New Mentor arrived, Unbranded, Greenbook Firmware

[smallhagrid]

Ah yes - I thought that might be what the name meant !
I installed the Cooler Reader FW in mine today and it is WAY better than that Green Book version it came with - the animated grayscale screen alone drove me NUTS !!!

Does the icon FW have any way to lock the buttons ?
I didn't know before today that turning it off was optional, and since I move around plenty (and even with it's case on...) I am concerned that the buttons can be pressed by accident and would like to avoid that.

Best Wishes.

mark

[o0-0o]

Originally Posted by smallhagrid

Ah yes - I thought that might be what the name meant !
I installed the Cooler Reader FW in mine today and it is WAY better than that Green Book version it came with - the animated grayscale screen alone drove me NUTS !!!

Does the icon FW have any way to lock the buttons ?
I didn't know before today that turning it off was optional, and since I move around plenty (and even with it's case on...) I am concerned that the buttons can be pressed by accident and would like to avoid that.

Best Wishes.

mark

As far as I know, there is no option for button lock in the icon firmware.
I suppose you can set automatic power off so even if the device is turned on accidentally, it can power off after a certain period of inactive. Anyway. the buttons on a Mentor are really stiff and the power on button need to be pressed for 2 seconds to turn on the device so I suppose it is highly unlikely that the device will be powered on accidentally.

[smallhagrid]

Thanks.
I am not concerned about it powering on - but with the side buttons or the page turning buttons if I carry it around and leave it on deliberately.

Now that I have been told the E-ink does not consume power when on and needs only very frequent re-booting I'd like to use it that way.

Best Wishes.

mark

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I'm thinkin' Jenifer needs to be brought into this discussion. It seems to me you may have received a knockoff or a switched customer return and NewEgg may have some esplainin' to do.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

I'm thinkin' Jenifer needs to be brought into this discussion. It seems to me you may have received a knockoff or a switched customer return and NewEgg may have some esplainin' to do.

Or just lousy quality control since the Mentor sripe is there, but the second screening (the word, Mentor) never got done.

Do the normal mentors have the same label on the back?

[o0-0o]

Originally Posted by theducks

Or just lousy quality control since the Mentor sripe is there, but the second screening (the word, Mentor) never got done.

Do the normal mentors have the same label on the back?

The Mentor is manufactured by Netronix in Taiwan. This particular model, EB600, has been rebranded by several companies, such as Foxit Reader, ViewSonic , Cybook Gen3 (400Mhz version),Cooler, PocketBook+,Kobo, Astaka Mentor, and PocketBook (UA, EU). All of them have exactly same button layout but slightly different body encapsulation. Some of them even look exactly identical except for the brand name printed on the front of the device. For example, the ViewSonic and Foxit reader sold on Newegg look exactly like Mentor.
The model number of Mentor Lite on Astak.com is EB-EB600WHT. Hence I guess the Mentor that I got should have this model number labled on the back instead of the "EB600E LITEBOOK".

[Lady Fitzgerald]

The Mentor I have has Astak on the back of the unit and the label has Astak on it (Model No. NTX_EB600). I still think someone pulled a switcheroo. Jenifer?

[jenifer.ezread]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

I'm thinkin' Jenifer needs to be brought into this discussion. It seems to me you may have received a knockoff or a switched customer return and NewEgg may have some esplainin' to do.

I just spoke to a team member who says that the device we provide to NewEgg should be the same Mentor, despite any issue with logo/branding on the device. However, I am not sure about all the details of the firmware (which should be nearly identical to ours). I am going to talk with my boss today about this.

[o0-0o]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

The Mentor I have has Astak on the back of the unit and the label has Astak on it (Model No. NTX_EB600). I still think someone pulled a switcheroo. Jenifer?

Thank you very much for the useful information.
The device came with complete discharged battery. I charged it for 12 hours on Thursday. I did not use it very much since then but the battery meter showed at least half the power has gone today. Is it suppose to deplete so quickly for a new device?
Once I get another SD card tested on my device, I am ready to talk to Newegg.

[jenifer.ezread]

I just spoke with my boss about the unmarked Mentor device.

We ran a promotion with NewEgg a while back, and a certain number of devices were sent unmarked because they were the first out of the gate. They are definitely the "real-deal" Mentor.

As for the firmware, you should be able to update your firmware to our latest version and have no troubles. Our tech also says the Green Book firmware is fine, and if you aren't having problems with your current firmware, then don't worry about updating.

As always, support@astak.com is there to help with any firmware issues.

[smallhagrid]

Originally Posted by o0-0o

The Mentor is manufactured by Netronix in Taiwan. This particular model, EB600, has been rebranded by several companies, such as Foxit Reader, ViewSonic , Cybook Gen3 (400Mhz version),Cooler, PocketBook+,Kobo, Astaka Mentor, and PocketBook (UA, EU). All of them have exactly same button layout but slightly different body encapsulation. Some of them even look exactly identical except for the brand name printed on the front of the device. For example, the ViewSonic and Foxit reader sold on Newegg look exactly like Mentor.

This all makes me wonder if one found F/W for an identical unit with different functionalities - would it be possible to 'morph' the Mentor into say...a Foxit, ViewSonic , Cybook work-alike ?

[smallhagrid]

As an example:

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/ebook/update.html

Presto ? Instant personality change ! Possible ???

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by smallhagrid

This all makes me wonder if one found F/W for an identical unit with different functionalities - would it be possible to 'morph' the Mentor into say...a Foxit, ViewSonic , Cybook work-alike ?

The Netronix clones (Mentor like devices) have specific encoding in the install firmware to prevent this kind of change. It may be possible, in some cases, to defeat this but I don't know how legal that is. It could also brick your device.

Dale

[smallhagrid]

Thank You Sir.
I am sure someone clever with such things (I am not...) would be able to make a work-around, and frankly I, personally, could not possibly care any less about whether some company would be offended if their F/W was shoe-horned into this poor old man's reader during this time of experimentation and growth of these devices.
(Neither am I inclined to take wild chances and brick my little Mentor...)

My inclination in posting these thoughts was two-fold:
A - Possibly inspire some discussion amongst and for the EB600 crowd, so we are not simply forgotten;
2 - Remind the Astak folks that even with the EB600 seeming to be sold less or gone from retail sales that there ARE many around and the folks with 'em haven't died yet.

And there you have it.

I hope some of the more technically oriented sorts here may jump in and share some tips and tricks for Mentor users in this playground !!!

Best Wishes.

mark