Swiss e-reader brand PocketBook has unveiled its latest, the Era Lite, designed as a lightweight and compact device. Here’s all you need to know, including how it compares to the Kindle Paperwhite, its closest rival in Amazon’s e-reader range.

The Open Ecosystem Advantage

The PocketBook system offers versatility in terms of how and where readers get their books. “Designed for flexibility, Era Lite offers users an open ecosystem with full control over their content. Instead of being tied to a single store, readers can choose where to buy books,” the company announced.

Where Amazon’s Kindle devices make it difficult to buy books except through the Kindle store, PocketBook has an open approach to digital rights management.

Broad Format Support And Library Access

The new reader supports 25 popular formats without the need for conversion, which is more than Amazon does. There’s compatibility with Adobe and LCP DRM which enables borrowing ebooks from public libraries. One way this can happen is through the Libby App, which comes pre-installed.

The Libby app means that U.K. readers can borrow books from libraries directly from the device, something Amazon does not offer (though library access is available on Kindle in the U.S.).

Hardware Comparison: Era Lite Vs. Kindle Paperwhite

The new device has a seven-inch display, the same as the Kindle Paperwhite, and both have resolution of 1,264 x 1,680 pixels, that’s 300 pixels per inch. Both models have 16GB storage, enough for thousands of books.

The PocketBook Era Lite also has another feature the Kindle Paperwhite can’t match: physical page-turn buttons. This is largely down to personal taste but many readers prefer the security of touch that physical buttons provide.

Water Resistance And Pricing

Both readers offer water-resistance, but the Kindle Paperwhite is easily better, with IPX8 rating, which means it can be immersed in 2 meters of fresh water for up to an hour. The Era Lite has IPX4 protection, which is less effective, though enough to cope with splashing water from any direction for 10 minutes or more.

Pricing is $199, 199€ and £179 in the U.K. The Kindle is cheaper: $159.99, but remember that means it comes with lockscreen ads. If you want to be rid of those, you need to pay an extra $20. In the U.K., the Kindle Paperwhite costs £159.99 with lockscreen ads or £169.99 without.