BOOX Opens Preorders for $100 Picco E-Reader

BOOX has opened preorders for the Picco, a pocket-size monochrome e-reader priced at about $100 and weighing 58 grams. The device is the first product in the company’s Tiles category, and BOOX lists its display as 3.97 inches with a resolution of 235 pixels per inch. The Picco is designed for portability, with a screen roughly comparable in area to a playing card. It has both a touchscreen and physical page-turn buttons, along with adjustable front lighting in warm and cool settings. A four-way screen orientation is also listed among its features. BOOX includes a 16GB microSD card, and the device supports expansion up to 2TB. It comes with a magnetic ring case intended to let users attach the reader to the back of a smartphone. Product descriptions also list file transfers through the BOOX Tiles app, a web browser or a USB-C connection, though the company has not provided a complete compatibility list in the supplied announcement. The device is positioned as a smaller alternative to conventional e-readers for brief reading sessions or times when carrying a larger device is inconvenient. It is the smallest e-reader in BOOX’s current lineup, according to product information.