Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosethorn1403
Wow Robertb, the astak has got me completely sold!
I have a few general queries for you,
a) I am Australian, as as of yet we have been ignored by the ereader market, the only one available is the iliad, which is ridiculously expensive.. So, will there be easy shipping/maintenance available to us way down under? In other words, will we have to ship our devices overseas to have them fixed?
b) Am i correct in understanding the difference between the mentor and the litebook is that one uses mobipocket and nothing else, and the other will use other sellers formats etc for example fictionwise. Will there be any significant price difference? And will I be able to hopefully buy one of these wonderful sounding ereaders before christmas?
and lastly
c) Will we be able to buy it eventually with a case or protector etc for travel? most ereaders come with a leather cover or carry case, and will chargers come in multiple regions? eg a european charger is only of use if i lug an adaptor around with me.
Thanks for keeping us all updated!
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Dear Aussie (meaning only respect and friendliness by using this title):
One of the strangest things I have noted is that the emails I get from Australia are incredible. As you know, we have partners in Germany and in Taiwan. We have been waiting for an answer to WHO amongst us can take care of Australia. My personal feeling is the market down under is huge and friendly.
I am happy to report that Astak HAS been approved by the partners to work with Australia. That helps a bit as at least we know we have the authority. BUT, I am perplexed as to HOW to go about it.
I WANT to be of service. I am writing often to the local Australia online forum about eBooks and readers and trying to get out info. All I know is that we WILL be able to sell, one Mentor/LiteBook at a time.thru our website:
www.astakshop.com WHEN each size releases. At least you CAN buy that way but postage via UPS is another obsticle.
Yes, and I hate it, but at present repairs would have to be sent back to Astak in the USA. I agree this stinks but I need working alternatives. Optimally, I would like an authorized repair facility in Australia. Australia warrants it! But I don't know how to begin and am open to suggestions!! They have to be large names and readily known repair facilities... no "fly-by-night" please!
robertb
What I do NOT have is a legitimate distributor in Australia!! If you or any other Australians know of a few... please have them get in touch pronto with me!
Astak has a huge 54 foot booth at CES (Consumer Electronics Show 2009) in early January at THe Sands Expo Center to court distributors and retail chain buyers. That is great... but it is six months off. I invite ANY Australian distributors NOT to wait and get in touch with me now. Reply via this forum and I will return you my personal email address. HELP!!!
Alright... on to cases. We know the factory will supposedly ship with a rather rudimentary but functional case. I have written ICella (a case manufacturer) but have not heard back. We HOPE to offer some nice leather cases as an upgrade. ANY of you Case Manufacturers out there... please get in touch NOW!!
Yes, I am frankly aware that there is a liklihood that IF we do not act now there will be few choices of cases until the Mentor/Litebook is a huge success. Yes, we will see them too at CES.
There should be no price difference (as we think now) between the LiteBook with MobiPocket and the Mentor with eReader and maybe Adobe Digital Editions (Adobe's choice).The very latest I have is 5 inch in late July, 6 inch in mid-September, and 9.7 inch in late October. We are trying to nail all of this down right now!