PocketBook International

PocketBook International S.A.
[Privately held company]
Industry Consumer electronics
Online distribution
Founded 2007
Headquarters Lugano, Switzerland
Products E-book readers, multimedia readers and Android-based tablet computers
Revenue Increase $ 151 million (2010)[1]
Number of employees
 230(July 2013)
Website www.pocketbook-int.com

PocketBook is a multinational company which produces e-book readers based on E Ink technology (an electronic paper technology), as well as multimedia readers and Android-based tablet computers, under the PocketBook brand.

The company was founded in 2007. Its headquarters is located at Lugano in Switzerland.

PocketBook is the 4th largest global manufacturer[2] of e-book readers.

Development and manufacture

The devices are assembled at the Foxconn, Wisky, Yitoa and other factories.

Sales geography

The company's products are sold in 30 countries worldwide – in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, CIS and Baltic countries as well as in Israel, Australia, New Zealand and others. As of December 2013 PocketBook had sold 2,000,000 devices.

History

Date Event
September 2008 The company starts shipping its first eReader, the PocketBook 301.[3] The model became the top-selling device in Russia (the total volume of sold devices exceeded 100,000) according to 2009-2010 results.
January 2009 Release of PocketBook's second model PocketBook 360° [4] - the world's first e-book reading device, created based on the comments of the user community of The-eBook.org – the most popular forum in the Russian language dedicated to e-books.
March 2009 PocketBook 302 Cookie – the world's first e-book reading device supporting the Bluetooth wireless data transfer protocol.
November 2010 PocketBook IQ 701 [5] – a multimedia e-book reader running the Android operating system. In 2011 PocketBook IQ 701 became the second top-selling device in Russia after the iPad.
December 2010 Market launch of PocketBook Pro 602 [6] and PocketBook Pro 902.
February 2011 PocketBook launches the world's first e-book readers with a smartphone set of wireless interfaces (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G) – PocketBook Pro 603 [7] and 903.[8]
May 2011 Market launch of PocketBook 360 Plus [9] – an updated version of the PocketBook 360 model with Wi-Fi support and more powerful architecture. Thanks to its unique design and functionality, the PocketBook 360 went through three record reincarnations – 360, 360+ and 360+ New.
September 2011 Production of PocketBook devices starts at the specially designated production line at a Foxconn factory.
October 2011 Market launch of PocketBook A 10" [10] – a tablet computer running Android 2.3.5, exhibited for the first time at IFA 2011 (Berlin, Germany).
December 2011 Market launch of PocketBook Basic – an e-book reader which became one of the top ten best-selling and most recommended eReaders in the French retail chain Pixmania following the results of 2011.
February 2012 Market launch of PocketBook A 7" – a multimedia e-book reader that runs Android 2.3.7.
March 2012 Market launch of PocketBook Touch [11] - an eReader with a multisensor 6-inch E Ink Pearl display.
September 2012 At the international IFA exhibition in Berlin, PocketBook introduces two new devices:

• PocketBook Basic New — an improved version of PocketBook Basic 611 • PocketBook SURFpad — a tablet computer running Android 4.0.4., which became one of the first devices with the pre-installed Yandex.Store app store.

April 2013 The company presented a new premium product line:

• PocketBook Colour Lux [12] – the world's first color E Ink eReader with built-in light • PocketBook Touch Lux [13] – an eReader with Pearl HD display and frontlight • PocketBook SURFpad 2 – a multimedia device running Android 4.0.4 for reading and entertainment

July 2013 Release of PocketBook Mini,[14] a new 5-inch slim and compact E Ink eReader for daily reading.
October 2013 The presentation of new devices at IFA 2013 international exhibition in Berlin:

• PocketBook CoverReader [15] – the first flip-cover with E Ink screen for smartphones • PocketBook Basic Touch – E Ink reader with a «film touch» technology based screen, And also two Android tablets PocketBook SURFpad 3 (7,85") and PocketBook SURFpad 3 (10").

November 2013 The company presents PocketBook Touch Lux (Limited edition)
December 2013 Presentation of the new construction-oriented device PocketBook CAD Reader [16] with the revolutionary EPD E Ink Fina™ screen at Autodesk University international exhibition in Los-Angeles (USA, Nevada)
The new light and easy, 6-inch E Ink e-reader PocketBook Basic 2 represented
January 2014 PocketBook Touch Lux 2 - E Ink e-reader with frontlight represented
March 2014 The company announced the first serial waterproof and dust protected E Ink e-reader – PocketBook Aqua [17]

Recent awards

Device Award Nomination Country\Year
PocketBook Pro 912,

Basic 611, Touch

Pixmania Pixmania Top 10 Sales France (2012)
PocketBook Touch Computer Bild Best eReader in Europe [18] Germany (2012)
PocketBook A10 Red Dot 2012 Awards Best product design [19] Germany (2012)
PocketBook Touch Tablet PC Winner of testing of new e-book readers with multisensor displays Germany (2012)
PocketBook Touch, PocketBook Basic, PocketBook Basic New PC Format Winner of e-book reader rating Poland (2012)
PocketBook A 10’’ 3G Consumer Electronics & Photo Expo Product of the Year 2012 (Mobile and Digital Devices) Russia (2012)
PocketBook Pro 612 PC Magazine/RE Russia: Best of the Best 2011 (E-book readers) [20] Russia (2012)
PocketBook Touch Lux allesebook.de Best E Ink Reader [21] Germany (2013)
PocketBook Touch Lux Tablet PC Best E Ink Reader Germany (2013)
PocketBook SURFpad 2 The-eBook Quality Guarantee [22] Best tablet Russia (2013)
PocketBook SURFpad 2 allesebook.de Test winner [23] Germany (2013)
PocketBook Touch Lux SFT Magazins Best E Ink reader Germany (2013)
PocketBook Mini Tablet PC Best E Ink reader Germany (2013)
PocketBook SURFpad 3 (7,85’’) Tablet PC Best E Ink reader Germany (2013)
PocketBook Touch Lux The-eBook Championship 2013 Best E Ink reader [24] Russia (2013)
PocketBook Mini The-eBook Championship 2013 Best E Ink reader [24] Russia (2013)
PocketBook Touch Lux 2 Red Dot 2014 Best product design [25] Germany (2014)

PocketBook’s projects

KidRead – a project which helps to manage the time a child spends on a mobile device. This unique application is created to get the kids more involved in reading as well as to monitor and test a kid's literary knowledge. The KidRead project consists of the website kidread.com and Android application for multimedia readers and tablet computers.

ReadRate – a search-and-recommend service the main goal of which is to help users to select books. The ReadRate online platform may help users with information on the most popular books and inform about book ratings, literary preferences, feedback and reviews by other users.

BookLand – an electronic platform from PocketBook with a goal to sell fiction, educational and reference literature as well as periodical publications in electronic format. BookLand offers more than 1,500,000 titles of electronic content in 17 languages.

See also

References

External links