Mobile case with E ink screen on sale. InkCase Plus, a smartphone case with an E-ink display, goes on sale this month Looks and ease of use

The Popslate company became famous thanks to its branded iPhone case, which the developers equipped with an E Ink auxiliary screen. The concept was received with approval by users of Apple mobile products, and therefore this year the authors of the project decided to enter the market with a new accessory - Popslate 2.

The original idea of ​​placing an additional display on the back of the case was refined taking into account the available feedback and operating experience of the first generation Popslate. As a result, the Popslate 2 model received a larger screen based on e-paper technology, as well as a built-in small-capacity battery to recharge your iPhone.

The new version of Popslate with index “2” is equipped with a 4.7-inch E Ink with a pixel density of 200 dpi instead of the previous 4-inch screen, which could only boast of 115 dpi. But the main difference between the Popslate 2 case and Popslate is the way it connects to a smartphone: whereas previously the interaction between the two devices was implemented via Bluetooth, now the accessory connects directly to the mobile device via the Lightning connector and, in addition, recharges it. In addition, the case has become significantly thinner compared to its predecessor.

The capacity of the built-in battery in Popslate 2 is enough to increase the autonomy of the iPhone by another nine hours of talk time or about five hours of web surfing. And an additional screen with minimal power consumption will allow the smartphone owner to view news, notes and received notifications, read books and leaf through a photo album without the need to activate the main display, which will have a positive impact on the autonomy of the iPhone.

At this stage, the Popslate 2 case is available for pre-order through the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, where the accessory can be ordered for just $69. The stated retail price of Popslate 2 for iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus is $129 and $149, respectively.

Introduction

The first attempts by various companies to introduce a case with an e-ink screen built into it several years ago did not lead to the start of mass production. And although there are, for example, Oaxis, who have long mastered this niche, the very idea of ​​a case with a reading screen has not become popular. The PocketBook accessory has been on sale for more than a year and has finally appeared in retail chains. In this material I want to tell you about what PocketBook CoverReader is and why it is needed.

The idea of ​​a book case with a screen lies on the surface - many people buy a smartphone in the hope of replacing a whole set of portable devices with it. For a long time now, a smartphone has become a telephone, a notebook, a camera, a player, a compact game console and much more. The smartphone performs most of the tasks of replacing one or another “device” at least well; it usually has good sound and a good camera, not to mention everything else. The problem with replacing an e-book remained and remains, however, even now. As you know, the main advantage of e-readers over tablets and smartphones with large screens is the display, made using e-ink electronic ink technology. This screen allows you to read for a long time with comfort for your eyes and not run with the charger from socket to socket. Creating a smartphone with two screens, regular and e-ink, is a good idea, implemented in a device from Yota, but for a number of reasons this format has not yet found a response among buyers. Another thing is a case for a smartphone, you can put it on and then take it off, you can buy it without replacing your device with a new one.

Design, case construction, materials

The idea of ​​a case with a screen from PocketBook is this: there is a classic book case, it is installed on a smartphone, replacing the original back cover, and an e-ink display is built into the inside of the cover. There are options with white and dark blue backs, the front side of the case is black in both cases. The “back” material is glossy plastic, the front part, both on the outside and on the inside (the frame around the screen) is made of matte plastic with a rubberized feel.

Principle of use

The first and most important thing you need to know about the PocketBook CoverReader is that at the moment the case exists in only one version – for the Samsung Galaxy S4. According to the company, versions for other smartphones may appear in the future, but for now they have chosen one of the most popular models on the market. The case is installed instead of the standard cover and also protects the smartphone screen. The connection between the case and the device is realized via a microUSB connector.

A smartphone with a case “on” naturally increases in size, primarily in height, but also a little in thickness. The width of the case remains virtually unchanged, and it is this that has the greatest impact on how comfortable it is to hold the phone in your hand.

