5 reasons the PocketBook 360 is a better ebook reader

I recently wrote an extended review of the PocketBook 360 ebook reader after having owned one for over a year. It wasn’t until after I posted it that I saw how long it was, so I’ve decided to summarize my love for the PB360.

Here’s the top 5 reasons the PocketBook 360 is a better ebook reader:

5. User replaceable battery

It’s a sad fact that having a user replaceable battery impresses me these days. It used to be a given that you could change a device’s batteries. Now at best you have to send stuff back, at worse you have a pretty brick. Not everyone belongs to the “replace your toys every 18 months” crowd.

4. Built-in cover

Ereaders have nice big glass screens that needs protecting. The PB360 has a hard cover that snaps on the back when in use, which means no ugly, bulky, heavy, “look it’s a book” covers.

3. It isn’t stuck in any one ecosystem

I don’t need a plate that only works at one restaurant. With my PB360 I can read a ton of formats, which means I can choose from a variety of retailers. There’s no special software either, I can plug my PB360 into any PC to copy books over. If Amazon’s prices get too absurd, what’re you gonna read on your Kindle? PDFs?

2. No superfluous hardware

I don’t want a keyboard that I need 0% of the time and takes up a third of the ereader. I don’t need it to play mp3s, or connect to a B&W slow internet. I want giant buttons that make it easy to turn pages, and I want something so light that when I drop it on my face I don’t get a concussion. Give me something elegant and functional that I actually can carry around everywhere. The PB360 delivers on all counts.

1. You own the experience

I can customize just about everything on the PB360. You can add whatever fonts you want. You can specify any size, and change it on the fly. You can set your margins, the aliasing, what stuff to put in the status bar, or if you don’t want a status bar at all.

You can reassign every button. You can set whatever screen savers images you want. You can organize your books as you see fit. Want to navigate by covers, fine. Lists? Fine too. Only want to refresh every 10 pages, making page turn wicked fast? You decide.

What it all comes down to is this: if you like others calling the shots, buy a Nook or Kindle. If you like to have everything just the way you want it, buy a PocketBook 360. You won’t regret it.

/jon