Astak Mentor eBook readers with WiFi and Touchscreen (read-only)

[Robertb]

Hello community. My name is Robert and I work for Astak in San Jose, California. Astak is introducing three new eBook devices at the IDPG show in New York on May 14. The eBook devices are known by the name "Mentor". Mentor will come in three sizes: 5 inch, 6 inch, and 9.7 inch. They all use E-ink technology and have stereo headphone/earbud jacks. You can do slide shows on them. WiFi (802.11g) and Touchscreen will be options. Resolution is 800 x 600 pixels. One charge lasts for about 8,000 pages. All will have SD card slots expanding the memory up to 4GB. The 5 inch is projected to sell at about $159.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Hello community. My name is Robert and I work for Astak in San Jose, California. Astak is introducing three new eBook devices at the IDPG show in New York on May 14.

What is availablity? Any information available for these devices like specs of weight, formats supported, etc?

BOb

[NatCh]

Welcome to MobileRead, Robertb.

That is, indeed, very interesting news! Do you have a website we can look at, or are you inviting us to bombard you with questions?

Here's one or two to start with: Are these devices Vizplex? What formats will they support?

[Nate the great]

They do have a website, but it doesn't have anything about the readers.

[zelda_pinwheel]

i second (third ?) the request for more info about formats supported and other specs. some photos would be nice too, if it's possible...

[Azayzel]

Sounds sweet! I hope the 9" version will be at a competitive price, any idea how much yet? Be nice to see some images of the new devices in action so we can see how aesthetically appealing and ergonomic they are.

[DixieGal]

I volunteer to test the new device, free of charge to the manufacturer!

[Robertb]

The website is about our Security Cameras. We are putting up the news about the eBook devices. Sorry for the delay.

The Astak Mentor eBook devices come in 5 inch, 6 inch, and 9.7 inch. Let's use the 6 inch as an example.

It weighs 7 oz and has measurements of 7.5" by 4.75" by only .35 inches thick (WOW). It has a stereo headphone jack, uses Li-ion 3.7V battery, and lasts for 8000 pages on one charge. It takes a 4GB SD card for extra memory. It uses E-ink technology with an 800 x 600 pixels. 170 dpi, B&W, 4 grayscale.

The price for this is expected just under $200 (YES, THAT IS $200). The 5 inch model will be priced at about $159. The processor is the Samsung S3C2443 at 400 MHz. The formats are not yet set. We know it will have eReader and books can easily be downloaded from Fictionwise. We are negotiating with Mobipocket/Amazon but they want exclusivity. It will, of course, also have TXT, PDF, RTF, HTML/CHM. Amazon seems to want to take over the world and we are trying to deal fairly but leave formats open. The Mentor will play stereo music, do slide shows, and much more.

Optional on it will be Touchscreen and WiFi 808.11g. Many, many of you have wanted this WiFi instead of WhisperNet from what we have heard. It will have auto shut-off and many more features. I work for Astak but am pretty new to MobileRead Forums so apologize if I am missing anything here.

All three of these devices will be unveiled at the IDPF Trade Show in New York on May 14. These units are the result of the joining of forces between a panel manufacturer, an electronics manufacturer, and the Astak sales and support staff.

Bob

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Robertb

The price for this is expected just under $200 (YES, THAT IS $200).

Thanks for the great info. At that price point it will FLY off the shelves. I hope the you have the capacity and enough eInk screen supplies to keep up.

Can you tell us anything about the OS? Does it allow for any file management on the device like support for folders, moving/deleting/renaming books, etc? Does it support a dictionary and/or searching a book or the library?

BOb

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Robertb

The website is about our Security Cameras. We are putting up the news about the eBook devices. Sorry for the delay.

The Astak Mentor eBook devices come in 5 inch, 6 inch, and 9.7 inch. Let's use the 6 inch as an example.

