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Davimee · 02-28-2010, 08:45 PM

I've had my Pocket Pro for a few days, and I thought I'd share my thoughts. I know there are plenty of reviews, but I figured I'd just add my two cents.

Let me start by saying, I love it! I really think this was a wise purchase for me. I bought it mostly for all the free books in Public Domain. I'd been reading on my old Palm T/X, but it seems to be on its last leg. And seeing as how I rarely used that for anything other than reading, I decided to look into an ebook reader.

When I first started looking, the most important thing to me was size. One reason I read so often on my Palm is that it is small and easily fits in my purse, so I can read anywhere. I wasn't really interested in Kindle, although in my initial research the Nook looked interesting. I liked the fact that it worked with so many file types, but once I saw the dimensions I decided it was just too big. It also seemed to have a lot of wasted space, with that touch screen at the bottom. I wasn't interested in wi-fi, since I'll mostly be downloading free books. So their wireless bookstore wasn't really a benefit to me.

After I found these forums, I started looking for other options. At first I was interested in the Sony Pocket, as the price was right, and the size was much better than the Nook. Then I found out about the Pocket Pro. It's just a little smaller, but that little bit was enough to make a difference for me. The numerous file formats seemed nice, but since I'm new to ebook readers I wasn't sure I'd really need all of them. The mp3 player seemed like it could be a nice feature, but it wasn't a main selling point. I mostly liked the small size, and the fact that it had an expandable SD slot. These were the two biggest selling points for me. And the fact that it comes in purple was an added bonus.

Once I saw the Pocket Pro in person at Car Toys, that cinched it for me. We also went out to Borders that day so I could see the Sony, but I really liked the feel of the Pocket Pro over the Sony. The Sony just seemed so hard and cold, but the Pocket Pro was more comfortable to hold.

Now that I've had it a few days, I know I've made the right decision. I do like the feel of the reader. I've loaded a few songs onto it to try out the mp3 player. It sounds fine, and I'll probably use it now and then, although for the most part I'll stick to my current mp3 player. (The thing I like about this as opposed to my mp3 player is it's a lot easier to pick a song, since I can see them all in the menu. My mp3 player doesn't have a very good menu.)

Being left handed I don't use the scroll wheel as much as some people would, although it is nice to have 3 options for page turning. The book marking feature is nice, as is the way the folders work. At first when I loaded books from Calibre I had way too many folders, so I had to go back and rearrange the way I had it load books. It was just a matter of trial and error to figure out the best way of making folders, for my needs.

The page turns seem plenty fast to me. When I had first started reading about ebook readers I was afraid the page turns would be painfully slow, but it doesn't seem that way, at all.

I have noticed there are a few things that would be nice to have, as others here have mentioned. Things like a way of deleting books from the device, or a way of seeing how far into the book I am. I would also like a way to highlight, but I don't know how that would be possible without a touch screen. Those things are just minor... I wouldn't want to trade the Pocket Pro in for another device that would do them... that would be too much of a sacrifice. I much prefer the Pocket Pro to a touch screen!

Well hopefully this isn't too long and rambling of a post, but I just wanted to share my thoughts. I am really enjoying my new ebook reader (or Eagle Breeder, as my kids call it, because that's kind of what "ebook reader" sounds like to them

), and after showing it off to my MIL, she is thinking of getting one. She really likes the small size of it as well, plus the ability to change font size for her aging eyes.

Oh, the other thing that really helped me to make my decision is the support I've seen here on the forums from Robertb. It's rare to see a company offer this much customer service, but that was a major selling point for me, as well.

So the main selling points for me were:

Price
Small Size
Customer Support
Comfortable Feel / Easy to Hold
Expandable SD Slot

Thanks Astak for such a wonderful product!

02-28-2010, 08:45 PM	#1
Davimee Happy Wife & Momma Posts: 532 Karma: 1634 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: USA Device: Purple Astak Pocket Pro! :)	My humble thoughts on the Pocket Pro I've had my Pocket Pro for a few days, and I thought I'd share my thoughts. I know there are plenty of reviews, but I figured I'd just add my two cents. Let me start by saying, I love it! I really think this was a wise purchase for me. I bought it mostly for all the free books in Public Domain. I'd been reading on my old Palm T/X, but it seems to be on its last leg. And seeing as how I rarely used that for anything other than reading, I decided to look into an ebook reader. When I first started looking, the most important thing to me was size. One reason I read so often on my Palm is that it is small and easily fits in my purse, so I can read anywhere. I wasn't really interested in Kindle, although in my initial research the Nook looked interesting. I liked the fact that it worked with so many file types, but once I saw the dimensions I decided it was just too big. It also seemed to have a lot of wasted space, with that touch screen at the bottom. I wasn't interested in wi-fi, since I'll mostly be downloading free books. So their wireless bookstore wasn't really a benefit to me. After I found these forums, I started looking for other options. At first I was interested in the Sony Pocket, as the price was right, and the size was much better than the Nook. Then I found out about the Pocket Pro. It's just a little smaller, but that little bit was enough to make a difference for me. The numerous file formats seemed nice, but since I'm new to ebook readers I wasn't sure I'd really need all of them. The mp3 player seemed like it could be a nice feature, but it wasn't a main selling point. I mostly liked the small size, and the fact that it had an expandable SD slot. These were the two biggest selling points for me. And the fact that it comes in purple was an added bonus. Once I saw the Pocket Pro in person at Car Toys, that cinched it for me. We also went out to Borders that day so I could see the Sony, but I really liked the feel of the Pocket Pro over the Sony. The Sony just seemed so hard and cold, but the Pocket Pro was more comfortable to hold. Now that I've had it a few days, I know I've made the right decision. I do like the feel of the reader. I've loaded a few songs onto it to try out the mp3 player. It sounds fine, and I'll probably use it now and then, although for the most part I'll stick to my current mp3 player. (The thing I like about this as opposed to my mp3 player is it's a lot easier to pick a song, since I can see them all in the menu. My mp3 player doesn't have a very good menu.) Being left handed I don't use the scroll wheel as much as some people would, although it is nice to have 3 options for page turning. The book marking feature is nice, as is the way the folders work. At first when I loaded books from Calibre I had way too many folders, so I had to go back and rearrange the way I had it load books. It was just a matter of trial and error to figure out the best way of making folders, for my needs. The page turns seem plenty fast to me. When I had first started reading about ebook readers I was afraid the page turns would be painfully slow, but it doesn't seem that way, at all. I have noticed there are a few things that would be nice to have, as others here have mentioned. Things like a way of deleting books from the device, or a way of seeing how far into the book I am. I would also like a way to highlight, but I don't know how that would be possible without a touch screen. Those things are just minor... I wouldn't want to trade the Pocket Pro in for another device that would do them... that would be too much of a sacrifice. I much prefer the Pocket Pro to a touch screen! Well hopefully this isn't too long and rambling of a post, but I just wanted to share my thoughts. I am really enjoying my new ebook reader (or Eagle Breeder, as my kids call it, because that's kind of what "ebook reader" sounds like to them ), and after showing it off to my MIL, she is thinking of getting one. She really likes the small size of it as well, plus the ability to change font size for her aging eyes. Oh, the other thing that really helped me to make my decision is the support I've seen here on the forums from Robertb. It's rare to see a company offer this much customer service, but that was a major selling point for me, as well. So the main selling points for me were: Price Small Size Customer Support Comfortable Feel / Easy to Hold Expandable SD Slot Thanks Astak for such a wonderful product!