“Transferring” a book from a smartphone to a case occurs using the program. You need to install it on your smartphone and then upload it to the “Necessary Books” application. After connecting the case to your smartphone, an option to send pictures or books to CoverReader will appear in the menu. Accordingly, you can read on CoverReader not only books downloaded to PocketBook Reader, but also any texts from your smartphone, be it some article on a website in the browser, a document, a note or a large letter, in short, you can send any text information for reading on the screen case.

The case also displays notifications about missed calls and SMS, but they can’t be called very useful, so I won’t focus on this feature. CoverReader supports all book formats that can be opened in PocketBook Reader.

Connecting to a smartphone

To connect the case to the SGS4 you need to carry out a number of simple steps. First, download the PocketBook Reader and CoverReader applications from the Google Play store and install them on your smartphone. Secondly, install the case instead of the standard SGS 4 cover, also carefully connecting the microUSB plug of the case to the corresponding connector of the device. Thirdly, turn off the smartphone and turn it on again, and then press any button on the case and wait for the notification window on the smartphone screen. The whole process takes no more than two to three minutes and is very simple.

Control

On the inside of the lid, under the screen, there are two keys for turning pages; you can also use the touch display for this, more precisely, the zones in the upper and lower parts (tap is equal to turning).

The accessory does not provide any additional keys, but they are not needed here.

Display

The PocketBook CoverReader has a 4.3" diagonal e-ink screen with a resolution of 800x480 pixels. The screen is touchscreen, without backlight, dot density – 217 ppi. In general, this is a typical screen based on electronic ink - the eyes do not get tired when reading from it, there is good contrast, the text is pleasant to read, especially if you choose the font and size.

Working hours

There is no built-in battery in the case, so the smartphone battery is used for power. However, if you read from the case for a couple of hours a day, it is difficult to notice by eye whether the smartphone has begun to discharge faster or not, that is, the cost of “powering” the accessory is minimal.

Conclusion

The cost of an accessory at retail is on average 3,500 rubles. CoverReader does not yet have direct competitors on the Russian market, especially when it comes to availability in chain stores. Yes, there are accessories from Oaxis, but you cannot buy them from us. The company also launched the InkCase Plus project on KickStarter, but this is also an online order.

One cannot fail to recognize the interestingness and originality of the PocketBook CoverReader; this accessory can really be convenient and become a solution to the problem of reading on the SuperAMOLED screen in the Galaxy S4. On the other hand, let's say you liked the idea of ​​CoverReader, but you have a Galaxy S3, S5 or HTC One - and this case will no longer work. It is also not suitable if you are used to reading on a large screen. In a word, now PocketBook CoverReader is a compromise between more comfortable reading on a real e-book, but carrying it with you along with a smartphone, and reading on a case installed on the smartphone itself, but less comfortable.

Gajah is starting to sell InkCase Plus this month. The device, which Medgadgets has already written about on its blog, is a universal case with an E-ink display. The display connects wirelessly to a smartphone, and any information can be displayed on it while the main display is turned off.

In addition, InkCase Plus can be used as a standalone reader. In a recently completed fundraising campaign, the device raised more than $200,000, which is enough to launch the device into mass production in October.

The cost of the InkCase Plus + FitCase kit (universal case) can be purchased for $139 (pre-order on the same Kickstarter could be done for $79). The company plans to release 10 models of the case for the most popular Android smartphones, including Google Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S5, S4, S3, and Note 3, as well as HTC One M7 and M8.

In addition, there is a universal case that is compatible with all other phone models.

Why is this necessary?

The E-ink display is positioned not so much as an e-reader, but as a means to save phone battery power: all the necessary information can be displayed on the secondary display, while the main display of the phone is turned off. The resolution of InkCase Plus is 360*600 pixels. Like all E-ink devices, energy is consumed only when the image on the screen changes. At the same time, InkCase Plus has its own battery, its capacity is 400 mAh. This is approximately 5 days of battery life.

How does it work?

The device is connected via Bluetooth using a special application for InkCase Plus. The developers rightly point out that most applications that smartphone users work with every day do not require a color display.