It weighs 7 oz and has measurements of 7.5" by 4.75" by only .35 inches thick (WOW). It has a stereo headphone jack, uses Li-ion 3.7V battery, and lasts for 8000 pages on one charge. It takes a 4GB SD card for extra memory. It uses E-ink technology with an 800 x 600 pixels. 170 dpi, B&W, 4 grayscale.

The price for this is expected just under $200 (YES, THAT IS $200). The 5 inch model will be priced at about $159. The processor is the Samsung S3C2443 at 400 MHz. The formats are not yet set. We know it will have eReader and books can easily be downloaded from Fictionwise. We are negotiating with Mobipocket/Amazon but they want exclusivity. It will, of course, also have TXT, PDF, RTF, HTML/CHM. Amazon seems to want to take over the world and we are trying to deal fairly but leave formats open. The Mentor will play stereo music, do slide shows, and much more.

Optional on it will be Touchscreen and WiFi 808.11g. Many, many of you have wanted this WiFi instead of WhisperNet from what we have heard. It will have auto shut-off and many more features. I work for Astak but am pretty new to MobileRead Forums so apologize if I am missing anything here.

All three of these devices will be unveiled at the IDPF Trade Show in New York on May 14. These units are the result of the joining of forces between a panel manufacturer, an electronics manufacturer, and the Astak sales and support staff.

Bob

thanks so much for giving us this info !

this definitely sounds like a great device ! it's really brilliant that you are trying to leave formats open. also the native support for html and text formats is great.

can you tell us if there will be feautres such as dictionary lookup ?

as regards the price, that's pretty amazing ! you mentioned that wifi and touchscreen will be optional, how much would these options cost ?

and, i know i said it before, but i would really love to see some photos, to see the design and ergonomy.

[zelda_pinwheel]

oh, one more question : will the battery be user replaceable ?

thanks !

[Robertb]

Dear Community:

What we do know is that the Astak Mentor will have the following features: Turn Page, Jump to Page, Progress Bar, Font Increasing, Bookmark, Zoom In, Zoom out, Slideshow, Delete File. Your suggestions help!! That is why we are putting out the info in this manner. We have preliminary samples made and have already made changes to "americanize it" (it is being released throughout the world). WE only know that at IDPF on May 14 we have to have working production samples.

The panel is the easy part. One of our partners is a panel manufacturer so getting panels is easy and they are committed.

The advance projected sales price for the 9.7 inch version is about $299-$349. It will allow an 8.5" by 11" page to read true, will come with WiFi/Bluetooth and Touch integrated, 4GB Enbedded, 3.5 stereo headphone jack, SDcard expansion slot, 1200 x 825 pixels, four programmable functional buttons, and a lot of other bells and whistles and lights. The operating system will be Win CE with splash screen on boot; and it will support English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese (Big 5), and Japanese. The release date for this unit is projected for August. The Li-ion battery will last ten years but is likely not user-changeable. I will place this suggestion.

I will find out for you about estimated cost for TouchScreen and the WiFi options on 5 inch and 6 inch! Will check on dictionary. Good suggestion!!

Pictures are not so easy as changes are still being made. It is an awesome gloss black front bezel with orange sides and back... very attractive. I am afraid to put up pictures as they may change between now and release.

We are trying to add to our website on these devices

Bob

[Timoleon]

Well, I'm salivating after that bit of information
...and I bet I'm not the only one! Best of luck on the Astak Mentor

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Timoleon

Well, I'm salivating after that bit of information
...and I bet I'm not the only one! Best of luck on the Astak Mentor

i confirm you are not the only one.

i am waiting impatiently for more details.

please don't change the colors : black and orange sounds stellar !! (now i want to see photos even more...). what about ergonomy, where are the page turn buttons ? can the screen display be rotated so that you can hold it with either hand ?

a question about mobipocket support, if negotiations with amazon do not allow you to propose native mobi support, would it be possible to install a mobi reader oneself ?

[TadW]

The price is very competitive! Best luck with the presentation of your new e-reader devices, and please, once you got photos, post them here! Sure we're all drooling by now...