Astak's 5" Pocket Pro $199

[wodin]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

The txtr being German, I would be very surprised if it were junky.

I don't know, I had a BMW that was a lemon. In the shop 19 times in 24 months!

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I will also be curious to see if the txtr has a user-changeable battery. I wonder how many people think that that feature is as important as I do.

The battery isn't replaceable, unless the feedback they got about this caused a design change (which I think is unlikely), see Interview with Wizpac, creators of the txtr at Leipzig Book Fair

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Abecedary

I'm kind of curious to know how often anyone here has changed the battery in their ebook readers? It's nice to be able to, and it certainly adds some longevity and usefulness to the device. But I honestly think that by the time I wore the battery down to the point where it needed replacing, I could probably pick up a new reader for a fraction of the current price.

Dear Abecedary:

You have a very valid point. But there are two exceptions:

1. Not all batteries are created equal. Fact is that some batteries come from the battery factory not charging perfectly. I think it is great to know that you can switch if needed for under $10.

2. Some people go on the road and do not want to lug their charger around with them. As these cell phone batteries are small, it is easy enough to spend under $10 and carry around a fully charged spare. This is a great option for people who do use the MP3 while reading.

[JSWolf]

Robertb, I know you said in another thread that the ADE page number bug was being fixed for the Pocket Pro. Will this fix be out when the Pocket Pro ships?

For those that do not know, the ADE right side page numbers on the EZ Reader increase in size when you increase the font size. ADE is not supposed to do that.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by wodin

Heck, mine's almost new, and I'm finding it hard to resist pre-ordering an Astak 5"!

Don't get me wrong, I love my jetBook, but from what I've been seeing over here on the Astak thread that's one sweet machine!

Robert, how about that USPS shipping you were looking into?

Dear Wodin:

I have personally ordered the flat rate kit and am trying to get it implemented. We have a Shipping Manager who handles his oen departmentand he is under the Operations Director. I am kind of out of my sphere of influence here... so I am hoping to show them instead of tell them.

I am working on it, actively!

[Abecedary]

Robertb, both very valid points. Especially the mp3 one. I always forget that people actually use these things for listening to music/audiobooks, which as you mention, does drain a battery very quickly.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

While you can't see the Astak in a store you will be able to see the PRS-300. It will be carried by Target, Borders, Sony stores, Fry's and others. The behavior of ADE should be very nearly the same I would expect, so you could try it out. You can also get a rough idea on a pc by sizing the window appropriately although there are differences in the behavior. You have to use ADE.

It's not a good idea to base how ADE on Sony will work based on other readers. For example, the EZ Reader's bug on the right margin page number is not present on the 505 or 700.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by imabuddha

Yes, that's a clear advantage Sony has. Amazon also has the 30 day trial period. However, I don't really want to buy from either of them.

The new Sony 300 has a good price, but lacks the sd card slot, which I really want to have. I also decided some years ago not to buy anything from them due to their declining quality & very poor treatment/lack of respect for their customers.

I do admit that the new sony 300 is temping though...

Sony's quality of their readers is very good. Their support has been quite good as well. So saying that Sony has declining quality and a lack of respect for their customers is just plain incorrect.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Robertb, I know you said in another thread that the ADE page number bug was being fixed for the Pocket Pro. Will this fix be out when the Pocket Pro ships?

For those that do not know, the ADE right side page numbers on the EZ Reader increase in size when you increase the font size. ADE is not supposed to do that.

Dear JS:

Yesterday I mailed Dale DePriest's recommendations (including this) to the factory. By 9:30 a.m. their time I got an email back saying they liked all of Dale's suggestions and it went directly to the engineers.

The Pocket PROs are already in production. I do not see this as anything warrenting stopping production. So. the Pocket PRO will not have any change to it before it rolls out. It takes time to engineer a fix as their engineers and Adobe need to put their collective heads together.

What I DO see is a firmware upgrade that will handle this coming in two months.

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I think that Robert is a good salesman!

Three weeks ago I had my heart set on a txtr. But now I think that I will see what the Pocket Pro early adopters think of that unit's build quality.

No matter what specs Robert touts, if the unit seems to be junky I'll give it a pass. But if it's solid, I think I'll go for it.

