Quote:
Originally Posted by lionel47
So, I guess I should wait a week or so before purchasing my first reader. I have been researching since November and the Astak 6" EZ Reader so far seems to lead in meeting my requirements.
Just so you know: I am an IT architect and try to get through at least two books every week. I travel a lot and am tired of lugging them in my briefcase.
Also, a lot of my work involves business process re-engineering and I create a lot of flow charts and save them as PDFs. Also, I create a lot of DOC files (MS Word), PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets.
What I would like is the ability to carry my documents and books on one device. A touch screen so I can take notes would be great but I can live without it.
Wireless would be great so I can log on to my home or office network and copy documents to my reader. Also, I subscribe a a number of RSS feeds on my iPhone; I would prefer to read them on a reader and sync them through wireless while I wait at the airport. Again, it would be great but I can live without the wireless.
I think what is important to me is the ability to handle a variety of document formats while also being able to read DRM and non-DRM books.
I decided on the Astak 6" EZ Reader because of the wide variety of file types it can handle. I was also considering the Mentor Lite but I don't think it handles as many formats. I may be wrong.
So, having read the above, can I get some recommendations? And, should I wait till CES is over before pulling the trigger?
I am afraid that CES will happen but the new stuff will not be released until the spring or summer. What do you guys think?  |
Dear lionel47:
Thank you. Either the Astak EZ Reader Basic (6 inch) or the Astak Mentor Lite (6 inch) are fine choices. Both of them are discussed at length in my blog:
www.robertbEZ.blogspot.com
Not all things introduced at CES take 6 months or so. There are, for example, 20 or so device manufacturers in Taiwan and China. North America only gets a handful of what the world has to offer! Many of them make great products but do not have North American market savvy or representation. Items of this nature can be displayed at CES and be selling within 6 weeks.
Also, I can only speak for Astak, but the factories often impose total gag orders until CES (under penalty of death or banishment... HA!) and the actual devices are made and sitting on the dock waiting to ship. These can sometimes be selling within a month.
By the way, are you aware that Astak has its own Astak Dedicated Forum on this MobileRead Forum? Come on in and chat. You can also see the most recent reviews!