This could be an application for a fitness bracelet, e-reader, email and other applications.

No matter how much debate there is about which screens are better for reading electronic literature, liquid crystal or electronic ink, there are still no fewer supporters on both sides of the barricade. Moreover, in the near future, a complete victory for one of the parties is definitely not expected: everyone uses what they are used to using, and it’s great when there is a choice. So, let’s leave outside the scope of this material the need to justify the very existence of the gadget being described today, and let’s immediately move on to a review of its capabilities.

As is clear from the title, today we are studying a product that belongs to the category of so-called “electronic books,” that is, devices whose screen is made using “electronic paper” technology. In world practice, the general name for screens with this technology sounds like Electronic Paper Displays (EPD), but we are more often accustomed to seeing the abbreviation E Ink, which was introduced into use by the company of the same name, E Ink Corporation, founded in the 1990s. For the average person, these terms have almost the same meaning, although in fact E Ink is just one of the technologies (albeit the most common) for the production of Electronic Paper type screens. There are others, such as a flexible screen of the Flex type (another name is Mobius), for example, but in terms of the breadth of distribution in commercial products they cannot be compared with E Ink.

Screen

So, the hero of today’s review, or rather, its main part - the display - is based precisely on E Ink technology, that is, on those same “electronic ink”, with all the ensuing consequences. But it is curious that this device is intended to work exclusively in conjunction with another screen - a liquid crystal display built into a smartphone called the Apple iPhone. Without it, our device will not work, and at this point it becomes obvious that with the help of the gadget we are considering today we will have to turn a smartphone with one screen into a smartphone with two screens.

Here the question arises about why you actually need to attach a second display using the InkCase to a smartphone that already has its own screen, and we cannot ignore this question. Moreover, almost the entire short official description of this product is devoted only to this issue. If you follow the thoughts of the creators of InkCase in theses, the following picture emerges:

1. The E Ink screen is always “on”. What this actually means is that the image continues to be displayed even when the EPD is not consuming power, since it is only consumed when the frame is redrawn.
2. Energy saving. The E Ink screen allows you to save battery power on the smartphone itself, since it takes on some of the tasks of displaying information where there is no real need to use a color screen (email, messages, news - all this can be used in black and white).
3. Personalization. In this context, we understand the possibility of customizing the appearance of the case itself due to interchangeable pictures on its back wall. Since the screen, which occupies most of the surface of the InkCase, always displays some kind of picture, using them you can make your smartphone unlike any other. The user can independently display absolutely any image, photograph, or even his own drawing as such “wallpaper.”
4. Reading. Well, and most importantly, what the InkCase product is mainly intended for is reading electronic literature. Without having to sacrifice the battery power of the smartphone itself, the owner of such a case can enjoy reading for a long time. On my own behalf, I would immediately like to add at this point that by reading we should mean precisely the consumption of fiction, since the use of specialized, including technical information with diagrams and tables on this screen seems difficult due to its small area.

What is written above should not be taken as a lengthy introduction. The fact is that everything that has been said relates not only to the specific hero of today’s review, but concerns the entire family of products from the InkCase series, which includes more than one such case. At least before the i6, there was also the InkCase i5 model for the iPhone 5/5s, as well as a whole line of cases designed for Andriod smartphones (among them, for example, you can find a case for Huawei P8). It’s immediately clear that the creators have had their hands full for a long time, and InkCase i6 is not their first product in this area. But today we have to figure out whether the hero of the review himself meets all the points listed above. But first, let's take a look at the technical specifications of the device.

Key Features of InkCase i6

• Display E Ink 4.3″, 800×480, 217 ppi
• Internal memory 32 (128) MB
• Bluetooth 4.0 BLE
• Battery 460 mAh
• Dimensions 141×70×11 mm
• Weight 52 g

Contents of delivery

InkCase i6 is supplied in a rather large package for its size, made in the form of a transparent container with a textile loop at the top. Using this loop you can pull out all the limited internal contents of the box: the case itself, a meter-long connecting cable for charging, as well as a compact paper booklet with instructions.

