Thread: Astak Mentor at IDPF conference
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Old 05-15-2008, 12:14 PM   #14
delphidb96
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Join Date: Jan 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nate the great View Post
Where to begin?

Fictionwise wasn't at the conference. At least, I didn't see them and the Astak rep didn't think they were there. So I couldn't get solid info about Ereader support, but I was told that Fictionwise should be ready to announce Ereader support in June. The Astak rep didn't know whether Fictionwise's device would be locked down or what other features it would support.

The 5" model came in several different colors. Not all worked because they hadn't been flashed yet. One did, so this is fine. It only read the PVI/Netronix STK format. I did get a picture of the menu. As you can see, it's different from the 6". Also, look at the position of the buttons. They bear a striking resemblance to the position of the buttons on the Jetbook.

The functional 6" models were obviously the OEM from Netronix. The other is their design, and doesn't work yet. It's an engineering mockup they just receive a few days before. I wonder if the menu on the 6" Mentor is the same as on the EB-100? Actually, I think the 6" readers were EB-100. I was told they would only have the 5" Mentor because the others weren't ready yet.

The 9.7" was a preproduction model. If I hadn't told them I was coming, I doubt they would have brought it. It did have touchscreen, but the software was refusing to work that day. I know many here are disappointed by the lack of a hands on review, but I didn't expect to see it at all. Don't complain too loudly.

There were a number of other questions that people wanted me to ask, and most of the answers are on Astak's website. One thing I forgot to check is the format of the ebooks I was reading.
Nate,

It's quite clear the white Astaks are basic Netronix models. Whether they're EB-100s or EB-2xx models isn't so clear, but I'd lean towards EB-100s right now as even Netronix isn't shipping EB-2xx models yet. Except for the "Astak" logo across the top, the white models are identical to my EB-100 in appearance.

I like the looks of the 9.7" model. Would love to see it in action. However, I'm hearing late summer from Netronix for the EB-300 (maybe) so I guess I'll just have to wait.

As I've said elsewhere, if Astak makes eReader work on these, it would be nice. I'd rather have Mobi support, but both of those are FAR superior to .stk ebooks!

Derek
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