The PocketBook Era is the e-reader our editors recommend most often to readers who have grown frustrated with the closed ecosystems of the Kindle and the Kobo and who want a device that respects whatever library they already have. The PocketBook brand is the dominant European e-reader outside the Amazon-Rakuten duopoly and the Era is its strongest current 7-inch device. The IPX8 waterproof rating, the page-turn buttons in addition to the touchscreen, and the genuinely impressive file-format support out of the box (EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, FB2, MOBI, CBZ, CBR, DJVU, and many more, with built-in Adobe Digital Editions DRM support) make it the right pick for the readers who prioritize library flexibility.
The trade-off is that the PocketBook software polish lags behind the Kindle and Kobo platforms; menus are slightly less intuitive, the on-device library organization is less elegant, and the bookstore integration outside Europe is less developed than the Kobo store. Most readers who choose PocketBook are coming from a personal library of EPUB files and from the Adobe-DRM library lending ecosystem, both of which the device handles natively. The Bluetooth audiobook playback is a genuine advantage for readers who want a single device that does both modes without cellular dependency.
Recommended for readers who manage their own EPUB libraries through Calibre, for European readers, for library Adobe-DRM users (OverDrive direct, not Libby Kindle), and for readers who want a 7-inch waterproof e-reader at a moderate price tier without committing to the Kindle ecosystem. Compare to the Kobo Libra Colour (more polished software, color display) and the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (more polished software, Kindle-only). The PocketBook Era is the right pick when EPUB flexibility is the priority.