Appearance and ease of use

As you can see from the description, InkCase i6 is a rather small and not at all heavy case, weighing only about 50 grams. The case is attached in the standard way to the iPhone 6/6s smartphone, and is held in place by the sides that wrap around the edges of the case; there are no other special fasteners here. However, the plastic frame quite reliably holds the entire structure on the body of the mobile device. The cover fits like a glove; there is no play, shifting or crunching when squeezed. This is quite important, since an external design with such a purpose as that of the InkCase i6 should, literally merging with the body of the smartphone, form a single whole with it, becoming its continuation.

Overall, the InkCase i6 does this well. The case does not increase the dimensions and weight of the device itself so much that the user feels discomfort. As for the materials of manufacture, the InkCase i6 is made entirely of plastic; there are no metal parts on its outside. The manufacturer claims that practical polycarbonate was used here. The material is quite slippery; you will have to hold the smartphone firmly in your hand in such a case, otherwise it may slip out.

By the way, the InkCase i6 case has a heterogeneous structure; it is made like a sandwich of two visually different halves. The part that contains the screen, battery and the rest of the hardware is enclosed in a thin panel with a thickness of only about 4 mm. It is dark in color and matte to the touch, and is attached to the body of the smartphone itself thanks to completely transparent sides, designed not to hide the beauty of the iPhone’s body. Quite an interesting solution, and it differs from previous Oaxis products, which had a homogeneous structure. This is why the sides are so slippery: any matte coating would make the side walls opaque, but here the design idea is designed specifically for the effect of a visual “absence” of the side walls of the case.

Many compare the InkCase i6 with the unforgettable domestic Yotaphone, and the device actually looks a little like the mentioned smartphone, but only in general terms. Here the entire front panel is not matte, but smooth and transparent, like ordinary glass; there is no trace of a rough matte pleasant to the touch, like the Yotaphone screen. The protective glass glares quite a lot in the bright sun and is susceptible to scratches; all this is clearly visible in the picture.

Control

As for the control elements, they are also strikingly different from the mentioned smartphone, and not for the better. Despite the fact that here under the screen there is the same drawn “scroll” bar, reminiscent of the touch strip under the screen of the first Yotaphone model, but in fact, swiping your finger across it is useless. Only three touch-sensitive dot buttons located under the screen are triggered by touch, and the drawn dots themselves are just a decorative element. The screen itself is not touch-sensitive; the display surface is completely insensitive to touch. It should be noted that the buttons are not ideal in terms of sensitivity: sometimes you have to press them several times. Coupled with the slow response of the E Ink screen itself, this is sometimes confusing and even a little annoying, but you can get used to it.

In addition to the sensors, the front panel also has one mechanical button located at the very bottom. There are no complaints about her. In general, the controls cannot be called intuitive; to get started, I had to read the paper instructions included in the kit.

Functionality

And at this point we gradually approach the most important thing - the process of interaction between the book case and the smartphone itself. Without it, it should be noted that the case as a whole can exist and function independently, but no content can be loaded into it except through a smartphone. That is, a book downloaded in advance can be safely read even on a device disconnected from the iPhone. You can turn it on, off, and even charge it - the device is equipped with its own built-in battery and is not connected to powering the smartphone at all.

But in order to load any content into the InkCase i6, and this primarily concerns e-books, you need to connect it to the iPhone via Bluetooth. Of course, for the two devices to work harmoniously, you will need to download a free program to your smartphone. It's called InkCase, and can be easily found by searching in the App Store. The program, like everything related to the InkCase i6 product, does not have Russian language support; the user will have to understand all instructions using English.

It’s actually not that difficult to figure out: the program is so laconic that you can probably navigate it without knowing any languages ​​at all. The gear icon opens a menu in which there is only one item for connecting devices via Bluetooth. The connection, it should be noted, goes off without a hitch. The devices were grasped the first time, the connection was never interrupted during the entire testing period. No other information, for example, the amount of free memory, is displayed here.

