Second Chance PocketBook InkPad Lite

The PDF reader is working properly (though hangs sometimes) compared to Kobo Sage; it also support more advanced formatting options. The non-distracting design and the good grip of its back side, table of contents folding, USB C, SD card slot are bonuses as well.

Sorry:

- I still was paying attention to a bit lower-than-usual resolution of the screen while reading. This prevented reading some of the PDFs full-page in portrait mode defeating the purpose of the purchase. (Though some "good" PDFs were readable in portrait, especially with the handy margin cropping feature.)
- The uneven backlight was a bit distracting when reading in the dark as well, especially in landscape that I had to use with some PDFs.
- It was also surprising that auto-brightness was not using a sensor but time of the day, which never worked well for me.
- The user interface of the library/home screen was scaled up too much that I felt like I was navigating an oversized 6 inch reader.
- Very often auto-rotation did not work well and I had to turn it again to trigger the orientation change. There were some smaller glitches like that, e.g. double presses on the power button not recognized sometimes.
- The hardware buttons are positioned well (unlike Kobo Sage, where they are too far apart) but it was hard to distinguish them in the dark because of the flush design.

Initially I was disappointed with the sharpness of the letters on the screen, because I am used to the Inkpad 3. In addition, you can't set the exposure as soft red as the 3; it is rather yellow. I also thought I would miss listening to music or audiobooks.

But all objections actually disappear when you consider that the Inkpad Lite offers the same versatility as the 3. What I like is that you don't necessarily have to be online to transfer books. It is a closed system, which also works quickly.

Only if the letters are small do you miss sharpness. But from font 11, the image is perfect for me. The size of 9.7 inches means you can read PDFs with ease and frankly even better than on the 3. The zoom options, manual or automatic, are very well designed. You can even adjust how dark the background or foreground appears, so that any text or image is clearly visible (you can even remove the blur with it). I just had to learn the best way to hold the Lite, because I had to get used to the buttons, which are now on the right. I also really like the weight.

I use the Inkpad Lite purely for reading, but you can also browse the internet, draw, calculate and play a few games. That all works very well. If it ever got a sharper screen or the option for audio, it would be perfect for me. But I'm very happy with it at the moment.