The txtr being German, I would be very surprised if it were junky. But they will have wireless options, and its price may be in line with the Kindle 2's $299 rather than the Sony 300's $199. If so, I'll go with the $199 Pocket Pro.

I will also be curious to see if the txtr has a user-changeable battery. I wonder how many people think that that feature is as important as I do.

Dear GA Russell:

I know next to nothing about the German "txtr"... so I cannot comment. What I do know is that the Pocket PRO comes from the same factory that made the EZ Reader Basic. I have not received a single complaint on the build quality (and you are welcome to go through the lengthy pages of this thread and see for yourself). The EZ Reader and the Pocket PRO are built by a factory in China that manufactures more eBook Readers than Amazon and Sony combined.

This factory has had the lowest number of returns that FRYs has seen. We have seen 10,000 EZ Reader Basics come thru here at Astak. However, that same model has been the biggest seller in Europe in 2008 and has sold tens of thousands in Asia and Russia. I can safely tell you that the build quality of the Pocket PRO is outstanding. They have more than 180 engineers that design these devices, and they have ten years of experience manufacturing.

I do not even worry about build quality with these units. Every one that we checked has been perfect. I know I am, in your eyes, just a "good salesman". But I have never sold anything in my 25 years that I did not believe was first rate. I do not blame you at all for holding out to see the reviews. All I can say is that build quality is the strength on these devices.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by goldilocks

RobertB,

I own a Sony PRS-505. Although the Astak 5 EZ Reader Pocket PRO eBook reader supports 20+ open formats, it cannot open and read my many .lrx formatted eBooks.

But once Sony goes ePub, you'll be able to redownload your LRX in ePub and use then on any ADE compatible reader.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by goldilocks

I own a Sony PRS-505. Although the Astak 5 EZ Reader Pocket PRO eBook reader supports 20+ open formats, it cannot open and read my many .lrx formatted eBooks.

That is because LRX is a proprietary format, and one with DRM that has not been cracked to boot. This is the problem one faces with DRM. As mentioned, the Sony change to epub will be good for you, if you choose to switch.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But once Sony goes ePub, you'll be able to redownload your LRX in ePub and use then on any ADE compatible reader.

I know lots of people dislike the Windows-only interface to the Sony ebook Store (with a Mac version coming soon), but it may end up being the premier ePub store in the US. I have the impression that many of the current LRX titles are not currently available as ePubs, so this is going to significantly increase ePub market penetration. They also already have all those Google ebooks as DRM-free ePubs.

[Dragon_Well]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

Welcome to MobileRead, HJS!

The 5" is only slightly smaller screen, but they are both 800x600. This means the 5" will have a higher pixel density, ergo a better resolution.

The 5" has twice the processing power (400MHz compared to the 6" 200MHz)
The 5" has 8 gray levels instead of the normal 4-level grayscale of the 6" unit.
The 5" unit supports 16GB sd card, where the 6" only supports 4GB
The 5" has the faster Epson controller which equal a much faster page turn, as compared to the 6" model.

Those are the main marketable differences between the 2 units, apart from the fact that the 5" device will also be much more portable. The 5" is also 40 bucks cheaper than it's slower big brother.

A small point - although the 6" unit officially supports only up to 4GB SD card, it will work flawlessly with certain 16 GB cards. Although 4 GB might be enough for most folks, I use the ebook to carry medical books in my white coat and easily filled up a 16 GB card. This is one of the biggest selling features of both units to me.

[griffonwing]

Originally Posted by Dragon_Well

A small point - although the 6" unit officially supports only up to 4GB SD card, it will work flawlessly with certain 16 GB cards. Although 4 GB might be enough for most folks, I use the ebook to carry medical books in my white coat and easily filled up a 16 GB card. This is one of the biggest selling features of both units to me.

I have heard comments that the 6" will read an 8GB card, but not a 16. I'm not disputing the validity of your post, but only basing it from my own learnings. Knowing the 6" can read a 16 is great news. However, with all of the card filled, it may lower the quality of service in relation to folder searching, file-access, etc... But you would know that more than I.

Also, I was only posting officially supported devices. Hanlin specifies that, due to their hardware, it could only officially support 4.GB, where the hardware on the 5", it could officially support 16.