In addition, the program has two more subsections - for working with the reader and with photographs. In the section for setting pictures as an external theme, everything also goes smoothly: just select any picture from memory or take a photo, crop it to the desired size, then send it to the device.

The picture appears quite quickly, within about one second, as the cover image on the InkCase i6 screen. It stays there until you change it to something else. Here it is worth considering one point: in addition to decoration, such functionality also has a practical side. You can put a handwritten note, a drawing, a route map as a reminder, take a photo of the transport schedule, or print out a boarding pass. Such information will always be in front of your eyes without the need to activate the screen of the smartphone itself every time.

At this point it is worth noting that another, even more useful virtual panel, organized by another program, can act as the start screen for InkCase i6. This application is called InkCaseNow, and it can also be easily downloaded from the AppStore, but, unfortunately, it is not yet optimized for the new InkCase i6 model.

The program actually configures the display of the current time, date, weather and even stock quotes, but none of this is displayed on the InkCase i6 screen. Studying the support forum confirmed that the InkCaseNow program does not really work with the InkCase i6 model yet. It should look something like this:

Reading

As for reading books directly, this is also not as smooth as we would like. InkCase has a built-in reader for e-books, and it even has simple text display settings, such as background color, font size, line spacing and some others.

But the trouble is that all changes occur only when displayed on the iPhone screen, and when transferred to the InkCase i6 screen, nothing changes at all. That is, the font always remains the same size when read on the E Ink screen, and it is a rather small font; it is not suitable for everyone. All attempts to somehow influence the display of text on the screen of the InkCase case led to nothing.

The second problem is the format of the book files themselves. Quite unexpectedly, it turned out that neither FB2, nor djvu, nor doc, nor pdf, nor epub are opened by the reader. I had to convert the book into a simple txt format, and only in this form could it appear on the shelf of the built-in reader, after which it became possible to send it to the InkCase i6 screen.

As for the process of reading on the E Ink screen itself, it is worth noting that the screen here, of course, is far from the latest generation. The image in small fonts is loose, the black color is uneven, the background is dirty gray, and noticeable artifacts remain in the place of the previous images. This screen, of course, cannot be compared with the new generation of E Ink Carta (for example, the Onyx Boox C67ML screen is attached to the photo).

Battery life

It is not possible to check the exact battery life of the InkCase i6, since it is not possible to install any programs that demonstrate the remaining charge of the battery built into the device. The indicator itself at the bottom of the screen, consisting of four stripes, is not very informative. According to subjective feelings, the InkCase i6 cannot be called very “long-lasting”: during testing, we managed to completely discharge the battery within two days. The developers themselves promise the device up to 19 hours of continuous reading or 5 days in standby mode, which in general seems to be true.

The InkCase i6 does not come with its own charger, so for charging I had to use a third-party charger with a maximum output current of 5V, 2A. From it the device was charged with an initial current of 5V, 0.3A, the full charging time was about 1.5 hours or a little less. For charging, by the way, it uses its own proprietary connector with a magnetic latch. Everything looks very nice and functions flawlessly, but it’s worth remembering that if you lose the branded charging cable, there will be nothing to replace it with. And you will always have to take it with you on the road.

Bottom line

Thus, we have a completely high-quality product manufactured by a Chinese company, but, as often happens, it is initially somewhat damp in terms of software support. It is quite possible to use it for its intended purpose, but you will have to wait for the firmware update and related programs.

Overall, the InkCase i6 left a good impression. This product cannot lay claim to a high, and even more so, premium level. Especially considering the rather simple quality screen, which is clearly not the latest generation of E Ink. At the time of the announcement on the Oaxis corporate website, the price for InkCase i6 was announced at $99. By the way, at the time of writing, the book case is available in a flash sale on Gearbest at a price of $80, so if you hurry, you can save a little.