MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Astak Mentor Lite 6"

Tom2112 · 12-15-2009, 11:38 PM

RobertB:
I have two things I would like to mention to you, in the hopes that you pass them on to your design folks. They are criticisms of the product, but I hope they are taken in the constructive fashion that I mean them. They do not mean that I don't like the product, I'm just pointing them out so future models can be improved.

First:
The USB port on the Mentor: while I love having one, the designers goofed when they made it recessed. Didn't they hear about all the hooplah over the recessed jack on the initial iPhones? Anyway, the problem is that if I don't use the USB cable that came with the Mentor, I can't plug it in!! On every other cable that I've tried (three of them) the head of the cable is too fat to fit into the recessed USB jack. I know they did this to protect the jack, but seriously: if my Blackberry can survive a flush mounted USB jack, I'm sure an e-reader can. After all, my phone (and most others these days) gets a lot more rough treatment than my e-reader ever will - stuffed in pockets, tossed in purses, backpacks, suitcases, etc.

Second:
The buttons on the Mentor lack a tactile sense of being pressed. I'm never sure if I pressed the buttons (especially the four on the left side). I often have to press them more than once to get them to function. They give the Mentor a "cheap" feel that it doesn't deserve. I wish I knew what kind of buttons to replace them with, but I'm not an electronics engineer. I can suggest buttons like on my Blackberry Curve. Grab one off a friend and try it. They are, in my opinion, tactility perfect. You KNOW when you pressed it. And it feels right.

The placement of the four buttons on the left edge (and the two on the right edge) is poor. They really should be on the front of the device. It is relatively natural to hold the device in your right hand with your thumb over "next page" button while you're reading. None of the side buttons (right or left) are convenient to press at all. They're poorly placed, and should have been on the front near the next page button or possibly running up the right side of the device (pressed from the front though).

Anyway, that's my two cent's worth on the buttons.

I can't wait to get my Mentor back so I can play with it some more.

12-15-2009, 11:38 PM	#8
Tom2112 Tablet eReader Posts: 45 Karma: 12620 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Western PA Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab 7, iPad, Dell Streak 7, Moto RAZR MAXX	RobertB: I have two things I would like to mention to you, in the hopes that you pass them on to your design folks. They are criticisms of the product, but I hope they are taken in the constructive fashion that I mean them. They do not mean that I don't like the product, I'm just pointing them out so future models can be improved. First: The USB port on the Mentor: while I love having one, the designers goofed when they made it recessed. Didn't they hear about all the hooplah over the recessed jack on the initial iPhones? Anyway, the problem is that if I don't use the USB cable that came with the Mentor, I can't plug it in!! On every other cable that I've tried (three of them) the head of the cable is too fat to fit into the recessed USB jack. I know they did this to protect the jack, but seriously: if my Blackberry can survive a flush mounted USB jack, I'm sure an e-reader can. After all, my phone (and most others these days) gets a lot more rough treatment than my e-reader ever will - stuffed in pockets, tossed in purses, backpacks, suitcases, etc. Second: The buttons on the Mentor lack a tactile sense of being pressed. I'm never sure if I pressed the buttons (especially the four on the left side). I often have to press them more than once to get them to function. They give the Mentor a "cheap" feel that it doesn't deserve. I wish I knew what kind of buttons to replace them with, but I'm not an electronics engineer. I can suggest buttons like on my Blackberry Curve. Grab one off a friend and try it. They are, in my opinion, tactility perfect. You KNOW when you pressed it. And it feels right. The placement of the four buttons on the left edge (and the two on the right edge) is poor. They really should be on the front of the device. It is relatively natural to hold the device in your right hand with your thumb over "next page" button while you're reading. None of the side buttons (right or left) are convenient to press at all. They're poorly placed, and should have been on the front near the next page button or possibly running up the right side of the device (pressed from the front though). Anyway, that's my two cent's worth on the buttons. I can't wait to get my Mentor back so I can play with it some more. Last edited by Tom2112; 12-15-2009 at 11:41 PM.