Some time has passed since the release of PocketBook Pro 912, and this is a significant plus for those who do not like to buy a pig in a poke: user reviews have accumulated, so you can focus on them to understand whether this device is suitable for requirements or not. So, let's begin.
Training
Pocketbook Pro 912 Education - the name implies the use of the device for educational purposes. The purpose of the developers really was an attempt to make life easier for students. A heavy satchel with a bunch of books can easily be replaced with a small cover with an e-book reader. There were rumors about a large state order for these devices, but so far it remains unclear whether he really was. The reform, as a result of which stacks of textbooks will be replaced with one lightweight device, takes time. Even the choice between a tablet and a book reader with an E-ink screen is not as simple as it seems at first glance: the tablet is faster, its screen is brighter, and it also allows you to watch videos or animations - this can also be included in the educational process. Of course, it discharges faster, but is this really a problem if you equip the classes with a sufficient number of outlets?
Why are paper books still on the desks? They are completely autonomous and do not require any power, are not afraid of bumps and falls, they are easy enough to fix. On the pages of the book you can leave notes and comments and not be afraid that they will "fly off" in the event of a system glitch. The book makes it easy to work with several pages of text at the same time: for example, when solving an example, you can look at the rules described in the paragraph, and similar examples on another page.
A paper textbook is a book that has evolved and evolved over hundreds of years. And working with an e-book is an innovation. Therefore, the technical device that “volunteered” to compete with its paper prototype must be perfect.
About the outside
E-book PocketBook Pro 912 - the device is quite large, solid, with a screen diagonal of almost ten inches. It has a silver-gray case with a metal edging, many functional buttons and a stylus. But this is not just a beautiful wrapper: the design of the model is quite consistent with the sophisticated filling.
The front panel is equipped with a joystick with a four-position ring for navigation and a central OK button. To the left of the ring is a button that closes the program or returns to the previous menu. On the right side of the screen there are two more keys: the larger one is responsible for turning pages, and the smaller one returns to the main menu or calls the context menu.
Convenience
The design is ergonomic: both the joystick and page turning keys fit well under the fingers of the right hand. The joystick itself is so shifted to the left that it can easily be reached with an outstretched finger. When operating mechanical buttons, the device is easier to hold in an upright position.
The stylus for PocketBook Pro 912 is also attached to the case, and next to it is the power button, which provides three types of pressing: double, long and short. For each such command, you can assign a function or leave the default settings. In the upper left corner is a small Wi-Fi switch. Below is a pair of small speakers. Case for PocketBook Pro 912 is not always included in the package, its presence or absence should immediately check with the seller.
Filling
Internal equipment PocketBook Pro 912 provides the user with rich functionality and flexible settings. Convenient to set up is the "Main Menu", which consists of two required parts, and several widgets connected to your taste. Mandatory areas are Desktop and Recent Open. The e-reader is equipped with a gyro sensor, so the screen rotates automatically, but you can turn off this function.
In the item "Desktop" with different orientations there are always nine items: "Settings", "Search", "Photos", "Music", "Dictionary", "Applications", "Notes", "Favorites" and "Library.
Widgets themselves, their number, as well as the location of the "Main menu" items can be changed in the settings by selecting "Appearance", and in it - "Main menu". And if you select the "Themes" item here, you can change the desktop design to your liking. Three topics are available. The Education theme significantly changes the design not only visually: when it is selected in the "Main Menu", subsections such as "Textbooks", "Summaries", "Dictionary" appear, and the Calendar widget changes to "Lesson Schedule" and displays the schedule for today's date. In addition, a new widget called "Student Information" is available. The Lesson Schedule widget displays a convenient weekly schedule, and in the small calendar at the top you can change the week, but it’s not clear what to do with this schedule. However, there is the possibility of using the device in the educational system. Perhaps if the model is finalized, it will be an excellent replacement for a stack of paper textbooks.
The e-book reader is equipped with Wi-Fi. If the school practices electronic support, PocketBook Pro 912 can be integrated into the system for automatic synchronization via the Internet. This will allow you to instantly receive a schedule, load the necessary textbooks and other tasks.
Multitasking
Widgets in the book reader can not only be interchanged or left the most necessary: ​​almost each of them provides its own internal settings. However, the main difference between the Pro 912 and many other e-books is multitasking. The device is able to open several files (both a book and just folders or programs), the user can switch between them with one click of the stylus on the icon at the bottom of the screen. You can also set this function for a mechanical button.
Books
Any possible formatting settings are available in the context menu, which can be called up by pressing the OK button on the joystick (central button) or by clicking the stylus on the page. In the menu, you can change the font, style, size, line spacing and margin size. Here you can also enable or disable hyphenation, set the definition of a paragraph. It is these settings that allow you to quickly bring the e-book into a readable form. In addition, in the same context menu, functions are available for searching by text, converting text to voice, navigating to content or going to a page, calling up a dictionary, creating notes, setting bookmarks.
Before creating a note, the system will give the user a small memo with a description of the available functions, including saving all notes in the book abstract, saving a certain area of ​​the page as an image, erasing the pencil line or the marker with the eraser, drawing in the book, marking the text with a marker. All drawings, comments, highlighting and other stylus actions are automatically saved in the book. A dialog box appears to save the selected area as images. After saving, all notes and selected areas are sent to the page with the contents of the book. It is also convenient that the pictures and saved areas are presented as images, and the text highlighted by the marker remains in text format and is available for further editing or correction.
PDF and DJVU
Text highlighting is not available for books in PDF format. Here, only drawings and marginal notes made with the stylus are possible, and, of course, saving the selected area. In books with the djvu format, notes are not available at all, it is only possible to select a section and then save it as an image.
For such files, the context menu also differs: there are no font and formatting settings, however, there is a flexible choice of the scale and display of pages. Sketches, selected areas, and notes are sent to the Notes section. From this list you can open any book, go to its contents. This section also provides for some operations with all notes of any book as a whole.
In the topic Education, the section "Notes" is presented in the form of the section "Summaries".
Pros and cons
Having examined the external and internal equipment, we can confidently say that PocketBook Pro 912, whose price starts at six thousand rubles, fully justifies this money. Owners acknowledge that it is technically powerful, equipped with useful software. For use in public transport, more compact models are more convenient, also the Pro 912 is relevant for everyday home use, convenient for long journeys. This is especially true for PDF and DJVU; many users note that not all e-book readers manage their display well, but here everything is up to par. The batteries will last for seven thousand flipping, so you won’t even have to take a charger on vacation.
There are also negative reviews about PocketBook Pro 912. Many people, using the electronic book of this model, note that you have to get used to not only the interface, but also the mechanical elements. So, the side buttons designed for turning over are presented in the form of large keys, which can be easily touched by the wrist while working with the stylus. The power button is also large and easy to press, located next to the stylus holder. The stylus sits in the nest tightly, even if it is turned over or shaken, it will not fall out, however, it is also removed with little effort, so you can accidentally touch the power button.
For some, the rather long response of the screen has become a big minus (nevertheless, it can not be compared with the touch screen of a tablet or phone). The e-book reader does not respond to the stylus as fast as we would like, but does not respond to fingers at all. Some of the icons and pictograms are too small even for a pen, which is especially important for people with low vision. This problem can be solved by assigning commands to mechanical buttons.
Despite a sufficient number of minuses, the general opinion of users is turned in a positive direction: these are flexible settings, and ease of use, notes and notes, a dictionary, voice acting, the ability to access the Internet, not to mention the design and overall build quality. The model is not the newest, now several more nimble analogues have already been released, however, their price is sometimes almost twice as high.