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The Mentor and EZ Reader lines use completely different hardware and software (firmware).
The EZ Reader Basic is a Hanlin V3, which is also sold under many other names worldwide (e.g. BeBook). It is a proven design with stable and frequently updated (improved) firmware.
The Mentor Lite is a Netronix EB600 with the addition of 8 grey scales (a new screen controller). The EB600 hardware is about as old as the Hanlin V3, but until recently most EB600's came with vendor specific firmware (e.g. the Cybook Gen3). Now several companies world-wide are selling EB600s with factory firmware, and this includes Astak and Cool-er in the UK. I have seen no reviews of the Mentor Lite, but the Cool-er has a reputation for unstable firmware (the device crashes a lot). These problems may all be fixed by now, and Astak was probably right to wait a while before introducing the Mentor Lite.
I am very happy with my EZ Reader Basic. Some of its hardware features are a bit dated (no SDHC, USB 1.1, 4 greyscales), but with the exception of the number of greyscales these limitations are shared by the Mentor Lite and are not really significant for reading ebooks. The EZ Reader Pocket Pro refreshes the hardware, but with a smaller screen.
Both EZ Reader and Mentor support Adobe ePub and PDF with DRM (encryption), which is now the most popular ebook format - also on the Sony Readers and the B&N Nook. The Amazon Kindle is the only significant hold out to the Adobe ebook band wagon.
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