Quote:
Originally Posted by seajewel
I really want the 9.7, but honestly, I would be very very very very surprised if it came out in October, especially with a flex screen. I really wish, as other people have said, that Astak had been able to roll out a 6" version. I feel like numerous delays and more developments and new ideas are just not that great.. I feel like my chances of actually getting an Astak Mentor are going down the drain every time I hear of new bells and whistles. I appreciate the effort involved in trying to make it great, but.. I honestly think 6" is the lower limit of what I would want in an ebook reader, and 8" like the iLiad would be perfect. I ended up buying a Sony yesterday, but I want more screen real estate. and battery life is important. if the iLiad had a battery life more like the Sony, I might have been tempted despite the price tag.. maybe.
Also, yes, I don't know how the initial projection of $350 came from. Just considering the iLiad and the price of all the other existing ebook readers, I couldn't imagine how Astak could bring out ebook readers that are so cheap and in so little time. Not surprised at the new price tag, at all.
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Depends upone how much of a discount Astak would have been getting from Netronix for a volume order. If Astak were willing to pony up $1,000,000, I'd almost guarantee they'd get the 6" models for less than $190/unit. Of course, they'd still have to install their custom firmware, and they'd probably have to re-box into a nice package and all, so that would add to the per-unit cost that Astak would have to cover with their 'retail' price. Further, while Walmart and Costco probably don't expect a 50% margin on these devices, they'll expect *better* than the couple of percentage points that NAEB is getting.
Derek