 09/30/2024 v8
Florian Schmitt
Total Sustainability Score: 
Transparency
The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. We never accept compensation or payment in return for our reviews. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.
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