Entry-level e-reader devices are getting colorful! We have earlier seen Kobo launch the Clara Colour and now Pocketbook has introduced its new PocketBook Verse Pro Color e-reader. It comes with a 6-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 capacitive touchscreen display which allows for a 300 PPI display resolution in black-and-white and 150 PPI resolution when viewing color. It retains the same basic layout that’s typical of PocketBook devices which includes a slightly thicker chin along with page turn buttons along the bottom edge. The e-reader is right now available from Amazon for $169.

The display however isn’t flush with the bezels but sits a bit lower. The on-board SMARTlight feature allows for color temperature controls. Under the hood, the Verse Pro Color is driven by a 1.8 GHz quad-core processor that is coupled to 1 GB RAM. It offers 16 GB of storage which however is fixed considering there is no SD card slot available. Power comes from a 2100 mAh Li-Ion Polymer battery that should keep the device going for a couple of weeks easily. A nice thing about the e-reader is that it comes with an IPx8 waterproof rating which means it can stand up to the elements to some extent at least.

A huge positive with the Verse Pro Color is the text-to-speech feature that it comes with. Plus, the USB-C port that it comes with supports audio adapters too, which means the e-reader can be great for listening to audiobooks. Plus, the device also supports Bluetooth 5.4, which means you can connect it with external speakers as well if you so want. The e-reader gets online via dual-band Wi-Fi. The e-reader runs Linux 4.9.56 and not Android as several of the more recent PocketBook versions do. The e-reader measures 108 x 156 x 7.6mm in dimensions and weighs 182 grams. It supports almost all known e-book and audiobook formats, which makes it a very versatile device for reading e-books or listening to audiobooks.